43rd District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The first wave of boats was halfway across when the Germans began pouring machine-gun fire into their midst. Further West in Belgium was the British Communications Zone, which was headquartered in Emblem, outside Antwerp and tasked with receiving reinforcements and supplies from Great Britain and to co-ordinate their onward movement to 1 (BR) Corps. HQ North-East District & 240 (North) Signal Squadron. The last date on which the Army did not contain either a Guard's Brigade or Division as an operational unit was in 1920. It was renamed the Guards Division on 01 July 1968. By attaching an infantry regiment of the 104th Infantry Division to the armored division and following the drive closely with the rest of the 104th Division, the VII Corps was well prepared to hold any territory gained. By 13 April, the 9th Army had cleared the northern part of the pocket, while elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps' 8th Infantry Division reached the southern bank of the Ruhr, splitting the southern section of the pocket in two. It included the four military members of the Army Board, including the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir John Chapple in 1989, the Second Permanent Under Secretary, and the Assistant Chief of the General Staff, a major general. According to rumor, Hitler's most fanatically loyal troops were preparing to make a lengthy, last-ditch stand in the natural fortresses formed by the rugged alpine mountains of southern Germany and western Austria. [49], Meanwhile, on the 7th Army's right, the VI Corps had moved southeast alongside the French 1st Army. [7] In 1967, the force was reduced in strength to 53,000 soldiers, compared with 80,000 ten years earlier. [25], To the south in the Saar-Palatinate region, Patton's U.S. 3rd Army had dealt a devastating blow to the German 7th Army and, in conjunction with the U.S. 7th Army, had nearly destroyed the German 1st Army. In the center of the front, defending the Ruhr, Kesselring had Field Marshal Walther Model commanding Army Group B (15th Army and 5th Panzer Army) and in the south Paul Hausser's Army Group G (7th Army, 1st Army and 19th Army). The Southern half of the Federal Republic of Germany was to be defended by the four Army Corps of NATO's Central Army Group (CENTAG). The ensuing airdrops, which began on 29 April,[52] marked the beginning of what was to become a colossal effort to put war-torn Europe back together again.[53]. This decree of 5 August was followed by a decree dated 19 October (Fontainebleau Decree) ordering the destruction of all British merchandise found in territories occupied by Napoleon, included within which were the states of the Confederation. 7th Intelligence Company, Intelligence Corps. 30th District Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ South-East District & 251 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Aldershot, 640 Signal Troop (Electronic Warfare), Royal Corps of Signals, at, B Squadron (assigned to 3rd Commando Brigade, Royal Marines), C Squadron (assigned to protect key government personnel and the, Falklands Band of the Parachute Regiment (Large Infantry Band), 50 Field Squadron (Construction) [to 39 Engineer Regiment, RE]. [47], Initially, the opposition in the 6th U.S. Army Group's sector was stiffer than that facing the 12th U.S. Army Group. By sending armored spearheads around hotly contested areas, isolating them for reduction by subsequent waves of infantry, Eisenhower's forces maintained their eastward momentum. During the Cold War NORTHAG was NATO's forward defence in the Northern half of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). BAOR was armed with tactical nuclear weapons and supported by Royal Air Force Germany. Should the U.S. political leadership direct him to take Berlin, or if a situation arose in which it became militarily advisable to seize the German capital, Eisenhower would do so. Tactical commanders hastily enclosed huge open fields with barbed wire creating makeshift prisoner of war camps, where the inmates awaited the end of the war and their chance to return home. Having gambled his future ability to defend Germany on the Ardennes offensive and lost, Hitler had no real strength left to stop the powerful Allied armies. JanuaryMay 1945:265,000 to 400,000(For all fronts)[i]200,000 captured(JanuaryMarch)4,400,000 surrendered(AprilJune)[j]. British Air Forces of Occupation, Royal Air Force (c/o British Army On Rhine 1) ***** ***** No. The largest difference was in the period from 1-10.4.1945, for which the Heeresarzt recorded 63,386 killed and wounded in the East (12,510 killed, 50,876 wounded) vs. only 431 in the West (100 killed, 331 wounded), an East vs. West ratio of about 147:1 in killed and wounded. During Operation Lumberjack, Operation Plunder and Operation Undertone, German casualties during FebruaryMarch 1945 are estimated at 400,000 men, including 280,000 men captured as prisoners of war.