7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Italian forces at Beda Fomm, while Australian forces pushed the Italians west. On 7 February, as the tanks were unable to travel fast enough, the manoeuvre was led by an "ad hoc" brigade of armoured cars, towed artillery and infantry, which completed the trip in 30 hours, that cut off the Italian retreat and destroyed the Italian Tenth Army. Lieutenant Colonel John Combe led this "ad hoc" group, which was known as "Combe Force" after him. After this, the tanks of the 7th Armoured Division, after eight months of fighting, needed a complete overhaul and the division was withdrawn to
6th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Armoured Brigade ("from 9 November 1940") 6th Support Group ("from 1 November 1940, disbanded 1 June 1942") 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade ("from 9 June 1942, left 16 February 1943") 1st Guards Brigade ("from 24 March 1943, left 29 May 1944") 61st Infantry Brigade ("from 29 May 1944") Divisional Troops The following brigades were, at various points in time, attached to the 6th Armoured Division. 6th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War. The unit was initially supplied with Matilda and Valentine tanks,