The "6th Battalion" was a 2nd Line Territorial duplicate of the 4th Battalion, formed in 1939 when the TA was doubled in size. The battalion, part of the 138th Infantry Brigade of the 46th Infantry Division, went to France, under Lieutenant Colonel George Symes, in April 1940, and the following month experienced heavy fighting in the St Omer-La Bassée area. Taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation, the battalion returned to England in June 1940 and remained there on anti-invasion duties for the next two-and-a-half years. In early 1943, the battalion, now under Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Kendrew, together with the rest of the 46th Division, was sent to French North Africa where it became part of the British First Army and fought in the Tunisian Campaign until it ended in mid-May, with the battalion capturing thousands of Axis soldiers. After spending three months resting, refitting and training, the battalion then, in early September 1943, took part in the Allied invasion of Italy, suffering very heavy casualties. The battalion, after helping in the liberation of Naples, later participated in the breaching the Volturno Line, and advanced up the spine of western Italy, fighting along the Winter Line, and in the First Battle of Monte Cassino. In March 1944, the battalion, after nearly six months of continuous action, was withdrawn to Egypt and later Palestine to rest and refit. Returning to Italy in July, the battalion fought on the Gothic Line, before, in December 1944, being sent to Greece and returning again to Italy in April 1945.