The class 12 Bailey bridge, known as "Sussex", took the XII Corps Troops Engineers and the Royal Navy 43 hours to erect. [95][92] To take pressure off the roads, the 21st Army Group placed an air composite platoon capable of receiving and handling up to 510 tonnes (500 long tons) per day under the Second Army's control. During the two-hour rail halt, the troops were served a hot meal and provided with sandwiches for the next one. Contains informative chapters on the precarious position of BAOR during the austerity years of 19461953 and of the contribution made by BAOR to conventional deterrence throughout the Cold War. BRITISH ALLIES ARMY RAF. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War. A Mail on Sunday . This reduced the pressure on the road network, and also permitted stone for road works to be supplied by rail. This saved 150 vehicles, from which a seventh company was formed. Another 640 tonnes (630 long tons) was reallocated from the First Canadian Army, and .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}7+12 platoons were made available taking the transport from an anti-aircraft brigade. Daily expenditure of ammunition soon exceeded a trainload, so the non-arrival of even one train meant that ammunition had to be drawn from the Second Army roadhead at Bourg Leopold. Dorsten Ammunition Depot munitions storage facility. British Armed Forces Special Vouchers B.A.O.R. Photo courtesy of RAMC Lab Tech Cpl Peter Elgar 1958. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after World War I, and the other after World War II. The next major operation was Operation Plunderthe assault crossing of the Rhine. Since prompt clearance of the trains was essential to allow turnaround of the locomotives and rolling stock, vehicles had to be used to clear less urgently required supplies such as POL, coal and engineer stores. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. These included 36-centimetre (14in) baulks and chesses that had originally been set aside for the construction of emergency bridges over the Thames. [65], The buildup of stocks for Operation Plunder commenced on 8 March. Evolution of the organisation of the 21st Army Group line of communications, British logistics in the Western Allied invasion of Germany, Development of the line of communications, British logistics in the Western Allied Invasion of Germany, Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation, British logistics in the Normandy campaign, British logistics in the Siegfried Line campaign, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Supply and Maintenance on the European Continent, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, XVIII Corps (Airborne), Operation the Elbe to the Baltic, 27 April 1945 to 3 May 1945, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_logistics_in_the_Western_Allied_invasion_of_Germany&oldid=1141771057, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 18:30. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. XXX Corps opened a new No. Another three-platoon company arrived from Italy with the Operation Goldflake units. The affectionate story of British servicemen and their families who had to make Germany a home from home in the decades after the Second World War. In addition to the storm boats, DUKWs, Buffaloes and Weasels,[62] there were also amphibious DD tanks. 168 FMC area at Goch. [39][40], The artillery fire plan for Operation Veritable called for the widespread use of "pepperpot tactics". Your current browser may not support copying via this button. [47] Four main road routes were available for troop movements, utilising road bridges over the Maas at Grave, Mook and Ravenstein. A broad look at the cultural attitudes of the British army and its relationship with wider society. 168 FMC near Goch. [53], Once the battle commenced on 8 February, the main administrative task was replenishing the stocks of ammunition. Nottingham. [47] As it was thought that vehicle movement in the battle area would be restricted by the weather, terrain and battle damage, units were issued with "compo" ration packs for up to two-thirds of a formation's strength, and the divisions and independent brigades were also supplied with two-, three- and five-man "AFV" ration packs in case the distribution of compo packs proved to be too difficult. At this time the ration strength of the 21st Army Group was around 1.2 million, while that of the Mediterranean theatre was 1.4 million. Blaxland, Gregory. Captured German dumps held sufficient quantities of food for them, but they were not always easily accessible or distributable, so some had to be fed from 21st Army Group stocks, on a temporary ration scale of 1,100 calories (4,600J) per man per day. Both stocked 200 rounds per gun of field artillery ammunition for the entire XXX Corps. The link was not copied. [12] The two central garrisons - Gtersloh and Paderborn - combined to form a single 'super garrison' called Westfalen Garrison in April 2014. The army roadheads were mainly supplied by rail. By 1945 the British Army was highly experienced, professional and proficient. Cold War British Army Threat Recognition Guide It's the 1980s and the British Army Of the Rhine is still stationed in West Germany facing down the USSR's forces. Divisions carried two days' compo rations in their first line (unit) transport and two days' in their second line (divisional) transport. [62], Once the link-up with the ground forces was effected, the 6th Airborne Division drew its supplies from XII Corps, while the US 17th Airborne Division drew its from the US Ninth Army. WW2 MAPS OF BRUSSELS/BRUXELLES 1944 D/DAY ORIGINAL RARE. Recourse was therefore made to Weasel tracked vehicles, and every available Weasel was rushed to the front. Four days later orders came that disarmed troops would no longer have prisoner of war status, but would be classified as Surrendered Enemy Personnel, and that their own officers would be responsible for their administration. What military bases are left in Germany? It was decanted at Bocholt and transported by rail to No. British Army of the Rhine (post First World War) B.A.F.S.V. [4] Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. Post war First Corps District administered Rhine Province and Westphalia. It was therefore conducted over muddy and sometimes flooded ground, and roads were sometimes impassable even to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Media in category "British Army of the Rhine". It was therefore agreed that from 1 March onwards, 81,000 tonnes (80,000 long tons) of fuel held in British storage would be transferred to the Americans so that both armies could have thirty days' reserves. zThis page represents the structure of the British Army in 1989, the last year of the Cold War. In February, a French fuel installation was opened at Douai, and this was used to supply the Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields in the vicinity. The best introduction to the regimental system of the British army. 