british army of the rhine order of battle
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. 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. Equipped with about 60 tanks, the students put up a fanatical resistance, stalling the American armor all day. At the northern crossing site, elements of British XXX Corps began the assault (Operation Turnscrew) about 21:00, attempting to distract the Germans from the main crossings at Xanten in the center and Rheinberg to the south. 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. With a strong line of defense on the west side of Arnhem, Harzer orders his troops to clear Arnhem itself first. While this was short notice, it did not catch the XII Corps completely unaware. Only a month earlier had seen the first large scale NORTHAG exercise, appropriately named, Battle Royal. [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. Autore dell'articolo: Articolo pubblicato: 16/06/2022 Categoria dell'articolo: rockin' the west coast prayer group Commenti dell'articolo: working at charles schwab reddit working at charles schwab reddit Unknown to many, the British Army of the Rhine was first established as an occupational force after the Great War of 1914 - 1918. . At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. 4th Armoured Division was the corps' Southern forward deployed division. His overriding objective was the swiftest military victory possible. [37], As March turned to April the offensive east of the Rhine was progressing in close accordance with Allied plans. 9th Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (V). Combat Support units: These units provide support to the combat units in the combat zone. Detachments to 1st Armoured, 2nd Infantry, 3rd Armoured, 4th Armoured Divisions, 1st Artillery Brigade, and 1st Infantry Brigade. On the whole, Western Allied plans were excellent as demonstrated by how rapidly they met their objectives. [34], After an hour of extremely intense artillery preparation, which Eisenhower himself viewed from the front, the 30th Infantry Division began its assault. The Germans lacked both the manpower and the heavy equipment to make a more determined defense. At the same time, General Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group would move south through Bavaria and the Black Forest to Austria and the Alps, ending the threat of any Nazi last-ditch stand there. The officer in charge of the unit capturing the area, typically a company or battalion, accepted responsibility over the town. 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. [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. [49], Following the capture of Nuremberg, the 7th Army discovered little resistance as the XXI Corps' 12th Armored Division dashed 50mi (80km) to the Danube, crossing it on 22 April, followed several days later by the rest of the corps and the XV Corps as well. After driving east nearly 100 miles (160km), this corps was to meet elements of the 1st Army near Paderborn, completing the encirclement of the Ruhr. 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. Soldiers requisitioned housing and office space as needed from residents. [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. 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. 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]. 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. HQ North-East District & 240 (North) Signal Squadron. 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). 79th Railway Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport. By the end of 28 March, Hodges' 1st Army had crossed the Lahn, having driven at least 50mi (80km) beyond the original line of departure, capturing thousands of German soldiers in the process. 4th Security Company, Intelligence Corps. 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. Simpson now had both the opportunity and the means to unleash the power of the 9th Army and begin in earnest the northern drive to surrounding the Ruhr. During 1988 the disposition of brigades in Northern Ireland changed: On 1 July 1988 3rd Infantry Brigade reformed at Armagh and became responsible for the UK-Ireland border zone from Armagh to South Londonderry. Still, Allied intelligence could not entirely discount the possibility that remnants of the German forces would attempt a suicidal last stand in the Alps. For administrative purposes these units were under command of brigade HQ based in the UK during peacetime. To increase Simpson's ability to bring his army's strength to bear for exploitation, Montgomery also agreed to turn the bridges at Wesel, just north of the inter-army boundary, over to the 9th Army once the bridgehead had been secured. 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. 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. Key to the effort was the logistical support that kept these forces fueled, and the determination to maintain the forward momentum at all costs. 2339 (Regular Signal Regiments 1st to 30th), Lord & Watson, pp. [45], Meanwhile, on the 12th U.S. Army Group's southern flank, the 3rd Army had advanced apace, moving 30mi (48km) eastward to take Erfurt and Weimar, and then, by 12 April, another 30mi (48km) through the old 1806 Jena Napoleonic battlefield area. IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO STAY ANONYMOUS OR KEEP ALL CONTENTS PRIVATE PLEASE STATE THIS CLEARLY ON SUBMISSION: All rights reserved. Includes a chapter on the creation of the postmodern regimental system between 1945 and 1970 against the backdrop of postwar austerity and the consequent reorganization and amalgamation of many regiments. 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. 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. The organisations within the British Army are divided into three types: Combat units:These units spearhead the Armys military capability. 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, Mar. On 4 April, the day it shifted to Bradley's control, the 9th Army began its attack south toward the Ruhr River. 