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 The 7th Armoured Division was then withdrawn from the front line and held in reserve.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
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,