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The 77th Infantry Division of the British Army was formed during the Second World War, from the re-organisation of the Devon and Cornwall County Division. During its existence the division changed roles several times. On 20 December 1942, it became the 77th Infantry (Reserve) Division, training recruits in infantry and armoured warfare. New recruits to the army were assigned to the 77th to complete their training. On 1 December 1943, the division was once again renamed. Now known as the 77th (Holding) Division, it was responsible for retraining soldiers who had been on medical leave. Once recruits were fully trained, and men returning from injury retrained, they were allocated to formations fighting overseas. Notably, the formation was used as a source of reinforcements for the 21st Army Group, which was fighting in Normandy. After all available British army troops left the United Kingdom for France, the division was disbanded and re-formed as a deception unit to give Germany the impression that the British army had more divisions than it did. The notional 77th Division was held in reserve within the United Kingdom. ==Background== In 1940, following the Second World War's Battle of France, the United Kingdom was under threat of invasion from Nazi Germany. During the summer, the Battle of Britain dampened this threat. As the year progressed, the size of the British Army increased dramatically as 140 new infantry battalions were raised. During October, with the possibility of a German invasion during 1941, these new battalions were formed into independent infantry brigades that were then assigned to newly created County Divisions. The County Divisions, including the Devon and Cornwall County Division, were around 10,000 men strong and assigned to defend the coastlines of threatened sections of the country, including the manning of coastal artillery. These divisions were largely static, lacking mobility and also divisional assets such as artillery, engineers, and reconnaissance forces. Using the recruits in this manner allowed the regular infantry divisions to be freed up from such duties, undertake training, and form an all-important reserve that could be used to counterattack any possible German landing. On 22 June, Germany launched a massive attack upon the Soviet Union; this attack all but removed the threat of a German invasion of the United Kingdom. However, the British still had to consider the threat of a German invasion due the possibility that the Soviet Union could collapse under the German onslaught and the ease in which Germany could transfer troops back to the west. In late 1941, the arrival of autumn and winter weather meant that the threat of invasion subsided. This, coupled with the production of new equipment for the British army, allowed the War Office to begin steps to better balance the army due to the large number of infantry units formed during the preceding year and a half. As part of this reform, the County Divisions were disbanded. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「77th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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