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 . [87][88] A 300-metre (980ft) Class 9 FBE bridge was built over the Elbe at Lauenburg by the VIII Corps engineers on 29 April. This merely delayed work on the bridge, which was opened to traffic at 20:15. Use the search function to locate the Order of battle by title or file name. Three bridges were constructed there, but by the time they opened II Canadian Corps already had its three Canadian divisions across the Rhine. british army of the rhine bases . Mallinson, Allan. Technical Services BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), Shooting Team, 1969. 14 Army Roadhead. After the assumption of government by civilians, it became the command formation for the troops in Germany only, rather than being responsible for administration as well. New search features Acronym Blog Free tools . [38] Operation Blackcock, a preliminary operation to clear German forces from the Roer Triangle, was carried out by the XII Corps in January 1945. British and Commonwealth PWX were flown directly to the UK, while American PWX were flown to collecting camps around Le Havre. It was arranged that 40 tanks, 650 wheeled vehicles, 50 Bren gun carriers, and 3,700 personnel would disembark each day in Marseilles, where accommodation was provided for 10,000 troops in tents and 200 vehicles. [9], Under the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, it was decided that British military units would cease to be permanent deployed in Germany by the end of 2019. Expand or collapse the "in this article" section, Expand or collapse the "related articles" section, Expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section, Africa, Gunpowder and Colonial Campaigns in, All-Volunteer Army, Post-Vietnam Through 2016, Armed Forces of the Ottoman Empire, 16831918, Australia from the Colonial Era to the Present. Moody 2020 provides the first comprehensive study of how the army intellectualized the arrival of nuclear weapons and how they might be employed in a future war. Peter Walker. [70] Of the 610 tonnes (600 long tons) of supplies and equipment dropped, 80 per cent was recovered. The best introduction to the regimental system of the British army. Two pipelines were laid across the Rhine at Emmerich and were in operation by the end of April. To secure the required transportation resources, eleven general transport companies, seven artillery transport platoons, a tank transporter company, a bulk petrol transport company, a petrol depot, a bridge company and an ambulance car company were transferred from Italy. In due course it was relieved by a vehicle park from Italy. From 1952 the commander-in-chief of the BAOR was also the commander of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in the event of a general war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. The Mediterranean theatre was only able to provide two field bakeries. Initially, bulk POL was brought across the Rhine in tanker trucks at the rate of 1,000 tonnes (1,000 long tons) per day. They had had better relations with the British than with the French, and they would have brought a measure of stability and prosperity in the difficult economic conditions of 1920s Germany. A sweeping review of four hundred years of British army history. 166 Field Maintenance Centre (FMC) at Veghel and the two Canadian FMCs at Wijchen and Oss. It was the largest concentration of British armed forces permanently stationed outside the United Kingdom. Due to the proximity of Rees, the VIII Corps Troops Engineers could not work on the "London" class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge until the afternoon of 25 March, and it was opened at 23:00 on 26 March. Expands. The 690-metre (2,250ft) class 40 and 70 steel-piled jetty bridges were built at Arnhem by the First Canadian Army engineers, and opened on 31 May, and the 440-metre (1,450ft) class 40 and class 70 timber pile bridges at Zutphen were completed on 26 May. Chieftain: The British Army of the Rhine, provides a complete array of British equipment and maneuver units, from Chieftain and Challenger tanks through MCV-80 and Saxon APCs. [6], Disbandment of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) in 1994, following the end of the Cold War and the Options for Change defence review in the early 1990s, reduced the strength of the British Armed Forces in Germany by almost 30,000 with just one division (1st Armoured) remaining by the late 1990s,[7] concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia. This account will transfer to the new Comd British Army Germany, Col Tim Hill. Damaged vehicles on the east bank of the Rhine were collected at points near the river and transported back on rafts. british army of the rhine bases. The possibility that the Germans might flood the forward area was not overlooked, and a company of DUKW amphibious trucks and a platoon of Terrapin amphibious vehicles was on 48-hours notice to assist. Temperatures were as low as 15C (5F) on 26 January, resulting in firm, frozen ground, but a subsequent thaw caused widespread flooding, and by 5 February a section of the Turnhout-Eindhoven road had become impassable even to four-wheel-drive vehicles. After some debate, the Combined Chiefs of Staff endorsed his strategy at the Malta Conference in January and February 1945. 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. The second class 40 Bailey pontoon bridge, "Sparrow", was built by the 4th GHQ Troops Engineers on 27 March. This freed the 9th Line of Communications Sub Area to participate in Operation Goldflake. The 11th Line of Communications Area took over the administration of the ports and the entire advanced base area, freeing the 12th Line of Communications Area headquarters to move forward. [11] To get the railway system in operation again required the reconstruction of bridges and the importation of additional locomotives. This airborne operation was the largest of its kind during the entire war, utilizing 1,625 transports, 1,348 gliders, and 889 escort fighters to deliver over 22,000 airborne infantry into the contested territory.