78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

WW2 British Army formation

The 78th Infantry Division, also known as the Battleaxe Division, was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during the Second World War that fought, with great distinction, in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy from late 1942–1945.

Following the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa became the primary focus of British military operations during the Second World War. Between 1940 and 1942, British Commonwealth forces fought a back and forth campaign with Italian and German troops across Italian Libya. Under the command of General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel, the Italian German force gained the upper hand during the Battle of Gazala and inflicted a major defeat upon the British Eighth Army. The battle resulted in the fall of the port of Tobruk, a calamity second only to the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The Eighth Army retreated from its gains in Libya over the Frontier Wire into Egypt, where several battles were fought that culminated in the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November). On 7 December 1941, the Empire of Japan entered the war by attacking the British colony of Malaya and the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. Four days later, Germany declared war on the United States, bringing the Americans into the European conflict. The United States military favoured Operation Sledgehammer, a cross channel invasion of German occupied France. Such a move was opposed by the British, who acknowledged the military weakness of the Allies to undertake such an endeavour, especially as the British Army would have to provide the main force for such an operation. In July 1942, the Anglo Americans met in London and agreed that Operation Roundup, Sledgehammer's successor, would be postponed and joint operations would begin in North Africa. During 1941, planning took place for a proposed British landing in French North Africa. This operation, codenamed Gymnast, aimed to support a successful Operation Crusader offensive in Cyrenacia by drawing off Axis reinforcements, then in conjunction with the Eighth Army would defeat the Axis forces in North Africa. Following the American entry into the war, the United States Army developed the British plan into "Super Gymnast". This plan assumed that the Vichy French garrison would invite the Allied force to land and then rejoin the Allies. The combined force would then defeat the Axis forces in North Africa, but lack of shipping, setbacks for the Eighth Army, and a lack of co operation from the French in North Africa, led to planning being suspended on 12 March. During the Anglo American meeting in London, in July 1942, Operation Gymnast was revived. The revised plan, known as Operation Torch, sought to clear Africa of Axis forces and release Allied shipping, relieve pressure on the Soviet Union, and allow American ground forces to engage the Germans.

On 25 May 1942, the 78th Infantry Division was formed in Scotland specifically as an assault formation for Operation Torch. The division's first General Officer Commanding (GOC) was Major General Vyvyan Evelegh, and the division comprised the 1st Infantry Brigade (Guards) and the 11th and 36th Infantry Brigades, along with supporting units. At its formation, the war establishment (the on paper strength) of an infantry division was 17,298 men. The divisional insignia, representing a battle axe as used by a crusader, was selected by Evelegh. A variant of the insignia featured the battle axe on a circular background. All versions displayed the blade facing to the left. In February 1943 the 1st Infantry Brigade (Guards) was exchanged for the 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade of the 6th Armoured Division. The 78th was to remain with this composition for the rest of the war. The division participated in the final stages of Operation Ochsenkopf and the subsequent operations, including the capture of Longstop Hill in April, which eventually led to the end of the campaign in Tunisia in mid May, with nearly 250,000 Axis soldiers surrendering. With the end of hostilities in North Africa the 78th Division participated in the Victory Parade in Tunis and had a rest after nearly six months of continuous fighting.