It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with 56th (1/1st London) Division. (Discuss)

The British 56th (London) Division was a Territorial Army division of the Second World War. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... In the United Kingdom the Territorial Army is a part of the British Army composed of reserve units, or part-time soldiers. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer, KG (1898 - 1979) was a British military commander. ... In the United Kingdom the Territorial Army is a part of the British Army composed of reserve units, or part-time soldiers. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

History

During the First World War, the division was named the 56th (1/1st London) Division and had been demobilised in May 1919. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, the division was mobilised as motorised infantry under the title of the 1st London Division. It was reorganised as an infantry division in June 1940 and redesignated as the 56th (London) Division on 18 November 1940. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The British 56th (1/1st London) Division was a first-line Territorial Army division. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. ... Bold Bold texttext,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvMedia:Example. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

The division remained in the United Kingdom during the Battle of France, moving to the Middle East in November 1942 where it served in Iraq and Palestine until moving to Egypt in March 1943 and thence forward to Libya, and the front, in April. The division sat out the Allied invasion of Sicily (except for the 168th Brigade, which was attached to the understrength 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and moved to Italy in September 1943, serving there until March 1944 and participated in the Anzio Campaign. After being withdrawn to Egypt at the end of March, the division returned to Italy in July 1944 and remained there until after VE Day. Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Germany Italy Commanders Harold Alexander Alfredo Guzzoni Strength 160,000 men 14,000 vehicles 600 tanks 1,800 guns 365,000 Italians 40,000Germans Casualties USA: 2,237 killed 6,544 wounded British: 2,721 killed 10,122 wounded Canada: 562 killed 1,848... The British 50th (Northumbrian) Division was a first-line Territorial Force division. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Operation Shingle (January 22, 1944), during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. ... Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies during the Second World War formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitlers Reich. ...

After the war, it was reformed as 56th (London) Armoured Division from 1947 until the Territorial Army was reorganised as the TAVR in 1967-8. The Division included 22nd Armoured Brigade and 168th Lorried Infantry Brigade, and the Inns of Court Yeomanry as the divisional reconnaissance regiment. The 22nd Armoured Brigade, a British Army formation since World War II, was formed from the Territorial Army formation 22nd Heavy Armoured Brigade 3rd September 1939. ... The Inns of Court and City Yeomanry (ICCY) is a yeomanry regiment of the Territorial Army. ...

An echo of the Division rose again for a time when the Public duties battalions within London District were grouped as 56th (London) Brigade from 1987 to 1993. Three infantry battalions of the British army are currently tasked with the provision of Public Duties. ... London District is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing London and the M25. ... A Second World War British Army unit. ...

Formation

The division comprised four infantry brigades: Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... In military science a brigade is a military unit that is part of a division and includes regiments (where that level exists), or (in modern armies) is composed of several battalions (typically two to four) and directly attached supporting units. ...

167th (London) Brigade 

• 8th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
• 9th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
• 7th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

168th (London) Brigade 

• 1st London Scottish Regiment
• 1st London Irish Rifles
• 10th Royal Berkshire Regiment
• 1st Welch Regiment

169th (London) Brigade 

• 2nd/5th Queen's Royal Regiment
• 2nd/6th Queen's Royal Regiment
• 2nd/7th Queen's Royal Regiment

201st Guards Brigade 

• 3rd Coldstream Guards
• 6th Grenadier Guards

This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a regiment in the British Army. ... The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Coldstream Guards is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division. ... The Grenadier Guards is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. ...

Battles

• Enfidaville — 19 April 1943 - 29 April 1943
• Tunis — 5 May 1943 - 12 May 1943
• Salerno — 9 September 1943 - 18 September 1943
• Capture of Naples — 22 September 1943 - 1 October 1943
• Volturno Crossing — 12 October 1943 - 15 October 1943
• Monte Camino — 5 November 1943 - 9 December 1943
• Garigliano Crossing — 17 January 1944 - 31 January 1944
• Anzio — 22 January 1944 - 22 May 1944
• Gothic Line — 25 August 1944 - 22 September 1944
• Coriano — 3 September 1944 - 15 September 1944
• Rimini Line — 14 September 1944 - 21 September 1944
• Lamone Crossing — 2 December 1944 - 13 December 1944
• Argenta Gap — 12 April 1945 - 21 April 1945

April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Operation Shingle (January 22, 1944), during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

Trivia

After crossing the Volturno in October 1943, the 56th entered the town of Colvi Vecchia. Their attempts to radio the United States Fifth Army to cancel a planned bombing on the town failed. As a last resort, the 56th released an American homing pigeon named G.I. Joe who carried a message that reached the allies just as the planes were being warmed up. The attack was called off and the division was saved. The Fifth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army. ... G.I. Joe is one of the most famous pigeons in world history. ...

External links

• Battlefields of WWII: 56th (London) Division 1939-1945

• [1] WWI Cemeteries.com, a comprehensive guide to the military cemeteries and memorials of France and Belgium