The two regiments of the brigade had a short rest before the next operation. Only the 40th RTR participated in the initial landings at Salerno during Operation Avalanche, part of the Allied invasion of Italy, which began the Italian Campaign. It was assigned to the British 46th Infantry Division. The brigade, now under Brigadier Robert Arkwright, took command of various units from the British X Corps and the US VI Corps during the big German counterattacks, 12–14 September, to defend the boundary are between the two armies. It commanded American and British units up through the occupation of Naples on 1 October 1943. By October, the brigade had consolidated once more and had joined X Corps, containing the 7th Armoured Division, the 46th and 56th Infantry Division, on the left wing of the US Fifth Army, taking part in the fighting from the Volturno Line to the Winter Line (Gustav Line). In early January 1944, the 46th RTR was detached from the brigade to come under command of the British 1st Infantry Division for the Battle of Anzio landings (Operation Shingle) and rejoined the brigade in July. In March 1944 the brigade was transferred to the British V Corps which had a holding role on the eastern side of the Gustav Line by the Adriatic Sea while the Eighth and Fifth Armies combined to launch Operation Diadem in the Cassino sector. The Allies finally broke the German defences there after three unsuccessful attempts in the Battle of Monte Cassino since January. In late May 1944, the brigade was withdrawn from Italy and returned to Egypt. In August 1944, the brigade was renamed Force 140, later Arkforce after its commander, Brigadier Arkwight, and was dismounted from its tanks. The 40th and 50th RTR were retrained as infantry while 46th RTR was reorganised with one squadron of armoured cars and one squadron of infantry, this being attached to the 50th RTR, but kept one squadron of Shermans. Arkforce arrived at Piraeus on 12 October 1944 as part of the British occupying force in Greece when the Germans withdrew. It saw action against the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) during the Greek Civil War (the Dekemvriana). Arkforce was disbanded on 8 January 1945 and 23rd Armoured Brigade regained its designation, and had its tanks restored by the end of January. It remained in Greece beyond VE Day until the end of World War II. The 23rd Armoured Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:  The following officers commanded the 23rd Armoured Brigade during the war:  The brigade was disestablished in May 1946 but when the TA was revived on 1 January 1947 it reformed as an independent Armoured Brigade in Western Command with the following organisation:.