7th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 7th Armoured Brigade is a formation of the British Army. The brigade is also known as the 'Desert Rats', a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured Division.

History
The brigade was raised from garrison troops stationed in North Africa in 1938. It was initially known as the Light Armoured Brigade which was part of the Mobile Division in Egypt.

When the Mobile Division became 7th Armoured Division, the Light Armoured Brigade became the 7th Armoured Brigade in February 1940. The 7th Armoured Division had a red jerboa (a nocturnal rodent indigenous to North Africa) as its emblem and became known as 'The Desert Rats'. The 7th Brigade, meanwhile, had a green jerboa as its emblem. The 7th Brigade became known as the 'Green Rats' or the 'Jungle Rats' after it moved to Burma in 1942.

Second World War
The Second World War broke out in September 1939, Britain and France declaring war on Germany after its invasion of Poland. Italy launched an invasion of British-controlled Egypt shortly after entering the war on Germany's side in June 1940. The brigade fought in many of the major battles in North Africa, including Operation Crusader in November, fighting at Sidi Rezegh to try to relieve the Commonwealth forces in the port of Tobruk, besieged by Axis forces.

It moved to Burma in early 1942 just as the Japanese were pushing the Allies back. The brigade took part in the fighting retreat to India, successfully completed in May just before the monsoons would have cut them off. The 7th Armoured returned to the Middle East in 1943, based in Iraq and later Egypt. With Axis forces defeated in North Africa, the brigade's time was a quiet one until it moved to Italy in 1944 where it remained for the duration of the war; fighting as part of the I Canadian Corps.

Reformation
Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the 7th Armoured Brigade was disbanded and the 22nd Armoured Brigade was re-designated as the 7th Armoured Brigade, based in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR).

After the 7th Armoured Division was disbanded in 1958 the 7th Armoured Brigade adopted its insignia and nickname, perpetuating the history of the famed division. It formed part of 1st (UK) Armoured Division when this was formed in 1976. After being briefly converted to "Task Force Alpha" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981.

Kuwait and Iraq
The 7th Armoured Brigade returned to the desert when it arrived in Saudi Arabia in October 1990 as part of Operation Granby, intended to protect Saudi Arabia from invasion by Saddam Hussain's Iraq. The brigade, commanded by Brigadier Patrick Cordingley, later took part in the Coalition of the Gulf War ground campaign to liberate Iraqi-occupied Kuwait on 24 February 1991 that began after a sustained air campaign. The Desert Rats, along with the rest of 1st Armoured Division, carried out a left-hook manoeuvre that swung round the Iraqi Republican Guard. The brigade advanced deep into Iraqi territory, encountering some armour of the Republican Guard. The ground campaign formally ended on 28 February with the liberation of Kuwait achieved.

Balkans
The brigade deployed to Bosnia in May 1994 as part of the NATO IFOR peacekeeping organisation there. The brigade returned for another tour-of-duty in April 1997, joining IFOR's NATO replacement known as SFOR. After the Kosovo War in 1999, the 7th Armoured Brigade returned to the Balkans for a tour-of-duty in Kosovo in 2000, based in the capital Pristina.

Iraq
Just before Operation Telic began (Britain's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq), the brigade, commanded by Brigadier Graham Binns, moved to Kuwait where it undertook extensive training and was 'desertised' for service in the Middle East. The brigade, consisting of 112 Challenger 2 tanks, 140 Warriors and 32 AS-90 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, entered Iraq on 21 March. The main objective of the Desert Rats was to advance towards Iraq's second largest city, Basra, and help encircle and isolate it. The brigade, led by the 1st Fusiliers Battlegroup, made a rapid advance towards the city and soon reached its outskirts, securing Basra Airport and the critical bridges across the Shatt al-Arab. The advance by the brigade met sporadic though fierce resistance,with The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, including an engagement between 14 Challenger 2s of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and 14 Iraqi tanks, all of the Iraqi tanks being destroyed; it was the largest tank engagement by the British Army since WWII. Initially the Brigade was faced by very spirited but un-coordinated attacks from Basra and in the town of Az Zubayr. These attacks were initially orchestrated by members of the Iraqi secret police, who used violence and threats against family members to coerce men to attack the Desert Rats and other elements of 1st Armoured Division. As their influence waned, so did the frequency and ferocity of the Iraqi attacks.

