british army of the rhine order of battle

After attempting to strike a deal whereby he would surrender only to the Western Allies, a proposal that was summarily rejected on 7 May, Dnitz granted his representative, Alfred Jodl, permission to effect a complete surrender on all fronts. Everyone is asking its whereabouts and what its future role will be, says the British United Press correspondent with the British forces. Field-Marshal Montgomei*y's British 2nd Army has becorfie the phantom force of the Western Front. During peacetime these regiments were under command of their brigade. Once the bridgehead was secured the British 6th Airborne Division would be transferred to Second Army control, while the U.S. 17th Airborne Division would revert to 9th Army control. Mallinson, Allan. [32][pageneeded] The intention was to create a line from Bremen south to Neuwied. It was originally composed of five corps, composed of two divisions each, plus a cavalry division:[1], IV Corps: Commanded by Sir Alexander Godley, VI Corps: Commanded by Sir Aylmer Haldane, IX Corps: Commanded by Sir Walter Braithwaite and later by Ivor Maxse, Cavalry Division (formed from 1st Cavalry Division). Bradley had three American armies, the U.S. 1st Army (Courtney Hodges) on the left (north), the U.S. 3rd Army (George S. Patton) on the right (south), and the U.S. 15th Army (Leonard T. Gerow). [44], The 4 April pause in the 3rd Army advance allowed the other armies under Bradley's command to reach the Leine River, about 50mi (80km) east of Paderborn. Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces, General Sir Charles Huxtable, HQ United Kingdom Land Forces commanded nine military districts until the spring of 1991. When the 4th Armored Division and elements of the 89th Infantry Division captured the small town of Ohrdruf, a few miles south of Gotha, they found the first concentration camp taken by the Western Allies. 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. Memorialised in the Hollywood. 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. By attaching an infantry regiment of the 104th Infantry Division to the armored division and following the drive closely with the rest of the 104th Division, the VII Corps was well prepared to hold any territory gained. Up until now, if you have played a war game on the pc it's probably been a top-down hex game that's turn based, makes absolutely no use whatsoever of your machine's graphics and sound capabilities. 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. [38], The British Prime Minister and Chiefs of Staff strongly opposed the new plan. British Army | Military Wiki | Fandom `Drastic Measures to Defend the Reich at the Oder and the Rhine': A 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. 64th Rear Combat Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Trackpad Publishing, 2022. The executive committee of the Army Board was responsible for the 'detailed management of the Army.' [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. Eastern District, Colchester, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Rutland, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire Antony Beevor, Inside the British Army, 1991, 429. [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. The 11th Armoured Division (Great Britain) | Holocaust Encyclopedia 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). The same day, in response to the 3rd Army's robust showing in the Saar-Palatinate region, and to have another strong force on the Rhine's east bank guarding the 1st Army's flank, Bradley gave Patton the go-ahead for an assault crossing of the Rhine as soon as possible. Britains Armed Forces Today:3 British Army of The Rhine, T Gander 1984; Britains Modern Army, edition 1 1995, T Gander; To the south, elements of the VI Corps met unexpectedly fierce resistance at Heilbronn, 40mi (64km) into the German rear. JanuaryMay 1945:265,000 to 400,000(For all fronts)[i]200,000 captured(JanuaryMarch)4,400,000 surrendered(AprilJune)[j]. HQ Western District & 241 (West) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals. Its primary combat formation was British I Corps. The British Army of the Rhine was born in 1945 out of the British Liberation Army at the close of the war as the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. British Army: Royal Navy: Royal Air Force: Armies: see also the websites: First Army [1st Army] Second Army [2nd Army] Eighth Army [8th Army] Fourteenth Army [14th Army] Corps: . The Defence Operations Executive, led by the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) and including the Assistant Chiefs of the Naval, General, and Air Staffs, supervised the Joint Operations Centre which in turn passed orders to the forces in Cyprus, Belize, the Falklands, and Hong Kong. 57th Station Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. In the battle of Ligny Ziethen faced Vandamme's III Corps. By the end of the day, the units that had taken Leipzig joined the rest of the 1st Army on the Mulde, where it had been ordered to halt. Active Edge: The Army, Germany and the Cold War 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. HQ Allied Mobile Force & 249 Signal Squadron (AMF(L)). 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. 1 CVR(T) representing the HQ or Recce Capability. Key to the effort was the logistical support that kept these forces fueled, and the determination to maintain the forward momentum at all costs. 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 . 4th Armoured Division was the corps' Southern forward deployed division. In 198485, the nine districts were Eastern (19th and 54th Brigades), London, North-East (2nd Infantry Division, 15, 24, and 49 Brigades), North-West District (42 Brigade), Scotland (51 and 52 Brigades), South-Eastern District (2 and 5 Brigades), South-West District (UK Contingent, ACE Mobile Force, 1, and 43 Brigades) Headquarters Wales (160 Brigade), and Western District (143 Brigade).