8th Support Group

The 8th Support Group was a brigade-sized formation of the British Army created during the Second World War as part of the 8th Armoured Division. It consisted of Regular Army units intended to provide the artillery, anti-tank, light anti-aircraft, and infantry support required by an armoured division operating in mobile warfare. The formation was therefore not a commercial brand or company, but a historical military organization. The group was assembled from late 1940 into early 1941. Its order of battle included the 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery; the 14th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters; the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery; and the 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. Brigadier H. M. Stanford became its commander on 11 November 1940. The constituent units joined at different times, reflecting the process of building and reorganizing British armoured formations during the war. The 8th Support Group accompanied the 8th Armoured Division to North Africa. The division and its support group faced the practical limitations of deploying a complete armoured formation in the theatre. In particular, the division could not be supplied with the lorried infantry brigade needed to operate as a fully balanced formation. As a result, the 8th Support Group did not see active service as a complete formation. Its component units were progressively detached, transferred, or otherwise employed separately in the forward area. After the Second Battle of El Alamein, British planners considered using the surviving elements of the 8th Armoured Division as a self-contained pursuit force. The proposed force would have advanced rapidly into the German-Italian rear, potentially as far as Tobruk. This concept was ultimately abandoned, and available units in the forward area were used instead. The 8th Support Group was finally disbanded in Egypt on 1 January 1943. Its history illustrates the gap that could arise between the planned structure of an armoured division and the formations that could actually be fielded in a specific operational theatre.

The 8th Support Group was a British Army formation of the Second World War associated with the 8th Armoured Division. It was designed on the brigade model used to support an armoured division, combining units with different battlefield functions. These included anti-tank artillery to counter enemy armour, field or horse artillery to provide mobile fire support, light anti-aircraft artillery to protect troops and equipment from air attack, and a lorried infantry battalion to support armoured operations and hold ground. The group was constituted during the expansion and reorganization of the British Army in 1940 and 1941. Brigadier H. M. Stanford took command on 11 November 1940. The 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, joined on 8 November 1940, followed by the 14th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, on 30 November. The 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, joined on 18 December 1940, and the 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, joined on 21 January 1941. The staggered arrival of these units reflects the administrative and operational process of forming the support elements of an armoured division. The 8th Armoured Division, including the 8th Support Group, was sent to North Africa. The group, however, never operated in combat as a complete formation. A major structural problem was the inability to provide the division with a lorried infantry brigade. Without the necessary infantry component, the division could not function in the fully integrated manner originally intended for a self-contained armoured formation. The support group consequently lost its value as a single divisional formation as its component units were detached for other duties. The constituent units left the group at different times. The 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment departed on 12 July 1942, the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, on 17 July, and the 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment on 22 July. These changes occurred before the group’s final dissolution and demonstrate how the formation was progressively dispersed rather than committed as a unified brigade-sized force. Following the Second Battle of El Alamein, British planners considered using the remaining elements of the 8th Armoured Division as a self-contained pursuit force. The concept envisaged a rapid advance into the German-Italian rear, potentially reaching Tobruk. The proposal was shelved, and units already operating in the forward area were employed instead. The 8th Support Group was ultimately disbanded in Egypt on 1 January 1943. It therefore remained a short-lived wartime formation whose operational history was defined more by deployment, reorganization, and dispersal than by independent combat service.

• 1943

  Disbanded in Egypt

  [1]8th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 8th Support Group was formally disbanded in Egypt on 1 January.

• 1942

  Component units leave the formation

  [1]8th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment, the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, and the 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment left the group in July as its units were employed separately.

• 1941

  Order of battle completed

  [1]8th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, joined on 21 January, completing the principal wartime order of battle described for the group.

• 1940

  Formation of the support group

  [1]8th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 8th Support Group was established as part of the 8th Armoured Division during the British Army’s wartime expansion and reorganization.

• 1940

  H. M. Stanford assumes command

  [1]8th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Brigadier H. M. Stanford became commander of the formation on 11 November.

A wartime British armoured-division support formation rather than a consumer or corporate brand.

• 1942North African deployment

  North Africa

  The 8th Support Group deployed to North Africa with the 8th Armoured Division. It did not enter active service as a complete formation because the division lacked the required lorried infantry brigade and its constituent units were used separately.

  Outcome. The group was progressively dispersed, and its remaining structure was later disbanded in Egypt.

  Source

• 1942

  Proposal for a self-contained pursuit forceStrategy

  Background

  After the Second Battle of El Alamein, planners considered using the surviving elements of the 8th Armoured Division for a rapid advance into the German-Italian rear, potentially as far as Tobruk.

  Action taken

  The proposal was shelved, and units already operating in the forward area were used instead.

  Aftermath

  The 8th Support Group did not return to service as a complete formation and was disbanded in Egypt on 1 January 1943.

  Source

1. 18th Support Groupen.wikipedia.org