COLD WAR OUTPOST History Group

The British Army of the Rhine or “BAOR”, was the main element of the British Army based in West Germany from the end of World War 2 until 1994 when all military forces withdrew from Berlin. It was tasked with being prepared to counter a possible invasion of West Germany by Soviet and Warsaw Pact armored forces. At the end of the World War 2, the British Army was drastically reduced in manpower to such an extent that the former British Rhine Army consisted of only two divisions, the 7th Armored Division and the 2nd Infantry Division. These were based in former Wehrmacht garrison barracks located across the Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westfalia regions of western Germany.

 

These two divisions were reinforced first by the 11th Armored Division in 1950 and was soon followed by the 6th Armored Division in 1952. Together they formed I British Corps, which was the British contribution to NATO and was also subordinate to NORTHAG or NATO's Northern Army Group. Throughout the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Iron Curtain, the four Divisions of BAOR were continually reduced, restructured, modernized and reequipped with new weaponry and equipment.

 

The fourth and final contribution to BOAR was the Berlin Infantry Brigade, which was a 3,000 strong force which although part of the British forces was not subordinated to NORTHAG. The Berlin Infantry Brigade fell under the control of a separate entity the Allied Control Council in Berlin.

 

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

 

I BR Corps consisted of Corps troops and four divisions. The 2nd Infantry Division was one of these divisions and was stationed at Catterick, ready to deploy upon a moment’s notice. The 24 Airmobile Brigade also belonged to this division. It was a fully air portable brigade capable of being transported by helicopter along with all its equipment. The main task of the three infantry battalions of this Brigade was anti-armor operations and they were equipped with the capable Milan anti-tank weapons system.

 

Two other brigades consisted of Territorial Army units maintaining highly trained and motivated personnel, with their senior ranks including many ex-regulars. The three other divisions were armored divisions and with the Corps troops, they were stationed in twenty areas across Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westfalia. The divisions had three brigades each, differing in strengths and capability ranging from armor, infantry, artillery, engineers, Long range reconnaissance, signals, pioneer and artillery regiments formed from divisional troops. Each division could call on air support from an Army Air Corps Regiment equipped with Gazelle observation and Lynx multi-purpose helicopters.

 

The BAOR force consisted of three main elements:

 

1. The main force of I (BR) Corps which had its headquarters at Bielefeld.

2. The British Rear Combat Zone headquartered in Dusseldorf, responsible for the resupply of the fighting formations.

3. The British Communications Zone headquarters at Emblem, Belgium which was tasked to receive reinforcements from Great Britain and to coordinate their onward deployment to I (BR) Corps.