The Berlin Infantry Brigade was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

-sized garrison based in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

during the Cold War. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, under the conditions of the

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

agreements, the Allied forces occupied

. This occupation lasted throughout the Cold War. The

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

also had units in Berlin, called the

French Forces in Berlin The French Forces in Berlin (french: Forces Françaises à Berlin) were the units of the French Armed Forces stationed since 1945 until the end of the Cold War-era in West Berlin according to the agreements of the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Con ...

and the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's unit in Berlin was the

Berlin Brigade The Berlin Brigade was a US Army brigade-sized garrison based in West Berlin during the Cold War. After the end of World War II, under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Allied forces occupied West Berlin. This occupat ...

History

The Berlin Infantry Brigade was formed in October 1953 out of the force called "Area Troops Berlin" and consisted of some 3,100 men in three infantry battalions, an armoured squadron, and a number of support units. Its shoulder sleeve insignia was a red circle over a black background with the word Berlin in red on a black background running around the top. It was not initially part of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

despite being based in Germany. However, by the mid-1980s, the brigade is recorded to have become part of the

BAOR There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

, being its second major component after

I (BR) Corps I Corps ("First Corps") was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived ...

. In 1946 the military postal address for Berlin based British troops was 'BAOR 2' but when the BFPO indication number was introduced in 1951 to was changed to '

BFPO The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) provides a postal service to HM Forces, separate from that provided by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. BFPO addresses are used for the delivery of mail in the UK and around the world. BFPO moved from its o ...

45' and remained its address until the British troops were withdrawn from Berlin in 1994. The three infantry battalions and armoured squadron assigned to Berlin were rotated regularly; the single armoured squadron was detached from an armoured regiment assigned to

. The infantry battalions were rotated every two years. All other units were permanently based in Berlin.

Structure

At the time when the Berlin Wall fell (9 November 1989), the operational structure of the British forces in Berlin was as follows: * HQ Berlin **Berlin Infantry Brigade *** Berlin Infantry Brigade HQ & (29th) Signal Regiment, Royal Signals *** 1st Btn,

King's Regiment The King's Regiment, officially abbreviated as KINGS, was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) which had been raised in 1685 ...

, Wavell Barracks, (replaced by 1st Btn,

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

December 1989) *** 1st Btn,

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Brig ...

Brooke Barracks Brooke may refer to: People * Brooke (given name) * Brooke (surname) * Brooke baronets, families of baronets with the surname Brooke Places * Brooke, Norfolk, England * Brooke, Rutland, England * Brooke, Virginia, US * Brooke's Point, Palawan ...

*** 1st Btn,

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...

Montgomery Barracks Montgomery refers to: People For people with the name Montgomery, see Montgomery (name) Places Belgium * Montgomery Square, Brussels * Montgomery metro station, Brussels Pakistan * Montgomery (town), British India, former name of Sahiwal, Punjab ...

*** C Squadron,

14th/20th King's Hussars The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was created by the amalgamation of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the Royal Hussa ...

Smuts Barracks Smuts is an Afrikaans surname most commonly associated with Jan Smuts (1870–1950), a South African statesman, military leader and prime minister of the Union of South Africa. Other notable people with the surname include: * Barbara Smuts, America ...

, (14x

Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

) *** 6 Troop, 46 (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, 2 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, (12x Javelin) *** 38 (Berlin) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers

*** Detachment, 164 Railway Operations Company, Royal Engineers *** Berlin Postal & Courier Troop, Royal Engineers ** 2nd Regiment, Royal Military Police *** 246 (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, in Helmstedt, mans

Checkpoint Alpha Checkpoint may refer to: Places * Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected * Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary cont ...

*** 247 (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, mans

Checkpoint Bravo Checkpoint Bravo ("Checkpoint B") was the name given by the Western Allies to the main Autobahn border crossing point between West Berlin and the German Democratic Republic. It was known in German as . Drewitz is a community nearby, and Dreilin ...

and

Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), as named by the Western Allies. East German leader Walter Ulbricht agitated and maneu ...

*** 248 German Security Unit, support unit with German personnel ** 3 Squadron, 13 Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, Signals Intelligence at RAF Gatow & Olympic Stadium ** 3 Intelligence and Security Company, Intelligence Corps ** 7 Flight AAC,

RAF Gatow Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only k ...

, (4x Gazelle AH.1) ** Royal Air Force Gatow Station Flight, (2x Chipmunk T10) ** No. 26 Signals Unit,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, ( Signals intelligence at RAF Gatow and

Teufelsberg Teufelsberg (; German for ''Devil's Mountain'') is a non-natural hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. It rises about above the surrounding Teltow plateau and above the sea level, in the north of Berlin's G ...

** British Military Hospital Berlin *** 2 Field Sanitation Section *** 50 British Red Cross Convalescent Home *** 194 Field Dental Centre ** 62 Transport & Movements Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport ** Movement Control Office (MCO)

Gatow Gatow (), a district of south-western Berlin is located west of the ''Havelsee'' lake and has forested areas within its boundaries. It is within the borough of Spandau. On 31 December 2002, it had 5,532 inhabitants. History Gatow's existence was ...

** 14 (Berlin) Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Alexander Barracks ** Berlin Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** Ordnance & Ammunition Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** 93 Section

Special Investigation Branch Special Investigation Branch (SIB) was the name given to the detective branches of all three British military police arms: the Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police. It was most closely associated with the Royal M ...

, Royal Military Police ** 31 Quartering and Barracks Office, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** 504th Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC) (Overseas Deployment Training) ** Detachment, 2 Independent Petrol Platoon,

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

** 121 Barracks Stores, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** 122 Barracks Stores, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** 131 Detail Issue Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** 3 Station Maintenance Section, Royal Army Ordnance Corps ** District Depot Railways Berlin - Lines of Communication ** Railway Transport Officer Station

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

** Railway Transport Officer Station

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

** Railway Transport Officer Station

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...

** BRIXMIS, British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany administered by Berlin Bde HQ Under the treaties that enabled the German reunification, all non-German military forces were required to leave Berlin. Therefore the brigade was reduced to two battalions in 1992, then further reduced in 1993 to a single battalion. Finally Berlin Infantry Brigade was officially disbanded in September 1994 and its troops moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

or British Forces Germany garrisons.

References

External links and references

248 German Security Unit Veterans Association

Berlin Brigade Memories

History of the French, American and British Berlin Brigades

Berlin 1969 – the Allies in Berlin at midpoint of the Cold War

British Army of the Rhine Locations

Berlin-Brigade Installations
*{{cite web , title = West Alliierte in Berlin , url = http://www.waib.de, publisher=The history of the three Western Allied Forces and their civilian employees in Berlin from 1945–1994
BerlinBrigade.com
Dedicated to all that served in West Berlin from 1945 to 1994 British Army deployments Cold War military history of Germany Military units and formations established in 1953 Allied occupation of Germany West Berlin

History

Structure

See also

References

Further reading

External links and references