43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. I am interested in general European theatre, which will cover the Europe itself, Mediterranean and Middle East. [46], Every unit along the ElbeMulde line was anxious to be the first to meet the Red Army. British Army of the Rhine - BAOR Locations Its new location was in the towns of Iserlohn and Soest, as the previous occupants (The Canadian Brigade) had moved to southern GermanyBy 1973, 1 (BR) Corps consisted of: 1st Division (Verden)7th Armoured Brigade (Soltau)11th Infantry Brigade (Minden)2nd Division (Lbbecke)4th Guards Infantry Brigade (Mnster)12th Mechanised Brigade (Osnabrck)4th Division (Herford)6th Armoured Brigade (Krbecke)20th Armoured Brigade (Detmold). 50 Construction Field Squadron Corps of Royal Engineers, 62 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Water utilities, water development, and well drilling], 63 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Electrical power generation and distribution, originally utilities and force protection], 64 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Fuels, fuel production, and distribution], 156th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Colchester, 7th Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Colchester. US General George Marshall estimated about 263,000 German battle deaths on the Western Front for the period from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945, or a longer period. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. WW1 military Stereoview card British Army Gurkhas in battle at Chapelle "I have been visiting some of the units and found them, ready for the . Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. Brigade groups took over from divisions as the smallest operative units. 7th Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Field-Marshal Montgomei*y's British 2nd Army has becorfie the phantom force of the Western Front. The British Army of the Rhine - Military History - Oxford - obo Army Group B commander Model committed suicide on 21 April. 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. The British Army's Tank Regiments Might Last Just A Few Days - Forbes This structure was in force until the 1992 amalgamation of Royal Irish Rangers and Ulster Defence Regiment, after which 3rd Infantry Brigade returned to control its traditional area of County Armagh and County Down. [55] This later caused some friction with the Yugoslav forces, notably around Trieste. However, the same flat east bank meant that the bridgehead would have to be rapidly and powerfully reinforced and expanded beyond the river since there was no high ground for a bridgehead defense. IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO STAY ANONYMOUS OR KEEP ALL CONTENTS PRIVATE PLEASE STATE THIS CLEARLY ON SUBMISSION: All rights reserved. 61st Station Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. At the very beginning of 1945, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force on the Western Front, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, had 73 divisions under his command in North-western Europe of which 49 were infantry divisions, 20 armored divisions and four airborne divisions. The two 9th Army divisions tasked for the assault concentrated in the Rheinberg area south of Wesel. The Site is now approaching three years of age and much has happened in that time. [27], These were exactly the orders Patton had hoped for; he felt that if a sufficiently strong force could be thrown across the river and significant gains made, then Eisenhower might transfer responsibility for the main drive through Germany from Montgomery's 21st Army Group to Bradley's 12th. On 7 March, Hodges's U.S. 1st Army captured the last intact bridge over the Rhine at Remagen and steadily expanded the bridgehead. Since the Allied armies on the Rhine were more than 300 miles (480km) from Berlin, with the Elbe River, 200 miles (320km) ahead, still to be crossed it seemed clear that the Soviets would capture Berlin long before the Western Allies could reach it. Mallinson, Allan. The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. Contents 1 History 1.1 1919-1929 By attaching mechanized infantry units to armored divisions, they created a hybrid of strength and mobility that served them well in the pursuit of warfare through Germany. 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) As the division's area of operation was hilly and woody 19th Infantry Brigade based in Colchester was added to it. 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. British Order of Battle Mid 1980 In 1980 the British Army was still organised in the Task Force system. divisions are listed in order of their original numbers (e.g., beginning with the former 1st Division and finishing with the former 62nd) . [7] In 1967, the force was reduced in strength to 53,000 soldiers, compared with 80,000 ten years earlier. [8] These districts controlled the regular army brigades in the UK (inc 1st and 5th Brigades) and the predominantly TA regional brigades. BAOR was armed with tactical nuclear weapons and supported by Royal Air Force Germany. Finally, the Germans surrendered, and by midnight units moved out laterally to consolidate the crossing sites and to attack the first villages beyond the river. 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. 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. After a day or two, specialized Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) units took over. Includes 25 armored divisions and 5 airborne divisions. 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. A captain of the 506th wrote, "At one point the men were so weary that [on] the order to rest . United Kingdom - Official Armored Brigade Wiki [22], Facing the Allies was Oberbefehlshaber West ("Army Command West") commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, who had taken over from Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt on 10 March. . . Buschwhose main unit was the German 1st Parachute Army was to form the right-wing of the German defenses. Behind the screening force 1st Armoured and 4th Armoured Division would form up. But these decisions were made in good faith and had little bearing on the ultimate outcome of the campaign. 1956 Saw more major changes to the BAOR. If they held out for a year or more, dissension between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies might give them political leverage for some kind of favorable peace settlement. [2] The Cologne Post was a newspaper published for members of the BAOR during this period. Later D Day and Normandy. At the Battle of Rolia (17 August 1808), the first battle fought by the British army during the Peninsular War, [5] an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri Franois Delaborde, near the village of Rolia in Portugal. 23rd Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 37th (Rhine) Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnchengladbach, 62nd Rear Combat Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnchengladbach. Another seven American divisions arrived during February,[19] along with the British 5th Infantry Division and I Canadian Corps, both of which had arrived from the fighting on the Italian front. Britains Armed Forces Today:3 British Army of The Rhine, T Gander 1984; Britains Modern Army, edition 1 1995, T Gander; During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. To the north, the 9th Army's XIX and XIII Corps would also drive for the Elbe, toward Magdeburg, about 65mi (105km) north of Leipzig, although the army commander, General Simpson, hoped he would be allowed to go all the way to Berlin. 