The deployment and distribution of the divisions of the Wehrmacht and subordinate units of allies one day before the Allied air invasion near Arnhem on 17 September 1944 and the stabilization of the Western Front after the break-out of the Allied armies from Normandy.. [5] Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany. Drawing on the experience gained during the campaign in Normandy and the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, the Western Allies demonstrated in western Germany and Austria their capability of absorbing the lessons of the past. The Western Allies rapidly eroded any remaining ability to resist. Its primary combat formation was British I Corps. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), which was responsible for the northern portions of the central front in West Germany, had been judged to be capable of holding out for as little as two days. [33], Another important aspect of Montgomery's plan was Operation Varsity, in which two divisions of Major General Matthew Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps were to make an airborne assault over the Rhine. 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 . [27], On 21 March, Patton ordered his XII Corps to prepare for an assault over the Rhine on the following night, one day before Montgomery's scheduled crossing. There are: VG Division the newly introduced Volks (People's) Grenadier Divisions. 8th Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals. With spectacular thrusts being made beyond the Rhine nearly every day and the enemy's capacity to resist fading at an ever-accelerating rate, the campaign to finish Germany was transitioning into a general pursuit. [16][notes 1][17] Combined with the capture of Berchtesgaden, any hope of Nazi leadership continuing to wage war from a so-called "national redoubt" or escape through the Alps was crushed, shortly followed by unconditional German surrender on 8 May 1945. The largest difference was in the period from 1-10.4.1945, for which the Heeresarzt recorded 63,386 killed and wounded in the East (12,510 killed, 50,876 wounded) vs. only 431 in the West (100 killed, 331 wounded), an East vs. West ratio of about 147:1 in killed and wounded. 529 Air Support Specialist Team Corps of Royal Engineers. During the fighting west of the Rhine up to March 1945, the German Army on the Western Front had been reduced to a strength of only 26 divisions, organized into three army groups (H, B and G). The initial assault waves crossed the river quickly, meeting only light opposition. British Order of Battle Mid 1980 In 1980 the British Army was still organised in the Task Force system. Buschwhose main unit was the German 1st Parachute Army was to form the right-wing of the German defenses. 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. [31], By 28 March, the 8th Armored Division had expanded the bridgehead by only about 3mi (4.8km) and still had not reached Dorsten, a town about 15mi (24km) east of the Rhine, whose road junction promised to expand the XVI Corps' offensive options. In addition, the river flowed quickly and with unpredictable currents along this part of its course. Welcome to BAOR Locations. In a double envelopment, the French captured Stuttgart on 21 April, and by the next day, both the French and the VI Corps had elements on the Danube. . [28], The terrain in the vicinity of Nierstein and Oppenheim was conducive to artillery support, with high ground on the west bank overlooking relatively flat land to the east. [38], In the center of the Allied line, Eisenhower inserted the new 15th Army, under U.S. 12th Army Group control to hold the western edge of the Ruhr Pocket along the Rhine while the 9th and 1st Armies squeezed the remaining German defenders there from the north, east, and south. The British Army is the land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces. [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. 60th Communications Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Further north the airborne landings during Operation Plunder in support of the 21st Army Group's crossing of the Rhine were probably not worth the risk.[who?] VIII Corps crossing sites were located along the Rhine Gorge, where the river had carved a deep chasm between two mountain ranges, creating precipitous canyon walls over 300 feet (91m) high on both sides. Still, Allied intelligence could not entirely discount the possibility that remnants of the German forces would attempt a suicidal last stand in the Alps. In addition, since Berlin and the rest of Germany had already been divided into occupation zones by representatives of the Allied governments at the Yalta Conference, Eisenhower saw no political advantage in a race for Berlin. "I have been visiting some of the units and found them, ready for the . [22], For several reasons, Eisenhower began to readjust these plans toward the end of March. The Field Army rebalancing is part of the Armys response to the emerging Defence thinking and will create a Field Army of integrated, interdependent and complementary formations from 1 Aug 2019. His detailed plans, code-named Operation Plunder, were comparable to the Normandy invasion in terms of numbers of men and extent of equipment, supplies, and ammunition to be used. The hoard included vast quantities of German paper currency, stacks of priceless paintings, piles of looted gold and silver jewelry and household objects, and an estimated $250,000,000 worth of gold bars and coins of various nations. Similarly, the term Corps can be applied toa maneuver headquarters that controls multiple divisions (no such entity was active as of 2012) or a administrative headquarters for units in afunctional area, broadly similar to the US Army's Branches. This increased the importance of the southern offensives across the Rhine. At the same time, General Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group would move south through Bavaria and the Black Forest to Austria and the Alps, ending the threat of any Nazi last-ditch stand there. Everyone is asking its whereabouts and what its future role will be, says the British United Press correspondent with the British forces. Garrisons which closed at this time included Soest (home of the 6th Armoured Brigade),[10] Soltau (home of the 7th Armoured Brigade)[11] and Minden (home of the 11th Armoured Brigade). 