Landing in Normandy on the afternoon of D-Day, Murray saw nearly constant action with his brigade until August when he was ordered to Italy to take command of the 6th Armoured Division, after its previous commander, Gerald Templer, was wounded. The division, operating in Italy, was involved in the fighting on the Gothic Line in late 1944 before being withdrawn into reserve and then joining V Corps for the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy. Following the breaking of the Axis defences in the Argenta Gap by the 56th and 78th Infantry Divisions, the 6th Armoured Division was released to exploit across country. Advancing north-west to the River Po, the division linked up with units of the United States Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott, advancing from the south to cut off Axis forces in Bologna. By 8 May the division was crossing the Austrian frontier becoming the first element of the British Eighth Army, under Lieutenant General Richard McCreery, to enter German territory. Murray was mentioned in despatches for his services in Italy, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945.