After the early Campaigns of World War II, the British Expeditionary force left behind much equipment during their retreat from the front, including many Bedford trucks. Later in the war during the defence of Italy around 1944, German vehicles began to appear, based upon a strangely familiar chassis.
 
Many British Bedford trucks were captured during the successful German offensives in early war (like in the Western Desert or Crete). Later, from around 1944, several were converted with armour plating and mounted different type of weapons, giving birth to the Gep.M.Trsp.Wg Bedford (e) armoured vehicles, which saw use in the defense of Italy and Germany in the latest phases of the war.