7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) November 1943, the division left Italy for the United Kingdom; with the last units arriving on 7 January 1944. The division was re-equipped with the new Cromwell cruiser tanks and in April and May received 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies; enough to organise each troop so that they had a complement of three 75 mm gun Cromwell tanks and a 17 pounder gun Firefly. The Desert Rats were the only British armoured division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank. The 7th Armoured Division was one of the three British follow-up divisions of the two British assault corps earmarked
11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Hussars absorb the remainder of the 24th Lancers (of the 8th Armoured Brigade). The 11th Armoured was directed again to the west, to take part in Operation "Bluecoat". Beginning on 30 July 1944 it seized Saint-Martin-des-Besaces. The division spotted an intact bridge on the Souleuvre river, which enabled it to drive the Germans back. In what became the famous "Charge of the Bull", the division liberated Le Bény-Bocage on 1 August and quickly progressed southward. Although severely weakened at that time, the German army remained ever-present and dangerous. From 5 August, The 11th Armoured worked with the Guards Armoured Division