In total they were to consist of 16 Divisions in four Corps (out of the current British total in Europe of 61 and 16), together with appropriate cavalry, air resources and extended lines of communication. Fire and Fury Games - designers of wargame miniatures rules Elements of the 1st Army's V Corps made first contact. (Copied from the Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989). British Order of Battle Mid 1980 In 1980 the British Army was still organised in the Task Force system. [48], Advancing along this new axis the Seventh Army's left rapidly overran Bamberg, over 100mi (160km) east of the Rhine, on its way to Nuremberg, about 30mi (48km) to the south. 4th Guards Infantry Brigade (Iserlohn)6th Infantry Brigade (Mnster)7th Armoured Brigade (Soltau)11th Infantry Brigade (Minden)12th Infantry Brigade (Osnabrck)20th Armoured Brigade (Detmold)Berlin Brigade (Berlin)In 1968 6th Infantry Brigade was relocated back to Great Britain, only to return in the Autumn of 1970. [62], Media related to Western Allied invasion of Germany at Wikimedia Commons. Although the Ruhr area still contained a significant number of Axis troops and enough industry to retain its importance as a major objective, Allied intelligence reported that much of the region's armament industry was moving southeast, deeper into Germany. West German military historian Burkhart Mller-Hillebrand estimated 265,000 dead from all causes and 1,012,000 missing and prisoners of war on all German battlefronts from 1 Jan 1945 30 April 1945. 3rd Base Ammo Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Despite a wide armored thrust to envelop the enemy defenses, it took nine days of intense fighting to bring Heilbronn fully under American control. The XV Corps also captured Berchtesgaden, the town that would have been Hitler's command post in the National Redoubt. The U.S. V Corps on the right advanced 58mi (8.012.9km), incurring minimal casualties. 61st Station Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The area 1 BR Corps had to defend lay between Hanover to the North and Kassel to the South and extended from the Inner German Border to the Upper Weser Valley. Having gambled his future ability to defend Germany on the Ardennes offensive and lost, Hitler had no real strength left to stop the powerful Allied armies. To view a summary of the British Army in 1952 please click here.During October 1954 HQ BAOR reallocated fromBad Oeynhausento Rheindalen. Army. Meanwhile, the 9th and 1st Armies began preparing converging attacks using the east-west Ruhr River as a boundary line. Seeing this equipment moving up, his frontline soldiers did not need any orders from higher headquarters to tell them what it meant. Under the new concept, Bradley's 12th U.S. Army Group would make the main effort, with Hodges' 1st Army in the center heading east for about 130mi (210km) toward the city of Leipzig and the Elbe River. For example, Patton potentially could have made his initial Rhine crossing north of Mainz and avoided the losses incurred crossing the Main.[who?] Many towns flew white flags of surrender to spare themselves the otherwise inevitable destruction suffered by those that resisted, while German troops surrendered by the tens of thousands, sometimes as entire units. There will be no changes to personnel numbers, resourcing, cap badges or locations. 1, which began with "We come as a victorious army, not as oppressors." In the event of war with the Warsaw Pact the Commander-in-Chief of BAOR would have assumed command of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), which was tasked with defending Northern Germany up to the river Elbe. Once this was accomplished the remaining German forces could be defeated in detail. Although Kesselring brought an outstanding track record as a defensive strategist with him from the Italian campaign, he did not have the resources to make a coherent defense. The wisdom of putting lightly-armed paratroopers so close to the main battlefield was debated, and the plan for amphibious forces to cross the Rhine prior to the parachute drop raised questions as to the utility of making an airborne assault at all. Luftwaffe Data Book. BAOR had command of four Areas or Districts: I Corps District; With the surrender of the German Army on 9 May 1945, the 21st Army Group became an army of occupation. BAOR was armed with tactical nuclear weapons and supported by Royal Air Force Germany. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. A captain of the 506th wrote, "At one point the men were so weary that [on] the order to rest . Thus all three armies of the 12th U.S. Army Group were in a fairly even northsouth line, enabling them to advance abreast of each other to the Elbe. This site is maintained by a Cold War history enthusiast, for other Cold War . Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559]. [33], Montgomery responded to these concerns by making a few small adjustments to the plan. british army of the rhine order of battle. 