The crossings would be preceded by several weeks of aerial bombing and final massive artillery preparation. British Army of the Rhine (1st British Army) Berlin Field Force Royal Hussars (1 Sqn, the remainder at the Land Warfare Centre) 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards . At nine o'clock in the evening on Sunday, September 17, 1944, Harzer received the order to defeat all the British on the north side of the Lower Rhine with his division. The deployment and distribution of the divisions of the Wehrmacht and subordinate units of allies one day before the Allied air invasion near Arnhem on 17 September 1944 and the stabilization of the Western Front after the break-out of the Allied armies from Normandy.. Patton knew that the most obvious place to jump the river was at Mainz or just downstream, north of the city. In a double envelopment, the French captured Stuttgart on 21 April, and by the next day, both the French and the VI Corps had elements on the Danube. Ullstein Taschenbuchvlg., 2002. p.273 During the period January to March 1945 the POW's held Western Allies increased by 200,000; During the period April to June 1945 the number increased to 5,440,000. Its new location was in the towns of Iserlohn and Soest, as the previous occupants (The Canadian Brigade) had moved to southern GermanyBy 1973, 1 (BR) Corps consisted of: 1st Division (Verden)7th Armoured Brigade (Soltau)11th Infantry Brigade (Minden)2nd Division (Lbbecke)4th Guards Infantry Brigade (Mnster)12th Mechanised Brigade (Osnabrck)4th Division (Herford)6th Armoured Brigade (Krbecke)20th Armoured Brigade (Detmold). On 29 November 1952, the Headquarters of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) formed. British Army - Order of Battle Lt Gen Ivan Jones, Commander Field Army (CFA), described plans for rebalancing his command which will see changes to the structure of the Field Army's primary. On the Eastern Front, the Soviet Red Army (including the Polish Armed Forces in the East under Soviet command), had taken most of Poland, launched an offensive into East Prussia and began their invasion into Eastern Germany in February 1945, and by March were within striking distance of Berlin. [28], The terrain in the vicinity of Nierstein and Oppenheim was conducive to artillery support, with high ground on the west bank overlooking relatively flat land to the east. Detachment, 2nd Independent Petrol Platoon, Detachment, 164 Railway Operations Company, Royal Engineers, 246th (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, in, 247th (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, (manned, 248th German Security Unit, support unit with German personnel, Berlin Infantry Brigade HQ & (29th) Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, 38th (Berlin) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, 6 Troop, 46 (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, (12x, 1x Armoured Reconnaissance Troop, six month roulement, 1x Field Battery, Royal Artillery, six month roulement, 1x Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, six month roulement, 78 Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. [44], In the center of the 12th U.S. Army Group, Hodges' 1st Army faced somewhat stiffer opposition, though it hardly slowed the pace. [22], For several reasons, Eisenhower began to readjust these plans toward the end of March. My representation of this capability for my 1980s British Battle Group will include. A captain of the 506th wrote, "At one point the men were so weary that [on] the order to rest . The battle to breach The Rhine: Rarely-seen photos show - Mail Online The British military presence in Berlin comprised 3,100 men in three infantry battalions, an independent armoured squadron, and a number of support units. [35], Although the armored division bolstered his offensive capacity within the bridgehead, Simpson was more interested in sending the XIX Corps across the Wesel bridges, as Montgomery had agreed, and using the better roads north of the Lippe to outflank the enemy in front of the 30th Division. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine . On the whole, Western Allied plans were excellent as demonstrated by how rapidly they met their objectives. Ziethen's corps arrived late at Waterloo and linked up with Wellington's flank. 1 CVR(T) representing the HQ or Recce Capability. Unknown to many, the British Army of the Rhine was first established as an occupational force after the Great War of 1914 - 1918. . However, as the 3rd Army began pulling up to the Mulde on 13 April, the XII CorpsPatton's southernmost forcecontinued moving southeast alongside the 6th U.S. Army Group to clear southern Germany and move into Austria. In Operation Eclipse, the 17th Airborne Division, 82d Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and a British brigade were to seize the Tempelhof, Rangsdorf, Gatow, Staaken, and Oranienburg airfields. [1][2] The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence (Army Department), Master Order of Battle, (ASD 6500-25 Ministry of Defence, 1991)[3][4][5] and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990. [59], In retrospect, very few questionable decisions were made concerning the execution of the campaign.