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. The 9th Army's XVI Corps, which had taken up position north of the Ruhr area after crossing the Rhine, would be assisted in its southward drive by two divisions of the XIX Corps, the rest of which would continue to press eastward along with the XIII Corps. To accomplish both objectives, Patch's 7th Army on Devers' left was to make a great arc, first driving northeastward alongside Bradley's flank, then turning south with the 3rd Army to take Nuremberg and Munich, ultimately continuing into Austria. With Montgomery allowing use of the Wesel bridges to the 9th Army for only five out of every 24 hours, and with the road network north of the Lippe under 2nd Army control, General Simpson was unable to commit or maneuver sufficient forces to make a rapid flanking drive. 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. From 1968 through 2010, the Infantry was administered by 'Divisions' of infantry Guards Division, Scottish Division, King's Division, Queen's Division and Prince of Wales' Divisions [four regiments were not under these Divisions]. The 30th was to cross between Wesel and Rheinberg while the 79th assaulted south of Rheinberg. 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]. When we go to war, we have fourteen golden and bejewelled crosses borne before us instead of banners; each of these crosses is followed by 10,000 horsemen, and 100,000 foot soldiers fully armed, without reckoning those in charge of the luggage and provision. [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. 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. 79th Railway Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport. 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. Structure of the British Army in 1989 | Military Wiki | Fandom On 12 April, additional 9th Army elements attained the Elbe and by the next day were on the opposite bank hopefully awaiting permission to drive on to Berlin. Operation Veritable - Order of Battle Still, by 11 April 7 Army had penetrated the German defenses in-depth, especially in the north, and was ready to begin its wheeling movement southeast and south. HQ Allied Mobile Force & 249 Signal Squadron (AMF(L)). Meanwhile, the 9th and 1st Armies began preparing converging attacks using the east-west Ruhr River as a boundary line. 3rd Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, 3rd Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Soest, 5th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Soest, 6th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnster, 11th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Soest, 3rd Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Sennelager, 5th Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Mnster, 113th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Werl, HQ 4th Armoured Brigade & 204 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Mnster, HQ 6th Armoured Brigade & 206th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Soest, HQ 33rd Armoured Brigade & 202nd Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Paderborn, 46th (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, (36x, HQ 4th Armoured Division & Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, Herford, 14th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Herford. In the British Army, divisions and brigades are referred to as "formations." Alfred Price. This was the first major . 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. 3rd Base Ammo Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. 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. British Army of the Rhine (Hansard, 19 July 1982) When the task force failed to advance on 31 March, Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins, commander of the VII Corps, asked Simpson if his 9th Army, driving eastward north of the Ruhr, could provide assistance. 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. Includes 55 American divisions, 18 British divisions, 11 French divisions, 5 Canadian divisions, and 1 Polish division, as well as several independent brigades. 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. 158 Provost Company Corps of Royal Military Police. [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. Thus, as his forces had approached the east bank of the river, Montgomery proceeded with one of the most intensive buildups of material and manpower of the war. [22], In addition, there was the matter of the Ruhr. 21st Army Group gave their strength on 5 May 1945 excluding US forces as 9248 tanks and 6584 guns. Active Edge: The Army, Germany and the Cold War Ziethen's corps arrived late at Waterloo and linked up with Wellington's flank. The Confederation of the Rhine - napoleon.org - Fondation Napolon 32nd Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Rolling northward 45mi (72km) without casualties, the mobile force stopped for the night 15mi (24km) from its objective. 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 . . The 11th Armoured Division (Great Britain) | Holocaust Encyclopedia The BAOR at this point still consisted of 80,000 troops. [46], As was the case throughout the campaign, the German ability to fight was sporadic and unpredictable during the drive to the ElbeMulde line. The Battle Of The Rhine: The Last Major Battle Of WWII British Formations & Units. The British military presence in Berlin comprised 3,100 men in three infantry battalions, an independent armoured squadron, and a number of support units. GMT Games - BAOR: MBT Expansion 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. After what had been initially a one man attempt to discover more about the British Army of the Rhine, to which he had never served under, there is now a full team in place determined towards preventing this precious history drifting into obscurity. On roulement deployment from February 1989 to February 1991. His overriding objective was the swiftest military victory possible. 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. As its forces approached Leipzig, about 60mi (97km) south of Magdeburg and 15mi (24km) short of the Mulde River, the 1st Army ran into one of the few remaining centers of organized resistance. To the south, elements of the VI Corps met unexpectedly fierce resistance at Heilbronn, 40mi (64km) into the German rear. HQ Wales District & Signal Troop, Royal Signals. [25], To the south in the Saar-Palatinate region, Patton's U.S. 3rd Army had dealt a devastating blow to the German 7th Army and, in conjunction with the U.S. 7th Army, had nearly destroyed the German 1st Army. In reality, by the time of the Allied Rhine crossings the Wehrmacht had suffered such severe defeats on both the Eastern and Western Fronts that it could barely manage to mount effective delaying actions, much less muster enough troops to establish a well-organized alpine resistance force.