11th Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals. The British Army is the land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces. 2nd Infantry Division was to defend the Corps Rear Area and prepare a last line of defense along the Western bank of the Weser river. [46], As was the case throughout the campaign, the German ability to fight was sporadic and unpredictable during the drive to the ElbeMulde line. For the period 1 March 1945-20 April 1945 they recorded 343,321 killed and wounded in the East (62,861 killed, 280,460 wounded) versus 22,598 killed and wounded in the West (5,778 killed, 16,820 wounded), an East vs. West ratio of about 15:1 in killed and wounded. 88 mm Pak 43 with spread mount covered in a securing position behind the river Rhine, Germany spring 1945. The best introduction to the regimental system of the British army. The failure of this offensive exhausted Germany's strategic reserve, leaving it ill-prepared to resist the final Allied campaigns in Europe. All units within the service are either Regular (full-time) or Territorial Army (part-time), or a combination with sub-units of each type. Order 1977, SI 1977 No. Field-Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group was supplied with the task of advancing into Germany in the Niederrhein (Lower-Rhine) area, which eventually resulted in both the operations 'Veritable' and . Completing the Allied line to the Swiss border was the 6th Army Group commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, with the U.S. 7th Army (Alexander Patch) in the north and the French 1st Army (Jean de Lattre de Tassigny) on the Allied right, and southernmost, flank. On 29 March, the 1st Army turned toward Paderborn, about 80mi (130km) north of Giessen, its right flank covered by the 3rd Army, which had broken out of its own bridgeheads and was headed northeast toward Kassel. 101st Provost Company, Royal Military Police, 102nd Provost Company, Royal Military Police, JHQ Rheindahlen, 2nd Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps, JHQ Rheindahlen. Originally, Eisenhower had planned to draw all his forces up to the west bank of the Rhine, using the river as a natural barrier to help cover the inactive sections of his line. [35], To the south, the discovery of a defensive gap in front of the 30th Infantry Division fostered the hope that a full-scale breakout would be possible on 25 March. While Montgomery was carefully and cautiously planning for the main thrust in the north, complete with massive artillery preparation and an airborne assault, American forces in the south were displaying the kind of basic aggressiveness that Eisenhower wanted to see. [8], With the end of the Cold War, the 1993 Options for Change defence cuts resulted in BAOR being reduced in size, and in 1994 it became British Forces Germany (BFG). 3rd Squadron, 13th Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, Royal Air Force Gatow Station Flight, (2x, Berlin Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 504th Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC) (Overseas Deployment Training). HQ Eastern District & 239 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Colchester, London District, Horse Guards, covering Greater London. Entering in the night, the commandos secured the city late on the morning of 24 March, although scattered resistance continued until dawn on the 25th. Eisenhower sent Bradley his final word on the matter: the 9th Army was to stay putthere would be no effort to take Berlin. 1st Armoured Division was the corps' Northern forward deployed division. is infantry division. 52nd Field Squadron (Construction), 22nd Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, 516th Specialist Team (Bulk Petrol), Royal Engineers, RAF Gtersloh, 1st Postal & Courier Regiment, Royal Engineers, Hannover (in support of 1 (BR) Corps), 11th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Verden (in support of 1st (BR) Armoured Division), 13th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Soest (in support of 3rd (BR) Armoured Division), 14th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Herford (in support of 4th (BR) Armoured Division), 3rd Postal & Courier Depot, Royal Engineers, Dsseldorf (in support of Communication Zone [CommZ]). The Germans lacked both the manpower and the heavy equipment to make a more determined defense. british army of the rhine order of battle. Antony Beevor, Inside the British Army, 1991, 429. Ullstein Taschenbuchvlg., 2002. p.273 During the period January to March 1945 the POW's held Western Allies increased by 200,000; During the period April to June 1945 the number increased to 5,440,000. Brigades consist of several "units," which are regiment- or battalion-sized, and which consist of a number of sub-units. British Formations & Units. Orders of battle (London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1960) 2 vol. Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, urged Eisenhower to continue the advance toward Berlin by the 21st Army Group, under the command of Montgomery with the intention of capturing the city. Eisenhower thus turned his attention to other objectives, most notably a rapid meet-up with the Soviets to cut the German Army in two and prevent any possibility of a unified defense. Lt Gen Ivan Jones, Commander Field Army (CFA), described plans for rebalancing his command which will see changes to the structure of the Field Armys primary formations. 