[18]. When limited objective attacks provoked little response on the morning of the 25th, the division commander Major General Leland Hobbs formed two mobile task forces to make deeper thrusts with an eye toward punching through the defense altogether and breaking deep into the German rear. 9th Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (V). The 30th was to cross between Wesel and Rheinberg while the 79th assaulted south of Rheinberg. Through a combination of flanking movements and night attacks, First Army troops were able to destroy or bypass the guns, moving finally into Leipzig, which formally surrendered on the morning of 20 April. 52nd Field Squadron (Construction), 22nd Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, 516th Specialist Team (Bulk Petrol), Royal Engineers, RAF Gtersloh, 1st Postal & Courier Regiment, Royal Engineers, Hannover (in support of 1 (BR) Corps), 11th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Verden (in support of 1st (BR) Armoured Division), 13th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Soest (in support of 3rd (BR) Armoured Division), 14th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Herford (in support of 4th (BR) Armoured Division), 3rd Postal & Courier Depot, Royal Engineers, Dsseldorf (in support of Communication Zone [CommZ]). The British Army is the land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces. [33], Montgomery responded to these concerns by making a few small adjustments to the plan. [9] This force, roughly 25,000 strong, was divided between Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, 1st Armoured Division, other combat support and combat service support forces, and administrative elements headed by United Kingdom Support Command (Germany). [62], Media related to Western Allied invasion of Germany at Wikimedia Commons. [42], The final tally of prisoners taken in the Ruhr reached 325,000, far beyond anything the Americans had anticipated. The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. 63rd Station Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Special Investigations Branch (Germany), JHQ Rheindahlen. This secondary drive would also give Eisenhower a degree of flexibility in case the northern attack ran into difficulties. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and the Royal Air Force Command constituted Great Britain's armed forces in Germany and were one of the main pillars of the NATO defence doctrine on West German soil. 158 Provost Company Corps of Royal Military Police. Journal of the US Army War College. West German military historian Burkhart Mller-Hillebrand estimated 265,000 dead from all causes and 1,012,000 missing and prisoners of war on all German battlefronts from 1 Jan 1945 30 April 1945. There are: VG Division the newly introduced Volks (People's) Grenadier Divisions. Still, despite the terrain and German machine-gun and 20 millimetres (0.79in) anti-aircraft cannon fire, VIII Corps troops managed to gain control of the east bank's heights, and by dark on 26 March, with German resistance crumbling all along the Rhine, they were preparing to continue the drive the next morning. In preparation for the Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine, a series of offensive operations were designed to seize and capture its east and west banks: Operation Veritable and Operation Grenade in February 1945, and Operation Lumberjack and Operation Undertone in March 1945; these are considered separate from the main invasion operation. In total they were to consist of 16 Divisions in four Corps (out of the current British total in Europe of 61 and 16), together with appropriate cavalry, air resources and extended lines of communication. [35], To the north, the British crossings had also gone well, with the ground and airborne troops linking up by nightfall. Lt Gen Ivan Jones, Commander Field Army said 31 July 2019: "The character of warfare continues to change as the boundaries between conventional and unconventional warfare become increasingly blurred. Its primary combat formation was British I Corps. Once the Ruhr was surrounded, he wanted the 9th Army transferred from the British 21st Army Group to the U.S. 12th Army Group. [41], By 1 April, when the trap closed around the Germans in the Ruhr, their fate was sealed. 23rd Base Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 37th (Rhine) Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnchengladbach, 62nd Rear Combat Zone Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnchengladbach. 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. 