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the tanks of the 7th Armoured Division, after eight months of fighting, needed a complete overhaul and the division was withdrawn to
42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) on 25 November 1943. The 10th Armoured Brigade did not see active service as a unit and was broken up in late 1943. In the early days of the Second World War the support group (or Pivot Group as it was sometimes known) was what its name suggested. It provided whatever support the armoured brigades needed to the operation in hand, being able to provide motorised infantry, field artillery, anti-tank artillery or light anti-aircraft artillery as needed. 42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) The 42nd Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army raised during the Second World War.