North-West Europe campaign of 1944–45: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}

'''North-West Europe 1944–1945''' is a [[battle honour]] (more properly known as an honorary distinction)<ref name=grenguards/> earned by regiments of the [[British Commonwealth]] forces during the Second World War that took part in the actions of the northern part of the war's [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]. The battle honour ''North-West Europe'' is suffixed with the year, or years, in which the awarded unit took part in the action.<ref name=cansol>[http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/campaigns/northwesteurope/northwesteurope.htm North-West Europe], canadiansoldiers.com, retrieved and [https://web.archive.org/save/http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/campaigns/northwesteurope/northwesteurope.htm archived] 29 June 2019.</ref>

It refers to the land campaign starting with the [[Operation Overlord|6th June landings]] in [[invasion of Normandy|Normandy]] and ended with [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Field Marshal Montgomery]] taking the [[German surrender at Lüneburg Heath|German military surrender]] of all German forces in the Netherlands, Northwest Germany and Denmark on [[Lüneburg Heath]] in Northwest Germany. The campaign was conducted by [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]], of which the [[British 21st Army Group]] was a component, along with the American [[American 12th Army Group|12th]] and [[American 6th Army Group|6th Army Groups]]. Together, the three army groups comprised the Allied effort on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] which at its longest stretched from the North Sea to Switzerland.

The battle honours for the Second World War were not awarded until 1957/58 by which point some units had amalgamated or been disbanded.

* 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment ([[17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars]]) (1944–1945)<ref name=cansol/>

* [[11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment)]] (1945)<ref name=cansol/>

* [[2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians))]] (1945)<ref name=cansol/>

* [[Prince Edward Island Regiment]] for actions of [[Prince Edward Island Light Horse]] (1944–1945)<ref name=cansol/>

*[[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] (1944-45){{fact|date=September 2022}}

* [[East Lancashire Regiment]] (1944–1945)<ref name=lancsmus>[http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/984-2/ Battle Honours], Lancashire Infantry Museum, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190630103853/http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/984-2/ archived] 30 June 2019.</ref>

* [[South Lancashire Regiment]] (1944–1945)<ref name=lancsmus/>

* [[Suffolk Regiment]]{{fact|date=September 2022}}

* [[Coldstream Guards]] (1944–1945)<ref>Lewis Pearce, "Battle honours", appx. A in, Julian Paget, ''Second to None: The History of the Coldstream Guards 1650 2000'', Pen and Sword, 2000 {{ISBN|9781783379392}}.</ref>

* [[Irish Guards]]{{fact|date=September 2022}}

* [[Grenadier Guards]] (1944–1945)<ref name=grenguards>[http://www.ekb.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=58 Honorary Distinctions or Battle Honours], Grenadier Guards Association, East Kent Branch, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190721173713/http://www.ekb.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=58 archived] 21 July 2019.</ref>

* [[Welsh Guards]]{{fact|date=September 2022}}

* [[3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)]]{{fact|date=September 2022}}

* [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]] (1944–1945)<ref>[http://www.dwr.org.uk/history/regimental-battle-honours/ Regimental Battle Honours], The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) Regimental Association, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190721171251/http://www.dwr.org.uk/history/regimental-battle-honours/ archived] 21 July 2019.</ref>

* [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]] (1944–1945)<ref>[https://www.paradata.org.uk/article/battle-honours Battle Honours], Airborne Assault: ParaData, accessed 21 July 2019 and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190629111154/https://www.paradata.org.uk/article/battle-honours archived] 29 June 2019.</ref>

* [[South Staffordshire Regiment]] (1944)<ref>[https://staffordshireregimentmuseum.com/battle-honours.html Battle honours of the Staffordshire Regiment], The Staffordshire Regiment Museum, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190722172607/https://staffordshireregimentmuseum.com/battle-honours.html archived] 22 July 2019.</ref>

* [[Commandos (United Kingdom)|Army Commandos]] (1942–1944), in the form of honours granted to the Commandos Association.<ref>Major James Dunning, [https://soldierscharity.org/commandos-benevolent-fund/shall-glory-fade/ A brief history of the Army Commandos (1939-1945)], accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190722175100/https://soldierscharity.org/commandos-benevolent-fund/shall-glory-fade/ archived] 22 July 2019.</ref>

* [[Manchester Regiment]] (New 1st Battalion) (1944–1945)<ref>[https://www.tameside.gov.uk/MuseumsandGalleries/Battle-Honours Museum of the Manchester Regiment: Battle Honours of The Manchester Regiment], Tameside Metropolitan Borough, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190724165923/https://www.tameside.gov.uk/MuseumsandGalleries/Battle-Honours archived] 24 July 2019.</ref>

* [[Gloucestershire Regiment]] (1944–1945)<ref>[http://www.glosters.org/honours.htm Battle Honours The Gloucestershire Regiment 28th LXI], accessed 9 August 2019 and [https://web.archive.org/web/20180831111411/http://www.glosters.org/honours.htm archived] 31 August 2018.</ref>

*Life Guards

*Royal Horse Guards

*[[North-West Europe campaign of 1940]]

*Baker, Anthony ''Battle Honours of the British and Commonwealth Armies'' 1986. Ian Allan Publishing {{isbn|978-0711016002}}