Operation Crusader orders of battle

This is the order of battle for the ground forces involved in Operation Crusader, a World War II battle between the British Commonwealth and the European Axis Powers of Germany and Italy in North Africa between 18 November – 30 December 1941.

British and Commonwealth Forces
Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command: General Claude Auchinleck

British Eighth Army
Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham, succeeded on 26 November by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie when Auchinleck removed Cunningham from command of Eighth Army

XXX Corps
Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie
 * 7th Armoured Division (Major-General William Gott)
 * 4th Armoured Brigade
 * 8th Hussars
 * 3rd Royal Tank Regiment
 * 5th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
 * 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
 * 7th Armoured Brigade
 * 7th Hussars
 * 2nd Royal Tank Regiment
 * 6th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 22nd Armoured Brigade
 * 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
 * 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
 * 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
 * 7th Support Group
 * 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
 * 4th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
 * 1st Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
 * 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade
 * 60th (North Midland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * One Battery, 51st (Westmorland and Cumberland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * Divisional troops
 * 4th South African Armoured Car Regiment
 * King's Dragoon Guards
 * 11th Hussars
 * 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 1st South African Division (Major-General George Brink)
 * 1st South African Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
 * 1st Battalion, Royal Natal Carabineers, South African Infantry Corps
 * 1st Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
 * 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, South African Artillery Corps
 * 5th South African Infantry Brigade
 * Regiment Botha, South African Infantry Corps
 * South African Irish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
 * 3rd Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
 * 4th Field Artillery Regiment, South African Artillery Corps
 * 22nd Guards Brigade
 * 9th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles)
 * 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards

XIII Corps

 * Lieutenant-General Reade Godwin-Austen


 * 2nd New Zealand Division (Major-General Bernard Freyberg )
 * 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
 * 18th Infantry Battalion
 * 19th Infantry Battalion
 * 20th Infantry Battalion
 * 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
 * 21st Infantry Battalion
 * 22nd Infantry Battalion
 * 23rd Infantry Battalion
 * 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
 * 24th Infantry Battalion
 * 25th Infantry Battalion
 * 26th Infantry Battalion
 * Divisional troops
 * 27th (Machine Gun) Infantry Battalion
 * 28th (Maori) Infantry Battalion
 * 4th Field Regiment
 * 5th Field Regiment
 * 6th Field Regiment
 * 7th Anti-Tank Regiment
 * 14th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
 * Divisional Cavalry Regiment
 * 4th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Frank Messervy)
 * 5th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, The Buffs
 * 3rd Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment
 * 4th Battalion (Outram's), 6th Rajputana Rifles
 * 7th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
 * 4th Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment
 * 4th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment
 * 11th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
 * 2nd Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry
 * 1st Battalion (Wellesley's), 6th Rajputana Rifles
 * Divisional troops
 * The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse) (Reconnaissance)
 * 1st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 25th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 31st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 1st Army Tank Brigade
 * 8th Royal Tank Regiment - equipped with Valentine infantry tanks (Lt Col Brooke)
 * 42nd Royal Tank Regiment( Lt Col Willison later Lt Col Martin)
 * 44th Royal Tank Regiment - Matilda II infantry tanks (Lt Col Yeo)

Tobruk Fortress
Major-General Ronald Scobie
 * 70th Infantry Division
 * 14th Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion, Black Watch
 * 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
 * 16th Infantry Brigade
 * 2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment
 * 23rd Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
 * 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment
 * 4th Battalion, Border Regiment
 * Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade
 * I Carpathian Rifle Battalion
 * II Carpathian Rifle Battalion
 * III Carpathian Rifle Battalion
 * 11 Czechoslovakian Infantry Battalion
 * 2/13th Australian Infantry Battalion
 * Carpathian Machine Gun Battalion
 * Carpathian Field Regiment
 * 32nd Army Tank Brigade (Brigadier A.C. Willison)
 * 1st Royal Tank Regiment
 * 4th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 'D' Squadron 7th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade   (Brigadier John Muirhead)
 * 69th (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 13th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 14th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
 * 1 and 5 Independent Light Anti-Aircraft Batteries, Royal Artillery
 * 306 Battery, 27th (London Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery

Oasis Force

 * Brigadier Denys Reid


 * 29th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
 * 3rd Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment
 * 1st Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry
 * 6th South African Armoured Car Regiment

Army Reserve

 * 2nd South African Division (Major-General Isaac de Villiers)
 * 3rd South African Infantry Brigade
 * Imperial Light Horse, South African Infantry Corps
 * Rand Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
 * 1st Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
 * 1st Field Artillery Regiment, South African Artillery Corps
 * 4th South African Infantry Brigade
 * Kaffrarian Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
 * Umvoti Mounted Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
 * 2nd Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
 * 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, South African Artillery Corps
 * 6th South African Infantry Brigade
 * 1st South African Police Battalion
 * 2nd South African Police Battalion
 * 2nd Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
 * 5th Field Artillery Regiment, South African Artillery Corps

