[8][9][10] During the period of the Phoney War the AA defences of NW England were not tested in action, and the time was spent in equipping and training the TA units.

[11] After the entry of Italy into the war in June 1940 there was an urgent need to reinforce British forces in the Middle East, and a series of convoys began shipping troops (including AA units) on the six-week journey via the Cape of Good Hope and the Red Sea to Egypt.

Fighter aircraft were to provide the main defence, but the need to defend against low-level raids led to the deployment of single Bofors guns spaced at intervals of about 3,500 yards (3,200 m) on the banks of the narrow stretches of the canal.

Its other commitments were to protect tank 'harbours', Royal Air Force (RAF) landing grounds, and vulnerable infantry positions: the result was that the available guns were spread too thinly in 'penny packets', while the Regia Aeronautica was very active with low and medium level attacks on columns.

However, even a small amount of AA fire was sometimes sufficient to deter an attack, and on 8 February Z Trp shot down a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero bomber.

The bases had been regularly dive-bombed in March and April, and heavy losses had been caused to the ships unloading at Suda Bay until AA guns were concentrated round the harbour.

[46] It was reinforced by 1 LAA Bty, a Regular Army unit that had fought in the Battle of France and subsequently served as an independent battery in 7th Support Group and in the Tobruk garrison.

Instead of being deployed in circles round objectives, the LAA guns were sited on the attackers' likely lines of approach; opening fire would not give away the presence of a likely target, and numerous dummy and alternative positions were prepared.

When the initial artillery bombardment began on the night of 23 October, LAA batteries switched from defending the assembly areas to firing Tracer ammunition to mark the attacking units' boundaries in the dust and darkness.

[52] 7th Armoured Division's role in the opening phase at Alamein, Operation Lightfoot, was to breach the extensive minefields and penetrate the enemy's positions.

Then followed what Gen Bernard Montgomery called the 'Dogfight' phase, before the breakthrough was achieved by Operation Supercharge, for which 7th Armoured Division was switched to a new line of attack.

[53][54][55] In the Battle of El Agheila, beginning on 13 December, Eighth Army carried out a 'left hook' round the Axis forces, which set them retreating once more, and then launched 7th Armoured Division in pursuit.

[60] 7th Armoured Division was next in action at the Battle of Medenine on 6 March when the Axis forces attempted to disrupt Eighth Army's preparations to break through the Mareth Line into Tunisia.

[46][71][72][73] The division's attempted to force a crossing of the Volturno Line were frustrated, and only an infantry bridgehead was obtained on 12 October, but this was enough to distract the enemy while other formations got across upstream.

At the end of the month the division moved to the coast, where it found a suitable ford for tanks and crossed the mouth of the Agnena canal, outflanked Monte Massico and broke into the valley of the River Garigliano.

[46][74][75] 7th Armoured Division was among the formations selected to be withdrawn with XXX Corps from the Italian Front to return to the UK to train for the Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord).

On 13 June, as the division attempted to advance down secondary roads to the latter objective, its leading units were badly shot up in the Battle of Villers-Bocage and it was forced to withdraw.

The 7th was the third division in the column, but played little part when the advance ran out of impetus once the leading tanks passed out of range of the supporting artillery, which was still west of the river because of congestion in the bridgehead.

That night the Luftwaffe made one of its rare air raids, hitting the Orne bridgehead and causing damage among the rear echelons of the armoured divisions, though it encountered a large volume of British AA fire.

Because there was little cover, the Luftwaffe carried out a large number of evening reconnaissance flights, 'of which quite a few were shot down or damaged by the concentrated fire of the light anti-aircraft Bofors', followed by small but effective night raids on the division's gun lines, ammunition dumps and headquarters.

[105] 7th Armoured Division played only a minor part in Operation Market Garden, the failed attempt by XXX Corps to use a 'carpet' of airborne forces to seize the crossing of the Nederrijn at Arnhem.

[112][113] 7th Armoured Division spent the winter months holding the line along the River Maas, with some shelling, patrol actions and occasional diversionary attacks.

Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe became more active in mid-December with fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft in twos and threes, or larger bombing raids, such as one on Sittard on 16 December, when 15th LAA Rgt shot down two of the new Messerschmitt Me 262 jets.

[116][117][118] The division remained in position until 21 February with little activity apart from artillery exchanges, occasional patrol clashes and one 'spirited appearance of the Luftwaffe which inflicted no damage'.

Their role was both to provide AA cover during the night and to take part in the initial 'Pepperpot', in which guns and mortars of all calibres saturated the enemy positions in front of the assaulting infantry.

15th (Scottish) Division, leading the assault for XII Corps, had over 700 guns of all types on call when the bombardment began at 23.30 on 23 March,[121] which was followed by 'the start of the Divisional "Pepperpot" at 1 A.M. to swell the din in a mad crescendo and to criss-cross the darkness with the vivid red of anti-aircraft and anti-tank and machine-gun tracer'.

[122] The infantry set off across the river in amphibious Buffaloes at 02.00 on 24 March, and made rapid progress inland to link up with the airborne troops who landed during the morning (Operation Varsity).

[123] The Luftwaffe did virtually nothing during the assaults or during D-Day itself: only after nightfall did Junkers Ju 88s begin scattered divebombing attacks at medium and low level against the British bridging sites, artillery positions and supply routes.

[131][132][133] After VE Day the units of 21st Army Group were engaged in occupation duties, disarming German troops and administering the British Zone of Allied-occupied Germany.

15th LAA Regiment remained in Hamburg when a large part of 7th Armoured Division moved to Berlin in June and July for victory parades.