. [72][97], As the German forces crumbled before the Allied onslaught, the numbers of German prisoners of war grew to the point where orders were issued on 1 May that no more prisoners should be sent west of the Rhine. [28] Advance parties from each formation involved travelled by air from Florence, but most Operation Goldflake units moved by sea. [63] The final troop movements for Operation Plunder involved 662 tanks, over 4,000 tank transporters and 32,000 other vehicles. It became the primary formation controlling the British contribution to NATO after the formation of the alliance in 1949. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. The second class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge, known as "Blackfriars", was built by the II Canadian Corps Engineers in 50 hours, starting at 10:00 on 26 March. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on LT COL Served from 1974 - 2011 Served in British Army of the Rhine. [28], It was estimated that seven line of communications sub area headquarters would be required to support the advance into Germany. After some debate, the Combined Chiefs of Staff endorsed his strategy at the Malta Conference in January and February 1945. Although the book is concerned primarily with the British armys experiences prosecuting counterinsurgency campaigns after 1945, it proves a helpful reference guide to the composition of the British army and its overseas deployments between 1945 and 1970. Daily expenditure of ammunition soon exceeded a trainload, so the non-arrival of even one train meant that ammunition had to be drawn from the Second Army roadhead at Bourg Leopold. While it was under construction, the engineers came under attack by the Luftwaffe, and 8 men were killed and 22 wounded. The troops in the assault units were issued with 24-hour ration packs, together with a Tommy cooker and a tin containing tea, condensed milk and sugar, enabling the troops in the front line to brew a hot cup of tea. [2] The Cologne Post was a newspaper published for members of the BAOR during this period. The second British Army on the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from 21st Army Group. A problem was encountered when defects were discovered in the tensioners of the 29th Armoured Brigade's new Comet tanks. [24], The Combined Chiefs further decided to reinforce Eisenhower's armies in North West Europe at the expense of those in the Mediterranean. Almost all BLA units were assigned to the 21st Army Group, which also included forces from other countries. The tracks of Sherman tanks were equipped with "duck bill" connectors to facilitate advancing across snow and soft ground. [79] Seven American combat engineer battalions assisted with road and bridge maintenance in the British Second Army area. . [12] The two central garrisons - Gtersloh and Paderborn - combined to form a single 'super garrison' called Westfalen Garrison in April 2014. [92] There was an additional allocation of 5,100 tonnes (5,000 long tons) of road transport for the drive to the Baltic Sea on 26 April, and another 2,700 tonnes (2,700 long tons) was received by the end of the month. Fifteen minutes after the glider landings, there was a resupply mission flown by 240 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers from the US Eighth Air Force. French, David. When the First World War ended British troops crossed the Rhine into Germany and entered a cou Many had seen hard use in the Ardennes, where they had demonstrated their utility, and large numbers were in the REME workshops. Nearly 50 engineer companies, together with three road construction companies and 29 pioneer companies, were engaged in road maintenance. The great majority of Canadian requirements, including ordnance stores, ammunition, petroleum products, most engineer, medical and dental stores, rations, office machinery and other supplies, were provided through British channels. CONTENTS OF EMAILS MAY BE DISPLAYED ON THIS SITE (BUT IN AN ENCRYPTED FORMAT TO DETER SPAMMERS) TO BENEFIT HISTORY. Garrison/HQ JHQ Rheindahlen, Germany. List of units and formations of the British Army, "Neuer britischer Kommandeur in Paderborn", "Adventurous Training Foundation Delivery (AFTD)", Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom, British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Army_Germany&oldid=1141875126, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Military command, support, and administration, Land Training Fleet (Sennelager) which provides and maintains a pool of. They were respectively augmented by 1,891 and 1,446 anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns. By 1945 the British Army was highly experienced, professional and proficient. [66][76], At Gennep, the 6th Army Troops Engineers built a 312-metre (1,023ft) class 30 Bailey bridge using the piers and abutments of a demolished railway bridge. Four days later the German Instrument of Surrender was signed in Berlin, and the war with Germany was over. They only operated until newly constructed bridges were able to take traffic, which occurred about 72 hours into the operation. The Corps was with the BEF in 1940 and thereafter involved in the defene of the UK. As the Soviet threat increased, so BAOR became less of an occupational army and assumed the role of defender of Western Europe, and as a major contributor to NATO after . Check 'British Army of the Rhine' translations into Italian. A petrol station company was formed from personnel made surplus by the reorganisation with six platoons, each containing three sections. Operation Plunder included an airborne operation, Operation Varsity, in which two airborne divisions were landed with a day's supply of food, fuel and petrol. A sweeping review of four hundred years of British army history. The affectionate story of British servicemen and their families who had to make Germany a home from home in the decades after the Second World War. 10 Army Roadhead commenced on 13 April, and the first train arrived at No. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War. To secure the required transportation resources, eleven general transport companies, seven artillery transport platoons, a tank transporter company, a bulk petrol transport company, a petrol depot, a bridge company and an ambulance car company were transferred from Italy. By this time the system consisted of 1,811 kilometres (1,125mi) of pipelines and storage tanks with a capacity of 104,770 tonnes (103,120 long tons). By this time a thaw had set in, and the ground was now soft and muddy, restricting off-road vehicle movement. New search features Acronym Blog Free tools . Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Initially, bulk POL was brought across the Rhine in tanker trucks at the rate of 1,000 tonnes (1,000 long tons) per day. History of the british army of the rhine 06 09 14. [11] The first phase of this was the transfer of remaining stores to the advanced base. An Inter-Allied force of British, French and . The Oxford History of the British Army. These two photos were taken in late 1956 by Lab Tech Cpl Peter Elgar: 1945British Army Royal Engineers enaged in the building of The Freeman Bridge, The River Rhine, Dusseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The two corps stocked their FMCs by road, but the completion of repairs to the 1,222-metre (4,008ft) bridge over the Maas at Gennep by the 7th Army Troops Engineers on 20 March relieved the pressure on the one at Grave, and it became possible to move the railhead to within the No. The War Office found that it could provide another two field bakeries from the United Kingdom, along with three field butcheries that were already scheduled to be sent. [47][48] Some 50 miles (80km) of new roads were built, and over 400 miles (640km) of roads were repaired, which required 64,000 tonnes (63,000 long tons). Includes a chapter on the creation of the postmodern regimental system between 1945 and 1970 against the backdrop of postwar austerity and the consequent reorganization and amalgamation of many regiments. [42] The weight of shell employed would still be formidable; the fire plan still called for 6 tonnes (6 long tons) of shells to be delivered on designated targets, and some would receive up to 11 tonnes (11 long tons). [4] Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. The first British bridge across the river was the class 9 FBE bridge, known as "Twist", in the XII Corps area, which was erected by the VIII Corps Troops Engineers in ten hours on 24 March. [32][33], A major user of fuel was the Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) system at pinoy, which consumed 410,000 litres (90,000impgal) per night. B.A.R. A request from the 21st army Group for additional resources to support the redeployed formations was rejected by the War Office; any additional support units required had to either be drawn from the Mediterranean or supplied by the 21st Army Group. [44] Road maintenance was made especially difficult by the winter weather. Bulk demands for artillery equipment, clothing and general stores were sent periodically by the formation's R.C.O.C. [12] Petrol was brought in tankers and over the Operation Pluto pipeline. 30 hurt in blast at army base. The transfer involved 102,415 troops. 1 Artillery Brigade Cold War.png 888 544; 45 KB. Media in category "British Army of the Rhine". 15 Army Roadhead. For nearly 70 years, generations would grow up on bases with special schools, shops, housing and even their own radio station, as parts of the Rhineland became little bubbles of Britishness. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. It is a history of British European security commitments, of NATO military strategy, and of the changing character of land warfare after 1945. By January 1945, some 90,000 civilians were employed by the 21st Army Group, of whom half were employed in workshops in the advanced base, and 14,000 at the port of Antwerp. [9] This required major operations, and the port was not opened for shipping until 26 November. A German V-2 rocket scored a direct hit on the British POL installation at Antwerp on 19 January. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Two pipelines were laid across the Rhine at Emmerich and were in operation by the end of April. [45], Stocks of ammunition were built up at No. Part of Ministry of Defence. The Regiments Depart: A History of the British Army, 19451970. An initial stockpile of 91,000 litres (20,000impgal) was supplied to the unit, followed by daily deliveries of 14,000 litres (3,000impgal) per day. Captured German dumps held sufficient quantities of food for them, but they were not always easily accessible or distributable, so some had to be fed from 21st Army Group stocks, on a temporary ration scale of 1,100 calories (4,600J) per man per day. It drew fuel from Dungeness on the coast of Kent and transported it across the Strait of Dover to a terminal near Boulogne. A broad look at the cultural attitudes of the British army and its relationship with wider society. Menu Search. Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. [28], Originally scheduled to start on 12 January 1945, when the ground would have been hard and frozen and off-road vehicle movement possible, Operation Veritable was delayed for five weeks by the Ardennes Offensive. Their feeding was the responsibility of the German civilian population, but the British Army had to release a large number of NAAFI packs to displaced persons. [19] He intended to make the main Allied effort in the north, in the 21st Army Group's sector. [5], As the potential threat of Soviet invasion across the North German Plain into West Germany increased, BAOR became more responsible for the defence of West Germany than its occupation. A traffic jam broke the bridge during the night, but it was reopened thirteen hours later. [1] The General Officer Commanding UKSC(G) also functioned as head of the British Forces Liaison Organisation (Germany), which was responsible for liaising and maintaining relations with German civil authorities. The army roadheads were mainly supplied by rail. [38] Operation Blackcock, a preliminary operation to clear German forces from the Roer Triangle, was carried out by the XII Corps in January 1945. Motorman began on 31st July 1972 with the rapid deployment of troops from the rest of the UK and the British Army of the Rhine to the ports of Belfast and Derry. Until the railway bridges could be brought into operation, maintenance depended entirely on road transport. The airborne troops landed with two 24-hour ration packs, and the 6th Airborne Division's seaborne tail held two days of compo rations in second line transport. Due to the proximity of Rees, the VIII Corps Troops Engineers could not work on the "London" class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge until the afternoon of 25 March, and it was opened at 23:00 on 26 March. . USA & International; 100 Damaged vehicles on the east bank of the Rhine were collected at points near the river and transported back on rafts. [63] Units participating in Operation Plunder were re-equipped before the start of the operation. The class 12 Bailey bridge, known as "Sussex", took the XII Corps Troops Engineers and the Royal Navy 43 hours to erect. British Army of the Rhine (post First World War) B.A.F.S.V. Ted's Bio; Fact Sheet; Hoja Informativa Del Ted Fund; Ted Fund Board 2021-22; 2021 Ted Fund Donors; Ted Fund Donors Over the Years. Meanwhile, the class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge at Xanten was erected by the 7th Army Troops Engineers in 31 hours, and opened to traffic at 16:30 on 25 March. In addition, XII Corps employed 48 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns in the ground role, and they fired 16,573 rounds. The other units could not be found, and the 21st Army Group was informed that it would have to make do without them. Blaxland 1971 and Mallinson 2009, for example, have produced histories of the army which are not entirely dominated by narratives of counterinsurgency campaigns. Army Bases [35] It would be carried out by General Harry Crerar's First Canadian Army, which was built up to a strength of 449,865 personnel through the addition of large numbers of British troops; counting civilians and prisoners of war, the army had a ration strength of 476,193. [11] To get the railway system in operation again required the reconstruction of bridges and the importation of additional locomotives. The British Liberation Army (BLA) was the official name given to the British Army forces which fought on the Western Front of World War II between the Invasion of Normandy and the end of the war. At the rail stop there were messes and a kitchen that ran 24 hours a day. For nearly 70 years, generations would grow up on bases with special schools, shops, housing and even their own radio station, as parts of the Rhineland became little bubbles of Britishness . 166 Field Maintenance Centre (FMC) at Veghel and the two Canadian FMCs at Wijchen and Oss. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Barnett, Correlli. There were tactical, operational and political reasons for this: the best sites for a crossing of the Rhine were there;[20] a crossing in the north gave access to the North German Plain, where the terrain was good for mobile warfare, for which his Allied forces were particularly suited;[21] it offered a means of cutting off the Ruhr,[22] a major industrial region of Germany;[23] and it had the political advantage of involving the British and Canadians. 15 Army Roadhead opened in the Almelo area on 18 April and was stocked by road from No. By mid-March POL was arriving at a rate of 15,000 tonnes (15,000 long tons) per day, of which 3,000 tonnes (3,000 long tons) was coming over the Dumbo pipeline. [89][90], Despite this, stocks at the Nos. They were augmented by 1,891 and 1,446 anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns. No. A special effort was made to ensure that all units had their full allowance of winter and protective clothing. In addition to the storm boats, DUKWs, Buffaloes and Weasels,[62] there were also amphibious DD tanks. Supplies and POL were stocked at Eindhoven; POL at Schijndel; ammunition at Veghel, Uden, Oss and Wijchen; road material at Mill; coal at Best; and bridging at 's-Hertogenbosch. 