[44], In the center of the 12th U.S. Army Group, Hodges' 1st Army faced somewhat stiffer opposition, though it hardly slowed the pace. 1945 offensive in the European theatre of World War II, U.S. 12th Army Group crosses the Rhine (22 March), U.S. 6th Army Group crosses the Rhine (26 March), German Army Group B surrounded in the Ruhr pocket (1 April), Eisenhower switches his main thrust to U.S. 12th Army Group front (28 March), U.S. 12th Army Group prepares its final thrust, U.S. 12th Army Group advances to the Elbe (9 April), U.S. First Army makes first contact with the advancing Soviets (25 April), Link-up of U.S. forces in Germany and Italy (4 May), British 21st Army Group crosses the Elbe (29 April). The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and the Royal Air Force Command constituted Great Britain's armed forces in Germany and were one of the main pillars of the NATO defence doctrine on West German soil. While certainly incomplete (especially for the period 1120 April 1945), they reflect the ratio between casualties in both theaters in the final months of the war. The 9th Army's sector of the Ruhr Pocket, although only about 1/3 the size of the 1st Army's sector south of the river, contained the majority of the densely urbanized industrial area within the encirclement. 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. ["On Heavy Artillery: American Experience in Four Wars"]. [21], As these three army groups cleared out the Wehrmacht west of the Rhine, Eisenhower began to rethink his plans for the final drive across the Rhine and into the heart of Germany. Lord & Watson, pp. Welcome to BAOR Locations. BAOR had command of four Areas or Districts: I Corps District; PDF Fire and Fury Games - designers of wargame miniatures rules These dresses, in order to be cleaned and washed, are cast into flames. 88 mm Pak 43 with spread mount covered in a securing position behind the river Rhine, Germany spring 1945. [49], On 30 April, elements of 7th Army's XV and XXI Corps captured Munich, 30 miles (48km) south of the Danube, while the first elements of its VI Corps had already entered Austria two days earlier. 608th Signal Troop (Cipher Equipment), Royal Signals, 68th Transport Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, JHQ Rheindahlen. 21st Army Group gave their strength on 5 May 1945 excluding US forces as 9248 tanks and 6584 guns. Think You Know About The BAOR? Think Again - Forces Network To the south, elements of the VI Corps met unexpectedly fierce resistance at Heilbronn, 40mi (64km) into the German rear. Uniquely and rather confusingly, the Infantry, which is a collection of regiments, was organized in 1957 into Brigades, which were not fighting formations but rather provided depots for training recruits to the three or four regiments within the Brigade. The professional head of the British Army is the Chief of the General Staff. 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. HQ Eastern District & 239 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Colchester, London District, Horse Guards, covering Greater London. The Battle Of The Rhine: The Last Major Battle Of WWII Page 10. 43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The Confederation of the Rhine - napoleon.org - Fondation Napolon Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces, General Sir Charles Huxtable, HQ United Kingdom Land Forces commanded nine military districts until the spring of 1991. The BAOR was no exception. [49], Meanwhile, on the 7th Army's right, the VI Corps had moved southeast alongside the French 1st Army. "When I joined my regiment in 1980, the British Army of the Rhine alone had 900 tanks," Crawford wrote in U.K. Defense Journal. NATO's Northern Army Group Wartime Order of Battle 1985 - Blogger On the morning of 10 April, the 12th U.S. Army Group's drive to the Elbe began in earnest. The only potent unit left for commitment against the Allied Rhine crossings in the north, the 116th began moving south from the Dutch-German border on 25 March against what the Germans considered their most dangerous threat, the U.S. 9th Army. [50], While the Allied armies in the south marched to the Alps, the 21st Army Group drove north and northeast. While this was short notice, it did not catch the XII Corps completely unaware. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. [42], The final tally of prisoners taken in the Ruhr reached 325,000, far beyond anything the Americans had anticipated. On roulement deployment from February 1989 to February 1991. Fire and Fury Games - designers of wargame miniatures rules . British Army formations & units [1939-1945] - unit histories British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) - GlobalSecurity.org The speed of change is moving at a remarkable rate and it will only get faster and more complex. Panzer General.Best described as "thorough", these games are strictly off limits to anyone who couldn't tell you . wikipedia.en/Gothic_Line_order_of_battle.md at main chinapedia British Army of the Rhine - YouTube The proclamation demanded compliance with all orders by the commanding officer, instituted a strict curfew and limited travel