7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)

The 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) was an armoured division of the British Army. It was formed as the Mobile Division (Egypt) on 27 September 1938, after increased tensions between Britain and the Axis powers. This was part of an effort to reinforce and maintain the British strategic presence in Egypt to defend the Suez Canal, which was seen as vital to the British Empire's interests. In February 1940, the formation was renamed as the 7th Armoured Division. During its early years, the jerboa was adopted as the mascot and divisional insignia giving rise to the nickname Desert Rats.

The division fought in most of the major battles of the Western Desert campaign, was then engaged in the Tunisian campaign, and this was followed by the participation in the Italian campaign. It was then withdrawn from Italy and dispatched to the United Kingdom, to prepare for Operation Overlord. In June 1944, it landed in France and subsequently fought across western Europe and ended the war in Kiel and Hamburg, Germany. After the war it formed part of the British Army of the Rhine until it was disbanded in the 1950s. The division's history and insignia was carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade, until the brigade was disbanded in 2014, and is now maintained by the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.

The Suez Canal, located in Egypt, was seen as a vital throughway of the British Empire linking Britain with its colonial possessions in the east, especially British India. In addition, it held economic and prestigious importance. To maintain this, Egypt was occupied in 1882 and a protectorate was subsequently established. During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire came into conflict with the Entente, and the British presence in Egypt was reinforced. Following the conclusion of hostilities and the British victory in the Middle Eastern theatre, Britain intended to maintain a garrison to protect the canal. However, military commitments had to be balanced with economic and geopolitical conditions. From a peak of 400,000 men in 1919, the garrison was reduced to 20,000 by 1921 and included the Cairo Cavalry Brigade.

During the inter-war period, the Middle East and the canal gained further importance as oil production expanded, in addition to the development of aerial links between Britain and British India. In 1935, British policy shifted to view Italy as the principal threat towards British interests in the Middle East, following the Italian military build-up and invasion of Ethiopia. This crisis prompted the deployment an ad hoc formation called the Mobile Force, based around the Cairo Cavalry Brigade, to Mersa Matruh in the Western Desert, 170 mi (270 km) west of Alexandria. Due to rain and sandstorms, vehicles became stuck or were stricken by mechanical issues resulting in the moniker "Mobile Farce" being applied. The crisis also saw the UK and Egypt negotiate the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which stated that the majority of the British military were to be confined to the canal zone except in emergencies. In the case of the latter, troops could be deployed across Egypt. This saw the increased importance of Mersa Matruh, as it became the location from which the defense of Egypt would be conducted if Italy attacked. A joint declaration on 2 January 1937, by Italy and Britain, to maintain the status quo around the Mediterranean, momentarily eased the situation between both countries. However, tensions quickly mounted and in early 1938 the garrison in Egypt was authorised to be brought up from its peace time to its wartime establishment. It was envisioned that behind the Mersa Matruh position, a force of one mobile and two infantry divisions could be assembled in the event of war. During the same year, the political situation in Europe escalated as Germany annexed Austria and then focused its attention on the German-dominated territory within Czechoslovakia. As Italy was closely aligned with Germany, British forces moved to Mersa Matruh and authorization was provided to form a mobile division in Egypt.

In September 1938, due to the tensions between Britain and the Axis powers and a concern that Italy could invade Egypt, the Cairo Cavalry Brigade was ordered to Mersa Matruh. The brigade consisted of the 7th Hussars equipped with light tanks, the 8th Hussars outfitted with trucks with the intent to be motorised cavalry, and the 11th Hussars with armoured cars. Once there, the brigade was reinforced by the 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps, as well as artillery, engineers, medical, and logistical units and became known as the Mobile Force. The assortment of different models of light tanks that the force had, lacked spare parts and the tank tracks had reached the end of their potential mileage capacity. For example, the 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps, had 63 light tanks but were quickly reduced to nine serviceable models. However, the historian Kenneth Macksey, a member of the Royal Armoured Corps during the Second World War, contended that it "might well have prevailed had the Italians" invaded Egypt, due to the armoured cars being in good working order and the Italian opposition consisting largely of tankettes. When tensions subsided, due to the Munich Agreement on 30 September, the force moved to Cairo where it was joined by is first infantry unit, the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1st KRRC).

In the meantime, on 27 September, Major-General Percy Hobart was reassigned from being the Director of Military Training and ordered to Egypt to form an armoured formation. He joined the Mobile Force after its arrival in Cairo in October, and it was used as the nucleus of the new division. Theoretical and organisational work took place over the following months, before the first desert exercises were conducted in March 1939. Field training was limited by vehicle shortages and tanks restricted on how many miles they could traverse due to the same issues that the Mobile Force had encountered six months prior. With desert training concluded, the formation returned to Cairo where indoor exercises were held over the summer, while the higher ranks examined and refined the division's administration and logistical issues and explored desert warfare principles.

During 1939, the Mobile Division (Egypt) was renamed as the Armoured Division (Egypt), while the Cairo Cavalry Brigade became the Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt). The 7th Hussars were re-equipped with the Light Tank Mk VI, and handed over their old tanks to the 8th Hussars. Additional armoured cars were delivered to the 11th Hussars, while the divisional artillery was provided with modern 25-pounder gun-howitzers. The 1st Battalion (Mk VI light tanks) and the 6th Battalion (light tanks and obsolete Vickers Medium Mark II), Royal Tank Corps, were assigned to the division's newly formed Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) (later the 4th Armoured Brigade), and started to receive modern Cruiser Mk I tanks in October 1939 to replace the medium tanks.

When tensions in Europe reached a boiling point, in late August and just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September, the division was again deployed into the Western Desert. In December, with Italy having not joined the war, the formation returned to Cairo to resume training. The training conducted over the course of the year earned Hobart, and the division, the praise of his immediate superior, Major-General Richard O'Connor (commander, Western Desert Force), who stated it was the best trained formation he had ever seen. Similar plaudits came from Lieutenant-General Henry Maitland Wilson (Commander-in-Chief British Troops in Egypt), O'Connor's superior. An exercise in October, however, resulted in a public reprimand for Hobart due to errors made. In November, Hobart was dismissed by General Archibald Wavell (Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and who oversaw Wilson) and ordered back to the UK. Hobart's biography suggested that the dismissal was the result of long held animosities between Hobart and the upper echelons of the British Army; and noted that while Wavell may not have held direct issues with Hobart, he would have been motivated to ensure that there was good working relationship between the various commanders that he oversaw.