7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's U.S. Fifth Army's British X Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery, and supported by the British 46th Infantry Division, it drove on and took Naples. The Desert Rats, used to fighting in the desert, had to adjust to the confined Italian roads. The division crossed the river Volturno in southern Italy, constructing a pontoon bridge. This paved the way for many divisions heading north. The 7th Armoured Division was then withdrawn from the front line and held in reserve. On the wishes of the British Eighth Army commander, General Sir Bernard Montgomery, the 7th Armoured
42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) 42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) The 42nd Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army raised during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 by converting the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division. The 42nd Division was a 1st Line Territorial Army (TA) infantry formation that saw service in the Battle of France and was evacuated at Dunkirk in June 1940. The division was converted on 1 November 1941 into an armoured division. The division's first commander was Major-General Miles C. Dempsey. However, the division was not posted overseas and its divisional headquarters was disbanded