The 2nd Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Donald Butterworth, was sent to France shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939 as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade (alongside the 1st Loyal Regiment and 1st Gordon Highlanders), 1st Infantry Division and was part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and was involved in the battles of France and Belgium before eventually being evacuated from Dunkirk on 1 June 1940. Following that, the 2nd Battalion spent years on home defence in the United Kingdom preparing for a possible German invasion of England which never arrived. The battalion remained in the United Kingdom until 1943 when, still as part of 1st Infantry Division, it sailed to North Africa and took part in the campaign in Tunisia, British First Army. The battalion did not participate in the invasion of Sicily or the initial invasion of Italy but was one of the lead units in the Anzio landings in January 1944, under command of US Fifth Army, where they suffered extremely heavy casualties. On 7 February the battalion suffered 323 casualties attempting to capture Buonriposo Ridge which they captured but were forced to surrender the ridge after expending their ammunition. By May, following Operation Diadem, the battalion had absorbed eight drafts of replacements. Now fighting as part of the British Eighth Army, the 2nd Battalion continued to serve in Italy, fighting around the Gothic Line, until January 1945 when the battalion and the rest of 1st Infantry Division were transferred to Palestine.