Devon and Cornwall County Division

Devon and Cornwall County Division
The shoulder insignia of the division
Active	24 February 1941 –1 December 1941
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Static infantry
Role	Home defence
Size	10,000 men

The Devon and Cornwall County Division was a County Division of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 28 February 1941, from recently recruited soldiers, in response to the renewed threat of a German invasion. The 10,000-strong division was a static formation, lacking transport, intended to defend possible landing sites along the southern Cornish and Devon coastlines from invading German troops. The creation of the division also helped to free up the more experienced troops, who were then held back from the coastline to be able to launch a counter attack against any potential German landings.

During 1941, Germany launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, which practically eliminated the threat of an invasion of the United Kingdom. Consequently, the division never saw service in its intended role. With the threat of a German invasion lifted, the British Army began a series of reforms intended to restore balance to the then infantry-heavy organisation. As a result, all nine county divisions were disbanded. The Devon and Cornwall County Division ceased to exist on 1 December, but was subsequently reformed as the 77th Infantry Division.

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 re-emerging during 1941, these new battalions were formed into independent infantry brigades that were then assigned to newly created County Divisions (a total of nine such formations were raised).