WO2 Served from 1974 - 1994 Served in British Army of the Rhine. A special effort was made to ensure that all units had their full allowance of winter and protective clothing. TankDiary on Twitter It was arranged that 40 tanks, 650 wheeled vehicles, 50 Bren gun carriers, and 3,700 personnel would disembark each day in Marseilles, where accommodation was provided for 10,000 troops in tents and 200 vehicles. British Land Forces in Germany came under the command of the British Army of the Rhine. 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. The British 6th Airborne Division was withdrawn to the UK and re-equipped there, but its seaborne tail had to be re-equipped by the 21st Army Group. Foster. LT COL Served from 1974 - 2011 Served in British Army of the Rhine. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Initially Goldflake convoys sailed to Marseilles by a direct route but after the Battle of the Ligurian Sea on the night of 17/18 March they were routed further south, through the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia. To conserve scarce manpower, the British and Canadian forces employed mechanisation and materiel to maximum effect. In due course it was relieved by a vehicle park from Italy. [50], Because it was not anticipated that the advance would be rapid, it was not considered necessary to hold large stocks of petrol, oil and lubricants (POL) in the FMCs, but to ensure that vehicles moving to the assembly areas arrived with full tanks of fuel, a train loaded with petrol was sent to Nijmegen to allow them to be topped off. It took part in the Overlord invasion of Europe in 1944 and through to the end of war in Germany. The bivouac areas were provided with temporary billets, latrines, emergency rations and fuel, and medical teams and vehicle maintenance crews were on hand. . Learning and Adapting: The British Army from Somme to the Mexico and the United States, 18361848, Wars of, Semi-Military and Paramilitary Organizations, South West Pacific, 19411945, Campaigns in, Southeast Asian Military History, Colonial, Southeast Asian Military History, Precolonial. It closed in March 1994. british army of the rhine bases. [2] With the end of the Cold War, and the Options for Change defence review in the early 1990s, BFG as a whole was considerably reduced, with the British presence centred on the 1st Armoured Division, and supporting elements. 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 . The Regiments Depart: A History of the British Army, 19451970. 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. B.A.R. [16] The US XVIII Airborne Corps was assigned to the 21st Army Group for the crossing of the Rhine,[17] and again on 25 April for operations between the Elbe and the Baltic Sea. [102] The 21st Army Group's logistical system proved capable of keeping the fighting men fed and supplied, whether in the awful weather conditions of Operation Veritable, or the fast-moving advance of the final drive beyond the Rhine.[104]. A petrol station company was formed from personnel made surplus by the reorganisation with six platoons, each containing three sections. [44] The 25-pounders were each provided with an additional 1,471 rounds in addition to the 206 rounds per gun each regiment normally carried. BMH Iserlohn was one of several BAOR (British Army Of The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. [91], On 3 May an VIII Corps FMC at Lneburg was taken over by the Second Army and used as an advance roadhead in conjunction with No. A new type was flown out direct from the UK factory by priority air freight and fitted to the tanks. SGT Served from 1967 - 1985 Served in British Army of the Rhine. BMH Iserlohn was housed in Argonne Barracks which was a German Calvary and Armoured Regiment building from the 1930s. [32][34], To free up administrative units to support the advance into Germany, it was decided to shorten the line of communications by closing down the RMA in Normandy, where some 300,000 long tons (300,000t) of supplies were still held. BMH Munster was one of several BAOR (British Army On The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. The first British Army of the Rhine was set up in March 1919 to implement the occupation of the Rhineland. Recourse was therefore made to Weasel tracked vehicles, and every available Weasel was rushed to the front. WW2 MAPS OF BRUSSELS/BRUXELLES 1944 D/DAY ORIGINAL RARE. Canadian units indented for warlike stores direct to their division's Ordnance Field Park, which carried stocks of spare parts for mechanical transport, small arms, armament, signal stores, and engineering equipment, as well as complete wireless sets and small arms. This airborne operation was the largest of its kind during the entire war, utilizing 1,625 transports, 1,348 gliders, and 889 escort fighters to deliver over 22,000 airborne infantry into the contested territory. GYM. TR. The 21st Army Group allocated additional road transport capacity to the armies by shifting vehicles from the rear areas and immobilising units that were not immediately needed. 206 FMC. [70] Of the 610 tonnes (600 long tons) of supplies and equipment dropped, 80 per cent was recovered. British Army of the Rhine (post Second World War) . 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. Pipelines were now constructed from Calais to Ghent, and thence to the storage facilities around Antwerp. 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. Sirs, Ladies and Gentlemen,Welcome to the website dedicated to the British Army of the Rhine, its locations, and those areas whilst not strictly within BAOR, thatwere vital to the operation of the theatre. When the flood waters subsided, it was found that the Nijmegen-Cleve road surface had been too badly damaged to use, so the II Canadian Corps and XXX Corps were forced to share the road running south of the Reichswald. This led to a scaling down of the British military presence, and a restructuring of command and support structures. A general study of the historical experiences that have shaped the British army. Three days later, XII Corps did the same to facilitate the capture of Hamburg, but the expenditure of ammunition at Bremen was not as great as anticipated, and this allowed XII Corps's requirements to be met in full. + $18.23 shipping. