To accomplish this, he had to move quickly. The Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine started with the Western Allies crossing the river on 22 March 1945 before fanning out and overrunning all of western Germany from the Baltic in the north to the Alpine passes in the south, where they linked up with troops of the U.S. Fifth Army in Italy. 43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 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). 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. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. british army of the rhine order of battle 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. [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. [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. [22], Also focusing Eisenhower's attention on the southern drive was concern over the "National redoubt." 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. Following this primary assault, which XII Corps would undertake, VIII Corps would execute supporting crossings at Boppard and St. Goar, 2530 miles (4048km) northwest of Mainz. 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. British Army of the Rhine (Hansard, 19 July 1982) 7th Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. For operational tasks a battle group would be formed around a combat unit, supported by units or sub-units from other areas. 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). 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. NATO's Northern Army Group Wartime Order of Battle 1985 - Blogger [42], Meanwhile, the remaining Allied forces north, south, and east of the Ruhr had been adjusting their lines in preparation for the final advance through Germany. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. The appropriate documents were signed on the same day and became effective on 8 May. German military historian Rdiger Overmans (, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 21:59. 63rd Station Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Special Investigations Branch (Germany), JHQ Rheindahlen. Nowhere, it seemed, were the Germans able to resist in strength. In five days of battle, from 18 to 22 March, Patton's forces captured over 68,000 Germans. 34 Evacuation Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps, 31st District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Catterick. By the end of April, the Third Reich was in tatters. Sub-units are generally about 100 personnel strong. During peacetime these regiments were under command of their brigade. 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. The purpose of this site is to give people, still serving or not, the opportunity to look back at the places in Germany where they may have served over the years and also a view of the regiments and units which shaped them. NORTHAG wartime structure in 1989 - Wikipedia The British Army of the Rhine had a presence in Germany for 70 years. [40], The first step in realizing Eisenhower's plan was the eradication of the Ruhr Pocket.
My representation of this capability for my 1980s British Battle Group will include. [25], To the south in the Saar-Palatinate region, Patton's U.S. 3rd Army had dealt a devastating blow to the German 7th Army and, in conjunction with the U.S. 7th Army, had nearly destroyed the German 1st Army. All units within the service are either Regular (full-time) or Territorial Army (part-time), or a combination with sub-units of each type. PDF Fire and Fury Games - designers of wargame miniatures rules 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. 30th District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ South-East District & 251 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Aldershot, 640 Signal Troop (Electronic Warfare), Royal Corps of Signals, at, B Squadron (assigned to 3rd Commando Brigade, Royal Marines), C Squadron (assigned to protect key government personnel and the, Falklands Band of the Parachute Regiment (Large Infantry Band), 50 Field Squadron (Construction) [to 39 Engineer Regiment, RE]. 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). Originally, Eisenhower had planned to draw all his forces up to the west bank of the Rhine, using the river as a natural barrier to help cover the inactive sections of his line. 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. [31], On the night of 23/24 March, after the XII Corps' assault of the Rhine, Bradley had announced his success. 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. The BAOR was no exception. The first wave of boats was halfway across when the Germans began pouring machine-gun fire into their midst. Eisenhower thus turned his attention to other objectives, most notably a rapid meet-up with the Soviets to cut the German Army in two and prevent any possibility of a unified defense. Additional losses in the Rhineland further weakened the German Army, leaving shattered remnants of units to defend the east bank of the Rhine. [20], The Allied forces along this line were organized into three army groups. If successful, this pincer movement would envelop the industrial Ruhr area, neutralizing the largest concentration of German industrial capacity left. In the center of the front, defending the Ruhr, Kesselring had Field Marshal Walther Model commanding Army Group B (15th Army and 5th Panzer Army) and in the south Paul Hausser's Army Group G (7th Army, 1st Army and 19th Army). Experienced Defence Supply Chain Manager and Health & Safety Practitioner with over 10 years demonstrated history of effective operations management with a strong working knowledge of the UK Defence Management of Health and Safety (JSP 375), Army Risk Assessments, and the subsequent methodological management of risk controls required for personnel that are arguably most exposed to health and . Later joined the staff of 10th Armoured Division in Western Desert. Unknown to many, the British Army of the Rhine was first established as an occupational force after the Great War of 1914 - 1918. . It was fought in March and April 1945, after the Allied crossing of the Rhine River. 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.