The British Army of the Rhine: UK's postwar commitments in Europe.

The BAOR was positioned for operations on the North German Plain. I British (BR) Corps consisted of Corps troops and four divisions. BAOR was the main peacetime element of the British Army from the end of the Second World War until 1994, with the bulk of the Army based in Germany prepared to counter aggressive Soviet Armoured attacks. I British Corps was the operational command of BAOR, being subordinated to NORTHAG (NATO's Northern Army Group).
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. These were based in various former German Army barracks in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.

© Welsh Guards Forum

In 1950 these two divisions were reinforced by the 11th Armoured Division and in 1952 by the 6th Armoured Division. These units were organised following WW2 guidelines (that is, infantry divisions had 3 infantry brigades, while armored divisions consisted of 1 armored and 1 lorried infantry brigade). In addition, the Berlin brigade had 3 infantry battalions and a tank squadron, the Hamburg district had 2 infantry battalions and Corps troops consisted of a reconnaissance regiment and 4 artillery regiments. Reserves in the UK amounted to 3 Infantry divisions by the mid 50's (4th & 5th Infantry, as reserve formations in the UK, the 3rd infantry as strategic reserve) , plus 7 Territorial Divisions and the 16th Parachute Brigade. Other forces were deployed in the Middle East (Egypt, Libya and Aden), Kenya and the Far East (Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong) amounting to 4-5 more divisions.

Until In 1953 the 27th Canadian brigade was attached but then was relocated to VII (US) Corps as deep reserve, being renamed 4th Canadian Brigade Group in the 60's.

Soon economy reared its ugly head and cuts were implemented, especially after the Suez debacle, so in the mid 50s 2nd Infantry absorbed 6th Armoured Division, reducing the number of divisions in Germany to three, which were renumbered as 1 to 3, all of them armored by the mid-60s, until 1974 when four smaller ones (1-4 Armored Divisions) were created with the adoption of the concept of independent battle group.

This reorganization created 5 independent combined arms battle groups in each division ( 2 armored and 3 infantry, around the Tank Regiments and the Infantry Battalions, aggregating recon and artillery elements). Equipment levels actually rose ever so slightly, but manpower didn't and battalions in the 74 organization had not enough man power to man four squadrons/companies. However the number of tanks in Armoured regiments rose from 48 to 73. They also had three regiments - one with 5 batteries of 6 abbots (one per battle group). Another with 3 batteries of 6 M109 and the last with 1 M110 battery and 2 FH-70 batteries for a total of 66 pieces.

In parallel, the concept of independent battle group was applied to the strategic reserve, with the Field force. There were four Field Forces:

5th Field Force: BAOR, Two Para Bns and a Gurkha Bn 6th Field Force plus the Logistic Support Group: UKMF. 7th Field Force: Reinforces BAOR in wartime. 8th Field Force: UKLF Home Defence.

© MOD

All had 3 regular and 2 TA Battalions. Supporting arms were not fixed but would mostly resemble what you might think a Brigade would deserve - artillery regiment, guided weapons battery, Armoured recce regiment, signal squadron, an engineer regiment (-), AAC squadron, transport squadron, ordnance company, field workshop, field ambulance, and a provost coy until 1982 when Brigades came back.

1982 put right what once was wrong. One Armoured division was re-rolled as an Infantry Division (the 2nd) and there were three more powerful Armoured divisions which went back to the old 3 triangular pattern with three companies in an infantry battalion and four in a tank regiment (although the tanks were reduced from 73 to 58 or 43 in the case of Armored Brigades, which had 2).

The BAOR varied in strength during its existence between sixty and twenty-five thousand troops. The troops of the British Rhine Army were commanded by a four-star general from Headquarters at Rheindahlen, which also housed the headquarters of RAF Germany, NORTHAG and 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force.

In the 1980's BAOR consisted of three main elements:

The main force of I (BR) Corps with its headquarters at Bielefeld. The three armored divisions and the Corps troops were stationed in 20 areas in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The divisions had three brigades each, differing in strengths of armour, infantry, artillery and engineers. Long range reconnaissance, signals, pioneer and artillery regiment formed the divisional troops. Each division could call on air support from an Army Air Corps Regiment equipped with Gazelle and Lynx helicopters.

