Post by Editor on Mar 6, 2013 9:08:43 GMT
Desert Rats lose tanks in defence shake-up: Decision branded 'a disgrace' as unit becomes infantry brigade
The 7th Armoured Brigade is to be redesignated as an infantry brigade
Around 16,000 troops will also be brought back from Germany by 2020
British Army shake-up announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond
By IAN DRURY and DAVID WILLIAMS
PUBLISHED: 01:34, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 07:45, 6 March 2013
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Britain's fabled Desert Rats fighting force have had their tanks scrapped in the latest defence cuts.
Under a shake-up announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond for the British Army over the next decade, the 7th Armoured Brigade is to be redesignated as an infantry brigade and their heavy armoured vehicles, including Challenger 2 tanks, will be parked up.
A military source said: ‘It is a disgrace. This is the most famous tank brigade in the world and they are losing their tanks.’
The British 7th Armoured Brigade - nicknamed the Desert Rats - is to become an infantry brigade and its Challenger 2 tanks - pictured moving through the southern Iraqi city of Basra - will be put out of action
The 7th Armoured Division was formed in 1938 to protect the Suez Canal, and went on to fight in some of the war’s bloodiest battles. Nicknamed the Desert Rats, they were deployed to North Africa where, under General Montgomery, they won the battles of El Alamein to help change the course of the war.
More recently they served on the battlefields of Iraq.
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The 7th Armoured Brigade will be rebranded the 7th Infantry Brigade – although it will keep the renowned nickname and badge featuring a jerboa, a desert rodent – and it will be dedicated to longer-term engagements such as peacekeeping operations, training foreign troops or helping control civil disturbances.
Rodney Scott, chairman of the Desert Rats Association, said: ‘It is sad because people think of the 7th Armoured Brigade as “tankies” because the films show them charging into battle across the desert.
Cutbacks: Philip Hammond announced the change as part of a shake-up of the British Army over the next 10 years
‘But it was much more than that. There were troops from the Army, Navy and Air Force. But they all had the emblem on their sleeve and that makes you feel proud.
‘The brigade has been adaptable through the years and that has enabled it to remain on top.’
The success of the Desert Rats in North Africa during the Second World War led Winston Churchill to declare: ‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.’
The Desert Rats went on to fight in some of the war’s bloodiest battles: at Salerno in Italy, in Normandy and crossing the Rhine into Germany. They ended the war in the victory parade in Berlin – at the very heart of the Third Reich.
The 7th Armoured Brigade was detached from the division during early 1942 and fought the Japanese in Burma before returning to battle in Italy.
In 1958 the 7th Armoured Division was disbanded, though the smaller brigade remained in Germany, where it was reformed in 1981.
The brigade is currently composed of a number of elements, including the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
It has served in the 1991 Gulf War and in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Macedonia, and became the first British brigade into Kosovo.
The revelation of cutbacks to the Desert Rats was hidden in the small print of Mr Hammond’s announcement on fresh roles and bases for the British Army over the next decade.
Mr Hammond also said that 16,000 troops would be brought back from Germany by 2020 to save £240million a year, ending Britain’s presence on the Rhine where they have been stationed since 1945.
An Army spokesman said: ‘7 Brigade, including their Desert Rat insignia, will remain in the Army’s order of battle as an adaptable force brigade.
‘As announced, we are reducing our heavy armour by 40 per cent and re-rolling units to face more modern threats. That is why the Desert Rats will in the future be an infantry brigade equipped with a range of protected mobility vehicles.’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288799/Desert-Rats-lose-tanks-defence-shake-Decision-branded-disgrace-unit-infantry-brigade.html#ixzz2MkUkav3y
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The 7th Armoured Brigade is to be redesignated as an infantry brigade
Around 16,000 troops will also be brought back from Germany by 2020
British Army shake-up announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond
By IAN DRURY and DAVID WILLIAMS
PUBLISHED: 01:34, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 07:45, 6 March 2013
Comments (43)
Share
Britain's fabled Desert Rats fighting force have had their tanks scrapped in the latest defence cuts.
Under a shake-up announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond for the British Army over the next decade, the 7th Armoured Brigade is to be redesignated as an infantry brigade and their heavy armoured vehicles, including Challenger 2 tanks, will be parked up.
A military source said: ‘It is a disgrace. This is the most famous tank brigade in the world and they are losing their tanks.’
The British 7th Armoured Brigade - nicknamed the Desert Rats - is to become an infantry brigade and its Challenger 2 tanks - pictured moving through the southern Iraqi city of Basra - will be put out of action
The 7th Armoured Division was formed in 1938 to protect the Suez Canal, and went on to fight in some of the war’s bloodiest battles. Nicknamed the Desert Rats, they were deployed to North Africa where, under General Montgomery, they won the battles of El Alamein to help change the course of the war.
More recently they served on the battlefields of Iraq.
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The 7th Armoured Brigade will be rebranded the 7th Infantry Brigade – although it will keep the renowned nickname and badge featuring a jerboa, a desert rodent – and it will be dedicated to longer-term engagements such as peacekeeping operations, training foreign troops or helping control civil disturbances.
Rodney Scott, chairman of the Desert Rats Association, said: ‘It is sad because people think of the 7th Armoured Brigade as “tankies” because the films show them charging into battle across the desert.
Cutbacks: Philip Hammond announced the change as part of a shake-up of the British Army over the next 10 years
‘But it was much more than that. There were troops from the Army, Navy and Air Force. But they all had the emblem on their sleeve and that makes you feel proud.
‘The brigade has been adaptable through the years and that has enabled it to remain on top.’
The success of the Desert Rats in North Africa during the Second World War led Winston Churchill to declare: ‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.’
The Desert Rats went on to fight in some of the war’s bloodiest battles: at Salerno in Italy, in Normandy and crossing the Rhine into Germany. They ended the war in the victory parade in Berlin – at the very heart of the Third Reich.
The 7th Armoured Brigade was detached from the division during early 1942 and fought the Japanese in Burma before returning to battle in Italy.
In 1958 the 7th Armoured Division was disbanded, though the smaller brigade remained in Germany, where it was reformed in 1981.
The brigade is currently composed of a number of elements, including the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
It has served in the 1991 Gulf War and in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Macedonia, and became the first British brigade into Kosovo.
The revelation of cutbacks to the Desert Rats was hidden in the small print of Mr Hammond’s announcement on fresh roles and bases for the British Army over the next decade.
Mr Hammond also said that 16,000 troops would be brought back from Germany by 2020 to save £240million a year, ending Britain’s presence on the Rhine where they have been stationed since 1945.
An Army spokesman said: ‘7 Brigade, including their Desert Rat insignia, will remain in the Army’s order of battle as an adaptable force brigade.
‘As announced, we are reducing our heavy armour by 40 per cent and re-rolling units to face more modern threats. That is why the Desert Rats will in the future be an infantry brigade equipped with a range of protected mobility vehicles.’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288799/Desert-Rats-lose-tanks-defence-shake-Decision-branded-disgrace-unit-infantry-brigade.html#ixzz2MkUkav3y
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