The division remained in the United Kingdom, training, until 13 June 1944, when it landed several armoured command vehicles at Arromanche.

It lagered its advanced tactical headquarters in communication with GHQ awaiting the bulk of the armour Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord as part of VIII Corps.

Its first major engagement was Operation Goodwood, the attack by three armoured divisions towards Bourguebus Ridge in an attempt to break out of the Normandy beachhead.

It led the XXX Corps attack in Operation Market Garden, the ground forces' advance to relieve airborne troops aiming to seize the bridges up to Arnhem, capturing Nijmegen bridge in conjunction with American paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The Tac HQ reached Arnhem but was not able to seize the bridge because German anti tank guns were entrenched on the North side and the British airborne had surrendered or were too far away to help.

Brainchild of General Sir Alan Brooke, then the Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, the Guards Armoured Division, commanded by Major General Oliver Leese, was formed in May 1941 as a result of the shortage of armoured troops in England to face a German invasion.

[9] The aim of this attack has been debated many times, but whether an attempt at a breakout or a more limited effort, it had the effect of drawing most of the German reserves towards Caen, aiding the Cobra offensive.

Originally intended as a combined attack, it was changed to an armoured assault as the British Army in France had suffered heavy infantry casualties and were struggling to find replacements.

The attack quickly bogged down and losses became heavy, the guards losing 60 tanks to a single battery of four Luftwaffe 88mm AA guns.

In addition to this, a group of Tiger I tanks of the 503, which had been completely knocked out in the bombardment, recovered enough over the course of the morning to stiffen the resistance against the Guards.

Novel tactics had to be employed to deal with the more heavily gunned and armoured Tiger, with one being rammed by a Sherman of the Irish Guards.

[11] Whilst taking part in Operation Goodwood east of Cagny, Lt John Gorman who was a Troop Commander in the 2nd Armoured Battalion was probing forward in his Sherman tank Ballyragget when suddenly he found himself broadside to a German Tiger II, the German heavy tank that no-one had yet seen.

The Tiger II gunner, Hans-Joachim Thaysen, insisted he never even saw Gorman's Sherman and was instead concentrating on firing ahead of him.

[13] The next day enough progress was made to allow the Guards to reach Bourgebus Ridge and support the 7th and 11th Armoured Divisions, German reinforcements started to arrive and the attack ground to a halt.

This organisation was not unique to the Guards, the 11th Armoured also adapted the formation for Bluecoat, apparently on Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor's orders.

Rather than continue to try to push past Caen where the majority of the German armour had redeployed after Goodwood, this attack switched back towards Villers-Bocage to support the Americans and to capture the road junction at Vire and the high ground at Mont Pincon.

Instead common opposition would consist of a small mobile group of infantry supported by a few tanks or self-propelled guns.

Due to the difficulty of completely clearing the enemy from a particular area and of supplying sub-units, the attack ground to a halt on 4 August.

The advance was now generally along a road, with the lead elements and Typhoon air support brushing aside most opposition before it could delay the column.

The population was grateful for their liberation; the 2nd Household Cavalry, who were generally first into the town, had to keep a sharp eye on stowage and aerials on the exterior of the vehicle lest it be taken as a souvenir.

They formed the spearhead of the attacks into the Netherlands, with the Grenadier Guards managing to seize the Nijmegen Bridge with the help of the US 82nd Airborne Division.

Eventually the division was selected for conversion back to infantry, and held a "farewell to armour" parade on 9 June 1945; Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery took the final salute.