and confiscated all communications equipment and weapons. The Brigade of Guards was reformed on 14 July 1948 as the administrative depot for the regiments of foot guards. The change resulted from an agreement between the American and Soviet military leadership based on the need to establish a readily identifiable geographical line to avoid accidental clashes between the converging Allied forces. [28], On 22 March, with a bright moon lighting the late-night sky, elements of U.S. XII Corps' 5th Infantry Division began the 3rd Army's Rhine crossing. Patton knew that the most obvious place to jump the river was at Mainz or just downstream, north of the city. The three complementary British Army Divisions harness the wide range of British Army capabilities, providing choice to the Government in defence of the UKs interests. Postal and Courier Depot, Royal Engineers, Central Volunteer HQ Royal Engineers (Postal and Courier Services). Tanks and tank destroyers had been ferried across all morning, and by evening a Treadway bridge was open to traffic. All units within the service are either Regular (full-time) or Territorial Army (part-time), or a combination with sub-units of each type. [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). GMT Games - BAOR: MBT Expansion In December 1989, Headquarters UK Land Forces at Wilton directed field forces through a three-star's command, Commander UK Field Army, Lieutenant General Sir David Ramsbotham. The French retired in good order. 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. For example, Patton potentially could have made his initial Rhine crossing north of Mainz and avoided the losses incurred crossing the Main.[who?] The same court sits in both areas and in the following tables the overall figures shown include Berlin trials. divisions are listed in order of their original numbers (e.g., beginning with the former 1st Division and finishing with the former 62nd) . 11th Ordnance (EOD) Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 160th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Aldershot, 240th Provost (Training) Company, Royal Military Police, Aldershot. Botch on the Rhine | Max Hastings | The New York Review of Books 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. british army of the rhine order of battle. 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. The ceased to by an occupation force and became responsible for the northern front from Hamburg to Kassel in the event of a Soviet invasion. These commands consisted of units of all three services and were commanded by one or 2-star rank flag officers. This secondary drive would also give Eisenhower a degree of flexibility in case the northern attack ran into difficulties. With all passes to the Alps now sealed, however, there would be no final redoubt in Austria or anywhere else. United Kingdom - Official Armored Brigade Wiki At 11:30 on 25 April, a small patrol from the 69th Infantry Division met a lone Soviet horseman in the village of Leckwitz. 6th Division focuses on Cyber, Electronic Warfare, Intelligence, Information Operations and unconventional warfare through niche capabilities such as the Specialised Infantry Battalions.". Forward Vehicle Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Nicholas Goodison interviewed by Cathy Courtney (section 1) [37], A task force of the VII Corps' 3rd Armored Division, which included some of the new M26 Pershing heavy tanks, spearheaded the drive for Paderborn on 29 March. 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. The predecessor to British Forces Germany, the BAOR was active from 1919-1929, and then 1945-1994. Later D Day and Normandy. Only when Soviet artillery was falling around his Berlin headquarters bunker did he begin to perceive the final outcome. Regimental headquarters are administrative and ceremonial in nature. Denying this opportunity became another argument for rethinking the role of the southern drive through Germany. Battle of Rolia - Wikipedia Combat Service Support units: These units provide essential support services both in combat and in peacetime. [55] The British and Americans contemplated an airborne operation before the attack. 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. . On 29 November 1952, the Headquarters of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) formed. The Germans lacked both the manpower and the heavy equipment to make a more determined defense. Its primary combat formation was British I Corps. Five armies took part in the battle: the armies of Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquis of Newcastle for the Royalists, and the Army of the Covenant, the Earl of Manchester's Eastern Association and Lord Fedinando Fairfax's Northern Association for the Allies. Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559]. Prussian Order of Battle : Ordre de Bataille - ATSPACE [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. Many of the units stationed in the United Kingdom were to move immediately to Germany to reinforce British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in case of war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Also looking forward to going home, tens of thousands of freed forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war further strained the American logistical system. Army Group B commander Model committed suicide on 21 April. 