[9]. British 2nd. Army. Phantom Force Of Western Front Northern Advocate, 14 British Air Forces of Occupation, Royal Air Force (c/o British Army On Rhine 1) ***** ***** No. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Even Patton agreed with Churchill that he should order the attack on the city since Montgomery's troops could reach Berlin within three days. 35th Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Junior Leaders Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers. By 13 April, the 9th Army had cleared the northern part of the pocket, while elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps' 8th Infantry Division reached the southern bank of the Ruhr, splitting the southern section of the pocket in two. The Allied front along the Rhine stretched 450 miles (720km) from the river's mouth at the North Sea in the Netherlands to the Swiss border in the south. 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. [31]Montgomery was exhibiting his now-legendary meticulous and circumspect approach to such enterprises, a lesson he had learned early in the North African campaign. German Orders of battle March 1945 > WW2 Weapons [22], For several reasons, Eisenhower began to readjust these plans toward the end of March. It was fought in March and April 1945, after the Allied crossing of the Rhine River. [31], Plunder called for the Second Army to cross at three locations along the 21st Army Group frontat Rees, Xanten and Rheinberg. Lord & Watson, pp. [61] According to the Chicago Tribune, "over the decades, Germans' attitudes toward the war have evolved from a sense of defeat to something far more complex". This is known as the Central Europe Campaign in United States military histories. [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). Then, on the move to West Germany would join the 1st Artillery Brigade. In the British Army division-level formations are administrative or deployable formations. 62 Cyprus Support Squadron, Royal Engineers. 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]). Sup Regt RSA listed with SW Dist by Isby & Kamps 1985. With the 79th Infantry Division meeting fierce resistance to the south, Simpson's only recourse was to commit some of his forces waiting on the west bank of the Rhine. Although he declined to increase the size of the American crossing force beyond two divisions, he agreed to keep it under the 9th Army rather than Second Army control. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, all Western forces were drastically reduced. As of 1 April 1989, the following amounts of troops were deployed around the world: 71,000 in Great Britain, 56,000 (of which the Berlin brigade makes up 3,000), 10,200 in Northern Ireland (including 3,200 on roulement), 5,000 in Hong Kong, 4,000 in the Lines of Communications counties (Netherlandsand Belgium), 3,200 in Cyprus (including 850 on 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. Las mejores ofertas para WW1 military Stereoview card British Army Gurkhas in battle at Chapelle #25 estn en eBay Compara precios y caractersticas de productos nuevos y usados Muchos artculos con envo gratis! New book, 264 pages. (Copied from the Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989). The displaced residents nonetheless had to find housing on their own. Crossing Of The Rhine In The Final Months Of WW2 - warhistoryonline [22], In addition, there was the matter of the Ruhr. The best introduction to the regimental system of the British army. Brigades consist of several "units," which are regiment- or battalion-sized, and which consist of a number of sub-units. "Now we will have roughly one-sixth of that number. The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. By 9 April, both the 9th and 1st Armies had seized bridgeheads over the Leine, prompting Bradley to order an unrestricted eastward advance. There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine ( BAOR ). 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. Thus, on 15 April when Eisenhower ordered Patton's entire 3rd Army to drive southeast down the Danube River valley to Linz, and south to Salzburg and central Austria, he also instructed the 6th U.S. Army Group to make a similar turn into southern Germany and western Austria. Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559]. For example, Patton potentially could have made his initial Rhine crossing north of Mainz and avoided the losses incurred crossing the Main.[who?] Army. 44th District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ South-West District & 243 (Southern) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Bulford, Permanent Planning Group Joint Force Headquarters, Bulford. This guide will help you find records at The National Archives relating to military operations planned and carried out by the British Army since the end of the Second World War up until. Contents 1 History 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. 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. 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. 608th Signal Troop (Cipher Equipment), Royal Signals, 68th Transport Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, JHQ Rheindahlen. [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). Unknown to many, the British Army of the Rhine was first established as an occupational force after the Great War of 1914 - 1918. . Montgomery's forces were to secure Bradley's northern flank while Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group covered Bradley's southern shoulder. Otherwise, he would pursue those objectives that would end the war soonest. 