THE HISTORY OF THE 51st HIGHLAND DIVISION 1939-1945

von J. B. Salmond

334 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was renamed the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and fought during the Second World War as part of the Territorial Army. the 51st was attached to French 10th Army and after a fighting retreat from the Somme the greater part of the division was forced to surrender, having been cut off at St Valery-en-Caux on the Channel coast. In North Africa, the reconstituted Highland Division was nicknamed the "Highway Decorators" in reference to the 'HD' insignia that adorned road signs along their axis of advance.With reformation in 1941 strenuous training for future operations overseas began. By June 1942, the division was ordered to prepare for service overseas.Arriving in North Africa in August 1942, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division experienced its first fighting at the Second Battle of El Alamein (October-November), sustaining some 2,000 casualties. It then played a major part in Operation Lightfoot, where it was in the centre of the Northern Push, between the 9th Australian Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division. It faced the German 21st Panzer Division and some Italian units. Initially unsuccessful during Lightfoot, the minefields it cleared were key in achieving a breakout during Operation Supercharge.Subsequently, the division was involved in many battles of the Tunisian Campaign, including the battle of Wadi Akarit, in early April 1943, and took part in the frontal assault on strongpoints guarded by deep minefields, where it was on the far right of the line. The war in North Africa ended on 13 May 1943 with the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers as prisoners of war. Throughout the fighting in North Africa the division served under the command of the British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery.[35]Later the 51st Division had a rest to absorb replacements for the heavy losses, in both manpower and materiel, suffered in North Africa and began training in amphibious warfare. In July, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, suffering comparatively casualties in the short campaign, which lasted for 38 days. Towards the end of the campaign in early August, the light division was withdrawn from combat and held in reserve for the Allied invasion of Italy. Although the 51st Division as a whole did not take part in the invasion, some of the division's artillery helped support Operation Baytown, the Eighth Army's crossing of the Strait of Messina in Sicily to the Italian "toe" at Reggio Calabria.

• Reihe: No Series Linked
• Themen: Geschichte und Archäologie Geschichte Militärgeschichte
• ISBN: 9781474536660
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 03.10.2022
• Größe: 254 x 178 mm
• Verlag: Naval & Military Press