77th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

77th Infantry Division 77th Infantry (Reserve) Division 77th (Holding) Division
The shoulder insignia of the division
Active	1 December 1941 –1 September 1944
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Home defence, and training.

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.

In 1940, following the Second World War's Battle of France, the United Kingdom was under threat of invasion from 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.