As such, it was not until April 1941 that the regiment received a supply of vehicles and its first artillery pieces. These came in the form of a mix of antiquated 18-pounders and 4.5-inch howitzers. These were replaced in July with twenty-four 25-pounders when the regiment moved to Mersa Matruh, which it employed against German and Italian forces in defence of the garrison at Tobruk and then later around Halfaya Pass–Sidi Barrani before being withdrawn back to Cairo, in Egypt, where they undertook a training role from October 1941 to early 1942. During this time the regiment trained reinforcements for British and Commonwealth artillery units in the theatre and undertook daily shoots on the Almaza firing range.