8th Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals. While manpower and force size was limited by budgetary constraints, quality of training and equipment was commonly reported of a high standard. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. The initial advance into Romania, the First JassyKishinev Offensive in April and May 1944 was a failure; the Second JassyKishinev Offensive in August succeeded. During peacetime these regiments were under command of their brigade. After a day or two, specialized Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) units took over. 31 General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 82nd Field Medical Equipment Depot, Royal Army Medical Corps, Dsseldorf, 382nd Field Medical Company, Royal Army Medical Corps. The idea was that each Division would have 2 Task Forces , which . ["On Heavy Artillery: American Experience in Four Wars"]. [58], For their part, captured German soldiers often claimed to be most impressed not by American armor or infantry but by the artillery. 34 Evacuation Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 31st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Catterick. An hour later, at 03:00, the 79th Infantry Division began its crossing upriver, achieving much the same results. Simpson, in turn, ordered a combat command of the 2nd Armored Division, which had just reached Beckum, to make a 15mi (24km) advance southeast to Lippstadt, midway between Beckum and the stalled 3rd Armored Division spearhead. Patton also appreciated the opportunity he now had to beat Montgomery across the river and win for the 3rd Army the coveted distinction of making the first assault crossing of the Rhine in modern history. [29], By midafternoon on 23 March, all three regiments of the 5th Infantry Division were in the bridgehead, and an attached regiment from the 90th Infantry Division was crossing. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. 34th Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ North-West District & Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, at, Trade Training School (Ground crew & maintenance training), 75th Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Detachment 2 Postal and Courier Regiment, Royal Engineers, 14th Regiment, Royal Artillery, Larkhill (Support regiment, 12th Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment, Royal Engineers, Chattenden, 42nd Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, Hermitage (Geographic Survey), HQ Northern Ireland District & 233 (Northern Ireland) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Lisburn, 22 Postal and Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Royal Army Ordnance Corps Ordnance Depot, Northern Ireland, Band of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters (Small Infantry Band), Band of the Royal Hampshire Regiment (Small Infantry Band), Band of the Gloucestershire Regiment (Small Infantry Band), 176 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, at, Band of the Black Watch (Small Infantry Band), 175 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn. . The professional head of the British Army is the Chief of the General Staff. 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. The Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine started with the Western Allies crossing the river on 22 March 1945 before fanning out and overrunning all of western Germany from the Baltic in the north to the Alpine passes in the south, where they linked up with troops of the U.S. Fifth Army in Italy. On the Eastern Front, the Soviet Red Army (including the Polish Armed Forces in the East under Soviet command), had taken most of Poland, launched an offensive into East Prussia and began their invasion into Eastern Germany in February 1945, and by March were within striking distance of Berlin. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. In case of a war the Corps first line of defense would have been a screening force of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers and 664 Squadron AAC, which would have become an ad-hoc brigade formation under command of BAOR's Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps. In Berlin, the Reichsbanner resistance organization identified possible drop zones for Allied paratroopers and planned to guide them past German defenses into the city.[56]. There are: VG Division the newly introduced Volks (People's) Grenadier Divisions. Although the defense of these sites was somewhat more determined than that XII Corps had faced, the difficulties of the Boppard and St. Goar crossings were compounded more by terrain than by German resistance. 3rd Armoured Division was to the rear of the two forward deployed division as reserve. Both believed that the plan squandered the great strength in men and equipment that the 9th Army had assembled and ignored the many logistical problems of placing the 9th Army's crossing sites within the Second Army's zone. [2] The Cologne Post was a newspaper published for members of the BAOR during this period. 