Scots Guards (1914)

A Fight Against Tyranny

In 1939, on the 1st September, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and on the 3rd September war was declared between the British Empire and Nazi Germany, the Scots Guards were to fight yet another dictator, having fought against the likes of Napoleon Bonaparte and Kaiser Wilhelm II in its past. In Apil 1940, the 1st Battalion, as part of the 24th Guards Brigade, took part in its first campaign of the war, during the expedition to Norway, and began to land in Harstad on the 16th April. The 24th Guards Brigade was then used to protect a number of Norwegian ports from German attack, though all fell by the end of May, and the British, due to the troubling situation in France, the British began evacuating from Norway, which was completed by the 8th June. Later that year, the 3rd Battalion was re-formed for the second time and joined the 30th Infantry Brigade, while the 4th Battalion and Holding Battalion was also raised.

Related Topics:
1939 - Nazi Germany - Poland - Napoleon Bonaparte - Kaiser Wilhelm II - 1940 - 24th Guards Brigade - Norway - Harstad - 30th Infantry Brigade

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North Africa

In North Africa, as part of the 22nd Guards Brigade, the 2nd Battalion took part in fighting against the Italians in Egypt before the following year when it saw tough fighting in Libya, then controlled by Italy. Engagements that the regiment took part in were many, and it fought valiantly against tougfh opposition. In May, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Halfaya Pass, which saw British and Commonwealth forces experiencing tough fighting against Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. In June, the battalion was involved in Operation Battleaxe, a British / Commonwealth offensive push to relieve the besieged city of Tobruk, though the offensive saw stiff resistance from the enemy forces, and the Allies eventually had to withdraw in the face of numerically superior, and better armed Afrika Korps. The next British offensive did not come until November when Operation Crusader began, which was another attempt to break the siege of the Allied-held Tobruk, and unlike previous attempts, this operation succeeded, though it was a close-run thing which saw bitter heavy fighting and heavy losses, especially in tanks, with the operation ending in December. The Siege of Tobruk was finally lifted, with its defenders, mostly Australians, having held out since April. Back in the UK, the 3rd Battalion re-roled to an armoured battalion, being renamed 3rd (Armoured) Battalion and joined the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade.

Related Topics:
North Africa - 22nd Guards Brigade - Egypt - Libya - Italy - Battle of Halfaya Pass - Erwin Rommel - Afrika Korps - Operation Battleaxe - Tobruk - Operation Crusader - Siege of Tobruk - Australia - 6th Guards Armoured Brigade

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In early 1942, Rommel's Afrika Korps started a new offensive which caught the Allies by surprise, forcing them into retreat, though the German offensive came to a halt in early February at Gazala. Later that year, the battalion joined the 201st Guards Brigade and in May the Germans launched another offensive against the Allies. The 201st Guards Brigade were located at a position known as Knightsbridge Box, with other 'Boxes' being manned by other British, Commonwealth and Free French brigades which formed the 'Gazala Line'. The Guards at Knightbridge saw heavy fighting against the attacking German forces, and by the 13th June, the Guards were cut off from Allied forces, and eventually a German attack, during terrible weather, overran the 2nd Battalion and at night, after an Allied counter-attack by armoured units, the Guards eventually managed to withdraw in a professional manner. Soon after, most of the Allies were in retreat to the 'El Alamein Line' and Tobruk eventually fell on the 20th June, with many thousands of Allied troops being captured, including men of the 2nd Battalion, though some managed to escape to Egypt. The battalion was subsequently reformed back in Egypt.

Related Topics:
1942 - Gazala - 201st Guards Brigade - Free French

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Between October and November the Second Battle of Alamein took place, which saw General Montgomery's British 8th Army achieve a decisive victory over the German, which saw them go into full-retreat. By January 1943, the Allied army had pushed the enemey back significantly, going as far as capturing Tripoli. Back in the UK, the 3rd Battalion was renamed the 3rd (Tank) Battalion and joined the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. In North Africa, on the 6th March, the 2nd Battalion took part in the defensive Battle of Medenine, after the Germans had counter-attacked the Allies, an attack that, if it had succeeded, would have caused the British many problems. The Scots Guards performed valiantly, using their anti-tank guns to great effect against the German armour, with many German tanks being knocked out by the Guards and other regiments, and the German offensive was soon called off. That same month the 1st Battalion arrived in North Africa from the UK as part of the 24th Guards Brigade. Both battalions saw further engagements in North Africa, with the 1st Battalion seeing heavy fighting in April at Medjez Plain and Djebel Bou Aoukaz.

