The Guards Support Group was a brigade size formation within the British Guards Armoured Division. The Support Group (or "pivot group") provided whatever support the division's armoured brigades needed for the operation in hand. It was able to provide motorised infantry, field artillery, anti-tank artillery or light anti-aircraft artillery as needed. It was formed in 1941 by the conversion of the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards) which had served in the Battle of France, and disbanded in 1942 (prior to seeing any active service) when it was converted into Headquarters, Royal Artillery, for Guards Armoured Division.[1]
| Guards Support Group | |
|---|---|
 Guards Armoured Division's formation sign | |
| Active | 15 September 1941–1 June 1942 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Armoured Support |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Guards Armoured Division |
Commanders
editThe following officers commanded the support group during its existence:[1]
- 15 September 1941 – 10 October 1941 Brigadier A. de L. Cazenove
- 10 October 1941 – 31 May 1942 Brigadier L. C. Manners-Smith
Order of Battle
edit- 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
- 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – from 10 October 1941
- 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery – from 10 October 1941
- 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery – from 27 January 1942
See also
editFootnotes
editReferences
edit- Boscawen, Robert. Armoured Guardsmen: A War Diary, June 1944 – April 1945. Barnsley, England: Pen & Sword, 2001.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Sanders, J, British Guards Armoured Division 1941-1945, Osprey Vanguard, 1979