The British Rear Combat Zone with its headquarters in Dusseldorf, responsible for the Resupply of the fighting formations.

The British Communications Zone, with its headquarters at Emblem in Belgium, was tasked to receive reinforcements from Great Britain into the ports and canals and to co-ordinate their onward movement to I (BR) Corps.

The fourth and final element was the Berlin Infantry brigade, which was 3,000 strong and not subordinated to NORTHAG but under the control of the Allied Control Council in Berlin. It included a tank squadron.

BAOR was constantly exercised to ensure its readiness in time of a crisis. The units of the Territorial Army also carried out exercises in Germany, with the battalion and brigade scale exercises carried out in NATO areas. Live ammunition exercises at battle-group level were carried out in Canada at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) training area, to enable a three-day exercises without having to use the same area twice

The 2nd Infantry Division returned to the UK in 1982, after an absence of forty years, being reformed on April 1982 as reinforcement Infantry division of BAOR from the United Kingdom and to consist predominantly of TA units (15 Brigade and 49 Brigade). The other Brigade was Regular Army, originally, the 5th Infantry Brigade until the formation in 1986 of the 24 Airmobile Brigade which was fully air portable and capable of being transported by helicopter with all its equipment. The main task of the three infantry battalions of this Brigade was anti-tank defence and they were equipped with more than 50 Milan anti-tank weapons systems, since it was intended as a blocking force for soviet Armoured Thrusts.

3rd Armored Division only had 2 Armored Brigades in the 80's, the third Brigade being the 19th Infantry Brigade of the United Kingdom Land Force (UKLF), which stood ready to reinforce BAOR in times of war.

In the Territorial Army, on 1 April 1967 the existing - numbered - Division/Districts, which had existed since 1947, were renamed Districts, and the TA Brigades disappeared. Within a few years all Commands had been re-designated or disappeared and there remained districts only; except for HQ The Army in Scotland and HQ Northern Ireland. These were subordinate to HQ UKLF (ex Southern Command).

The brigade level of command, eliminated in the 1967 reforms, caused little or no direction in doctrine and training from above. This was resolved in 1982 - as part of the general enhancement of the TA - when the brigade level of command was brought back in the chain of command though most brigades were purely administrative headquarters for training

In Time of War

In the event of a war, the BAOR would come under NATO command. BAOR as 1 (BR) Corps would defend a sector of the North German Plain as part of Armed Forces Central Europe. BAOR forms part of Northern Army Group as part of AF CENT and NORTHAG is partnered by the Central Army Group. NORTHAG's operational area extends from Hamburg down to Kassel and from the Netherlands border to the inner German border.
In NORTHAG, BAOR was flanked by 1 (NL) Corps to the far north, 1 (GE) Corps to the immediate north, and 1 (BE) Corps in the southern most position. The 1 (BR) Corps area extended from a line just north of Hanover down to a line just north of Kassel, and extended from the inner German border to a line just west of Soest but the BAOR boundary itself extended right back to Antwerp. In the event of war, BAOR would become British Support Command, which would supply 1 (BR) Corps and guard the rear areas.
It was planned that if the area of responsibility of I (BR) Corps came under threat the Corps would fight with two of it s armoured divisions forward and one in reserve. The 2nd Infantry Division, after its arrival, was to defend vital military targets in the Corps rear and with 24 Airmobile Brigade to be ready to guard against any rapid enemy tank thrust which might develop.

Mobile Civilian Artisan Group Tradesman

Mobile civilian groups were special to BAOR and under various names existed from 1945 to 1997. Most personnel were former refugees from Eastern Europe. Mobile Civilian Artisan Groups were under Royal Engineer control and in general were tasked directly by Engineer Branch HQ BAOR with small building and repair projects.

Royal Engineer buttons are worn on the uniform. © J.Smith

Dortmund Detachment 72MC SQN RLC © J Smith

British Forces Posted Overseas Numbers