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. [52], Special tracks were provided for the Bren gun carriers to prevent skidding on icy roads, but these had to be withdrawn when it was discovered that they caused excessive wear and tear on their suspensions. The Royal Navy formed Force U, consisting of three squadrons, each with a flotilla of twelve Landing Craft Medium (LCM), and a flotilla of twelve Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), which were transported by road across Holland and Belgium to participate. In addition to the road transport, the 21st Army Group also had barges capable of carrying 10,000 tonnes (10,000 long tons) of bulk POL. The best introduction to the regimental system of the British army. This merely delayed work on the bridge, which was opened to traffic at 20:15. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was formed at the conclusion of World War II from various units of the British 21st Army Group. [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. British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) | REME Museum The 3rd Canadian Division made use of Buffalo tracked amphibious vehicles. A traffic jam broke the bridge during the night, but it was reopened thirteen hours later. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. The British Second Army also had access to the American class 70 timber pile bridge at Venlo and the Canadian First Army class 70 bridge at Grave. GMT Games - BAOR: MBT Expansion 167 FMC, established by the XXX Corps which held only petrol, compo ration packs and ammunition. reminiscing, whether colonel or corporal. It is a history of British European security commitments, of NATO military strategy, and of the changing character of land warfare after 1945. These were manufactured locally in Brussels and fitted in Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) workshops. Covered accommodation was eventually provided for between 300,000 and 400,000 troops. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1950s British Army Rhine Royal Artillery Soldiers sergeant officer etc 3.25*2.25 at the best online prices at eBay! 166 FMC was developed from one formerly established there by the VIII Corps, although it had to be expanded as XXX Corps had over 200,000 troops under its command for Operation Veritable. SALUTE 50, ExCeL London - please pre-order now [11] To get the railway system in operation again required the reconstruction of bridges and the importation of additional locomotives. [71] The supplies dropped represented a day's supply of food, fuel and petrol for the two divisions. The purpose of this site is to give people, still serving or not, the opportunity to look back at the places in Germany where they may have served over the years and also a view of the regiments and units which shaped them. [3] However, around 185 British Army personnel and 60 Ministry of Defence civilians will stay in Germany beyond 2020. Free shipping for many products! Until the railway bridges could be brought into operation, maintenance depended entirely on road transport. Although only 3,600 tonnes (3,500 long tons) of petrol was lost, POL storage tanks capable of holding 10,000 tonnes (10,000 long tons) were rendered unusable. British logistics in the Western Allied invasion of Germany was the support of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group and the RAF Second Tactical Air Force operations in the Second World War from 8 January 1945 until the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945. badge, formation, British, I Corps & 1st Corps. - Imperial War Museums Only three could be provided by the 21st Army Group: the 5th Line of Communications Sub Area and the 101st Beach Sub Area when released from the RMA, and the 9th Line of Communications Sub Area, when it was no longer required for Operation Goldflake. Does the British Army of the Rhine still exist? The armoured divisions also carried a day's worth of AFV ration packs. Railway units were moved forward, and only one railway group headquarters and two railway operating companies were left in France, Belgium and the Netherlands south of the Waal. [63][64] When mounted on the proposed trailer, the 15-metre (50ft) LCM was 4.6 metres (15ft) high, which left only 7.6 centimetres (3in) of clearance under some of the bridges they had to pass under between Antwerp and the staging area around Nijmegen. During the first three weeks of April 1945, the 21st Army Group advanced about 320 kilometres (200mi) across northern Germany to reach the Elbe on 19 April and then the Baltic Sea. Most of these units were progressively dissolved, so that by February 1920 there were only regular battalions: In August 1920 Winston Churchill told the British Parliament that the BAOR comprised approximately 13,360 troops, consisting of staff, cavalry, Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, infantry, machine gun corps, tanks, and the usual ancillary services. . The Commander-in-Chief of BAOR also served as the commander of NATO's northern Army Group, and as such had Dutch and German units under command in the event of war. British Army of the Rhine - BAOR Locations The next major operation was Operation Plunderthe assault crossing of the Rhine on 23 March. Not all general accounts of the postwar army have overlooked the services experiences in developing ground forces for nuclear war, however. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}520734N 84059E / 52.12611N 8.68306E / 52.12611; 8.68306. British Army of the Rhine in English - French-English Dictionary | Glosbe It was also anticipated that as the Allied advance proceeded into Germany, there would be increased demand to feed and accommodate prisoners of war, liberated Allied prisoners and displaced persons. The expansion of the rail network allowed the 21st Army Group to give the Second Army another 11,460 tonnes (11,280 long tons) of road transport capacity. 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. Over the next six days it was used by 29,139 vehicles. Over the next 24 hours, 7,415 vehicles crossed the bridge. 10 Army Roadhead. The 5 miles (8.0km) of the Nijmegen-Cleve road was under 610 millimetres (24in) of water, and DUKWs were employed to move supplies forward along it to a "skeleton" FMC, No. [44] Road maintenance was made especially difficult by the winter weather. [51] Extremely cold conditions persisted into February, and the divisions were issued with Arctic clothing and equipment that had been stockpiled for operations in Norway. Four trains a day passed through Gevrey-Chambertin, which handled 72,550 personnel and 4,035 trucks. [62], Once the link-up with the ground forces was effected, the 6th Airborne Division drew its supplies from XII Corps, while the US 17th Airborne Division drew its from the US Ninth Army. Another 640 tonnes (630 long tons) was reallocated from the First Canadian Army, and .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}7+12 platoons were made available taking the transport from an anti-aircraft brigade. The class 40 timber pile bridge at Zanten, known as "Dempsey" was built by the 18th GHQ Troops Engineers and was opened on 26 May. It was decanted at Bocholt and transported by rail to No. 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. Army Bases For this the British Second Army deployed 1,520 field and medium guns, and the US Ninth Army . [87][88] A 300-metre (980ft) Class 9 FBE bridge was built over the Elbe at Lauenburg by the VIII Corps engineers on 29 April. [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. [94] New lines continued to be laid, the last one being laid to Bocholt on 24 May. 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 . Emmerich was taken on 1 April after a three-day battle to provide an additional bridgehead. [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. 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. These two photos were taken in late 1956 by Lab Tech Cpl Peter Elgar: VIII Corps also used its own transport to haul ammunition for the crossing of the Elbe on 28 April. The corps sometimes had to send their transport back to the army roadheads to assist when major operations were required. British Army Germany was formed in 2020 to administer the remaining service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents (family members), based in Germany.[2]. British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) - GlobalSecurity.org Tony Lord. [9] This required major operations, and the port was not opened for shipping until 26 November. Technical Services BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), Shooting Team, 1969. London: Penguin, 1970. WWII WW2 Original Map North West Germany British Army of the Rhine 13 Army Roadhead. Until the railway bridges could be brought into operation, maintenance depended entirely on road transport. [63] Their initial drop of the 6th Airborne Division was conducted by 683 aircraft and 444 General Aircraft Hamilcar and Airspeed Horsa gliders, while that of the US 17th Airborne Division used 913 aircraft and 906 Hadrian gliders. The British Army, Manpower, and Society into the Twenty-First Century. British Army Germany - Wikipedia 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. British Army Germany was formed in 2020 to administer the remaining service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents (family members), based in Germany. The Dumbo pipeline was extended from Boulogne to Antwerp in March. Second Army's VIII, XII and XXX Corps drew their supplies from No. Since prompt clearance of the trains was essential to allow turnaround of the locomotives and rolling stock, vehicles had to be used to clear less urgently required supplies such as POL, coal and engineer stores. The British Army of the Rhine After the First World War - Goodreads 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. 36 British_army_of_the_rhine Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images Dorsten Ammunition Depot munitions storage facility. 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. [3], The 21st Army Group's campaign in North West Europe had commenced with Operation Overlord, the Allied landings in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Another petrol depot arrived from Italy in April. The second class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge, "Sparrow", was built by the 4th GHQ Troops Engineers on 27 March. The 11th Line of Communications Area took over the administration of the ports and the entire advanced base area, freeing the 12th Line of Communications Area headquarters to move forward. [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). [41] Some 600 field and 300 medium guns would support the operation. This annotated bibliography presents the best quality scholarship relating to BAOR, from its inception until its replacement under the conditions of the 1994 Options for Change defense review with the twenty-five-thousand strong British Forces Germany. The second British Army on the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from 21st Army Group. The pipeline running from Cherbourg to Rouen was shut down on 9 January, which freed personnel to work on extending other pipelines. [49] In the lead up to Operation Veritable, 446 special trains were run to the First Canadian Army railheads, delivering 