41st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Forward Divisional Headquarters, at Tunis Barracks, Lippstadt, 656 Signal Troop, at Tunis Barracks, Lippstadt, 85 Intelligence Section, Intelligence Corps, at Imphal Barracks, York (detached from 8 Intelligence & Sec Coy), 60 Transport Squadron [to 157 Regiment RCT (V)], 210 Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals, at Catterick Garrison, 586 Signal Troop (Airmobile), Royal Corps of Signals, Band of the Green Howards (Small Infantry Band), Band of the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Small Infantry Band), 16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, at, 19th Cash Office (United Kingdom), Royal Army Pay Corps, Band of the Royal Hussars (Small Royal Armoured Corps Band), Regimental Band of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment (Small Regimental Band), Band of the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Small Regimental Band), 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, at Roman Barracks, Colchester Garrison (Mechanised Infantry (Wheeled), with 8 x Fox armoured cars, and 43 x Saxon armoured personnel carriers), Band of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Small Regimental Band), Airfield Works Group (Group wasn't deployable). [51], On the 21st Army Group's left, one corps of the Canadian First Army reached the North Sea near the Dutch-German border on 16 April, while another drove through the central Netherlands, trapping the German forces remaining in that country. On 30 April, as the Red Army closed in from the east, Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker. Its been seven years since Waltersons first acquired the Forces of Valor brand from its former owner, Unimax. [36], The 1st Army's drive from the Remagen bridgehead began with a breakout before dawn on 25 March. 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. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. Includes 25 armored divisions and 5 airborne divisions. The Armistice that went into effect on 11 November . Unfortunately, because of pressure from the Germans in the northern part of the 2nd Army bridgehead, the British were having trouble completing their bridges at Xanten and were, therefore, bringing most of their traffic across the river at Wesel. and comes complete with a manual big enough to be deemed as an offensive weapon i.e. After the end of the Second World War the British Army was drastically reduced in manpower to such an extent that the former British Rhine Army consisted of only two British divisions, the 7th Armoured Division and the 2nd Infantry Division. By sending armored spearheads around hotly contested areas, isolating them for reduction by subsequent waves of infantry, Eisenhower's forces maintained their eastward momentum. [46], As was the case throughout the campaign, the German ability to fight was sporadic and unpredictable during the drive to the ElbeMulde line. 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. 88 mm Pak 43 with spread mount covered in a securing position behind the river Rhine, Germany spring 1945. 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. They include the Royal Artillery, the Royal Engineers, the RoyalSignals and the Intelligence Corps. 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. Contents 1 History 1.1 1919-1929 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The rest of the 9th Army would remain in reserve until the bridgehead was ready for exploitation. 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. For operational tasks a battle group would be formed around a combat unit, supported by units or sub-units from other areas. 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. The enemy armored unit began making its presence felt almost immediately, and by the end of 26 March, the combination of the panzer division and the rough terrain had conspired to sharply limit the 30th Division's forward progress. [27], On 21 March, Patton ordered his XII Corps to prepare for an assault over the Rhine on the following night, one day before Montgomery's scheduled crossing. There will be no changes to personnel numbers, resourcing, cap badges or locations. 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. . The next day they gained some more ground, and one even seized its objective, having slogged a total of 6 miles (9.7km), but the limited progress forced Hobbs to abandon the hope for a quick breakout. This is known as the Central Europe Campaign in United States military histories. An intense exchange of fire lasted for about thirty minutes as assault boats kept pushing across the river and those men who had already made it across mounted attacks against the scattered defensive strongpoints. 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). It was administered by the War Office from London, which was subsumed into the Ministry of Defence in 1964. The French retired in good order. 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. Includes 55 American divisions, 18 British divisions, 11 French divisions, 5 Canadian divisions, and 1 Polish division, as well as several independent brigades. The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. Positioned on the North German Plain, it is the command element of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). [59], Several German political leaders have described the invasion as "liberation", including President Richard von Weizscker in 1985[60] and Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2019. 40th Army Engineer Support Group, Royal Engineers. In Operation Eclipse, the 17th Airborne Division, 82d Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and a British brigade were to seize the Tempelhof, Rangsdorf, Gatow, Staaken, and Oranienburg airfields. 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. [35], To the north, the British crossings had also gone well, with the ground and airborne troops linking up by nightfall. Headquartered at JHQ Rheindahlen in West Germany and commanded by a General it consisted in peacetime of British I Corps and support troops. The appropriate documents were signed on the same day and became effective on 8 May. 