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. Following this primary assault, which XII Corps would undertake, VIII Corps would execute supporting crossings at Boppard and St. Goar, 2530 miles (4048km) northwest of Mainz. 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. But the other discovery made by the 3rd Army on 4 April horrified and angered those who saw it. The French retired in good order. However, Hobbs had not fully taken into account the nearly nonexistent road network in front of the XVI Corps bridgehead. BAOR had command of four Areas or Districts: I Corps District; The U.S. V Corps on the right advanced 58mi (8.012.9km), incurring minimal casualties. On 4 May, the 3rd Army's V Corps and XII Corps advanced into Czechoslovakia, and units of the VI Corps met elements of Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott's U.S. 5th Army on the Italian frontier, linking the European and Mediterranean Theaters. [43], On 4 April, as it paused to allow the rest of the 12th U.S. Army Group to catch up, the 3rd Army made two notable discoveries. During 1988 the disposition of brigades in Northern Ireland changed: On 1 July 1988 3rd Infantry Brigade reformed at Armagh and became responsible for the UK-Ireland border zone from Armagh to South Londonderry. [57], By the beginning of 1945, Allied victory in Europe was inevitable. (Copied from the Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989). 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. Also during this year on 1 April, 11th Armoured Division was reorganised into 4th Infantry Division. 4th (NATO) Postal & Courier Regiment, Royal Engineers, Berlin Postal and Courier Troop, Royal Engineers. Sup Regt RSA listed with SW Dist by Isby & Kamps 1985. 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. 3rd Base Ammo Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. 9th Ordnance Battalion Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 174 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Tidworth. Seeing this equipment moving up, his frontline soldiers did not need any orders from higher headquarters to tell them what it meant. [34], Plunder began on the evening of 23 March with the assault elements of the British 2nd Army massed against three main crossing sites: Rees in the north, Xanten in the center, and Wesel in the south. The Armistice that went into effect on 11 November . Similarly, the 3rd Army on the 6th U.S. Army Group's left flank had advanced rapidly against very little resistance, its lead elements reaching the river on 24 April. On that day, Eisenhower instructed Patton to halt the 3rd Army at the Mulde River, about 10mi (16km) short of its original objective, Chemnitz. Welcome to DECODED, a blog site for those interested in the period of history between the end of the Second World War and the final reunification of Berlin, Germany. Still, despite the terrain and German machine-gun and 20 millimetres (0.79in) anti-aircraft cannon fire, VIII Corps troops managed to gain control of the east bank's heights, and by dark on 26 March, with German resistance crumbling all along the Rhine, they were preparing to continue the drive the next morning. At Worms, about 25 miles (40km) south of Mainz, the 7th Army's XV Corps established a bridgehead, which it consolidated with the southern shoulder of the 3rd Army's bridgehead early the next day. Last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:39, "Outline of the British Army at the end of the Cold War", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 2nd Infantry Divisional Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, 71st (Scottish) Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers (V), 73rd Volunteer Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers (V), 39th Airfield Damages Repair Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers, 33rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers, 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, 13th/18th (Queen Mary's Own) Royal Hussars, 266 (Gloucestershire Volunteer Artillery) Observation Post Battery, 157th (Wales & Midlands) Transport Regiment, 74th (Antrim Artillery) Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers (V), 75th Volunteer Engineer Regiment Royal Corps of Engineers (V), 33 (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment, 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, 156th (Merseyside and Greater Manchester) Transport Regiment, 102nd (Ulster) Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, Blowpipe surface-to-air missile launchers, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), 4th (Volunteer) Battalion (North Irish Militia), Royal Irish Rangers, 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers, 16th (British Army of the Rhine) Signal Regiment, 21st Air Support Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals, 28 Amphibious Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, 1st Field Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, "British Army: NATO Order of Battle 1989", "19911216 MORBAT Redacted PP 01 85 BAOR U", "19911216 MORBAT Redacted PP 86 105 Non UK Units U", "19911216 MORBAT REDACTED PP 106 229 UK Based Units U", "Senior Army Appointments:Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces", "British Army of the Rhine Order of Battle, July 1989", "British Army of the Rhine & Royal Air Force Germany 1989: Organisation and stationing of the British Armed Forces in Germany in 1989", "British Army units from 1945 on 2 Regiment", "British Army units from 1945 on Regiments 1 to 10", "British Army units from 1945 on 210 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Green Howards", "Military Bands Monday 14 May 