349,356 tonnes (343,838 long tons) of supplies, of which around 227,000 tonnes (223,000 long tons) was for Operation Veritable. Chieftain: British Army of the Rhine - BoardGameGeek The tracks of Sherman tanks were equipped with "duck bill" connectors to facilitate advancing across snow and soft ground. The following day a German swimmer was seen affixing a suspicious cylindrical object to the bridge. Includes two chapters on National Service and professional recruitment after 1945, both of which were issues that influenced force generation in BAOR throughout its existence. Start reading The British Army of the Rhine for free online and get access to an unlimited library of academic and non-fiction books on Perlego. Work commenced at 09:30, and the bridge was opened for traffic at midnight. [55][56][57], With Antwerp in operation, some supplies were now coming directly from the United States. Happily, we were posted to the British Army of the Rhine, in my case, to 282 (Welsh) Field Company, RE, in the 63rd (Welsh) Division. this page. [74], The South Beveland Canal was opened on 19 February to allow inland water transport to reach the Dutch canal system when the western Netherlands were liberated. Some of the ammunition that had earlier been dumped was to be made inaccessible by flood waters. Branch British Army. [7] The British Second Army liberated Brussels on 3 September, and Antwerp was captured virtually intact on 4 September,[8] but it could not be used as a port until the Germans were cleared from the Scheldt approaches, through which ships had to pass to reach the port. Margaret Brown. [4], The remaining presence in Germany is known as British Army Germany. Not only are the well-equipped forward elements presented, but the light security elements that form BAOR's vital reinforcements are included as well. [28][29] The first vehicles to arrive came with only fifty drivers, so a detachment from 141 Vehicle Park was sent to Marseilles from the RMA. [81] The XXX Corps plan called for the construction of a class 9 FBE bridge, a class 15 Bailey pontoon bridge and two class 40 Bailey pontoon bridges. The longer shipping time meant that a working margin of 30 days' supplies was desirable instead of the one of 14 days for shipments from the United Kingdom. 1945British Army Royal Engineers enaged in the building of The Freeman Bridge, The River Rhine, Dusseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. 26 In a European context the first step in this process was the 1947 Anglo-French Treaty of . 15 Army Roadhead opened in the Almelo area on 18 April and was stocked by road from No. 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. West Germany: Commander Of British Army Of The Rhine, Sir Harry Tuzo German railway personnel were used to man two trains a day from Celle to Bienenbuttel. The base workshops built a prototype trailer that provided more clearance, and the Navy ordered 25 of them. The West German town of Bruggen, 55 miles (88 km) south of Dusseldorf, celebrated its 700th anniversary on Saturday (2 June) by granting the freedom of the city to a British Army unit which has been stationed in the town for 21 years. 19191929. A third bridge, "Westminster", was commenced by the 6th Army Troops Engineers on 26 March, completed at 18:00 on 29 March, and ceremoniously opened by Dempsey the next morning. Although our understanding of the service has been considerably deepened by subsequent scholarship, the book provides the broader context for thinking about the army after 1945. This page is a list of British Armies in WWII. But back in the 1950s, a posting in Germ. Moody, Simon J. Imagining Nuclear War in the British Army, 19451989. 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. 616 Squadron RAF began operating Gloster Meteor jet fighters from Brussels, and they required kerosene. Chandler, David, and Ian Beckett, eds. This included the 6th Airborne Division, but it was held by the seaborne tail. [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. British Army Of The Rhine Bases FOR SALE! - PicClick UK [101] The vast resources brought to bear was in stark contrast with scarcities of the early war years. Photo courtesy of RAMC Lab Tech Cpl Peter Elgar 1958. Red Sash Wargames Army of the Rhine - Ombre de Turenne SW | Toys & Hobbies, Games, Board & Traditional Games | eBay! 12 and 14 Army Roadheads were being run down. Between 1945 and 1957, West Germany made a dizzying pivot from Nazi bastion to Britain's Cold War ally against the Soviet Union. [28] Advance parties from each formation involved travelled by air from Florence, but most Operation Goldflake units moved by sea. Originally scheduled to start at the beginning of January 1945, when the ground would have been frozen, Operation Veritable, the 21st Army Group's advance to the Rhine, was delayed for five weeks by the German Ardennes Offensive. Engineers soon had bridges over the Rhine in operation, which were then superseded by more permanent road and rail bridges. British Army of the Rhine - YouTube This saved 150 vehicles, from which a seventh company was formed. On 4 May Montgomery took the surrender of the German forces in front of the 21st Army Group. 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. Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. [PDF] The British Army of the Rhine by Peter Speiser | Perlego Chinese surveillance cameras are being used at British Army bases despite Ministers banning them from Government buildings over fears they pose a major security risk. 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. Temperatures were as low as 15C (5F) on 26 January, resulting in firm, frozen ground, but a subsequent thaw caused widespread flooding, and by 5 February a section of the Turnhout-Eindhoven road had become impassable even to four-wheel-drive vehicles. 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.