7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Matruh, Egypt. Over 359 troops were killed and 560 others were wounded. The Western Desert Force later became HQ XIII Corps, one of the major parts of the British Eighth Army which, from August 1942 was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Montgomery. The 7th Armoured Division took part in most of the major battles of the North African Campaign, including both battles of El Alamein (the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, which stopped the Axis advance, and the Second Battle of El Alamein in October/November 1942, which turned the tide of the war in North Africa). The
1st Armoured Division (Australia) in Europe during the early stages of World War II. The Australian War Cabinet approved the formation of an armoured division in July 1940, and 1st Armoured Division was established on 1 July 1941, under the command of Major General John Northcott. The Australian Armoured Corps was established at the same time, with the corps being formally gazetted on 9 July 1941. The Division was established with two armoured brigades, 1st and 2nd, each of three armoured regiments. These were supported by various corps troops including an armoured car regiment, a motor regiment (converted from a light horse formation), engineers,