21st Army Group was then instead ordered to move northeast toward Bremen and Hamburg. Thus, he decided to feint at Mainz while making his real effort at Nierstein and Oppenheim, 910mi (1416km) south of the city. There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine ( BAOR ). Headed from Bielefeld it comprised of; 5th Heavy Regiment RA (Hildesheim)50th Missile Regiment, RA (Menden)12 Air Defence Regiment, RA (Dortmund)22nd Air Defence Regiment, RA (Soest)94th Locating Regiment, RA (Celle)1st Battalion, The Royal Scots, Infantry (Mnster)8th Transport Regiment, RCT (Mnster). Denying this opportunity became another argument for rethinking the role of the southern drive through Germany. To the north, the 9th Army's XIX and XIII Corps would also drive for the Elbe, toward Magdeburg, about 65mi (105km) north of Leipzig, although the army commander, General Simpson, hoped he would be allowed to go all the way to Berlin. In a matter of days, they would all be killed or captured. The right-wing of the British Second Army reached the Elbe southeast of Hamburg on 19 April. In five days of battle, from 18 to 22 March, Patton's forces captured over 68,000 Germans. Equipped with about 60 tanks, the students put up a fanatical resistance, stalling the American armor all day. [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. In 198485, the nine districts were Eastern (19th and 54th Brigades), London, North-East (2nd Infantry Division, 15, 24, and 49 Brigades), North-West District (42 Brigade), Scotland (51 and 52 Brigades), South-Eastern District (2 and 5 Brigades), South-West District (UK Contingent, ACE Mobile Force, 1, and 43 Brigades) Headquarters Wales (160 Brigade), and Western District (143 Brigade).[9]. Lord & Watson, pp. 1st Division provides specialist soldiers and equipment to develop other nations armies, deal with disaster and humanitarian crises worldwide and enable our warfighting division. 608th Signal Troop (Cipher Equipment), Royal Signals, 68th Transport Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, JHQ Rheindahlen. As the Soviet threat increased, so BAOR became less of an occupational army and assumed the role of defender of Western Europe, and as a major contributor to NATO after 1949. Welcome to BAOR Locations. While manpower and force size was limited by budgetary constraints, quality of training and equipment was commonly reported of a high standard. Forty-nine of these divisions were American, 12 British, eight French, three Canadian and one Polish. Use the search function to locate the Order of battle by title or file name. While certainly incomplete (especially for the period 1120 April 1945), they reflect the ratio between casualties in both theaters in the final months of the war. The events of the first few days of the final campaign would be enough to convince him that this was the proper course of action. [46], While the 12th U.S. Army Group made its eastward thrust, Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group to the south had the dual mission of protecting the 12th U.S. Army Group's right flank and eliminating any German attempt to make a last stand in the Alps of southern Germany and western Austria. The 9th Army's sector of the Ruhr Pocket, although only about 1/3 the size of the 1st Army's sector south of the river, contained the majority of the densely urbanized industrial area within the encirclement. The three complementary British Army Divisions harness the wide range of British Army capabilities, providing choice to the Government in defence of the UKs interests. To view a summary of the British Army in 1952 please click here.During October 1954 HQ BAOR reallocated fromBad Oeynhausento Rheindalen. DECODED: The Cold War in Europe 1945-1995 : NATO's Northern Army Group Wartime Order of Battle 1985. While retaining its operational focus, the intention is to rebalance the Armys formations in order to meet the challenges of constant competition and maintain its high-end warfighting capability. Although the Ruhr area still contained a significant number of Axis troops and enough industry to retain its importance as a major objective, Allied intelligence reported that much of the region's armament industry was moving southeast, deeper into Germany. The area 1 BR Corps had to defend lay between Hanover to the North and Kassel to the South and extended from the Inner German Border to the Upper Weser Valley. More reorganisation was implemented in January 1978 with the creation of 3rd and th Armoured Brigades. His detailed plans, code-named Operation Plunder, were comparable to the Normandy invasion in terms of numbers of men and extent of equipment, supplies, and ammunition to be used. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the United Kingdom's main contribution to NATO. Isby and Kamp, Armies of NATO's Central Front, 1985, 251-255. Despite the Russian proximity to Berlin, they argued that the city was still a critical political, if not military, objective. In the early morning hours of 25 March, elements of the 87th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine to the north at Boppard, and then some 24 hours later elements of the 89th Infantry Division crossed 8 miles (13km) south of Boppard at St. Goar. General Eisenhower's Armies were facing resistance that varied from almost non-existent to fanatical[54] as they advanced toward Berlin, which was located 200km (120mi) from their positions in early April 1945. Does anyone have an order of Battle for RAF in 1949? In the south, the 1st Army's III Corps launched its strike on the 5th and the XVIII Airborne Corps joined in on the 6th, both pushing generally northward. [33], In the southernmost sector of the 21st Army Group's attack, the 9th Army's assault divisions were to cross the Rhine along an 11 miles (18km) section of the front, south of Wesel and the Lippe River. At the same time, General Devers' 6th U.S. Army Group would move south through Bavaria and the Black Forest to Austria and the Alps, ending the threat of any Nazi last-ditch stand there. But these decisions were made in good faith and had little bearing on the ultimate outcome of the campaign. 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. After General Omar Bradley warned, however, that capturing a city located in a region that the Soviets had already received at the Yalta Conference might cost 100,000 casualties,[56] by 15 April Eisenhower ordered all armies to halt when they reached the Elbe and Mulde Rivers, thus immobilizing these spearheads while the war continued for three more weeks. [80] The brigade had been disbanded in September 1981 with its units and area initially having been taken over by 8th Infantry Brigade. With a strong line of defense on the west side of Arnhem, Harzer orders his troops to clear Arnhem itself first. Sup Regt RSA listed with SW Dist by Isby & Kamps 1985. On mobilisation the regiments would join their divisional artillery. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Once the bridgehead was secured the British 6th Airborne Division would be transferred to Second Army control, while the U.S. 17th Airborne Division would revert to 9th Army control. Both believed that the plan squandered the great strength in men and equipment that the 9th Army had assembled and ignored the many logistical problems of placing the 9th Army's crossing sites within the Second Army's zone. The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. 39th District Workshop Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. A battle group in the british army in the late cold war period was a task organised unit comprising of a mix of sub units commanded by either an armoured regiment or mechanised infantry battalion HQ. British 2nd. 1 FV432, towing a bar mine layer and mounting a Ranger Scatterable mine discharger . The BAOR at this point still consisted of 80,000 troops.1956 Saw more major changes to the BAOR. But the other discovery made by the 3rd Army on 4 April horrified and angered those who saw it. On 29 November 1952, the Headquarters of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) formed. All had been unceremoniously repulsed by the vastly superior Allied forces. Thus, on 15 April when Eisenhower ordered Patton's entire 3rd Army to drive southeast down the Danube River valley to Linz, and south to Salzburg and central Austria, he also instructed the 6th U.S. Army Group to make a similar turn into southern Germany and western Austria. Also looking forward to going home, tens of thousands of freed forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war further strained the American logistical system. [38], The British Prime Minister and Chiefs of Staff strongly opposed the new plan. However, Montgomery believed that the paratroopers would quickly link up with the advancing river assault forces, placing the strongest force within the bridgehead as rapidly as possible. 1 CVR(T) representing the HQ or Recce Capability. 1, which began with "We come as a victorious army, not as oppressors." By attaching mechanized infantry units to armored divisions, they created a hybrid of strength and mobility that served them well in the pursuit of warfare through Germany. When The Sunday Times was discussing the mechanics of "The Fall of Edward Heath", Mr. Harold Macmillan was supposed to have said it was very unwise of any Government to take on the Vatican, the National Union of Mineworkers or the Brigade of Guards. After what had been initially a one man attempt to discover more about the British Army of the Rhine, to which he had never served under, there is now a full team in place determined towards preventing this precious history drifting into obscurity. 79107 (Regular Signal Squadrons, 200299). 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 . The next day they gained some more ground, and one even seized its objective, having slogged a total of 6 miles (9.7km), but the limited progress forced Hobbs to abandon the hope for a quick breakout. Brigade groups took over from divisions as the smallest operative units. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Several other patrols from the 69th had similar encounters later that day, and on 26 April the division commander, Maj. Gen. Emil F. Reinhardt, met Maj. Gen. Vladimir Rusakov of the Soviet 58th Guards Rifle Division at Torgau in the first official link-up ceremony. Task organisation was completely dependent on the Brigades mission and at the discretion of the Brigade commander. The 12th Army Group commander said that American troops could cross the Rhine anywhere, without aerial bombardment or airborne troops, a direct jab at Montgomery whose troops were at that very moment preparing to launch their own Rhine assault following an intense and elaborate aerial and artillery preparation and with the assistance of two airborne divisions, the American 17th and the British 6th. The three infantry battalions were rotated every two years, and the armoured squadron was detached from a BAOR armoured regiment based in West Germany. 3rd Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, 3rd Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Soest, 5th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Soest, 6th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mnster, 11th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Soest, 3rd Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Sennelager, 5th Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Mnster, 113th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Werl, HQ 4th Armoured Brigade & 204 Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Mnster, HQ 6th Armoured Brigade & 206th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Soest, HQ 33rd Armoured Brigade & 202nd Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Paderborn, 46th (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, (36x, HQ 4th Armoured Division & Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, Herford, 14th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Herford. In reserve were the XVI Corps' 8th Armored Division, and 35th and 75th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 9th Army's XIII and XIX Corps, each with three divisions. The displaced residents nonetheless had to find housing on their own. On 27 November 1989 Peter Inge became the commander of NATO's Northern Army Group and Commander-in-Chief, British Army of the Rhine in Germany with the local rank of general;[115] he succeeded General Brian Kenny. [32][pageneeded] The intention was to create a line from Bremen south to Neuwied. VIII Corps crossing sites were located along the Rhine Gorge, where the river had carved a deep chasm between two mountain ranges, creating precipitous canyon walls over 300 feet (91m) high on both sides. Eastern District, Colchester, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Rutland, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire Alfred Price. 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, told Parliament 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. Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally on 8 May, leaving the western Allies in control of most of Germany. Entering in the night, the commandos secured the city late on the morning of 24 March, although scattered resistance continued until dawn on the 25th. [59], In retrospect, very few questionable decisions were made concerning the execution of the campaign.[who?] [44], The 4 April pause in the 3rd Army advance allowed the other armies under Bradley's command to reach the Leine River, about 50mi (80km) east of Paderborn. The Western Allies still had to fight, often bitterly, for victory. Britains Armed Forces Today:3 British Army of The Rhine, T Gander 1984; Britains Modern Army, edition 1 1995, T Gander; 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. As its forces approached Leipzig, about 60mi (97km) south of Magdeburg and 15mi (24km) short of the Mulde River, the 1st Army ran into one of the few remaining centers of organized resistance. HQ British Forces Brunei & Brunei Signal Troop, Detachment 24 Postal and Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, 9th Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, at, 259 (West) Signal Squadron (responsible for communications in the west of the island). 