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. On 30 April, as the Red Army closed in from the east, Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker. The 30th was to cross between Wesel and Rheinberg while the 79th assaulted south of Rheinberg. british army of the rhine order of battle First, his headquarters received reports that Soviet forces held a bridgehead over the Oder River, 30 miles (48km) from Berlin. [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. On roulement deployment from February 1989 to February 1991. 21 Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 32 Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, Hannover, 83 Field Medical Equipment Depot, Royal Army Medical Corps, Hannover. 11th Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals. 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. As subsequent waves of troops crossed, units fanned out to take the first villages beyond the river to only the weakest of opposition. Equipped with about 60 tanks, the students put up a fanatical resistance, stalling the American armor all day. While the U.S. Ninth and First Armies held their ground from Magdeburg through Leipzig to western Czechoslovakia, Eisenhower ordered three Allied field armies (1st French, and the U.S. However, Montgomery believed that the paratroopers would quickly link up with the advancing river assault forces, placing the strongest force within the bridgehead as rapidly as possible. 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. For operational tasks a battle group would be formed around a combat unit, supported by units or sub-units from other areas. Contents 1 History 1.1 1919-1929 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. [22], Also focusing Eisenhower's attention on the southern drive was concern over the "National redoubt." During the Second World War the army was the main British contribution to the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 and advance across Europe . 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. Luftwaffe Data Book. The 1st Army's area, on the other hand, was composed of rough, heavily forested terrain with a poor road network. British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) - GlobalSecurity.org This force would block any German counterattack from the Ruhr. 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. 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 divisions were created from 6th (Soest) and 20th (Detmold) Armoured Brigades and the divisional troops of 4th Division. Hours later, the attack multiplied as the ground troops were aided by an impressive airborne operation that brought planes, paratroopers, and more soldiers. As heavier equipment was ferried across the Rhine, both divisions began pushing east, penetrating 36 miles (4.89.7km) into the German defensive line that day. During the three days leading up to Montgomery's attack, targets in front of the 21st Army Group zone and in the Ruhr area to the southeast were pummeled by about 11,000 sorties, effectively sealing off the Ruhr while easing the burden on Montgomery's assault forces. A very armour orientated BAOR were as follows: 1 (BR) Corps (Bielefeld)1st Armoured Division (Verden)2nd Armoured Division (Lbbecke)3rd Armoured Division (Krbecke)4th Armoured Division (Herford)5th Field Force (Osnabrck)Artillery Division (Bielefeld). Even when the hopelessness of the German situation became obvious to his most loyal subordinates, Hitler refused to admit defeat. [62], Media related to Western Allied invasion of Germany at Wikimedia Commons. 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. 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). 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. As the Soviet threat increased, so BAOR became less of an occupational army and assumed the role of defender of Western Europe, and as a major contributor to NATO after 1949.This book traces and. 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. 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. 89) are: Area 1 The Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; Area 2 Berlin. [44], In the center of the 12th U.S. Army Group, Hodges' 1st Army faced somewhat stiffer opposition, though it hardly slowed the pace. 79th Railway Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport. 12th Royal School of Military Engineer Regiment Corps of Royal Engineers. Once this was done, the 21st Army Group would take Lbeck and Wismar on the Baltic Sea, cutting off the Germans remaining in the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, while the 6th U.S. Army Group and the 3rd Army drove south into Austria. Seeing this equipment moving up, his frontline soldiers did not need any orders from higher headquarters to tell them what it meant. 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. DECODED: The Cold War in Europe 1945-1995 : NATO's Northern Army Group Wartime Order of Battle 1985. Births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces - The National Archives 4th Security Company, Intelligence Corps. The Brigade of Guards was reformed on 14 July 1948 as the administrative depot for the regiments of foot guards. 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. 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. Operation Veritable - Order of Battle By sending armored spearheads around hotly contested areas, isolating them for reduction by subsequent waves of infantry, Eisenhower's forces maintained their eastward momentum. "The ETO", a term generally only used to refer to American forces in the Western European Theater, fielded 42,000 pieces of artillery; American forces comprised approximately 2/3 of all Allied forces during the campaign. Thus, he decided to feint at Mainz while making his real effort at Nierstein and Oppenheim, 910mi (1416km) south of the city. 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. The British military presence in Berlin comprised 3,100 men in three infantry battalions, an independent armoured squadron, and a number of support units. Prussian Order of Battle : Ordre de Bataille - ATSPACE

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