1st Training Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers. British Army of the Rhine (1st British Army) Berlin Field Force Royal Hussars (1 Sqn, the remainder at the Land Warfare Centre) 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards . German military historian Rdiger Overmans (, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 21:59. A heavy bombing campaign by USAAF and RAF forces, known as the "Interdiction of Northwest Germany", designed primarily to destroy the lines of communication and supply connecting the Ruhr to the rest of Germany had been underway since February. HQ 1st Infantry Brigade & 215 Signal Squadron Royal Corps of Signals. However, as the 3rd Army began pulling up to the Mulde on 13 April, the XII CorpsPatton's southernmost forcecontinued moving southeast alongside the 6th U.S. Army Group to clear southern Germany and move into Austria. Eastern District, Colchester, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Rutland, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire Buschwhose main unit was the German 1st Parachute Army was to form the right-wing of the German defenses. Retrieved 9 October 2021. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. An intense exchange of fire lasted for about thirty minutes as assault boats kept pushing across the river and those men who had already made it across mounted attacks against the scattered defensive strongpoints. The 12th Army Group commander said that American troops could cross the Rhine anywhere, without aerial bombardment or airborne troops, a direct jab at Montgomery whose troops were at that very moment preparing to launch their own Rhine assault following an intense and elaborate aerial and artillery preparation and with the assistance of two airborne divisions, the American 17th and the British 6th. Task organisation was completely dependent on the Brigades mission and at the discretion of the Brigade commander. On 27 November 1989 Peter Inge became the commander of NATO's Northern Army Group and Commander-in-Chief, British Army of the Rhine in Germany with the local rank of general;[115] he succeeded General Brian Kenny. They include the Infantry, the Royal Armoured Corps and the Army Air Corps. On 7 March, the Allies seized the intact bridge across the Rhine at Remagen, and established a large bridgehead on the river's east bank. [50], While the Allied armies in the south marched to the Alps, the 21st Army Group drove north and northeast. [26], On 19 March, Eisenhower told Bradley to prepare the 1st Army for a breakout from the Remagen bridgehead any time after 22 March. Also on 28 March, elements of the U.S. 17th Airborne Division operating north of the Lippe River in conjunction with British armored forcesdashed to a point some 30mi (48km) east of Wesel, opening a corridor for the XIX Corps and handily outflanking Dorsten and the enemy to the south. Later joined the staff of 10th Armoured Division in Western Desert. 40th Army Engineer Support Group, Royal Engineers. By 9 April, both the 9th and 1st Armies had seized bridgeheads over the Leine, prompting Bradley to order an unrestricted eastward advance. Following the reduction of the Ruhr, the 15th Army was to take over occupation duties in the region as the 9th,[39] 1st and 3rd Armies pushed farther into Germany. Holding the middle of the Allied line from the 9th Army's right flank to a point about 15 miles (24km) south of Mainz was the 12th Army Group under the command of Lieutenant General Omar Bradley. 79th Railway Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport. . 43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. As the rest of the XIX Corps flowed into the wake of this spectacular drive, the 1st Army was completing its equally remarkable thrust around the southern and eastern edges of the Ruhr. [80] The brigade had been disbanded in September 1981 with its units and area initially having been taken over by 8th Infantry Brigade. This page is a list of British Armies in WWII. However, concerned that the bypassed Germans would flood much of the nation and cause complete famine among a Dutch population already near starvation, Eisenhower approved an agreement with the local German commanders to allow the Allies to air-drop food into the country in return for a local ceasefire on the battlefield. [35], Although the armored division bolstered his offensive capacity within the bridgehead, Simpson was more interested in sending the XIX Corps across the Wesel bridges, as Montgomery had agreed, and using the better roads north of the Lippe to outflank the enemy in front of the 30th Division. Several other patrols from the 69th had similar encounters later that day, and on 26 April the division commander, Maj. Gen. Emil F. Reinhardt, met Maj. Gen. Vladimir Rusakov of the Soviet 58th Guards Rifle Division at Torgau in the first official link-up ceremony. The BAOR was no exception. This was the