[17][38], HQ, A and C Squadrons of 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment were aboard the troopship Derrycunihy, which arrived off Sword Beach on the evening of 20 June. On 29 June 129 Brigade advanced under fire to ford the River Odon and dug in, a German counter-attack against them in the evening being destroyed by the divisional artillery. The order was given to withdraw and 60 survivors of 5th DCLI were brought down. Landing craft and the gunboat HMS Locust quickly came alongside and picked up survivors, most of whom were evacuated to SS Cap Touraine, a former French liner. [112], In the aftermath of Market Garden, 43rd (Wessex) Division was stationed on 'the Island' (between the Rivers Waal and Nederrijn). 59th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. In the period of international tension preceding the outbreak of World War II, the 1st Line TA divisions once more formed duplicates, the 43rd forming 45th Infantry Division. 43rd Recce Rgt, with 12th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps from 8th Armoured Bde under command, protected the division's open western flank. 5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, II Wessex (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, Wessex (Hampshire) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment), 94th (Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, 112th (Wessex) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, 141st (Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, 59th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 110th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, 204th (Wessex) Field Company, Royal Engineers, 207th (Wessex) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 294 (Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry) Field Regiment, 296 (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, 387 (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Field Regiment, 383 (Duke of Connaught's Royal Hampshire) Anti-Tank Regiment, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division Signal Regiment, List of British divisions in World War II, British Army Order of Battle (September 1939). I was in the 43rd Wessex Infantry Reconnaissance Corps. Next morning 43rd Recce and the Sherwood Foresters were ready to continue the pursuit of the broken enemy, who were soon caught in the Falaise pocket. At 17.30 the brigade broke through, and 1st Worcesters riding on the tanks got beyond Cahagnes by nightfall. The first elements moved up to Brussels to protect headquarters and carry out engineering works, then the division concentrated at Diest to take part in Operation Market Garden, beginning on 17 September. If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here. [129][130][131], After a period as occupation forces in XXX Corps' district, 43rd (Wessex) Division's HQ and TA units were demobilised at the war's end. 5th DCLI, supported by a squadron of 4th/7th DG, was ordered to make a dash over the last 10 miles (16 km) to get in touch with the Polish Parachute Brigade at Driel on the south bank of the Nederrijn. Throughout most of its existence the regiment was part of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. It formed part of the mobile GHQ Reserve disposed on the line from Northampton through North London to Aldershot, from which brigade groups could be despatched to any threatened area. Initial casualties were heavy, particularly from mines, and the advance achieved only 1,000 yards (910 m) on the first day. [142][c] The district headquarters itself formed the core of the structure for the creation of South West District under HQ UK Land Forces in 1972. [8] [12] A complete squadron was transferred to 43 Recce from the replacement unit, 161st Reconnaissance Regiment. But many of the tanks and most of the supply vehicles got bogged down while 1st Worcesters were threading their way through Gilrath to form up for the second phase towards Tripsrath. It took until the following morning to clear the mines and restart the advance with 214th Brigade and the tanks of 4th/7th Dragoon Guards. Colonial and Dominion Armies: Infantry Divisions on 3 September 1939 at World War II Armed Forces. 80–177 Rgts RE at British Army 1945 on. The division was created in 1908, originally as the Wessex Division, as part of the Territorial Force. One wood captured and grimly held first by 4th Dorsets and then 5th Dorsets for seven days became known as 'Dorset Wood'. [47][48][49][50], The massive barrage stunned but failed to suppress the defenders from 10th SS Panzer Division. 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment is similar to these military units: 3rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Reconnaissance Regiment, 142nd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps and more. [1] One of the divisions was the Wessex Division. 43rd (Wessex) Division memorial on Hill 112, 43rd (Wessex) Division memorial at Castle Hill, Mere, 43rd Division memorial at the summit of Rough Tor, Bodmin Moor, Liberation memorial at Lochem, Netherlands, Roughly the central and western parts of the. The Regimental War Diary records that 'Great gallantry was displayed by all troops in the two aft holds' and lists 183 men of the regiment lost and about 120 others evacuated wounded. 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. The advance began on 30 March: German rearguards were either overcome or bypassed, and the Twente Canal was crossed, with troops of 129th Infantry Bde and 8th Armoured Bde liberating Lochem on 1–2 April. The traffic jam of bogged vehicles disrupted the attacks by 5th Dorsets and 5th DCLI, but they got into Bauchem and Hocheide respectively, and patrols reached Geilenkirchen itself, which was surrounded. On the left, 4th Somerset LI got across in the storm boats relatively easily, but found that their bridgehead was on an island, and they were still cut off from the east bank, apart from a few men who scrambled over the wreckage of the railway bridge. The Roll of Honour is in the War Memorial Chapel in Salisbury Cathedral.