Another three-platoon company arrived from Italy with the Operation Goldflake units. Some of the ammunition that had earlier been dumped was to be made inaccessible by flood waters. These two photos were taken in late 1956 by Lab Tech Cpl Peter Elgar: Instead, 18th GHQ Troops Engineers erected it the following day at a downstream site near the town of Honnopel. Post war First Corps District administered Rhine Province and Westphalia. [38] Operation Blackcock, a preliminary operation to clear German forces from the Roer Triangle, was carried out by the XII Corps in January 1945. A thematic study on how the British Army imagined the use of tactical nuclear weapons in land combat. [103] In this campaign the British Army demonstrated its proficiency in logistics. With some assistance from pioneers or civilians, each section could operate a petrol station issuing up to 45,000 litres (10,000impgal) per day. 1st/4th and 9th battalions of the Seaforths were with the Rhine Army in 1919. Sirs, Ladies and Gentlemen,Welcome to the website dedicated to the British Army of the Rhine, its locations, and those areas whilst not strictly within BAOR, thatwere vital to the operation of the theatre. Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany.After the assumption of government by civilians, it became the command formation for the troops in Germany only, rather than being responsible for . From 1922 the BAOR was organised into two brigades:[1], The second British Army of the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from the British Liberation Army. It has been an honour to command this fantastic organisation doing its very best to support our people here in Germany. Troops met thin resistance as the operation wasn't intended as a surprise . Three bridges were constructed there, but by the time they opened II Canadian Corps already had its three Canadian divisions across the Rhine. [7] Following a further spending review, one brigade was withdrawn and Osnabrck Garrison closed in 2009. [24], The Combined Chiefs further decided to reinforce Eisenhower's armies in North West Europe at the expense of those in the Mediterranean. Printer friendly. 15 Army Roadhead. 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. [43] The ammunition dumping program was completed by 4 February, by which time 14,400 tonnes (14,200 long tons) of ammunition had been dumped at the gun positions, and 23,100 tonnes (22,700 long tons) at the XXX Corps and II Canadian Corps FMCs. [78] These bridges carried maintenance traffic by day and operational traffic by night. British Land Forces in Germany came under the command of the British Army of the Rhine. . [28], Originally scheduled to start on 12 January 1945, when the ground would have been hard and frozen and off-road vehicle movement possible, Operation Veritable was delayed for five weeks by the Ardennes Offensive. [28], It was estimated that seven line of communications sub area headquarters would be required to support the advance into Germany. [1] It was established following the Second World War, the largest parts of it becoming known as the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and RAF Germany (RAFG). The United States and the Middle East, 1945-2001, World War II in the Mediterranean and Middle East. By mid-May the 21st Army Group's reserves had been reduced by a quarter. 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. A request from the 21st army Group for additional resources to support the redeployed formations was rejected by the War Office; any additional support units required had to either be drawn from the Mediterranean or supplied by the 21st Army Group. Large numbers of displaced persons were also encountered, and they were accommodated in special camps. Red Sash Wargames Army of the Rhine - Ombre de Turenne SW | Toys & Hobbies, Games, Board & Traditional Games | eBay! 167 FMC was handed over to it, and became No. Please subscribe or login. [82][84], It was recognised in the planning of Operation Plunder that the maintenance of the floating bridges over the Rhine would require more engineers than could be spared from the campaign ahead. During the month, 432 trains delivered 230,000 tonnes (230,000 long tons) to 37 railheads in the British Second Army area. No. Chandler, David, and Ian Beckett, eds. Sirs, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the website dedicated to the British Army of the Rhine, its locations, and those areas whilst not strictly within BAOR, that were vital to the operation of the theatre The Site is now approaching three years of age and much has happened in that time. Lorries then took them to the dispersal point at Renaix via Lyon and Dijon, guided by road markers that read "GF". BMH Munster was one of several BAOR (British Army On The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. In addition to the road transport, the 21st Army Group also had barges capable of carrying 10,000 tonnes (10,000 long tons) of bulk POL. IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO STAY ANONYMOUS OR KEEP ALL CONTENTS PRIVATE PLEASE STATE THIS CLEARLY ON SUBMISSION: All rights reserved. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. It was the largest concentration of British armed forces permanently stationed outside the United Kingdom. Include Description. Not only are the well-equipped forward elements presented, but the light security elements that form BAOR's vital reinforcements are included as well. Fourteen transport platoons,[53] each of which operated thirty vehicles,[54] were taken from the formations to serve the corps's needs. [102] Lend Lease aid from the United States and a high degree of industrial mobilisation provided the equipment and materiel. [55][56][57], With Antwerp in operation, some supplies were now coming directly from the United States. 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. 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. [5], First established following the Second World War, the forces grew during the Cold War, and consisted, by the early 1980s, of I (BR) Corps made up of four divisions; 1st Armoured Division, 2nd Armoured Division, 3rd Armoured Division and the 4th Armoured Division. This merely delayed work on the bridge, which was opened to traffic at 20:15. [26][27], Finding the additional service and supply units proved difficult, as the Mediterranean theatre had long been short of them. [28], The 25th Garrison assumed control of the RMA on 2 April, allowing the 5th Line of Communications Sub Area to take over the western part of North Brabant, and the 101st Beach Sub Area, which became the 21st Line of Communications Sub Area, took over the territory west of the Maas. General histories of the postwar British army have tended to overlook the services preparations to fight a tactical nuclear war against the Soviet Union in Europe, despite this being its primary mission throughout the Cold War. [28][29] Many of the tanks needed overhaul or modification and this task was beyond the resources of the 21st Army Group's REME units, so excess tanks were shipped to the UK. 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. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. [44] Crerar noted that if the ammunition for Operation Veritable was stacked side-by-side and 1.5 metres (5ft) high, it would have extend for 48 kilometres (30mi). In addition, XII Corps employed 48 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns in the ground role, and they fired 16,573 rounds. 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. as (hopefully) more information is found or supplied. It was therefore decided that the floating bridges should be replaced by semi-permanent ones as soon as operational circumstances permitted. [81] The XII Corps plan called for the construction of a class 9 Folding Boat Equipment (FBE) bridge, a class 12 Bailey pontoon bridge and two class 40 Bailey pontoon bridges. A new ordnance field park was formed to hold the equipment, which was shipped from the UK. 166 FMC also held 200 rounds per gun of field, 175 rounds per gun of medium, 175 rounds per gun of heavy and 50 rounds per gun of super-heavy artillery ammunition. [46] There were 350 different types of ammunition in all. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine. [30], A large force of engineer units was assembled for the operation: 37,000 British and Canadian engineers and pioneers, and 22,000 American engineers. 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. Stocking of No. Stores still required by the 21st Army Group were moved forward to the new advanced base, and the rest returned to the War Office for disposal. Although our understanding of the service has been considerably deepened by subsequent scholarship, the book provides the broader context for thinking about the army after 1945. [50], Because it was not anticipated that the advance would be rapid, it was not considered necessary to hold large stocks of petrol, oil and lubricants (POL) in the FMCs, but to ensure that vehicles moving to the assembly areas arrived with full tanks of fuel, a train loaded with petrol was sent to Nijmegen to allow them to be topped off. [5], 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. [60] Every available amphibious craft was collected. REME Technical Services BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) 5 Infantry Workshop, Nijmegan Marchers 5 Infantry Workshop, Nijmegan Marchers [4] Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone of occupied Germany. [26], The headquarters of the 9th Line of Communications Area was transferred to Paris to assist the American Communications Zone with the move. In view of pressure from the Canadian government to have its forces reunited, the Combined Chiefs decided to send the two divisions of the I Canadian Corps to rejoin the First Canadian Army, followed by up to three British divisions.