The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the former 1st South African Infantry Division who had returned to South Africa after the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942. The division was initially transferred to Egypt for training, after which it served in the Allied campaign in Italy during 1944 and 1945. In Italy, the division was initially deployed as part of the British Eighth Army, under command of Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese, and was then transferred to the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, for the remainder of the Italian Campaign. The division operated as a strongly reinforced division and was frequently used to spearhead the advance of the Corps and Army to which it was attached. They returned home after the end of the war in Italy and were disbanded in 1946. The division was also briefly active after the war from 1 July 1948 to 1 November 1949.
Founding The possibility of forming a South African armoured division was discussed as early as April 1941 between Major-General George Brink, Commander of the 1st South African Infantry Division and Prime Minister (Field Marshal) Smuts. At this time, South Africa was struggling to maintain the manpower levels needed to sustain two infantry divisions in the field. The 3rd Division was based in South Africa and was to provide the pool from which reinforcements were drawn to supplement the 1st and 2nd Divisions. All South Africans serving outside of South Africa were volunteers and far fewer men than expected volunteered their services and the view was held that if this trend continued, it would be necessary to convert one infantry division to an armoured division, as an armoured division would require fewer men. Later, the vision was to establish two armoured divisions, as lower manpower levels became more pronounced.Orpen (1975) p. 1
After the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 1st Infantry Division was withdrawn to Quassasin with the understanding that its 1st Brigade would return to South Africa to regroup with the 7th Infantry Brigade (at this time the 7th Infantry Brigade was in Madagascar) to form the 1st South African Armoured Division. 1st Infantry Division's 2nd and 3rd Brigades would remain in Egypt to form the 6th South African Armoured Division which would replace the 2nd Infantry Division which had been captured at Tobruk in June 1942.
By January 1943, the Allied leaders had decided at the Casablanca Conference to pursue the war by invading Sicily, reducing the need for the number of armoured divisions as compared to those needed in the Western Desert.Orpen (1975) p. 2 This, together with further manpower shortages led to the plans for a 1st South African Armoured Division being abandoned, with only the 6th Division being considered viable. All of the 1st South African Infantry Division brigades were returned to South Africa for re-training and amalgamation with other units to form the nucleus of the armoured division. The division was officially formed in South Africa on 1 February 1943 with Major-General W.H.E. Poole as commander and sailed for Port Tewfik in Suez on 30 April 1943 as a two brigade division, comprising 11th Armoured Brigade and 12th Motorised Brigade.Orpen (1975) p. 3, 7
Egypt Training began in the desert at Khataba, north west of CairoKlein (1946) p. 232 and was focused on tank operations and integrating the Rhodesian elements into the division. In addition, the lack of manpower had forced the merging of numerous units and much of the training time was spent on marrying up drills between the new composite units. The period of training was finally concluded by a series of training exercises, Exercise Cape Town being the first from 1 to 3 December for the 11th Armoured Brigade (11th Armd Bde) and Exercise Durban from 5 to 7 December for the 12th Motorised Brigade (12th Mot Bde). Training was concluded with Exercise Tussle as a British III Corps operation finishing on 21 January 1944Orpen (1975) p. 20 and on 23 January the division moved to Helwan. By now, the division had been in Egypt for months due to indecision related to its role.
On 3 March 1944, the division was instructed to move to Palestine and the advance parties left on 7 March. On 12 March however, this movement order was countermanded and the division was instructed to move to Italy. One year after arriving in the Middle East, the division embarked from Alexandria between 14 and 16 April to arrive in Taranto, Italy on 20 and 21 April 1944.Orpen pp. 24–25
Italy: Eighth Army
Detachment of 12th Motorised Brigade
Regrouping was still in progress after arrival in Italy, when the 12th Motorised Brigade with artillery and support elements was ordered to move to the area of Isernia to prepare to relieve the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade in the Cassino area and to come under command of the 2nd New Zealand Division in the British X Corps.Theunissen These were the first division troops to enter combat in Italy. The South African Brigade held these positions until after the fall of Monte Cassino and the breakout from the Anzio beachhead, when they were withdrawn and reunited with the division.Klein (1946) p. 234