1990 Hansard UK Parliament", "British Army units from 1945 on Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire", "British Army units from 1945 on Light Infantry", "British Army units from 1945 on 27th Regiment RA", "British Army units from 1945 on 16th Regiment RA", "British Army units from 1945 on 209 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Royal Hussars", "British Army units from 1945 on 45th Regiment RA", "British Army units from 1945 on Squadrons 1 to 10", "British Army units from 1945 on Ordnance Companies 20 to 70", "British Army units from 1945 on Field, Infantry & Armoured Workshops 6 to 10", "British Army units from 1945 on Field Ambulances 11 to 20", "British Army units from 1945 on Provost Companies 101 to 169", "British Army units from 1945 on 216 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Life Guards", "British Army units from 1945 on 1st Bn Parachute Regiment", "British Army units from 1945 on 2nd Bn Parachute Regiment", "British Army units from 1945 on 7th Regiment RHA", "British Army units from 1945 on District Workshops", "British Army units from 1945 on 203 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment", "FOI(A) relating to the Ulster Defence Regiment battalion locations and company locations in 1989", "British Army units from 1945 on 218 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Hampshire Regiment", "British Army units from 1945 on Gloucestershire Regiment", "British Army units from 1945 on Provost Companies 170 to 260", "British Army units from 1945 on 213 Squadron", "British Army units from 1945 on Black Watch", "British Army units from 1945 on 33 Squadron", "The British Military Garrison in Ireland British Army", "British Army of the Rhine Order of Battle July 1989", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outline_of_the_British_Army_at_the_end_of_the_Cold_War&oldid=1139014224, HQ Scotland District & 242 (Scottish) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Edinburgh. 71st Movement Control Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, 602nd Transport Unit, Royal Corps of Transport, Antwerp, Belgium. "Now we will have roughly one-sixth of that number. Recce Intelligence Centre (Gtersloh), Intelligence Corps. First, his headquarters received reports that Soviet forces held a bridgehead over the Oder River, 30 miles (48km) from Berlin. As the division's area of operation was hilly and woody 19th Infantry Brigade based in Colchester was added to it. The first wave of boats was halfway across when the Germans began pouring machine-gun fire into their midst. 12th Royal School of Military Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers. 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 ensuing airdrops, which began on 29 April,[52] marked the beginning of what was to become a colossal effort to put war-torn Europe back together again.[53]. Also looking forward to going home, tens of thousands of freed forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war further strained the American logistical system. Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559]. After passing north of the Lippe on 29 March, the 2nd Armored Division broke out late that night from the forward position that the XVIII Airborne Corps had established around Haltern, 12mi (19km) northeast of Dorsten. 1st Division provides specialist soldiers and equipment to develop other nations armies, deal with disaster and humanitarian crises worldwide and enable our warfighting division. 2339 (Regular Signal Regiments 1st to 30th), Lord & Watson, pp. 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. When limited objective attacks provoked little response on the morning of the 25th, the division commander Major General Leland Hobbs formed two mobile task forces to make deeper thrusts with an eye toward punching through the defense altogether and breaking deep into the German rear. The 12th and 6th Army Groups were to mount a subsidiary offensive to keep the Germans off balance and diminish their ability to stop the northern thrust. 4th Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, 4th Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Herford, 4th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Detmold, 4th Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Minden, 114th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Detmold, HQ 11th Armoured Brigade & 211th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Minden, HQ 20th Armoured Brigade & 200th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Detmold, 43 (Lloyd's Company) Air Defence Battery, (36x. This decree of 5 August was followed by a decree dated 19 October (Fontainebleau Decree) ordering the destruction of all British merchandise found in territories occupied by Napoleon, included within which were the states of the Confederation. The initial advance into Romania, the First JassyKishinev Offensive in April and May 1944 was a failure; the Second JassyKishinev Offensive in August succeeded. As subsequent waves of troops crossed, units fanned out to take the first villages beyond the river to only the weakest of opposition. Seventh and Third Armies) into southeastern Germany and Austria. 5th Security Company, Intelligence Corps, 6th Intelligence Company (Photo Intell), Intelligence Corps, JHQ Rheindahlen. Equipped with about 60 tanks, the students put up a fanatical resistance, stalling the American armor all day. The 1st Army's area, on the other hand, was composed of rough, heavily forested terrain with a poor road network. The troops were located principally in the vicinity of Cologne at an approximate cost per month of 300,000. 