Guards Support Group

The Guards Support Group was a brigade-sized formation of the British Army's Guards Armoured Division during the Second World War. It was established in 1941 by converting the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards), a formation that had served in the Battle of France. The group was intended to give the division an adaptable package of supporting arms rather than function as a permanently configured conventional brigade. Its role reflected the organization and tactical requirements of British armoured divisions at the time. The division's armoured brigades could require different kinds of assistance depending on the operation. The Guards Support Group was therefore capable of supplying motorised infantry, field artillery, anti-tank artillery or light anti-aircraft artillery as required. This flexible employment model explains its alternative description as a “pivot group”: its composition and operational emphasis could be adjusted around the immediate needs of the armoured formation. The group existed within the Guards Armoured Division during the period when the division was being organized and trained. Its listed components included the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards; the 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery; the 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery; and, from January 1942, the 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. The artillery units joined at different dates, with the field and anti-tank regiments recorded as entering the organization from 10 October 1941 and the light anti-aircraft regiment from 27 January 1942. Two brigadiers commanded the formation. Brigadier A. de L. Cazenove held command from 15 September to 10 October 1941, after which Brigadier L. C. Manners-Smith commanded it until 31 May 1942. The Guards Support Group did not see active service as a group. Before the Guards Armoured Division deployed in the form associated with later wartime operations, the formation was disbanded in 1942 and converted into Headquarters, Royal Artillery, for the division. Its historical importance therefore lies primarily in the development of British armoured-division organization and in the attempt to provide an adaptable combined-arms support structure, rather than in an independent combat record.

The Guards Support Group was formed in 1941 as part of the British Army's wartime effort to organize the Guards Armoured Division for modern armoured operations. Its institutional predecessor was the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards), which had served during the Battle of France. Rather than retain the brigade in its previous infantry role, the Army converted it into a support group intended to operate with the division's armoured brigades. The formation was designed around flexibility. British armoured divisions required more than tanks alone: depending on the mission, they might need mobile infantry to seize or hold ground, field artillery to support attacks, anti-tank weapons to counter enemy armour, or light anti-aircraft artillery to protect units and logistics from air attack. The Guards Support Group was intended to provide these capabilities in a package that could be adapted to the operation in hand. It was consequently also known as a support or “pivot” group. The group's organization changed during its brief existence. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards formed part of the order of battle. The 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and the 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, were added from 10 October 1941. The 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, joined from 27 January 1942. These components gave the formation a mixture of motorised infantry and artillery functions, consistent with its intended role as a source of tailored support for the armoured brigades. Command passed from Brigadier A. de L. Cazenove to Brigadier L. C. Manners-Smith early in the group's existence. Cazenove commanded from 15 September to 10 October 1941, while Manners-Smith remained in command from 10 October 1941 until 31 May 1942. The Guards Support Group was disbanded in 1942 before it undertook active service as a group. Its personnel and organizational function were converted into Headquarters, Royal Artillery, for the Guards Armoured Division. This change reflected the evolving structure of British armoured formations and the separation of artillery command and support functions from the earlier support-group model. The formation therefore had a short administrative life and no separate wartime campaign history, but it remains an example of the British Army's experimentation with flexible combined-arms organization during the Second World War.

• 1942

  94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment joins

  [1]Guards Support Group (United Kingdom)en.wikipedia.org

  The 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, entered the group's order of battle from 27 January 1942.

• 1942

  Disbandment and conversion to Royal Artillery headquarters

  [1]Guards Support Group (United Kingdom)en.wikipedia.org

  The Guards Support Group was disbanded before seeing active service and converted into Headquarters, Royal Artillery, for the Guards Armoured Division. Manners-Smith's command ended on 31 May 1942.

• 1941

  Formation through conversion of the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards)

  [1]Guards Support Group (United Kingdom)en.wikipedia.org

  The 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards), which had served in the Battle of France, was converted into the Guards Support Group within the Guards Armoured Division.

• 1941

  A. de L. Cazenove assumes command

  [1]Guards Support Group (United Kingdom)en.wikipedia.org

  Brigadier A. de L. Cazenove commanded the group from 15 September 1941.

• 1941

  Command changes and artillery additions

  [2]Command changes and artillery additionsen.wikipedia.org

  On 10 October, Brigadier L. C. Manners-Smith succeeded Cazenove. The 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment and 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, both of the Royal Artillery, were recorded as joining the group from the same date.

A flexible combined-arms support formation for the British Guards Armoured Division, designed to provide whichever infantry or artillery capabilities an armoured operation required.

• 1941

  Creation of a flexible armoured-division support groupStrategy

  Background

  The Guards Armoured Division's armoured brigades required different supporting capabilities according to the operation, including mobile infantry, field artillery, anti-tank artillery and light anti-aircraft artillery.

  Action taken

  The British Army converted the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards) into a brigade-sized support group whose components could be allocated to meet the immediate needs of divisional operations.

  Aftermath

  The model was short-lived. In 1942 the group was disbanded and replaced by Headquarters, Royal Artillery, for the Guards Armoured Division before the group saw active service.

  Source

1. 1Guards Support Group (United Kingdom)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Command changes and artillery additionsen.wikipedia.org