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. 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. The XV Corps' 45th Infantry Division fought for six days before taking the city of Aschaffenburg, 35mi (56km) east of the Rhine, on 3 April. With the Soviets at the door of Berlin, the western Allies decided any attempt on their behalf to push that far east would be too costly, concentrating instead on mopping up resistance in the west German cities. 3rd Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 10th Airborne Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Borden, (supported 5th Airborne Brigade), 16th Armoured Field Ambulance, Aldershot (to. All three corps of the 1st Army participated in the breakout, which on the first day employed five infantry and two armored divisions. The British Rhine occupation force British Second and Fourth Armies were selected to make the advance and to commence on 17 November 1918. [46], As was the case throughout the campaign, the German ability to fight was sporadic and unpredictable during the drive to the ElbeMulde line. [57], The crossing of the Rhine, the encirclement and reduction of the Ruhr, and the sweep to the ElbeMulde line and the Alps all established the final campaign on the Western Front as a showcase for Western Allied superiority over the Germans in maneuver warfare. These were based in various former German Army barracks in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westfalia. 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. With his escape route to the south severed by the 12th Army Group's eastward drive and Berlin surrounded by the Soviets, Hitler committed suicide on 30 April, leaving to his successor, Grand Admiral Karl Dnitz, the task of capitulation. 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. But the other discovery made by the 3rd Army on 4 April horrified and angered those who saw it. His overriding objective was the swiftest military victory possible. Order of Battle of Divisions - The Long, Long Trail 4th Petrol Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Home [baor-locations.org] 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. As its forces reached Nuremberg on 16 April, the Seventh Army ran into the same type of anti-aircraft gun defense that the 1st Army was facing at Leipzig. The British Army of the Rhine had a presence in Germany for 70 years. British Formations & Units. Antony Beevor, Inside the British Army, 1991, 429. 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. [7] In 1967, the force was reduced in strength to 53,000 soldiers, compared with 80,000 ten years earlier. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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. . 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. At first, this was done informally with occupants evicted immediately and taking with them few personal possessions, but the process became standardized, with three hours' notice and OMGUS personnel providing receipts for buildings' contents. In the south, the 1st Army's III Corps launched its strike on the 5th and the XVIII Airborne Corps joined in on the 6th, both pushing generally northward. According to rumor, Hitler's most fanatically loyal troops were preparing to make a lengthy, last-ditch stand in the natural fortresses formed by the rugged alpine mountains of southern Germany and western Austria. Simpson subsequently turned his troops' attention to mopping up pockets of local resistance. In reserve were the XVI Corps' 8th Armored Division, and 35th and 75th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 9th Army's XIII and XIX Corps, each with three divisions. 9th Ordnance Battalion Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 174 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Tidworth. The officer in charge of the unit capturing the area, typically a company or battalion, accepted responsibility over the town. [37], As March turned to April the offensive east of the Rhine was progressing in close accordance with Allied plans. 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. German resistance everywhere was sporadic, and the hastily mounted counterattacks invariably burned out quickly, causing few casualties. Mallinson, Allan. [33], In the southernmost sector of the 21st Army Group's attack, the 9th Army's assault divisions were to cross the Rhine along an 11 miles (18km) section of the front, south of Wesel and the Lippe River. 1, which began with "We come as a victorious army, not as oppressors." 9th Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (V). 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. Western Allied invasion of Germany - Wikipedia PDF The Original British Army of the Rhine - Orbat Seventh and Third Armies) into southeastern Germany and Austria. In the British Army, divisions and brigades are referred to as "formations." (Copied from the Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989). Journal of the US Army War College. On 6 May, the Polish 1st Armoured Division seized the Kriegsmarine naval base in Wilhelmshaven, where General Maczek accepted the capitulation of the fortress, naval base, East Frisian Fleet and more than 10 infantry divisions. 