The new 2nd Battalion was moved to Gibraltar in April 1943, and moved to Italy in July 1944, where it saw action in the Italian Campaign, in the Anzio Campaign and on the Gothic Line, with the 66th Infantry Brigade, which was part of the 1st Infantry Division. The 2nd Royal Scots were serving in 66th Brigade alongside the 1st Hertfordshire Regiment and 11th Lancashire Fusiliers. In January 1945 it moved to Palestine with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division, where it was active in security duties in October and November, and was then redeployed to the Suez Canal Zone in December 1945.