British Tanks
The British had suffered from a succession of somewhat
indifferent tank designs during the Second World War, but at the start of the
Cold War the British prime production tank was the Centurion, which proved to
be a great success. It was heavier than its contemporaries, the US M48 and the
Soviet T-54, but the British were determined to have a well-armed and
well-armoured tank following their experiences of being been consistently
outgunned by German tanks, particularly the Panther and the Tiger. The Centurion’s
main gun was progressively improved: the early tanks were armed with a 76 mm
gun, but this was replaced first by an 83 mm gun and later by the L7 105 mm
gun, which was so good that it was adopted by virtually every other army in
NATO, except the French.
In the late 1940s the British also developed a heavy tank to
meet the NATO requirement to defeat the Soviet JS-3. The Soviet tank’s armour
was so thick that a very powerful gun was required to defeat it, and the
British selected a US 120 mm gun, which, with its associated ammunition, was so
large and heavy that the Conqueror tank, in which it was mounted, weighed 65
tonnes. The Conqueror earned a reputation of being slow and suffering from
relatively poor mobility, although its top speed was only marginally less than
that of the Centurion and its power-to-weight ratio (10 kW/tonne) was
identical. Only 180 were built, and all were deployed in West Germany between
1955 and 1968 as tank destroyers.
In the 1950s the British started a project for their next tank,
to replace both the Centurion and the Conqueror. This again followed their
invariable Cold War priorities of firepower and protection, although one of
their earliest decisions in this project caused considerable surprise among
their NATO allies. The very powerful British L7 105 mm tank gun and its
ammunition had become the virtual NATO standard in the 1950s, being installed
in US M48s and M60s, British Centurions and West German Leopard Is, but the
British themselves then became the first to leave the standard by insisting on
a new 120 mm gun for this new tank. Initially, the new tank – named Chieftain –
was beset by problems, particularly with the engine, transmission and
suspension, but these were eventually resolved, particularly when an order from
the shah of Iran for 700 tanks produced both money and an even greater sense of
urgency to find a cure. The original staff requirement had been issued in 1958
and a prototype was running in 1959, but the Chieftain did not enter full
service with the British army until 1967.
The search for a successor to the Chieftain began with a
joint future-tank project with West Germany, but when this broke down in 1977
the British were forced to continue on their own in a project known as MBT-80.
However, the contract to sell Chieftain tanks to Iran had led to a much
improved version, known as Shir 2, of which several prototypes had been
completed when the new Khomeini government suddenly cancelled the order. The
British then decided to produce a modified version of Shir 2 to meet their own
requirement for a Chieftain replacement. This tank, which had a new hull and
power pack, but the same L11 120 mm gun as the Chieftain, was eventually placed
in production as the Challenger, entering service in 1983.
FV432
From 1963 onwards the British also used a tracked APC, the
FV432, which was generally similar in design to the M113, but constructed of
steel. In the 1970s, however, when the British army started to consider a
replacement for the FV432, there was an intense internal debate over the future
requirement, which centred upon whether a new vehicle should be a MICV, as
exemplified by the German Marder, or simply a better APC. Various prototypes
were designed and tested, including a very large MICV, but in the end the
Mechanized Combat Vehicle-80 (MCV-80) was selected, mounting a 30 mm Rarden
cannon, and carrying eight infantrymen (one of whom was also the vehicle
commander), although they did not have firing ports and therefore could not use
their weapons from inside the vehicle. The title, MCV-80, was intended to
demonstrate that the vehicle would enter service in 1980, but, as so often
happened when such dates were included in a weapon title (e.g. the German/US
MBT-70 tank), this proved to be over-optimistic and the vehicle did not enter
service until 1987.
British Army of the Rhine
The second British Army of the Rhine was formed on 25 August
1945 from the British Liberation Army. Its original function was to control the
corps districts which were running the military government of the British zone
of occupied Germany. 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.
As the potential threat of Soviet invasion across the North
German Plain into West Germany increased, BAOR became more responsible for the
defence of West Germany than its occupation. It became the primary formation
controlling the British contribution to NATO after the formation of the
alliance in 1949. Its primary combat formation was British I Corps. From 1952
the commander-in-chief of the BAOR was also the commander of NATO’s Northern
Army Group (NORTHAG) in the event of a general war with the Soviet Union and
the Warsaw Pact. The BAOR was formerly armed with tactical nuclear weapons. In
1967, the force was reduced in strength to 53,000 soldiers.
The 1993 Options for Change defence cuts resulted in BAOR
being replaced by forces roughly 25,000 strong, 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). Garrisons which closed at this
time included Soest (home of the 6th Armoured Brigade), Soltau (home of the 7th
Armoured Brigade) and Minden (home of the 11th Armoured Brigade).