[who?] 5 (Gibraltar 177983) Field Battery, 94th Locating Regiment Royal Artillery. Advancing from northern Italy, the British Eighth Army[l] pushed to the borders of Yugoslavia to defeat the remaining Wehrmacht elements there. The main targets were rail yards, bridges, and communication centers, with a secondary focus on fuel processing and storage facilities and other important industrial sites. In July 1944, soon after the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944), the British 11th Armoured Division broke out of the Normandy beachhead and advanced into France, before turning northward to Belgium. As its forces reached Nuremberg on 16 April, the Seventh Army ran into the same type of anti-aircraft gun defense that the 1st Army was facing at Leipzig. [46], As was the case throughout the campaign, the German ability to fight was sporadic and unpredictable during the drive to the ElbeMulde line. The Allied front along the Rhine stretched 450 miles (720km) from the river's mouth at the North Sea in the Netherlands to the Swiss border in the south. The British Army's Tank Regiments Might Last Just A Few Days - Forbes Even when the hopelessness of the German situation became obvious to his most loyal subordinates, Hitler refused to admit defeat. The Battle of Arnhem through the eyes of German commander Walter Harzer To the south, Patton's 3rd Army was to drive east to Chemnitz, about 40mi (64km) southeast of Leipzig, but well short of the Elbe, and then turn southeast into Austria. 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. 101st Provost Company, Royal Military Police, 102nd Provost Company, Royal Military Police, JHQ Rheindahlen, 2nd Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps, JHQ Rheindahlen. Although the defense of these sites was somewhat more determined than that XII Corps had faced, the difficulties of the Boppard and St. Goar crossings were compounded more by terrain than by German resistance. [13], Last edited on 18 December 2022, at 00:36, Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, "From occupiers and protectors to guests", "British army hands back last headquarters in Germany", "British Army of the Rhine Order of Battle July 1989", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Army_of_the_Rhine&oldid=1128028113, This page was last edited on 18 December 2022, at 00:36. Later D Day and Normandy. With spectacular thrusts being made beyond the Rhine nearly every day and the enemy's capacity to resist fading at an ever-accelerating rate, the campaign to finish Germany was transitioning into a general pursuit. During the Cold War NORTHAG was NATO's forward defence in the Northern half of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Simpson, in turn, ordered a combat command of the 2nd Armored Division, which had just reached Beckum, to make a 15mi (24km) advance southeast to Lippstadt, midway between Beckum and the stalled 3rd Armored Division spearhead. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. By the end of April, the Third Reich was in tatters. Involved in battle of El Alamein and the invasion of Sicily. [37], A task force of the VII Corps' 3rd Armored Division, which included some of the new M26 Pershing heavy tanks, spearheaded the drive for Paderborn on 29 March. Recce Intelligence Centre (Gtersloh), Intelligence Corps. The British 2nd Army advanced towards Hamburg, crossing the River Elbe on 29 April 1945 and pushing on towards Denmark and the Baltic. [33], Montgomery responded to these concerns by making a few small adjustments to the plan. 36th District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ London District & 238 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Chelsea. [32][pageneeded] The intention was to create a line from Bremen south to Neuwied. The failure of this offensive exhausted Germany's strategic reserve, leaving it ill-prepared to resist the final Allied campaigns in Europe. 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With his escape route to the south severed by the 12th Army Group's eastward drive and Berlin surrounded by the Soviets, Hitler committed suicide on 30 April, leaving to his successor, Grand Admiral Karl Dnitz, the task of capitulation. With Montgomery allowing use of the Wesel bridges to the 9th Army for only five out of every 24 hours, and with the road network north of the Lippe under 2nd Army control, General Simpson was unable to commit or maneuver sufficient forces to make a rapid flanking drive. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. See: Wallace, Linnel, Lt. 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These mobile forces made great thrusts to isolate pockets of German troops, which were mopped up by additional infantry following close behind.

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