World War II Leeds Rifles

1 world war ii

1.1 45th rtr
1.2 51st rtr
1.3 66th haa regiment

world war ii

66th (leeds rifles) aa regiment (as aa brigades termed) mobilised part of 31st aa group (now brigade), in process of transferring new 7th anti-aircraft division forming defend north east england. 45th (leeds rifles) rtr formed part of 24th army tank brigade (later 24th armoured brigade), 2nd line territorial formation in northern command, in served alongside oldham ta regiments, 41 rtr , duplicate, 47 rtr. similarly, duplicate leeds battalion, 51 rtr, in 25th army tank brigade, in northern command, alongside newcastle ta regiment, 43 rtr, , duplicate 49 rtr.

45th rtr

on outbreak of war 45 rtr commanded lieutenant colonel noel tetley. there no armoured fighting vehicles available ta regiments, , few possessed 45 rtr deployed airfield defence in north east england during battle of britain. later in year, 24th army tank brigade redesignated 24th armoured brigade , became part of new 8th armoured division. during 1941 regiment moved south of england continue training. in december 1941 lt-col tetley promoted out of regiment command tank brigade, , replaced lt-col s.c. dumbreck of royal dragoons.

in may 1942, 45 rtr embarked @ liverpool middle east, sailing round cape , reaching egypt in july. there crews began training on grant tanks, september equipped mix of sherman tanks (codenamed swallows ) , crusaders (but apparently not full establishment). 8th armoured division not yet complete, 24th armoured bde attached 10th armoured division forthcoming second battle of el alamein.

45 rtr went action alongside 41 , 47 rtr on second day of battle (d+1, 24 october), 10th armoured pushed towards miteira. tanks engaged enemy anti-tank guns , entrenched infantry before withdrawing @ dusk. next day (d+2) 45 rtr moved battle positions, supporting 41 , 47 rtr gunfire. enemy anti-tank guns dug in , had engaged observing flashes. 1 german infantry post overrun troop of tanks firing machine-guns trenches. regiment withdrew again @ dusk, leaving 1 defence squadron on ridge. on d+3 there confused fighting ahead of regiment. during d+4, 45 rtr remained on ridge day, covering 41 , 47 rtr advanced through gaps in minefields. on night of 27/28 october, co ordered advance @ first light on d+5 support infantry brigade, regiment had 20 tanks, 41 rtr ordered make numbers. crusader squadron had gone few hundred yards when came upon infantry digging in, , stopped. dumbreck had been told infantry supporting had reached objective, 1 of sherman squadrons pushed on towards ridge se of feature known snipe , supported other, engaged german tanks coming snipe. emerged infantry had not achieved obective, , 45 rtr withdrew under shellfire. during unsatisfactory action, regiment lost 10 tanks , suffered 11 men killed or died of wounds, 10 missing believed dead, , 34 wounded, mines , shellfire. @ end of day, 45 rtr handed remaining tanks on other regiments , withdrawn reserve.

after battle, 45th (leeds rifles) rtr sent message of congratulations lord mayor of leeds, regiment had fought battle. on succeeding months 24 armoured bde s officers , men progressively posted away other units. however, planned dispersal of 45 rtr cancelled, , took in remaining details of 41 , 47 rtr , became holding unit. in role received large drafts of replacements united kingdom before posted other regiments. nevertheless, on 8 march 1943, 45 rtr disbanded , replaced royal armoured corps holding unit.

51st rtr


51 rtr churchill tank crews in italy, 17 may 1944

at end of may 1940, british expeditionary force being evacuated dunkirk , imminent threat of german invasion of england, 25th army tank brigade redesignated 2nd motor machine gun brigade , regiments reorganised accordingly. each of 51 rtr s 3 mmg squadrons consisted of 3 troops, each 6 humber snipe or hillman utility ( tilly ) two-seat cars, 2 carrying vickers medium machine guns, 2 bren light machine guns , 2 boys anti-tank rifles. in july 1940, volunteers units of 25th army tank brigade formed no 5 troop of no. 5 commando @ bridlington. in august, 51 rtr , rest of brigade moved northumberland guard coastline machine gun posts along cliffs , sand dunes.

the 25th army tank brigade reconstituted @ end of 1940, , regiments began receive trickle of tanks on train. end of 1942, 51 rtr trained , equipped churchill tanks. in january 1943, regiment embarked 25th tank brigade north africa, came under command of british first army in tunisia campaign.

on 7–8 april 51 rtr supported ix corps @ fondouk pass. 128th brigade of 46th infantry division crossed wadi marguellil during night , @ 5.30 on 8 april began main attack, supported c sqn 51 rtr, , noon on objective. regiment ended campaign in army reserve.

25 tank brigade came under command of brigadier noel tetley of leeds rifles @ end of tunisia campaign. brigade, including 51 rtr, remained training in algeria year, before required italian campaign. 51 rtr embarked on 16 april 1944 , landed @ naples, equipped churchill tanks, few shermans , stuarts.

the brigade distinguished in support of 1st canadian infantry division in assault on adolf hitler line in may 1944. @ request of canadians, regiments adopted maple leaf additional badge, later worn 51 rtr s successors, leeds detachment (leeds rifles), imphal (pwo) company, east , west riding regiment. brigadier tetley, formerly of leeds rifles himself, territorial army rtr officer command brigade on active service. 51 rtr went on fight in gothic line battles of august–september 1944.

to deal successive enemy lines of defences anticipated in later stages of campaign, decided late in 1944 convert 25th tank brigade 25th assault engineer brigade, equipped specialised armour ( funnies . organised on 5 january 1945, royal engineers formation, 51 rtr remained in brigade , converted specialised armour. b squadron received 15 crab mark ii flail tanks, while , c sqns had total of 32 churchill crocodile flamethrowing tanks. each squadron in brigade self-administering, detached required.

the 25th armoured assault brigade first went action @ crossing of senio on 9 april 1945. 51 rtr attached 2nd new zealand , 8th indian divisions. flamethrowing tanks crept forward during preliminary bombardment , positioned close floodbank possible. 1 minute before infantry assault started positions flamed. of crocodiles had 60 feet behind bank able direct flame on bank.

66th haa regiment

a 4.5-inch gun of 66th haa regiment @ 1 of main supply airstrips on ledo road, 24 july 1944.

66th (leeds rifles) aa regiment served in 31st aa brigade during phoney war. 197th battery left regiment, , later 296th bty joined 96th aa regiment @ castleford.in summer of 1940, along other aa units equipped older 3-inch , newer 3.7-inch aa guns, 66th designated heavy aa regiment. in september 1940 assigned osdef (orkneys , shetland defence force), guarding great naval base @ scapa flow. in june 1941 returned england, joining 62nd aa bde in 10th anti-aircraft division covering yorkshire. in july 1941 joined newly raised 421 haa bty. in january 1942 moved 34th (south midland) aa bde in 11th anti-aircraft division, covering birmingham , coventry, following month left aa command entirely. in march 1942 assigned war office reserve , prepared go overseas.

in may 1942 regiment (with 184, 185 , 296 haa btys) sent india, served in 1st , 2nd indian aa brigades before moving burma part of 9th aa brigade. during 1943 regiment served in manipur road sector, , in january 1944 detached 296 battery ledo area of assam, start of famous ledo road. during1944 remained in same areas, part of 3rd indian aa brigade. in april 1945 placed in suspended animation , following month waiting return uk.