70th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 70th Infantry Division was part of the British Army. It fought in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The division was formed in 1938 to suppress the Arab Revolt in Palestine. When Japan entered the war, the division was transferred to India. It was considered the most experienced and best trained British formation in Asia.
About 70th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) in brief
The 70th Infantry Division was part of the British Army. It fought in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The division was formed in 1938 to suppress the Arab Revolt in Palestine. When Japan entered the war, the division was transferred to India. It was considered the most experienced and best trained British formation available in Asia. The 70th Division was broken up and officially ceased to exist on 24 November 1943. It is believed that the division could have had a greater impact against the Japanese had it been retained as a single formation. Its last commander, Major-General Richard O’Connor, was killed in action during the Battle of El Alamein in June 1944. The 7th Infantry division was created in October 1941 to serve in the British Mandate of Palestine during the Arab Revolution. It then transferred to Egypt on the outbreak of the war and soon became the 6th Division. On 10 October 1941, the 6nd Division was re-created as the 70th Infantry Division, in an attempt to deceive Axis intelligence concerning the strength of British forces in the Middle East. The Royal Navy transported the division to Tobruk from 19 September to 25 October, in a politically controversial move to relieve the mainly Australian garrison which had been defending the port for almost seven months, since the beginning of the Siege of Tobruk. On 18 November, the British Eighth Army launched Operation Crusader, with the division tasked with breaking out of the port. On 21 November the division began its attacks on 21 November, before the armoured formations of Germans and Italians had been defeated.
Heavy fighting soon followed as the division captured several well-defended and dug-in German and Italian strong points. The failure of these attacks had a lasting strategic impact on Operation Crusader; the Axis forces began their retreat and lifted the siege of TobruK. On 26 November, Renewed fighting on 26 November saw the division link up with the approaching New Zealand Division, cutting the Axis lines of communication. On the same day the division seized Acre and by the end of the month were clearing Jaffa of rebels. Many Palestinians were detained and dropped off in the Acre area. Many rebel activity significantly increased in the north and north-east of the area. In the north, the 8th Infantry and Special Night Squads engaged in counter-terror operations in north, north, and north, with Major Bernard Montgomery, writing that ‘harshness and violence on the part of our soldiers had to be curbed’ During the late 1938 operation in Jerusalem, General Harshness wrote that ‘unnecessary violence, vindictiveness… killing in cold blood had been vindicated…, killing had been curbed in the cold blood’ The division also took part in operations in northern Israel and Trans-Jordan in late 1938 and late 1939. It went on to take part in the Battle of Crete and the Syria–Lebanon Campaign. It also served as a police force, protecting railways and being used to suppress civil disobedience caused by the Quit India Movement.
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