1 CVR(T) representing the HQ or Recce Capability. After taking Coburg, about 50mi (80km) south of Erfurt, on 11 April, XII Corps troops captured Bayreuth, 35mi (56km) farther southeast, on 14 April. On the 30th and 31st, the 2nd Armored made an uninterrupted 40mi (64km) drive east to Beckum, cutting two of the Ruhr's three remaining rail lines and severing the autobahn to Berlin. The XV Corps also captured Berchtesgaden, the town that would have been Hitler's command post in the National Redoubt. [36], The 1st Army's drive from the Remagen bridgehead began with a breakout before dawn on 25 March. Denying this opportunity became another argument for rethinking the role of the southern drive through Germany. The Germans lacked both the manpower and the heavy equipment to make a more determined defense. On the Western Front, the Allies had been fighting in Germany with campaigns against the Siegfried Line since the Battle of Aachen, the Battle of Metz and the Battle of Hrtgen Forest in late 1944 and by January 1945, had pushed the Germans back to their starting points during the Battle of the Bulge. CONTENTS OF EMAILS MAY BE DISPLAYED ON THIS SITE (BUT IN AN ENCRYPTED FORMAT TO DETER SPAMMERS) TO BENEFIT 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. The battle was a victory for the Allies, and resulted in the capture of over 250,000 German soldiers. German Field Marshal Walter Model, whose Army Group B was charged with the defense of the Ruhr, had deployed his troops heavily along the eastwest Sieg River south of Cologne, thinking that the Americans would attack directly north from the Remagen bridgehead. Rdiger Overmans, Soldaten hinter Stacheldraht. [9] This force, roughly 25,000 strong, was divided between Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, 1st Armoured Division, other combat support and combat service support forces, and administrative elements headed by United Kingdom Support Command (Germany). 14th Independent Topographic Squadron, Royal Engineers. Nowhere, it seemed, were the Germans able to resist in strength. Within 21st Army Group the Canadian First Army (under Harry Crerar) held the left flank of the Allied line, with the British Second Army (Miles C. Dempsey) in the center and the U.S. 9th Army (William Hood Simpson) to the south. German resistance, initially rather determined, dwindled rapidly. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, all Western forces were drastically reduced. Nevertheless, the 7th Army broke out of its Rhine bridgehead, just south of Frankfurt, on 28 March, employing elements of three corpsthe XV Corps to the north, the XXI Corps in the center, and the VI Corps to the south. 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. 43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 35th Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. For operational tasks a battle group would be formed around a combat unit, supported by units or sub-units from other areas. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine . 34 Evacuation Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 31st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Catterick. Detachments to 1st Armoured, 2nd Infantry, 3rd Armoured, 4th Armoured Divisions, 1st Artillery Brigade, and 1st Infantry Brigade. It became the primary formation controlling the British contribution to NATO after the formation of the alliance in 1949. When The Sunday Times was discussing the mechanics of "The Fall of Edward Heath", Mr. Harold Macmillan was supposed to have said it was very unwise of any Government to take on the Vatican, the National Union of Mineworkers or the Brigade of Guards. Combat Service Support units: These units provide essential support services both in combat and in peacetime. 41st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Forward Divisional Headquarters, at Tunis Barracks, Lippstadt, 656 Signal Troop, at Tunis Barracks, Lippstadt, 85 Intelligence Section, Intelligence Corps, at Imphal Barracks, York (detached from 8 Intelligence & Sec Coy), 60 Transport Squadron [to 157 Regiment RCT (V)], 210 Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals, at Catterick Garrison, 586 Signal Troop (Airmobile), Royal Corps of Signals, Band of the Green Howards (Small Infantry Band), Band of the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Small Infantry Band), 16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, at, 19th Cash Office (United Kingdom), Royal Army Pay Corps, Band of the Royal Hussars (Small Royal Armoured Corps Band), Regimental Band of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment (Small Regimental Band), Band of the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Small Regimental Band), 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, at Roman Barracks, Colchester Garrison (Mechanised Infantry (Wheeled), with 8 x Fox armoured cars, and 43 x Saxon armoured personnel carriers), Band of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Small Regimental Band), Airfield Works Group (Group wasn't deployable). [12], Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the permanent deployment of British Army units in Germany began to be phased out, with the last military base handed back to the German Bundeswehr in February 2020. Headed from Bielefeld it comprised of; 5th Heavy Regiment RA (Hildesheim)50th Missile Regiment, RA (Menden)12 Air Defence Regiment, RA (Dortmund)22nd Air Defence Regiment, RA (Soest)94th Locating Regiment, RA (Celle)1st Battalion, The Royal Scots, Infantry (Mnster)8th Transport Regiment, RCT (Mnster). [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. 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. Lt Gen Jones added: "The Field Army must build on the strong foundation of the 3rd Divisions world class warfighting force. HQ Allied Mobile Force & 249 Signal Squadron (AMF(L)). [35], To the north, the British crossings had also gone well, with the ground and airborne troops linking up by nightfall. On 4 April, the day it shifted to Bradley's control, the 9th Army began its attack south toward the Ruhr River. [35], In addition to the poor roads, the 30th Division's breakout attempts were also hampered by the German 116th Panzer Division. Near the town of Merkers, elements of the 90th Infantry Division found a sealed salt mine containing a large portion of the German national treasure.
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