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. 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 artillery fire had been so effective and so perfectly timed that the assault battalions merely motored their storm boats across the river and claimed the east bank against almost no resistance. 30-06-2021 12:05:06 ZULU, 1st (United Kingdom) Division (1 (UK) Div) with its blend of lighter infantry, logistics, engineers and medics will provide more strategic choice and a range of capabilities, conducting capacity building, stabilisation operations, disaster relief and UK resilience operations. The U.S. VII Corps, on the left, had the hardest going due to the German concentration north of the bridgehead, yet its armored columns managed to advance 12mi (19km) beyond their line of departure. Despite the Russian proximity to Berlin, they argued that the city was still a critical political, if not military, objective. 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. 1 FV432, towing a bar mine layer and mounting a Ranger Scatterable mine discharger . [35], To the north, the British crossings had also gone well, with the ground and airborne troops linking up by nightfall. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine . In the British Army division-level formations are administrative or deployable formations. The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising five Army Corps from five NATO member nations. It will include: 4th (Infantry) Brigade, 7th (Infantry) Brigade, 11th (Infantry) Brigade, 51st (Infantry) Brigade, 8th Engineer Brigade, 102nd Logistic Brigade, 104th Logistic Brigade, 2nd Medical Brigade, 3rd (United Kingdom) Division (3 (UK) Div) will remain as the Armys primary armoured warfighting force comprising: 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade, 1st Artillery Brigade, 101st Logistic Brigade, 25th Engineer Group, 7th Air Defence Group, 6th (United Kingdom) Division. The French 1st Army, under de Lattre de Tassigny, was to attack to the south and southeast, taking Stuttgart before moving to the Swiss border and into Austria. Outline of the British Army at the end of the Cold War 34 Evacuation Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 31st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Catterick. RAF Order of Battle 1949 Ziethen's corps arrived late at Waterloo and linked up with Wellington's flank. 20th March 2015. Little or no reinforcement was forthcoming as the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) continued to concentrate most forces against the Soviets; it was estimated that the Germans had 214 divisions on the Eastern Front in April. 12th Royal School of Military Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers. 18th Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. All the armies assigned to cross the Rhine had elements east of the river, including the Canadian 1st Army in the north, which sent a division through the British bridgehead at Rees, and the French 1st Army in the south, which on 31 March established its own bridgehead by assault crossings at Germersheim and Speyer, about 50mi (80km) south of Mainz. 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 five days of battle, from 18 to 22 March, Patton's forces captured over 68,000 Germans. As subsequent waves of troops crossed, units fanned out to take the first villages beyond the river to only the weakest of opposition. [25], When Allied soldiers arrived in a town, its leaders and remaining residents typically used white flags, bedsheets, and tablecloths to signal surrender. These bold actions eliminated the last German positions west of the Rhine. 5th Security Company, Intelligence Corps, 6th Intelligence Company (Photo Intell), Intelligence Corps, JHQ Rheindahlen. The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. [31], On the night of 23/24 March, after the XII Corps' assault of the Rhine, Bradley had announced his success. The British 2nd Army advanced towards Hamburg, crossing the River Elbe on 29 April 1945 and pushing on towards Denmark and the Baltic. After a day or two, specialized Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) units took over. Despite scattered resistance from a few isolated units, the war in Europe was over. On the same day, however, Montgomery announced that the eastbound roads out of Wesel would be turned over to the 9th Army on 30 March with the Rhine bridges leading into that city changing hands a day later. The German forces there were simply in less disarray than those to the north. 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]. 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. On the whole, Western Allied plans were excellent as demonstrated by how rapidly they met their objectives. 1997. 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.

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