first major step towards the army of today, with a brigade group comprising of armour, infantry, an engineer squadron and armoured reconnaissance regiment, opposed to divisions comprising of solely infantry of armour ( the first case of mixed brigades being used effectively was near Soltau, April 1945, by 4th Armoured Brigade, led by Brigadier Carver). The General Officer commanding Headquarters Northern Ireland reported directly, operationally, to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Most of these units were progressively dissolved, so that by February 1920 there were only regular battalions: In August 1920 Winston Churchill, as Secretary of State for War, told Parliament that the BAOR was made up of approximately 13,360 troops, consisting of staff, cavalry, Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, infantry, machine gun corps, tanks and the usual ancillary services. On that day, Eisenhower instructed Patton to halt the 3rd Army at the Mulde River, about 10mi (16km) short of its original objective, Chemnitz. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. It became the primary formation controlling the British contribution to NATO after the formation of the alliance in 1949. . Original British Expeditionary Force 1st Division 2nd Division 3rd Division 4th Division 5th Division 6th Division Divisions formed in late 1914 and 1915 7th Division 8th Division 27th Division 28th Division 29th Division 1st and 2nd Dismounted Divisions Guards Division The Divisions of Lord Kitchener's "New Armies" (technically Regular Army) HQ British Forces Brunei & Brunei Signal Troop, Detachment 24 Postal and Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, 9th Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, at, 259 (West) Signal Squadron (responsible for communications in the west of the island). Involved in battle of El Alamein and the invasion of Sicily. [37], Beginning the next day, 26 March, the armored divisions of all three corps turned these initial gains into a complete breakout, shattering all opposition and roaming at will throughout the enemy's rear areas. [41], By 1 April, when the trap closed around the Germans in the Ruhr, their fate was sealed. [23], On 21 March, Army Group H headquarters became Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest ("Army Command Northwest") commanded by Ernst Busch leaving the former Army Group H commanderJohannes Blaskowitzto lead "Army Command Netherlands" (25th Army) cut off in the Netherlands. 1 CVR(T) representing the HQ or Recce Capability. Early in the afternoon of 1 April elements of the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions met at Lippstadt, linking the 9th and 1st Armies and sealing the prized Ruhr industrial complex, along with Model's Army Group B, within American lines. The 6th United States Army Group was an Allied army group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.Made up of field armies from both the United States Army and the French Army, it fought in France, Germany, Austria, and, briefly, Italy.Also referred to as the Southern Group of Armies, it was established in July 1944 and commanded throughout its duration by General . [46], While the 12th U.S. Army Group made its eastward thrust, Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group to the south had the dual mission of protecting the 12th U.S. Army Group's right flank and eliminating any German attempt to make a last stand in the Alps of southern Germany and western Austria. The Rhineland Campaign, 1945 The Hard Winter On New Year's Day 1945, eight German divisions attacked south out of the Saar attempting to trap Eisenhower's thinned-out flank in Alsace. 60th Communications Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. [22], For several reasons, Eisenhower began to readjust these plans toward the end of March. This was the first major . The Army must remain adaptable and evolve as a fighting force. The main targets were rail yards, bridges, and communication centers, with a secondary focus on fuel processing and storage facilities and other important industrial sites. 5 Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 6 Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Bielefeld, 2 Aircraft Support Unit, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Detmold, 1st (BR) Corps Troops Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Bielefeld, 20 Electronics Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Minden, 71 Aircraft Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Detmold, 110 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Sennelager, 115 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Osnabrck, HQ 1st Armoured Division & Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, Verden, 11th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Verden. German resistance, initially rather determined, dwindled rapidly. IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO STAY ANONYMOUS OR KEEP ALL CONTENTS PRIVATE PLEASE STATE THIS CLEARLY ON SUBMISSION: All rights reserved.
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