[159]. [83][84][85][86][87], 15th (Kent) GHQTRE was tasked with manning the DUKWs during the initial assault and then operating rafts until the first bridge could be laid. Formerly part of 43 Wessex Brigade 43 Wessex Signal Regiment was a Territorial Army TA unit of the British Army s Royal Corps of Signals from 1920. [21][119][120][121], The 43rd later played a large part in Operation Veritable attached to First Canadian Army, through the month-long fighting in the Reichswald to capture Kleve, roll up the Siegfried Line defences, cross the Goch escarpment and seize Xanten on the Rhine. By the end of the war only one battalion and five batteries remained in India, and most of these then participated in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. [16][17][18], The TA was mobilised on the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the division began training in its home area. The opportunity came the following morning, but as soon as B squadron moved out up the steep hill with the infantry of 5th Bn Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI), a patrol of Hawker Typhoons, 'seeing the armoured cars and the infantry intermingled saw fit to intervene'. [8] In the months before the Normandy Landings the regiment was based at Eastbourne on the South Coast of England and trained in the area. Most of 43rd Recce Rgts's vehicles were landed from the beached fore part of the "Derrycunihy", and reinforcements were sent from England, but the regiment was not fully up to strength until the end of July 1944. By the end of an hour only one boat remained. [21][55][56], After a short rest 43rd (Wessex) Division moved to XXX Corps to launch an attack towards the dominating height of Mont Pinçon as part of Operation Bluecoat. During the period when invasion was most threatened, the division was stationed just north of London. For this operation it was assisted by the bridging specialists of 15th (Kent) GHQ Troops Royal Engineers, a medium artillery regiment and the Cromwell tanks of 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars, the armoured reconnaissance regiment of 11th Armoured Division. 'Thus, boldly handled, the Reconnaissance Regiment in its first battle had gained information vital to the success of Major-General Thomas's plan,' the divisional historian wrote. It was replaced first by 25th and later 34th Army Tank Brigade as part of an experiment with 'Mixed Divisions'. First formed as the Wessex Division in the Territorial Force in 1908, the division was broken up during World War I and never served as a complete formation. HQ Squadron included a troop of eight 6-pounder anti-tank guns and a troop of six 3-inch mortars. On the right, 5th Wiltshires began crossing in eight storm boats manned by 15th (Kent) GHQTRE, but they grounded before reaching the far side, and were raked by machine gun fire. 45th (2nd Wessex) Division at Long, Long Trail. In the Arctic Barents Sea most of the ships in PQ-17 , a British supply convoy to the Soviet Union, were sunk by Luftwaffe planes and U-boats (one of the Allies worst Naval … Royal Wessex Yeomanry RWxY is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) (43 Recce) was a regiment of the British Army's Reconnaissance Corps during World War II. [21], In March 1942, the division also gained a new General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the form of Major-General Ivor Thomas. The recce squadrons each had three scout troops equipped with Humber Armoured Cars,[6] Humber Light Reconnaissance Cars[7] and Bren carriers, and an assault troop of riflemen in M3 Half-tracks. 48th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (from 20 November 1941, redesignated 43rd Battalion 1 January 1942, later 43rd Regiment 6 June 1942, finally 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps 1 January 1944) The 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) (43 Recce) was a regiment of the British Army's Reconnaissance Corps, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps, during World War II. "badge, formation, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division". In 1961 the division became a district headquarters as 43rd (Wessex) Division/District, and it was disbanded on the reduction of the TA into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve on 1 April 1967, when many individual TA units lost their identities. Hostilities ended on 5 May after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath. 372–413 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on. They also had storm boats in reserve but these had to be used in the first wave because launching points for DUKWs were hard to find. [3][4] On 6 June 1942 all reconnaissance battalions were redesignated regiments, and on 1 January 1944 the Reconnaissance Corps became part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Record of a reconnaissance regiment : a history of the 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment), 1939-1945 Bristol : White Swan Press, 1950 252 p. 389–322 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on. 179th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. The village proved to be still occupied by the enemy in strength, and a brisk action took place, the armoured cars and the DCLI carrier platoon being engaged by machine-guns, a Panzer IV and two Panther tanks. Christopherson, Stanley (James Holland, ed. The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own). HQ Sqn included a troop of eight 6-pounder anti-tank guns and a troop of six 3-inch mortars. [20], Over the next few days 43 Division's infantry were engaged in bitter fighting from Ondefontaine up onto the dominating height of Mont Pincon. The Worcesters got over the broken bridge, and light rafts began to get 6-pounder anti-tank guns and armoured cars of the recce regiment across, but work on the bridge