7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) 7th Armoured Division, now consisting of the 22nd Armoured and 131st Infantry Brigades and commanded by Major General John Harding, fought in many major battles of the Tunisian Campaign, taking part in the Battle of El Agheila in December. By January 1943 the Eighth Army had reached Tripoli where a victory parade was held, with the 7th Armoured Division taking part. Among the witnesses was Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, and General Sir Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). The division, now commanded by Major General George Erskine after Harding was severely injured in January,
2/7th Armoured Regiment (Australia) with M3 Grant tanks and following this, in August, the 2/7th Regiment moved to Edgeroi, New South Wales, where they participated in large-scale armoured exercises. In October and November 'A' Squadron was re-equipped with M3 Stuart light tanks. During January to March 1943 the 2/7th Armoured Regiment moved to Mingenew, Western Australia, with the rest of the 1st Armoured Division to undertake garrison duties. The changing strategic outlook that following the Allied victories around Buna and on Guadalcanal, coupled with the manpower shortages in the Australian Army and the wider economy at this time led to the disbandment of 1st