Initial advance after the fall of Rome Having formed part of British Eighth Army's reserve, the division was moved forward and attached to the Canadian I Corps after the Canadians and Polish II Corps had breached the Hitler Line north of Cassino. After Rome had been taken by the Allies in early June 1944, the division was ordered to move up the Via Casalina to take over the spearhead of the Eighth Army's British XIII Corps.Holland (2008) p. 217 To bring the division up to a full complement of three brigades, the British 24th Guards Brigade was placed under command, an association which lasted to the spring of 1945.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2), p. 208. The division advanced with the Tiber River to the east and Lake Bolsena to the west at a rate of per day, outstripping their flanking units.Doherty (2007) p. 116 On 10 June the Armoured Brigade which was leading the advance, came up against the anti-tank screen of the newly arrived German 356th Infantry Division south of Celleno. For the first (and only) time Brigadier Furstenburg was able to deploy all three of his armoured regiments and his motorised infantry battalion in battle to gain an important victory. Lieutenant-Colonel Papa Brits (Special Service Battalion [SSB]) and Lieutenant-Colonel Bob Reeves-Moore (Imperial Light Horse / Kimberley Regiment [ILH/KR]) received DSOs for their leadership in the defeat of elements of the 356th Division. 11th Armd Bde's success permeated the whole division and on 12 June the division took Orvieto, having advanced in ten days. However, their daily rate of advance had been slowed considerably by consistently being in contact with the enemy.Doherty (2007) p. 117
By 17 June, the Imperial Light Horse of the 11th Armd Bde had been stopped by the parachutists of the Hermann Göring Division on their first attempt to enter Chiusi but by 23 June, the town had been taken by the Cape Town Highlanders.Doherty (2007) p. 126 During this attack on Chiusi, "A" Company of First City/Cape Town Highlanders was leading the attack up the terraces around the town. During the night of 21–22 June, the company was surrounded by strong German infantry elements closely supported by tanks and its surviving members were forced to surrender by noon on 22 June. Since the disaster of the surrender of the 2nd Infantry Division at Tobruk two years previously, the surrender of South African troops in the field had become a sensitive matter. This prompted Prime Minister Smuts, who had been meeting the British Chiefs of Staff on 21 June, to divert his aircraft to Orvieto airfield on his way back to South Africa to discuss the political and military consequences of this event with the division command.
Crossing the Albert Line
By 28 June, after stiff fighting, the Albert Line (referred to as the Trasimene Line by the Allies) had been broken and the Allies streamed north with the 24th Guards Brigade reaching Chianciano and the 11th Armd Bde pushing north of Lake Montepulciano.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 45 The Eighth Army's XIII Corps advance on Florence was led by the British 6th Armoured Division on the right, British 4th Infantry Division in the centre and the South African 6th Armoured Division on the left. The division advanced in two columns through Rapolano and Palazzuolo until they encountered the LXXVI Panzer Corps on the Georg Line, a delaying position on the north side of Route 73.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 76
The strength of the Panzer Corps was not known initially and the leading elements of XIII Corps continued to probe forward expecting the German line to crumble under pressure without the need to launch a full-scale attack.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 75 The Corps fed in more battalions in an attempt to secure the Monte Lignano high ground and fighting for the hill continued on 6 and 7 July, but the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division continued to hold the heights. The South African Division had been stopped on the left flank with the two Infantry Brigades spread over a front, the armour having been withdrawn into reserve because of the difficult terrain. On 7 July, 2 New Zealand Division was brought forward from reserve and their attack together with the British 6th Armoured Division eventually took the high ground and caused the German Corps to withdraw towards the Heinrich Line behind the River Arno on 15 July. The South African Division could then continue their advance, directed on an axis towards Radda-Greve on the western side of the Chianti Mountains.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 88
The division made good progress, advancing with two brigades leading the advance: the 12th Mot Bde astride the road defining the division's axis of advance and the Guards Bde on the right flank, on the slopes of the Chianti highlands. Radda was secured on the night of 17 July and orders were then received for the division to secure the heights of the Chianti Highlands. The Guards Bde took Mt. Maione by a night attack on the night of 18/19 July supported by the tanks of the Pretoria RegimentJackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 89 while 12th Mot Bde attacked to take Mt. St. Michele (Pt 892) on 20 July. The division now held the heights of the Chianti range, dominating the Arno Valley and the advances to Florence.
Florence On 20 July General Kirkman, XIII Corps commander, issued orders for a "...powerful thrust to seize all crossings across the River Arno to the west of Florence." This effort was to be concentrated on the 6th South African Armoured Division front. The advance was to be led by the South African Division with the 4th Infantry Division to its right, supported on the flanks by the 6th British Armoured Division and the 8th Indian Infantry Division. The division's advance was slowed at the approaches to Greve due to heavy mining, where a number of tanks were lost but eventually the 11th Armd Bde succeeded in capturing Mercatale, which was defended by the German 356th Infantry Division supported by Tiger tanks. The division advanced through Greve and were again stopped by the German 4th Parachute Division on the River GreveJackson (2004 Vol II) p. 90 on 24 July.Orpen (1975) p. 149 The division had, however, outflanked the German Parachute Division, who then withdrew during the night of 24/25 July, allowing the South African, New Zealand and Indian Divisions to advance to the Paula Line which was reached on 28 July.Jackson (2004 Vol VI Part 2) p. 91