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. 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. HQ Western District & 241 (West) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals. On that day, Eisenhower instructed Patton to halt the 3rd Army at the Mulde River, about 10mi (16km) short of its original objective, Chemnitz. Positioned on the North German Plain, it is the command element of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). One of the British divisions arrived from Italy after the start of the campaign. The British Army of the Rhine had a presence in Germany for 70 years. The deployment and distribution of the divisions of the Wehrmacht and subordinate units of allies on March 1, 1945. British Army of the Rhine (Hansard, 19 July 1982) . New book, 264 pages. 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. "I have been visiting some of the units and found them, ready for the . On 25 August 1945, it was redesignated as the British Army of the Rhine (B.A.O.R. [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. [47], Initially, the opposition in the 6th U.S. Army Group's sector was stiffer than that facing the 12th U.S. Army Group. 21st Army Group was then instead ordered to move northeast toward Bremen and Hamburg. Only a month earlier had seen the first large scale NORTHAG exercise, appropriately named, Battle Royal. As the invasion of Germany commenced, Eisenhower had a total of 90 full-strength divisions under his command, with the number of armored divisions now reaching 25. 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. They include the Infantry, the Royal Armoured Corps and the Army Air Corps. A heavy bombing campaign by USAAF and RAF forces, known as the "Interdiction of Northwest Germany", designed primarily to destroy the lines of communication and supply connecting the Ruhr to the rest of Germany had been underway since February. In a matter of days, they would all be killed or captured. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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. 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. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. 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. CONTENTS OF EMAILS MAY BE DISPLAYED ON THIS SITE (BUT IN AN ENCRYPTED FORMAT TO DETER SPAMMERS) TO BENEFIT HISTORY. Even before the encirclement had been completed, the Germans in the Ruhr had begun making attempts at a breakout to the east. 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. During transition to war, the support units of BAOR would have formed the British Rear Combat Zone headquartered in Dsseldorf, which would have supplied the fighting forces and guarded the lines of communication within West Germany. While manpower and force size was limited by budgetary constraints, quality of training and equipment was commonly reported of a high standard. On roulement deployment from February 1989 to February 1991. The first British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was created in March 1919 to control troops in the British occupation zone along the Rhine. Jonathan Biney - Logistics Supply Specialist (LSS) & Health - LinkedIn [80] The brigade had been disbanded in September 1981 with its units and area initially having been taken over by 8th Infantry Brigade. Births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces - The National Archives Alfred Price. - - - - - - - - - II Army Corps - GM Pirch-I: Strength: 33,000-36,000 men and 80-96 guns The first wave of boats was halfway across when the Germans began pouring machine-gun fire into their midst. Although Montgomery's drive was still planned as the main effort, Eisenhower believed that the momentum of the American forces to the south should not be squandered by having them merely hold the line at the Rhine or make only limited diversionary attacks beyond it. Botch on the Rhine | Max Hastings | The New York Review of Books 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. ORBAT - 1980s British BG, Part 2 Task Organisation - Blogger 3rd Base Ammo Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. These mobile forces made great thrusts to isolate pockets of German troops, which were mopped up by additional infantry following close behind. 27th District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. [25], Perhaps the most compelling reason for increasing the emphasis on this southern drive had more to do with the actions of Americans than those of Germans. 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. The Germans lacked both the manpower and the heavy equipment to make a more determined defense. 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. British Army of the Rhine - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader 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. On 30 April, as the Red Army closed in from the east, Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker. 8th Signal Regiment Royal Corps of Signals. 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. . 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. 262 Signal Squadron Royal Corps of Signals. 3rd Armoured Division was to the rear of the two forward deployed division as reserve. British 2nd. Army. Phantom Force Of Western Front Northern Advocate, 14 [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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The Red Army also pushed deep into Hungary (the Budapest Offensive) and eastern Czechoslovakia and temporarily halted at what is now the modern GermanyPoland border on the OderNeisse line. In the north, from the North Sea to a point about 10 miles (16km) north of Cologne, was the 21st Army Group commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. This NATO creation saw the BAOR being placed under its command. Everyone is asking its whereabouts and what its future role will be, says the British United Press correspondent with the British forces. Orders of battle (London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1960) 2 vol. [6], As the potential threat of Soviet invasion across the North German Plain into West Germany increased, BAOR became more responsible for the defence of West Germany than its occupation. Through a combination of flanking movements and night attacks, First Army troops were able to destroy or bypass the guns, moving finally into Leipzig, which formally surrendered on the morning of 20 April. 221st (BAOR) EOD Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Communications Zone Ordnance Depot, Antwerp, Belgium, Forward Stores Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Dulmen. 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. This change will be integrated within broader Defence, national and alliance efforts and enable the Field Army to operate and fight more effectively above and below the threshold of conflict. Inf.Div. The Battle of the Rhine was the last major battle of the United States Army in World War II. Soldiers posted copies of General Eisenhower's Proclamation No. 1 FV432, towing a bar mine layer and mounting a Ranger Scatterable mine discharger . ORBAT - 1980s British BG, Part 6 Royal Engineers - Blogger Back in the 1950s, a posting in Germany was being actively encouraged as a vast British Army presence continued to expand. 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. The Army must remain adaptable and evolve as a fighting force. Brigade groups took over from divisions as the smallest operative units. british army of the rhine order of battle Taking up the advance again the next day, it immediately ran into stiff opposition from students of an SS panzer replacement training center located near Paderborn. British Army of the Rhine - Wikipedia In the British Army, divisions and brigades are referred to as "formations." With all passes to the Alps now sealed, however, there would be no final redoubt in Austria or anywhere else. 60th Communications Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 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. 211 Mobile Civilian Artisan Group, Royal Engineers. 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. During Operation Lumberjack, Operation Plunder and Operation Undertone, German casualties during FebruaryMarch 1945 are estimated at 400,000 men, including 280,000 men captured as prisoners of war.[18]. [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. 1stCorps District8th Corps District30th Corps DistrictBritish Troops Berlin, Click here for information from Mar 49 onwards 1st (BR) Corps6th Armoured Division7th Armoured Division11th Armoured Division2nd Infantry DivisionBritish Troops BerlinRhine Army TroopsHamburg DistrictHannover DistrictRhine District5 Army Group Royal Artillery (Anti-Aircraft). JanuaryMay 1945:265,000 to 400,000(For all fronts)[i]200,000 captured(JanuaryMarch)4,400,000 surrendered(AprilJune)[j]. For administrative purposes these units were under command of brigade HQ based in the UK during peacetime. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine . 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). 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. Montgomery's forces were to secure Bradley's northern flank while Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group covered Bradley's southern shoulder. 3rd Squadron, 13th Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, Royal Air Force Gatow Station Flight, (2x, Berlin Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 504th Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC) (Overseas Deployment Training). 1st Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, 1st Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Verden, 7th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Fallingbostel, 12th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Osnabrck, 1st Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Bergen-Hohne, 2nd Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Osnabrck, 111th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Bergen-Hohne, HQ 7th Armoured Brigade & 207th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Soltau, HQ 12th Armoured Brigade & 212th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Osnabrck, HQ 22nd Armoured Brigade & 201st Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Bergen-Hohne, 10 (Assaye) Air Defence Battery (under command of Field regiment for admin), HQ 3rd Armoured Division & Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, Soest, 13th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Soest.