46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

46th Infantry Division
Formation sign of the 46th Infantry Division.
Active	1939–1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	"The Oak Tree Division"
Engagements	Battle of France Tunisia Campaign Italian Campaign Greek Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Charles Hudson VC Douglas Wimberley Miles Dempsey

The 46th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1939 that saw distinguished service during World War II, fighting in the Battle of France and the Battle of Dunkirk where it was evacuated and later in North Africa, Italy and Greece.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1939, the Territorial Army (TA) was ordered to be doubled in size, as the threat of a European war with Nazi Germany was an increasing likelihood. As a result, the 46th Infantry Division came into existence in April 1939 as the 2nd Line duplicate of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, although the headquarters of 46th Division only assumed command on 2 October 1939, slightly less than a month after World War II began, under the command of Major-General Algernon Lee Ransome. Like its parent 49th Division, the 46th drew men primarily from the North Midlands and the West Riding areas of England and initially consisted of the 137th, 138th and 139th Infantry Brigades, together with supporting units.

In late April 1940 the 46th Infantry Division, now commanded by Major-General Henry Osborne Curtis, was sent to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division arrived on 24 April, came under command of HQ Lines of Communication, BEF, alongside the 12th (Eastern) and 23rd (Northumbrian) Divisions. It was poorly trained, however, and was assigned as a labour and training unit and lacked most of its artillery and signals units but ended up suffering very heavy casualties fighting the German Army in the Battle of France and, with the rest of the BEF, was forced to retreat to Dunkirk and was evacuated to Britain. However, the 2/6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, of the 137th Infantry Brigade were not evacuated with the rest of the division as they had been cut off when the Germans cut through Northern France and were instead attached to 'A' Infantry Brigade, previously the 25th Infantry Brigade, of the Beauman Division and later under command of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. The battalion later managed to avoid the surrender of the 51st (Highland) and around 500 men were successfully evacuated to the United Kingdom.