The 1st Armoured Division, including 7th Brigade, then undertook a number of raids into the city against specific targets, but in a plan that was very patient bided their time on the outskirts of Basra. On 6 April the Desert Rats, led by Challenger 2s of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Queen's Royal Lancers and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment with Warriors of the 1st Fusiliers, Irish Guards and Black Watch pushed into the city on 6 April and stayed. They met sporadic resistance from Iraqi soldiers and irregulars known as Fedayeen. Basra was, for the most part, now controlled by 1st Division though further engagements did take place. The war was officially declared over on 1 May. The Desert Rats remained in Iraq after the war, acting as peacekeepers and helping to rebuild the country while based in the British sector in the south of Iraq. The brigade began to leave in late June, being replaced by 19th Mechanised Brigade.

Reorganization
On 5 March 2013, British Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond announced that that the 7th Armoured Brigade would have its Challenger 2 tanks and heavy armoured battalions removed over the next decade. The Brigade itself will be re-designated as the 7th Infantry Brigade, but retains its famed 'Desert Rats' insignia. It will form part of the Adaptable Force under Army 2020. The decision was met with regret by former 7th Armoured Brigade commander Patrick Cordingley, who said that the "changes would still dismay veterans and the general public".

Iraq War, 2003

 * 7th Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (207)
 * 32 (Armoured) Regiment Royal Engineers
 * 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery - (AS-90 155 mm howitzers)
 * Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Battlegroup, including elements of 1st Battalion Irish Guards (Challenger 2 and Warrior)
 * 2nd Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup, including elements of 1st Battalion The Light Infantry - (Challenger 2's and Warriors)
 * The Black Watch Battlegroup, including elements of Queen's Royal Lancers (Challenger 2's and Warriors)
 * 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Battlegroup, including elements of Queen's Royal Lancers (Challenger 2 and Warriors)
 * 7 Close Support Regiment - (2BN Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)
 * A(29) Medical Squadron, from 1 Close Support Medical Regiment of the Royal Army Medical Corps
 * 1st Regiment Royal Military Police

Brigade units

 * 7th Armoured Brigade units in 2013
 * 207 Signal Squadron (the brigade headquarters and signal squadron), based at Hohne
 * 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Formation Reconnaissance), based at Hohne
 * The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (Armoured), based at Bad Fallingbostel
 * The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (armoured infantry), based at Bad Fallingbostel
 * 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) (armoured infantry), based at Bad Fallingbostel
 * 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment (light role infantry), based at Cottesmore, UK

Attached units:
 * 3 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (self propelled artillery), based at Hohne
 * 32 Regiment, Royal Engineers, based at Hohne
 * 2 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, based at Bad Fallingbostel
 * 2 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, based at Gutersloh
 * 2 Medical Regiment, based at Hohne

Brigade Commanders
Recent commanders have included:
 * 1941-1942 Brigadier John Anstice
 * 1943-1945 Brigadier Otho Prior-Palmer
 * 1945-1946 Brigadier Kenneth Cooper
 * 1964-1965 Brigadier Ian Gill
 * 1965-1967 Brigadier Richard Worsley
 * 1968-1970 Brigadier Robert Ford
 * 1972-1973 Brigadier Ian Baker
 * 1973-1975 Brigadier Martin Farndale
 * 1976-1977 Brigadier Norman Arthur
 * 1977-1980 Brigadier Patrick Palmer
 * 1980-1982 Brigadier Anthony Mullens
 * 1983-1985 Brigadier Richard Swinburn
 * 1986-1988 Brigadier Christopher Wallace
 * 1990-1991 Brigadier Patrick Cordingley
 * 1991-1993 Brigadier Timothy Sulivan
 * 1993 Brigadier John Kiszely
 * 1993-1994 Brigadier Andrew Ridgway
 * 1996-1999 Brigadier Andrew Stewart
 * 1998-2000 Brigadier Richard Shirreff
 * 2001-2003 Brigadier Graham Binns
 * 2003-2005 Brigadier Adrian Bradshaw
 * 2005-2007 Brigadier Patrick Marriott
 * 2007-2009 Brigadier Sandy Storrie
 * 2009-2011 Brigadier Nick Welch
 * 2011-2013 Brigadier Paul Nanson
 * 2013         Brigadier James Woodham