Following World War II, Britain found itself weighed down by
its postwar obligations, colonial holdings, and the outbreak of the Cold War.
The British Army of the Rhine, comprising some
50,000 troops in three divisions, participated in the Allied occupation of
Germany. An additional 3,000 troops were stationed in divided Berlin. There was
often a colonial/Cold War overlap, such as when Britain faced problems with the
Soviet Union in Germany while dealing with independence movements in India,
Palestine, and Malaya.
For more than 60 years, the British Forces in Europe has
contributed as part of Britain’s commitment to the collective defence system of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). By having an army of more than
71,000 men permanently stationed on the European continent the United Kingdom
shares with its NATO partners , particularly with Germany , the Netherlands and
Belgium, the responsibility for the maintenance of peace, freedom and security
in the heartland of NATO’s Central Front.
The structure of the British Forces in Europe, especially in
Germany, dates back to the Second World War when British army and air force
units participated in the Normandy invasion (in 1944) alongside their allies.
At the end of the war, the British contingent remained in North West Germany as
the British Army of the Rhine BAOR and the Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG).
Further troops were stationed in Berlin.
The BAOR is commanded by a four-star general who is also the
commander of the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). The headquarters is at
Rheindahlen/North Rhine Westphalia which additionally houses the headquarters
of the Royal Air Force Germany, the Northern Army and the Second Allied
Tactical Air Force (2ATAF).
In peace time, BAOR is divided into four parts of which the
first, and by far the largest, is the 1st British Corps. It is the fighting
element of the British Army in Europe with the headquarters at Bielefeld , and
together with units of the Belgian, Dutch and German Armies, part of the
Northern Army Group of SACEUR’s (Supreme Allied Commander, Europe ) second part
is the British Rear Combat Zone with the headquarters at Dusseldorf responsible
for logistical support for the fighting troops . The British Communications
Zone, as the third part, is centered at Emblem in Belgium providing points of
entry for reinforcement units and supplies from the United Kingdom. The fourth
part of BAOR is the British garrison at Berlin with about 3,000 soldiers. These
troops (not committed to NATO) are maintained under the Allied Podsdam
Agreement safeguarding the Western rights in the city along-side France and the
United States.
Commanded by a lieutenant-general , the corps is organised
into three armored divisions, an infantry division, artillery units and corps
troops They are equipped with over 600 Challenger and Chieftain tanks, and
nearly 3,000 other armored vehicles for specific duties stationed at 13
garrisons in North Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
Each of the three armored divisions Commanded by
major-generals, is comprised of varying numbers of armored regiments mechanised
infantry battalions, artillery, engineer and signal units. Each division is
divided into three brigades commanded by brigadiers. Air support Is provided by
an aviation regiment of the Army Air Corps equipped with Gazelle and Lynx
helicopters
The infantry division of the 1 (BR) Corps is stationed in
England with a small planning headquarters in BAOR and consists of two
Territorial Army (TA) brigades and one regular brigade
The corps troops are comprised of two armored reconnaissance
regiments, the corps artillery, specialist engineer units and communications and
logistic units.
In time of war, the British Forces Germany is reinforced by
regular and Territorial Army units and individuals based in the United Kingdom
more than doubling the number of personnel. The 1 (BR) Corps and the Royal Air
Force Germany move under NATO command while the elements of the BAOR and RAFG
headquarters join to the British Support Forces (BSV) responsible for ensuring
the rapid supply of soldiers, vehicles and equipment from the United Kingdom,
the movement of stores and the treatment and evacuation of casualties.
In order to be always prepared for a crisis situation, the
troops of BAOR have a regular annual training program which commences with
minor exercises on local training areas in winter and spring. These are
followed in summer by maneuvers on combat team and battle group level,
including live-fire operations on the larger training areas in Germany like
Sennelager, Bergen Hohne and Soltau-Luineburg. Finally, there are the field
training exercises frequently held in cooperation with other NATO forces after
the harvest in autumn every year to reduce damages to the countryside. To train
on a larger scale with complex weapons which cannot be used on German terrain,
the British Army established the training center BATUS in Canada (British Army
Training Unit Suffield) allowing battle groups to practice fire and movement
for three days without covering the same ground twice.
Regular participants of the maneuvers Germany are the units
of the Territorial Army assigned to reinforce the BAOR in case of emergency.
Their training program normally includes a one-week unit level training and one
week in the field every year. To keep up to date with the role of their units
in cooperation with BAOR troops, the TA officers receive regular briefings and
attend study periods.
Budget constraints, environmental concerns and improved
computer programs have led to an increased use of simulators at all levels of
training reducing the number of soldiers and vehicles in the field.
