| British Army of the Rhine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1919–1929 1945–1994 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Part of | British ArmyNorthern Army Group |
| Garrison/HQ | JHQ Rheindahlen, Germany |
British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given toBritish Army occupation forces in theRhineland,West Germany, after theFirst andSecond World Wars, and during theCold War, becoming part ofNATO'sNorthern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked with defending theNorth German Plain from the armies of theWarsaw Pact. The BAOR constituted the bulk of British forces in West Germany.
The first British Army of the Rhine was created in March 1919 to implement theoccupation of the Rhineland. It was originally composed of five corps, composed of two divisions each, plus a cavalry division:[1]
II Corps: commanded bySirClaud Jacob
IV Corps: commanded by SirAlexander Godley
VI Corps: commanded by SirAylmer Haldane
IX Corps: commanded by SirWalter Braithwaite and later byIvor Maxse
X Corps: commanded by SirThomas Morland
Cavalry Division (formed from1st Cavalry Division)
Most of these units were progressively dissolved, so that by February 1920, there were only regular battalions:
In August 1920,Winston Churchill, as Secretary of State for War, toldParliament that the BAOR was made up of approximately 13,360 troops, consisting of staff, cavalry,Royal Artillery,Royal Engineers, infantry,machine gun corps, tanks, and the usual ancillary services. The troops were located principally in the vicinity ofCologne at an approximate cost per month of £300,000.[2]The Cologne Post was a newspaper published for members of the BAOR during this period.[3]
From 1922 the BAOR was organised into two brigades:[1]
1st Rhine Brigade
2nd Rhine Brigade
The commanders were:[4]
The second British Army of the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from theBritish Liberation Army.[5] Its original function was to control the corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone ofAllied-occupied Germany. After the assumption of government by civilians, it became the command formation for the troops inWest Germany only, rather than being responsible for administration as well.[6]
As the potential threat ofSoviet invasion across theNorth German Plain intoWest Germany increased, BAOR became more responsible for the defence of West Germany than its occupation. It became the primary formation controlling the British contribution toNATO, after the formation of the alliance in 1949. Its primary combat formation wasBritish I Corps. From 1952, the Commander-in-Chief of the BAOR was also the commander of NATO'sNorthern Army Group (NORTHAG) in the event of a general war with the Soviet Union and itsWarsaw Pact allies. The BAOR's50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery was formerly armed withtactical nuclear weapons, including theMGM-52 Lance surface-to-surface tactical nuclear missile.[7]
There were significant reductions in the force in 1955-58. British financial difficulties grew in the autumn of 1957, with gold and dollar reserves falling significantly further.[8] As a result of continuing financial pressures, "Britain secured NATO's and [the] WEU's agreement to a second reduction in BAOR from 63,500 to 55,000 men (about 7 brigade groups) for FY1958/9."[9] In 1967, the force was reduced in strength to 53,000 soldiers, compared with 80,000, ten years earlier.[10]
There were a series of exercises in BAOR in 1975 under the code name "Wide Horizon" to test the new small-division organisation as thoroughly as possible in command post and field training exercises.[11] It culminated in a field exercise involving elements of two divisions. Following the exercises BAOR was reorganised from three to four divisions in January 1978.[12]
With the end of theCold War, the 1993Options for Change defence cuts resulted in BAOR being reduced in size, and in 1994 it becameBritish Forces Germany (BFG).[13] This force, roughly 25,000 strong, was divided betweenHeadquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps,1st Armoured Division, other combat support and combat service support forces, and administrative elements headed byUnited Kingdom Support Command (Germany). Garrisons which closed at this time includedSoest (home of the6th Armoured Brigade),[14]Soltau (home of the7th Armoured Brigade),[15] andMinden (home of the11th Armoured Brigade).[16]
Following the2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the permanent deployment of British Army units in Germany was reduced. The last military base was handed to the GermanBundeswehr in February 2020.[17]
The commanders were:[4]
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