Later the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 7th Armoured Division fought in the Italian Campaign during the early stages of the invasion of Italy then they were transported back to the UK where they prepared for the Normandy invasion. In April 1943 during the final attacks on the Mareth line in southern Tunisia, the 4th Independent Armoured Brigade began wearing the “Black Rats” (Jerboa) emblem instead of 7th Armoured Division’s red “Desert Rats” one. In 1942 after taking heavy combat losses, the 4th Armoured Brigade was refitted and became an independent armoured brigade but was still under the command of the 7th Armoured Division. Its actions in the Western Desert Campaign gained it the nickname the “Desert Rats” and its insignia became a red jerboa (a nocturnal rodent indigenous to North Africa). In February 1940, the name of the unit was changed to the 7th Armoured Division and it fought in most major battles of the North African Campaign, including Operation Crusader in November 1941 where it fought at Sidi Rezegh to try to relieve the besieged Commonwealth forces at Tobruk. The division was formed in Egypt during 1938 as the Mobile Division (Egypt). The British 7th Armoured Division consisting of the 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades saw distinguished active service during WWII.
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