was halted by heavy fire until 5th DCLI and 7th Somerset LI from newly-arrived 214th Brigade struggled across the broken road bridge into Vernonnet. [21][22][23] 43 Recce's next action came on 10 August, in the pursuit towards the River Orne and Falaise. From Celle we made our way to Belsen. [30] The divisional historian records that 'While the Division faced the monotony inseparable from static defence, the Reconnaissance Regiment fought a different type of war'. [88][89][96][97][98] After the Seine crossing, 43rd (Wessex) Division was 'grounded' while the rest of XXX Corps raced across northern France and Belgium. [47][48][52][53][54], Overall, 43rd (Wessex) Division performed well in Normandy and was considered by many senior British officers to be one of the best divisions of the British Army during the war. 64 relations. In the dark 260th Field Company managed to bulldoze a slipway for the DUKWs, speeding up the crossing, and 129th Brigade got about a battalion and a half across in total, setting up a perimeter along the escarpment above the bridging site. After passing the crest, two troops turned left along the road through the woods to Ondefontaine. About 16.00 the battalion pioneers managed to bridge the stream and a Troop of B Sqn crossed, but withdrew to 'harbour' at dusk. 5th Battalion, 43rd Infantry Division (Wessex) The 5th Battalion Wiltshire Regiment is our Primary Impression for all events that take place from June 1944 to the end of the War in 1945 within the European Theater of Operations. [17], 43 Recce was not fully up to strength until the end of July 1944. On the far side they finally came upon the enemy digging in tanks. With formations that had spent years in the United Kingdom training such as the 43rd (Wessex), 15th (Scottish), 11th Armoured and 59th (Staffordshire) Divisions the problem of morale was less of an issue. 8th Armoured Brigade was assigned to support the infantry. After extremely hard fighting we were right in Germany. Hello all, I have a long term research project looking at the history of the 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment in WW2. They were follow-up formations, with 43rd (Wessex) Division scheduled to complete its landings 14 days after D Day (D +14, 20 June). 4th Wiltshires found a bridge blown and went ahead without their tanks towards the strongly-held village of St Jean-le-Blanc, breaking up a counter-attack by calling down artillery fire. [5], By D-Day recce regiments were organised into a headquarters squadron and three reconnaissance squadrons. Artillery – 94th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – 112th Field Regiment… [21][126][127][128] During the subsequent pursuit, 43rd (Wessex) Division was given the task of opening 'Club Route' for XXX Corps. Welcome to the website of the 43rd Recce Living History Group. High seas and enemy shelling prevented unloading for three days and it was decided to move T72 to Juno Beach for disembarkation. A firefight and mortaring went on all night. 214th Brigade would remain with the 43rd Division for the rest of the war. The group arrived at Vernon on the afternoon of 25 August, ready to begin the assault that evening against the defenders from 49th German Infantry Division. It was later noted that its habitual training area round Stone Street, Kent, bore a marked resemblance to the Bocage countryside in Normandy where it would later fight. The 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) (43 Recce) was a regiment of the British Army's Reconnaissance Corps, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps, during World War II. [114] 43rd Wessex continued to hold the western part of the Island. By mid-morning 129th Brigade only had a slender toehold on the edge of the plateau. 112th (Wessex) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. It fought in North West Europe with the 21st Army Group in … Planning was under way to renew the offensive when the Germans attacked in the Ardennes (the Battle of the Bulge) on 16 December. Further north, 5th Dorsets beat off 116th Panzer Division and 7th Hampshires had to dislodge enemy troops who fortified themselves in some brick kilns, with the help of RAF Typhoons. He may have taken part in the 1st Air Landing's specialist training (cadres) and demonstrations before briefly meeting up with Chotie on 11 th July and leaving to join the 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment at Dover in Kent on 13 th July. However, on the night of 26/27 September a furious firefight broke out when the Germans crossed the river in strength and attempted to emplace anti-tank guns in 43rd Recce's hidden positions. The 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) (43 Recce) was a regiment of the British Army's Reconnaissance Corps, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps, during World War II. After extremely hard fighting we were right in Germany. It had under command the Hampshire Brigade, the South Western Brigade and the Devon and Cornwall Brigade, along with numerous other support units of the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and the Royal Army Medical Corps. Our Constitution states that the aims of the Group are to :-a) Further the interest of its members in the history of the 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment, the 43rd Wessex Division and the Reconnaissance … All the brigade reconnaissance groups of each infantry corps were formed into reconnaissance battalions, each usually bearing the number of its relevant division.For example, the 43rd Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (based on the 5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment) was the divisional reconnaissance battalion of the 43rd (Wessex) Division. Between 10 and 13 August the division concentrated on Salisbury Plain and began war training. 