12 Army Roadhead via the American rail bridge at Wesel three days later. The 17th and 19th Line of Communications Sub Area assumed responsibility for the region around Lille, allowing the 15th Line of Communications Sub Area to move to the area between the Maas and the Rhine. From 1922 the BAOR was organised into two brigades:[1], The second British Army of the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from the British Liberation Army. For this the British Second Army deployed 1,520 field and medium guns, and the US Ninth Army had 624 field and medium guns. Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare and maintain a forward presence.Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance, often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces, as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. BMH Iserlohn was one of several BAOR (British Army Of The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. [55], When the II Canadian Corps assumed control of the left sector on 15 February, No. The history of BAOR, then, is not simply a history of an army formation. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. What military bases are left in Germany? A comprehensive history of the British army aimed at undergraduate students and the general reader. [37] Operation Veritable was scheduled to commence on 8 February, but the date for Operation Grenade could not be set, as it depended on the capture of dams on the Roer further south by the US First Army. A request for an increase in the theatre reserves from 28 to 51 days was approved by the War Office, but it was not possible to increase the stockpile of ammunition, as this was already being shipped at the maximum rate. [63][72] The seaborne tail of the 6th Airborne Division established a DUKW replenishment area west of the Rhine from whence supplies were moved until it could cross the river. British Armed Forces Special Vouchers B.A.O.R. The deployment of BAOR on the European Central Front was symbolic of British political intent vis--vis European security and was the military means by which Britain sought to deter a conventional or nuclear Warsaw Pact attack. BMH Munster was one of several BAOR (British Army On The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. The "Waterloo" class 9 FBE could not be built at the intended site at Rees on 24 March because the town had not been captured. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) began life in 1945 as a postwar administrative headquarters deployed in support of the civilian authority of the British zone of occupation, northern Germany. The pipeline running from Cherbourg to Rouen was shut down on 9 January, which freed personnel to work on extending other pipelines. [99], On 4 May 1945, Montgomery accepted the German surrender at Lneburg Heath, which covered German forces in the Netherlands, Dunkirk, North West Germany and Denmark. While most of its units were British or Canadian, there were also contingents from Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Poland,[1] and the RAF Second Tactical Air Force operating in support also had Australian, French, New Zealand and Norwegian squadrons. [65], The buildup of stocks for Operation Plunder commenced on 8 March. Some of the ammunition that had earlier been dumped was to be made inaccessible by flood waters. Consequently, the daily pack trains that carried supplies were normally run straight through from the advanced base to the corps railheads, which were normally stocked on a commodity basis, and the roadheads supporting the First Canadian Army carried much less stock than its British Second Army counterparts. [51] Rations were moved forward however, and 2,318,222 rations were stockpiled for Operation Veritable. Between 1945 and 1957, West Germany made a dizzying pivot from Nazi bastion to Britain's Cold War ally against the Soviet Union. [41] Some 600 field and 300 medium guns would support the operation. [75][66] The road network was also developed, and by 23 March eleven routes were open across the Maas, of which six were in the First Canadian Army area, including the sole class 70 route (ie one capable of carrying loads of up to 70 tonnes (69 long tons)) and five in the British Second Army area. BAOR stands for British Army Of the Rhine. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. As a result, vehicles owned by personnel ceased to have distinct registration plates, which had made them easily identifiable. Battle of Route Coloniale 4, 1950: Frances first devastat British Armed Forces, from the Glorious Revolution to Pres Communications, French Revolution to Present, Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert, Jacques Antoine, Hungary, Warfare in Medieval and Early Modern, India 'Mutiny' and 'Revolution,' 1857-1858, Japanese Army in the World War II Era, The Imperial, Justice, Military, the Anglo-American Tradition. This was after British forces personnel were scaled down over several years, with 19,100 in April 2010, and 2,850 in April 2019. The Mediterranean theatre was only able to provide two field bakeries. Chieftain: The British Army of the Rhine, provides a complete array of British equipment and maneuver units, from Chieftain and Challenger tanks through MCV-80 and Saxon APCs. Cold War British Army Threat Recognition Guide It's the 1980s and the British Army Of the Rhine is still stationed in West Germany facing down the USSR's forces. The armoured divisions also carried a day's worth of AFV ration packs. Deployed on the European Central Front with its NORTHAG sister formations, BAOR was a significant feature of NATOs forward shield of ground forces to deter or, if deterrence failed, to repel a major Warsaw Pact offensive on the Continent. The aim was to re-establish patrols in these areas and flush out paramilitaries from urban bases. 