Related Topics:
Second Battle of Alamein - Montgomery - British 8th Army - 1943 - Tripoli - 6th Guards Tank Brigade - Battle of Medenine - Medjez Plain - Djebel Bou Aoukaz

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During that month, Captain The Lord Lyell of the 1st Battalion, commanded a company with great dash and valour during engagements between the 23rd and 27th April, taking part in tremendously heavy fighting against German forces and kept the morale of his troops high. On the 27th, Captain The Lord Lyell's company took part in the attack on Djebel Bou Aoukaz and were coming under fire from an enemy post, consisisting of an 88mm gun and heavy machine-gun in two separate pits, which was holding the company's advance up. Lord Lyell thus led an attack, consisting of a sergeant, a lance-corporal and two guardsmen on the post. Lord Lyell was ahead of the others by quite a bit and destroyed the machine-gun gun crew by grenade, and three of Lord Lyell's party became casualties, while the lance-corporal gave covering fire for Lord Lyell. Lord Lyell, with this covering fire, then attacked the pit containing the 88mm gun with bayonet and pistol, killing several of the gun crew before being overwhelmed by the surviving gun crew and killed. The remaining crew then left and both guns were silenced, allowing the advance to continue. Lord Lyell was awarded the posthumous Victoria Cross for his courageous actions and leadership.

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Italy and France

By May 1943, the battle for North Africa was over, Tunis had fallen, the Allies were victorious and 130,000 German and 120,000 Italian soldiers had surrendered. In September, the 2nd Battalion, as part of the 201st Guards Brigade of the 56th (London) Division, took part in the Landing at Salerno and subsequently saw heavy fighting during that month and in October took part in the crossing of the Volturno River. At the Battle of Monte Camino, the 2nd Battalion suffered heavy casualties in tough fighting though it was eventually captured in early December. In December, the 1st Battalion, as part of 24th Guards Brigade, arrived in the Italian Theatre. In January 1944, the Scots Guards took part in the landings at Anzio and saw heavy fighting there, including at Campoleone and Carroceto, with the Allies not breaking out of the Anzio beachead for a number of months. The 1st Battalion, as part of its brigade, joined the 6th South Afican Armoured Division in May. The regiment took part in many fierce engagements throughout 1944, including at Monte San Michele and against the Gothic Line, a formidable defensive line. In 1945, the regiment continued to take part in some bitter engagements, including in April when it took part in an amphibious landing of the Bonifica area, east of the Argenta Gap, where the 1st Battalion saw heavy fighting, receiving heavy casualties in the process. In May, the battalion found itself in Trieste which had been captured by Yugoslavian and Croatian forces. The battalion would remain in Trieste until 1946.

Related Topics:
Tunis - 56th (London) Division - Landing at Salerno - Volturno River - Battle of Monte Camino - Italian Theatre - 1944 - Anzio - Campoleone - Carroceto - 6th South Afican Armoured Division - Monte San Michele - Gothic Line - 1945 - Bonifica - Argenta Gap - Trieste - 1946

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Back in July 1944, the 3rd (Tank) Battalion landed in France, with heavy fighting still raging in the Normandy area. The battalion saw action at Mont Pincon, where at Quarry Hill, a squadron of the battalion was ambushed by three fearsome 88mm armed Jagdpanther tank destroyers, who duly accounted for eleven Churchill tanks of the battalion who eventually forced the Germans to withdraw. The battalion saw further service taking part in the steady Allied advance, including at the Venlo Pocket in the Low Countries and in 1945, the Rhineland, where the battalion was involved in a variety of engagements. In March, the 2nd Battalion arrived in North-West Europe and joined the Guards Armoured Division. The regiment saw further engagements deeper inside Germany, including at Lingen and Uelzen. On the 8th May, after six long years of war, the war in the European theatre was officially over, with the declaration of VE Day and on the 14th, the regiment took control of the small German island of Heligoland. In June, the 3rd (Tank) Battalion re-roled to an infantry battalion, reverting to its original 3rd Battalion name, as part of the renamed 6th Guards Brigade. The 2nd and 3rd battalions were stationed in Germany, and in early 1946, the 3rd Battalion was disbanded in Weiden, while the 2nd Battalion returned home to the UK in December.

Related Topics:
France - Normandy - Mont Pincon - Jagdpanther - Churchill tank - Venlo Pocket - Low Countries - 1945 - Rhineland - Guards Armoured Division - Lingen - Uelzen - VE Day - Heligoland - 6th Guards Brigade - 1946 - Weiden

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The regiment, as in the First World War, proved its professionalism once more, seeing service in North Africa, Italy and across North-West Europe, taking part in some of the British Army's most famous moments. During the war, just over 1,000 men of the Scots Guards lost their lives and many gallanty awards were won, including a single VC.

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