43 Recce Regiment War Diary, September–December 1944, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 171/492. The division was now facing east, with Mont Pinçon only 4 miles (6.4 km) away. 130th Brigade led, reinforced by 4th Somerset Light Infantry and Sherman tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, followed by 214th Brigade and then 129th Brigade. [11][12][13][14], In the days following the sinking, the survivors were formed into a composite squadron and most of 43 Recce's vehicles were landed from the beached fore part of the "Derrycunihy". Editors Note: The unit was called 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (formerly 5th battalion the Gloucester Regiment TA). 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment was formed from 48th Recce Battalion in October 1941. [145], The following officers commanded the division at various times:[4][6][17][157], The banner of the kings of Wessex bore a golden Wyvern, a dragon with two eagle-like legs and the barbed tail of a snake. [21][22][23][24], By the end of 1940 the division was stationed under XII Corps in East Kent, where it remained for the next four years, first in defensive mode, later training intensively. HQ,A and C Squadrons sailed on the Derrycunnihy. It never saw any combat and was broken up to form the 44th Armoured Division in February 1943. For example, the 43rd Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (based on the 5th Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment) was the divisional reconnaissance battalion of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. Buy 43rd Wessex Reconnaissance Regiment by Russell Jesse (ISBN: 9785514221806) from Amazon's Book Store. By mid-afternoon all the anti-tank guns on the hill had been knocked out, the tanks had to retire to the reverse slope, and the defence was almost over. Throughout most of its existence the regiment was part of the 43rd Infantry Division; the regiment was formed on 14 October 1941 by the … First formed as the Wessex Division in the Territorial Force in 1908, the division was broken up during World War I and never served as a complete formation. [a] In peacetime, the divisional headquarters was at 19 Cathedral Close in Exeter. [88][89][90][91][92], The Wessex field companies now began work under fire on a Class 9 (9 tonne maximum load) Folding Boat Equipment (FBE) bridge while the infantry fought to expand the bridgehead and clear Vernonnet. But 129th Brigade was slowed in its advance on Hill 112 itself, suffering heavy casualties on the open slopes, and then running into the recently-arrived Tiger I tanks of 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, which the Churchills and corps anti-tank guns of 86th (Devon) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, struggled to deal with. [17] Throughout the North West Europe Campaign the 43rd (Wessex) Division, like so many other Allied divisions that fought from Normandy to Germany, had suffered very heavy casualties with the majority of them, 80% in some units, being suffered by the average Tommy in the infantry battalions. The regiment was formed (as 48th Reconnaissance Battalion) on 14 October 1941 by the redesignation of 5th Bn Gloucestershire Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion that had acted as the divisional recce battalion for 48th (South Midland) Division since July 1941. Finally, Sir Richard Onslow (formerly of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry) presented Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor to the National Trust as a memorial. The 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment was a regiment of the British Army's Reconnaissance Corps, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps, during World War II. Starting from St Jean le Blanc, the armoured cars and half-tracks probed south, seizing bridges, lifting mines, driving through strongly-held villages firing their Besa machine guns, clashing with German self-propelled guns and taking prisoners. https://britishfriendsofnormandy.org.uk/.../43rd-wessex-division US troops had already reached the west bank of the Seine, so the convoys of assault troops and bridging material moving eastwards had to be carefully coordinated to cross with US convoys repositioning to the south. 48th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (from 20 November 1941, redesignated 43rd Battalion 1 January 1942, later 43rd Regiment 6 June 1942, finally 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps 1 January 1944) [139][b] However, the TA saw large numbers of amalgamations from 1950 onwards. On 5 October 43rd (Wessex) handed most of its positions over to the US 101st Airborne Division, leaving the anti-tank and mortar platoons and 5th DCLI, the divisional reserve, to help out. Our Constitution states that the aims of the Group are to :-a) Further the interest of its members in the history of the 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment, the 43rd Wessex Division and the Reconnaissance Corps in general This defence was followed by a final set-piece attack, Operation Express, in which 4th and 5th Wiltshires and 7th RTR succeeded in capturing Maltot on 22 July. By now 1st Airborne had been effectively destroyed, and the only course now was to evacuate the survivors. 59th (Duke of Connaught’s – Hampshire) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. This was mainly due to issues of morale because veteran formations such as the 7th Armoured and 51st (Highland), both of which had seen extensive service in North Africa and Italy (and fought poorly in Normandy, according to senior officers), were judged as tired and war-weary with morale being almost dangerously fragile. Eventualaj ŝanĝoj en la angla originalo estos kaptitaj per regulaj retradukoj. Royal Wessex Yeomanry RWxY is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. It had its origins in a Volunteer Royal Field Artillery and 57th Wessex Heavy Anti - Aircraft Regiment … He would command the 43rd Division until September 1945. 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