Table of Contents
What was the nickname of the British 8th Army?
Infantry Regiments
| Regiment | Nickname | First Used |
|---|---|---|
| 7th Foot | The Elegant Extracts | 1685 |
| 8th Foot | The Leather Hats | c1780 |
| 9th Foot | The Fighting Ninth | c1808 |
| The Holy Boys | Peninsula |
Who led the British forces in North Africa?
Following the British successes in North Africa, Prime Minister Winston Churchill decided on February 22 to commit British troops to defend Greece against the Axis. Most of those forces came out of Cyrenaica, which left Wavell only five brigades in Libya.
How big was the 8th Army in ww2?
230,000
The Eighth Army’s fighting strength was 230,000, whereas Rommel had fewer than 80,000 infantry, of whom only 27,000 were German. More striking still was a comparison of actual tank strength: when the battle opened, the Eighth Army had a total of 1,440 medium tanks, of which… …
Who led the 8th Army?
Eighth United States Army
| Eighth Army | |
|---|---|
| Current commander | Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson III |
| Notable commanders | Lt. Gen. Robert Eichelberger Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway Lt. Gen. James Van Fleet Lt. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive insignia |
Who commanded the British 8th Army?
The Eighth Army was formed from the Western Desert Force in September 1941 and put under the command of Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham. At its creation, the Eighth Army comprised 7th British Armoured Division and 4th Indian Infantry Division.
Who was known as the Desert Rats?
Desert Rats, byname of the 7th Armoured Division, group of British soldiers who helped defeat the Germans in North Africa during World War II. The Desert Rats, led by Gen. Allen Francis Harding, were especially noted for a hard-fought three-month campaign against the more-experienced German Afrika Korps, led by Gen.
Who was in the 8th Army?
The Eighth Army, formed in September 1941, was a diverse formation made up of units from all corners of the British Empire, with infantry divisions coming from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The original core of the army was based on the Western Desert Force, fighting in the North African campaign.
Where did the British 8th Army fight?
North African
The Eighth Army was a field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Rhodesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Was the 8th Army known as the Desert Rat?
Commonwealth troops became famous as a result of their role in North Africa. The 9th Australian Division’s defence of Tobruk, a port city in Libya, under the command of Major-General Morshead, gave them the ironic nickname the ‘Rats of Tobruk’.
Who is the 8th Army CSM?
Command Sergeant Major, Eighth Army. Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Robert H. Cobb enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 1993. He attended one station unit training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, earning a certification as a light wheel vehicle mechanic.
Who was involved in the Desert War?
| Western Desert Campaign | |
|---|---|
| Archibald Wavell Claude Auchinleck Harold Alexander Richard O’Connor ( POW ) Alan Cunningham Bernard Montgomery | Italo Balbo † Rodolfo Graziani Italo Gariboldi Ettore Bastico Erwin Rommel Georg Stumme † |
| Casualties and losses | |
| North Africa 220,000 35,476 killed | North Africa 620,000 32,342 killed |
What regiments made up the 8th Army?
- The Eighth Army was a field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns.
- Significant formations which passed through the Army included V Corps, X Corps, XIII Corps, XXX Corps, I Canadian Corps and the II Polish Corps.
Who was the commander of the Eighth Army?
The Eighth Army was formed from the Western Desert Force in September 1941 and put under the command of Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham. At its creation, the Eighth Army comprised 7th British Armoured Division and 4th Indian Infantry Division.
What was the British 8th Army in North Africa?
British 8th Army in North Africa Formed in September 1941 from the Western Desert Force, British 8th Army (comprising British, Commonwealth, Free French and Polish troops) went on to wage a lengthy, hard-fought campaign against Axis forces across the deserts of North Africa.
Where did the Eighth Army come from in World War 2?
The Eighth Army was a field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Rhodesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Who was the leader of the Fifth Army?
Fifth Army, now commanded by Lucian K. Truscott, on its left flank, it cut off and destroyed, (during April), large parts of the opposing Army Group C defending Bologna and then made a rapid advance through northeast Italy and into Austria. Problems occurred where British and Yugoslavian forces met.