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.. After the assumption of government by civilians, it became the command formation for the troops in Germany only, rather than being responsible for administration as well. Trackpad Publishing, 2022. Lt Gen Ivan Jones, Commander Field Army (CFA), described plans for rebalancing his command which will see changes to the structure of the Field Armys primary formations. The BAOR was formerly armed with tactical nuclear weapons. The only potent unit left for commitment against the Allied Rhine crossings in the north, the 116th began moving south from the Dutch-German border on 25 March against what the Germans considered their most dangerous threat, the U.S. 9th Army. When we go to war, we have fourteen golden and bejewelled crosses borne before us instead of banners; each of these crosses is followed by 10,000 horsemen, and 100,000 foot soldiers fully armed, without reckoning those in charge of the luggage and provision. Forward Vehicle Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In the end, the campaign proceeded as Eisenhower had planned it. Simpson planned to commit the XIX Corps as soon as possible after the bridgehead had been secured, using the XIII Corps to hold the Rhine south of the crossing sites. At Clive Barracks in Ternhill under 143rd (West Midlands) Brigade until April 1989 as Northern Ireland reaction battalion. 3rd Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 10th Airborne Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Borden, (supported 5th Airborne Brigade), 16th Armoured Field Ambulance, Aldershot (to. The 2nd Army's XII Corps and the 9th Army's XVI Corps began the main effort about 02:00 on 24 March, following a massive artillery and air bombardment. 50 Construction Field Squadron Corps of Royal Engineers, 62 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Water utilities, water development, and well drilling], 63 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Electrical power generation and distribution, originally utilities and force protection], 64 Chief Engineer Command (Works) [Fuels, fuel production, and distribution], 156th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Colchester, 7th Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Colchester. The enemy armored unit began making its presence felt almost immediately, and by the end of 26 March, the combination of the panzer division and the rough terrain had conspired to sharply limit the 30th Division's forward progress. Despite a wide armored thrust to envelop the enemy defenses, it took nine days of intense fighting to bring Heilbronn fully under American control. Late on 26 March, the 8th Armored Division began moving into the bridgehead. Then, on the move to West Germany would join the 1st Artillery Brigade. [50], While the Allied armies in the south marched to the Alps, the 21st Army Group drove north and northeast. HQ Western District & 241 (West) Signal Squadron, Royal Signals. Little or no reinforcement was forthcoming as the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) continued to concentrate most forces against the Soviets; it was estimated that the Germans had 214 divisions on the Eastern Front in April. Additional losses in the Rhineland further weakened the German Army, leaving shattered remnants of units to defend the east bank of the Rhine. 1st Armoured Division Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, 1st Ordnance Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Verden, 7th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Fallingbostel, 12th Armoured Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Osnabrck, 1st Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Bergen-Hohne, 2nd Armoured Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Osnabrck, 111th Provost Company, Royal Military Police, Bergen-Hohne, HQ 7th Armoured Brigade & 207th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Soltau, HQ 12th Armoured Brigade & 212th Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Osnabrck, HQ 22nd Armoured Brigade & 201st Signal Squadron, Royal Signals, Bergen-Hohne, 10 (Assaye) Air Defence Battery (under command of Field regiment for admin), HQ 3rd Armoured Division & Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, Soest, 13th Postal & Courier Squadron, Royal Engineers, Soest. The 21st Army Group had 30 full-strength divisions, 11 each in the British Second and U.S. 9th Armies and eight in the Canadian First Army, providing Montgomery with more than 1,250,000 men. As the division's area of operation was hilly and woody 19th Infantry Brigade based in Colchester was added to it. To the south, elements of the VI Corps met unexpectedly fierce resistance at Heilbronn, 40mi (64km) into the German rear. 62 Cyprus Support Squadron, Royal Engineers. Garrisons which closed at this time included Soest (home of the 6th Armoured Brigade),[10] Soltau (home of the 7th Armoured Brigade)[11] and Minden (home of the 11th Armoured Brigade). Also on 28 March, elements of the U.S. 17th Airborne Division operating north of the Lippe River in conjunction with British armored forcesdashed to a point some 30mi (48km) east of Wesel, opening a corridor for the XIX Corps and handily outflanking Dorsten and the enemy to the south.
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