German and Italian forces
Supreme Commander North Africa: General Ettore Bastico

Italian XX Corps (Corpo d'Armata di Manovra - Mobile Corps)
Lieutenant-General Gastone Gambara
 * Corps assets:
 * Three batteries of truck-mounted 102 mm AA/AT guns
 * 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" (General Mario Balotta)
 * 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment
 * I Light Tank Battalion
 * II Light Tank Battalion
 * 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment
 * VII Medium Tank Battalion
 * VIII Medium Tank Battalion
 * IX Medium Tank Battalion
 * 8th Bersaglieri Regiment
 * 132nd Artillery Regiment
 * One battalion attached from the 26th Artillery Regiment, 17th Infantry Division "Pavia">
 * One battalion attached from the 24th Corps Artillery Group
 * 101st Motorised Division "Trieste"
 * 65th Infantry Regiment
 * 66th Infantry Regiment
 * 9th Bersaglieri Regiment
 * 551st Heavy Weapons Battalion
 * 21st Artillery Regiment
 * RECAM (Raggruppamento Esplorante del Corpo d'Armata di Manovra [reconnaissance group of the mobile army corps])
 * III Light Tank Battalion (attached from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment, Ariete division)
 * LII Medium Tank Battalion
 * "Romolo Gessi" Battalion, Italian Africa Police
 * "Giovani Fascisti" Infantry Group (2 bns)
 * Raggruppamento Batterie Volanti ("Portees" - truck mounted - Artillery Group)

Panzer Group Africa
Panzer Group Africa commanded by General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel

German Afrika Korps (commanded by Generalleutnant Ludwig Crüwell)
 * 15th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow until 6 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst)
 * 8th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
 * 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
 * 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
 * 3rd Engineers Battalion
 * 33rd Recon Battalion
 * 33rd Anti-tank Battalion
 * 33rd Artillery Regiment
 * 21st Panzer Division (Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein until 29 November (prisoner of war), then Generalmajor Karl Böttcher)
 * 5th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
 * 104th Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
 * 15th Motorcycle Battalion
 * 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion
 * 200th Engineers Battalion
 * 39th Anti-Tank Battalion
 * 605th Anti-Tank Battalion
 * 155th Artillery Regiment
 * Special Purpose Division Afrika (Renamed 90th Light Africa Division from 28 November 1941) (Generalmajor Max Sümmermann until 10 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Richard Veith)
 * 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
 * 155th Infantry Regiment (3 bns)
 * 3rd Battalion, 255th Infantry Regiment
 * 3rd Battalion, 347th Infantry Regiment
 * 361st Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
 * 900th Engineers Battalion
 * 580th Recon Battalion
 * Elements from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion
 * 2nd Battalion, 115th Motor Artillery Regiment
 * 2nd Motor Artillery Regiment (Italian)
 * 55th Infantry Division "Savona" (General Fedele de Giorgis)
 * 15th Infantry Regiment
 * 16th Infantry Regiment
 * "Genova Cavalleria" Machine Gun Battalion
 * 155th Machine Gun Battalion
 * Elements, from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion (German)
 * 12th Artillery Regiment

Italian XXI Corps
Italian XXI Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Enea Navarini
 * Corps assets:
 * 3rd Motor Artillery Regiment
 * 16th Corps Artillery Group
 * 8th Army Artillery Group
 * 24th Army Artillery Group
 * 340th Frontier Guards Artillery Group
 * 340th Frontier Guards Engineers Battalion
 * 17th Infantry Division "Pavia"
 * 27th Infantry Regiment
 * 28th Regiment Pavia
 * V Light Tank Battalion
 * "Lancieri d'Aosta" Machine Gun Battalion
 * 17th Heavy Weapons Battalion
 * 26th Artillery Regiment
 * 25th Infantry Division "Bologna"
 * 39th Infantry Regiment
 * 40th Infantry Regiment
 * 25th Heavy Weapons Battalion
 * 205th Artillery Regiment
 * 27th Infantry Division "Brescia"
 * 19th Infantry Regiment
 * 20th Infantry Regiment
 * 27th Machine Gun Battalion
 * 1st Motor Artillery Regiment
 * 102nd Motorised Division "Trento"
 * 7th Bersaglieri Regiment
 * 61st Infantry Regiment
 * 62nd Infantry Regiment
 * 551st Anti-Tank Battalion
 * 46th Artillery Regiment