1st/4th and 9th battalions of the Seaforths were with the Rhine Army in 1919. Moody, Simon J. Imagining Nuclear War in the British Army, 19451989. Please subscribe or login. Preparations were made to move it to a new site, but this was not required. The British Army, Manpower, and Society into the Twenty-First Century. In view of pressure from the Canadian government to have its forces reunited, the Combined Chiefs decided to send the two divisions of the I Canadian Corps to rejoin the First Canadian Army, followed by up to three British divisions. von | Jun 17, 2022 | tornadoes of 1965 | | Jun 17, 2022 | tornadoes of 1965 | Its commander was the British commander of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). BMH Iserlohn was housed in Argonne Barracks which was a German Calvary and Armoured Regiment building from the 1930s. This page is a list of British Armies in WWII. British Army of the Rhine (post Second World War) . Foster. Work commenced at 09:30, and the bridge was opened for traffic at midnight. German railway personnel were used to man two trains a day from Celle to Bienenbuttel. During February 300,000 long tons (300,000t) of supplies were delivered to the XXX Corps railheads. The following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany.After the assumption of government by civilians, it became the command formation for the troops in Germany only, rather than being responsible for . [26], The headquarters of the 9th Line of Communications Area was transferred to Paris to assist the American Communications Zone with the move. This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 08:31. The British Army of the Rhine was born in 1945 out of the British Liberation Army at the close of the war as the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. As the Soviet threat increased, so BAOR became less of an occupational army and assumed the role of defender of Western Europe, and as a major contributor to NATO after . 168 FMC area at Goch. Recourse was therefore made to Weasel tracked vehicles, and every available Weasel was rushed to the front. [46] There were 350 different types of ammunition in all. Engineers soon had bridges over the Rhine in operation, which were then superseded by more permanent road and rail bridges. A large force of engineer units was assembled for the operation: 37,000 British and Canadian engineers and pioneers, and 22,000 American engineers. [47], The opening of a railway bridge over the Maas at Ravenstein on 4 February enabled the FMCs to be served by rail. The corps sometimes had to send their transport back to the army roadheads to assist when major operations were required. Select from premium British Army Of The Rhine of the highest quality. The United States and the Middle East, 1945-2001, World War II in the Mediterranean and Middle East. All this week on Forces TV we are focusing on 'Rebasing' from Germany, as the countdown to drawdown steps up a gear. The four Army garrisons in Germany were under the direct administrative control of UKSC(G). It was also feared for a time that the skeleton FMC was in danger of being inundated, although it was sited on high ground. Moody 2020 provides the first comprehensive study of how the army intellectualized the arrival of nuclear weapons and how they might be employed in a future war. It took part in the Overlord invasion of Europe in 1944 and through to the end of war in Germany. [6], Disbandment of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) in 1994, following the end of the Cold War and the Options for Change defence review in the early 1990s, reduced the strength of the British Armed Forces in Germany by almost 30,000 with just one division (1st Armoured) remaining by the late 1990s,[7] concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia. Please continue & follow him.pic.twitter.com/TU3GKnZFPU", "British Orders of Battle & TO&Es 1980-1989", "From occupiers and protectors to guests", "Osnabrck picks up the pieces after British withdrawal", "All British army bases in Germany to close by 2019 with 20,000 troops returning to UK", "Farewell to the 1st Westfalen Garrison Commander", "A Queen's birthday reception was held in Germany", "British army hands back last headquarters in Germany", "Defence review ends Iraq-sized ventures", In West Germany: Military Networks Spreading Pop, Secret squad sent in to track down IRA killers, BBC News: Army to scale down Germany troops, BBC News: From occupiers and protectors to guests, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Forces_Germany&oldid=1126727293, This page was last edited on 10 December 2022, at 22:46.