On 22 June 1941, Germany launched a massive attack upon the Soviet Union; this attack all but removed the threat of a German invasion of the United Kingdom. However, the British still had to consider the threat due to the possibility that the Soviet Union could collapse under the German onslaught and the ease in which Germany could transfer troops back to the west. In late 1941, the arrival of autumn and winter weather meant that the threat of invasion subsided. This, coupled with the production of new equipment for the British Army, allowed the War Office to begin steps to better balance the army due to the large number of infantry units formed during the preceding year and a half. As part of this reform, the County Divisions were disbanded. The 140 recently raised infantry battalions were, on the whole, transferred to other arms of the army to be retrained, primarily within the Royal Artillery and Royal Armoured Corps. On 1 December 1941, the Devon and Cornwall County Division was abolished and reformed as the 77th Infantry Division.