was attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division for the battle in the Reichswald, during early to mid-February 1945. Following this, the 9th, in support of the 52nd Lowland Division, pushed further into Germany. Between March and April, the 9th had an extended period of refitting and maintenance, repairing or replacing tanks that had travelled thousands of miles and participated in countless engagements, anticipating the final push across the Rhine. The assault never truly came, the final tasks for the 9th was to clear and secure a small area of Germany. Organisation The main fighting element of the 9th RTR was split into the Regimental Headquarters consisting of six tanks and three squadrons, further split into Squadron HQs, which was made up of four tanks each, and five troops each with three tanks. In total, the 9th had 63 tanks, served by over 300 crew. Alongside the fighting elements was the recce troop, equipped with Jeeps and Daimler Dingo Scout Cars, and the Supply Section, which was in charge of providing the regiment with equipment, food and spare parts for the regiment's tanks. The structure of the Fighting Element of the regiment is shown below: Regimental HQ: Fighting Squadrons: * Officer Commanding ** Reconnaissance Officer *** Armoured Recovery Vehicle Officers of note in 9th RTR Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Sir Nugent Everard, Bart Commanding Officer (European Campaign): Lieutenant Colonel Peter Norman (Berry) Veale(DSO, MC) Regimental Quartermaster: Lieutenant Quartermaster Roland Patrick A Squadron Commanding Officer: Major James Douglas Haddow Ballantine B Squadron Commanding Officer: Major Michael Reynell C Squadron Commanding Officer: Major Ronnie Holden (DSO, MC) External links 9th Royal Tank Regiment "Tank Tracks"; a history of 9th RTR Merseyside RTR (Brian Gill`s website) Further reading Tank Tracks : 9th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment at War, 1940-45, by Peter Beale. (Alan Sutton, 1995) (hbk), (pbk), (hbk reissue) Royal Tank Regiment