The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises twelve regiments, eight regular and four reserve. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.
The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Normandy Landings, which had begun the Western Allies' conquest of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to improve their position by exploiting a gap in the German defences west of the city of Caen. After one day of fighting in and around the small town of Villers-Bocage and a second day defending a position outside the town, the British force retreated.
The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armoured was responsible for several major victories in the Battle of Normandy from in the summer of 1944, shortly after the Normandy landings, and it participated in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, the Rhine crossing in March 1945. It was disbanded in January 1946 and reformed towards the end of 1950. In 1956, it was converted into the 4th Infantry Division.
The 23rd Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised during World War II and in existence from 1940 to 1946. It had no lineal connection with the earlier 23rd Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1794–1802).
The 27th Lancers was a British Army cavalry regiment from 1941 to 1945.
The 29th Armoured Brigade was a Second World War British Army brigade equipped with tanks that formed the armoured component of the 11th Armoured Division.
The 24th Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army. It was embodied in the United Kingdom at the outbreak of the Second World War. On 1 November 1940, it was redesignated as the 24th Armoured Brigade and reorganized. In July 1942, it transferred to Egypt and took part in the Western Desert Campaign, notably the Second Battle of El Alamein. The Headquarters was disbanded in the Middle East on 1 March 1943.
The 8th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army formed in August 1941, during the Second World War and active until 1956. The brigade was formed by the renaming of 6th Cavalry Brigade, when the 1st Cavalry Division based in Palestine converted from a motorised formation to an armoured unit, becoming 10th Armoured Division.
The 1st Cavalry Division was a regular Division of the British Army during the First World War where it fought on the Western Front. During the Second World War it was a first line formation, formed from Yeomanry Regiments. It fought in the Middle East before being converted to the 10th Armoured Division.
The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Scottish Horse to form the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse in 1956. The lineage is maintained by "C" Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse Squadron of The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry based in Cupar in Fife.
The 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1901 from Second Boer War veterans of the Imperial Yeomanry. During the First World War it served dismounted at Gallipoli, was remounted to serve in Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine, before being converted to machine gunners for service on the Western Front. 2nd and 3rd Line units remained in the United Kingdom throughout.
Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War which took place from 7 to 14 June 1944, during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to encircle and seize the German occupied city of Caen, which was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division in the early phases of Operation Overlord. Operation Perch was to begin immediately after the British beach landings with an advance to the south-east of Caen by XXX Corps. Three days after the invasion the city was still in German hands and the operation was amended. The operation was expanded to include I Corps for a pincer attack on Caen.
The 4th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was initially assigned to The Cavalry Division before spending most of the war with the 2nd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was initially independent before being assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The 6th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry. It served in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War before being reduced to squadron level in 1956. It ceased to have a separate existence in 1971.
Operation Martlet was part of a series of British attacks to capture the French town of Caen and its environs from German forces during the Battle of Normandy of World War II begun by the Allies. It was a preliminary operation undertaken on 25 June 1944 by XXX Corps of the British Second Army, to capture Rauray and the area around Noyers. The attack was to protect the right flank of VIII Corps as it began Operation Epsom, an offensive into the Odon Valley west of Caen, on 26 June. The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and the 49th Infantry Division were to capture Juvigny-sur-Seulles, Vendes and Rauray, to prevent German counter-attacks against VIII Corps from the area of the Rauray Spur and then extend the attack towards Noyers and Aunay-sur-Odon. It was the first time in Normandy that the 49th Division operated as a division.
Brigadier Philip Ernest Bowden-Smith CBE, was a cavalry officer and later armoured commander of the British Army who served in the First World War and the Second World War. Described as 'one of the finest horsemen of his generation' he also represented Great Britain at the 1924 Olympic Games.
United Kingdom 
British Army 