The discomforts were worse than the fighting, but despite them everyone was always cheerful and ready to do anything, and we were all very proud to be in the 3rd Div' - Infantry Platoon Commander, Arras, 1917.

'It was a great experience to see officers and men turn into veterans of the highest calibre in under three weeks, and to serve in a Division that never lost cohesion nor its high state of discipline' - Field Artillery Regimental Commander, Dunkirk, 1940.

'The 3rd Division is a Regular Division of the British Army. I am confident that it will continue to maintain in times of peace the splendid reputation it gained on the battle-fields of World Ward II' - Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, 1946.

These comments, made by officers ranging in rank from Subaltern to Field Marshall, give an indication of the quality of the 3rd Division.

Formed by Wellington in Portugal in 1809, the 3rd Division played a leading part in the battles of the Peninsular War. In 1815 it bore the brunt of Napoleon's attacks at Waterloo, and in the Crimea and South Africa, shared reverses and frustrations with the rest of the British forces engaged.

The 3rd division fought with distinction as an infantry division in the World Wars of the twentieth century, earning the nickname 'Iron Division' in 1916 and assaulting Hitler's Atlantic Wall on D-Day, 1944. In postwar years, in close cooperation with 38 Group Royal Air Force, the Division has formed the United Kingdom's air-portable Strategic Reserve, despatching troops for operations in all parts of the world from Borneo to Ulster. Having been reformed in BAOR as 3rd Armoured Division on 1 January 1978, the Division is now stationed on the Continent as part of Britain's contribution to the NATO alliance.

By using personal accounts wherever possible, this book tells how the Division and its soldiers have fared in success and adversity, in war and in turbulent peace, from the time of its formation ot the point when it commenced restructuring in the armoured role. It is an impressive story.

This new edition brings the story of the Iron Division up to the present day, with an account of its first ten years as an armoured division with the British Army of the Rhine.

Front cover: Challenger, the Iron Division's main battle tank of the 1990's.

Robin McNish
Hardcover with d/w Ian Allan 2000