7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) had fallen foul of his superiors. The division was meant to be equipped with 220 tanks. However, at the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, the 'Mobile Force' only had 65. Most of the unit's troops had already been deployed for two years by 1940 and it took as long as three months for mail to arrive. On 16 February 1940, the Mobile Division, which had changed names during the middle of 1939 to be called the Armoured Division, became the 7th Armoured Division. After the Italian declaration of war, the Western Desert Force, under the command
2nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) for service in the Middle East. It exchanged the 22nd Armoured Brigade for the experienced 3rd Armoured Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division and then the brigades exchanged regiments so that each had a mixture of cruisers and light tanks. The Armoured Brigade headquarters and the division headquarters each had three light tanks Mk VI and seven cruiser tanks (mainly A 10s). In October 1940, the division sailed for the Middle East, arriving in the new year. Two months later, the Hussars converted to a three-battery anti-tank regiment, with one LAA battery re-equipping with 2-pounder anti-tank guns and 'A' Battery,