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. On 25 August 1945, it was redesignated as the British Army of the Rhine (B.A.O.R. JanuaryMay 1945:265,000 to 400,000(For all fronts)[i]200,000 captured(JanuaryMarch)4,400,000 surrendered(AprilJune)[j]. Involved in battle of El Alamein and the invasion of Sicily. 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. The U.S. V Corps on the right advanced 58mi (8.012.9km), incurring minimal casualties. 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. Trackpad Publishing, 2022. Only when Soviet artillery was falling around his Berlin headquarters bunker did he begin to perceive the final outcome. 5 (Gibraltar 177983) Field Battery, 94th Locating Regiment Royal Artillery. Seeing this equipment moving up, his frontline soldiers did not need any orders from higher headquarters to tell them what it meant. 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. This page is a list of British Armies in WWII. Its left fought for a week to capture Bremen, which fell on 26 April. HQ Western District & 241 (West) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals. 34 Evacuation Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 31st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Catterick. 13. Field-Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group was supplied with the task of advancing into Germany in the Niederrhein (Lower-Rhine) area, which eventually resulted in both the operations 'Veritable' and . BAOR was armed with tactical nuclear weapons and supported by Royal Air Force Germany. They frequently remarked on its accuracy and the swiftness of its target acquisitionand especially the prodigious amount of artillery ammunition expended. Similarly, the 3rd Army on the 6th U.S. Army Group's left flank had advanced rapidly against very little resistance, its lead elements reaching the river on 24 April. The XV Corps also captured Berchtesgaden, the town that would have been Hitler's command post in the National Redoubt. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine . Lord & Watson, pp. 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). Phantom Force Of Western Front (Rec. Memorialised in the Hollywood. On roulement deployment from February 1989 to February 1991. 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. They include the Adjutant-Generals Corps, the Army Medical Services, the Royal Logistics Corps and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 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. By midnight, infantry units had pushed the boundary of the bridgehead more than 5 miles (8.0km) inland, ensuring the unqualified success of the first modern assault crossing of the Rhine. HQ Wales District & Signal Troop, Royal Signals. 158 Provost Company Corps of Royal Military Police. Greenhill Books. 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]. Forward Vehicle Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. 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). [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). [42], The final tally of prisoners taken in the Ruhr reached 325,000, far beyond anything the Americans had anticipated. The deployment and distribution of the divisions of the Wehrmacht and subordinate units of allies on March 1, 1945. As the first boats reached the east bank, seven startled Germans surrendered and then paddled themselves unescorted to the west bank to be placed in custody. Despite scattered resistance from a few isolated units, the war in Europe was over. Similarly, the term Corps can be applied toa maneuver headquarters that controls multiple divisions (no such entity was active as of 2012) or a administrative headquarters for units in afunctional area, broadly similar to the US Army's Branches. By then, the paratroopers had taken all their first day's objectives in addition to 3,500 prisoners. Task organisation was completely dependent on the Brigades mission and at the discretion of the Brigade commander. Alfred Price. Even before the encirclement had been completed, the Germans in the Ruhr had begun making attempts at a breakout to the east. [58], For their part, captured German soldiers often claimed to be most impressed not by American armor or infantry but by the artillery. [55] The British and Americans contemplated an airborne operation before the attack. Hong Kong Provost Company & Hong Kong Dog Company, HQ 48th Gurkha Infantry Brigade & 246 Gurkha Signal Squadron, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:39. - - - - - - - - - II Army Corps - GM Pirch-I: Strength: 33,000-36,000 men and 80-96 guns On the night of March 23, 1945, the Allied forces that had gathered along the Rhine launched their invasion. The same court sits in both areas and in the following tables the overall figures shown include Berlin trials. The wisdom of putting lightly-armed paratroopers so close to the main battlefield was debated, and the plan for amphibious forces to cross the Rhine prior to the parachute drop raised questions as to the utility of making an airborne assault at all. 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. . 7th Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps. 1 FV432, towing a bar mine layer and mounting a Ranger Scatterable mine discharger . 1997. Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559]. The first British Army of the Rhine was set up in March 1919 to implement the occupation of the Rhineland. The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. 89) are: Area 1 The Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; Area 2 Berlin. British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine ( BAOR ). Was Colonel in Quartermaster branch and talks of the logistic problems - stockpiling ammunition for the crossing of the Rhine, supplies stuck in sand before Alamein. The Western Allies still had to fight, often bitterly, for victory. 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. Despite the Russian proximity to Berlin, they argued that the city was still a critical political, if not military, objective.