The Berlin Infantry Brigade was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

-sized garrison based in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, under the conditions of the

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, 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 Crime ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

agreements, the Allied forces occupied

. This occupation lasted throughout the

. The

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

also had units in West Berlin, called the French Forces in Berlin and the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

's unit in West Berlin was the Berlin Brigade. The Soviet Army unit in East Berlin was the 6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.

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 British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

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

BAOR British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO, NATO's Northern Army Gr ...

, being its second major component after I (BR) Corps. 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 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 I (BR) Corps. The infantry battalions were rotated every two years. All other units were permanently based in Berlin.

Structure

At the time when the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

fell (9 November 1989), the operational structure of the British forces in Berlin was as follows: * The British Army Film and Photographic Unit 1941 - 1947 BU8588

The British Army Film and Photographic Unit 1941 - 1947 BU8588

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 168 ...

, Wavell Barracks, (replaced by 1st Btn,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

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 Bri ...

, Brooke Barracks *** 1st Btn,

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

, Montgomery Barracks *** C Squadron, 14th/20th King's Hussars, Smuts Barracks, (14x

Chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

) *** 6 Troop, 46 (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, 2 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, (12x

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

) *** 38 (Berlin) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers Smuts Barracks *** Detachment, Special Projects Team (OP FRESH AIR) Royal Engineers RAF Gatow *** 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 *** 247 (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, mans Checkpoint Bravo and

Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the Western Bloc, Western Bloc's name for the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), becoming a symbol of the Cold War, representin ...

*** 248 German Security Unit, support unit with German personnel ** 3 Squadron, 13 Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals,

Signals Intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

at RAF Gatow & Olympic Stadium ** 3 Intelligence and Security Company, Intelligence Corps ** 7 Flight AAC, RAF Gatow, (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 Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, (

Signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

at RAF Gatow and Teufelsberg ** 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 The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider defence forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

** Movement Control Office (MCO) Gatow ** 14 (Berlin) Field Workshop,

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

, 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 ...

, 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 equi ...

** 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, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

** Railway Transport Officer Station Grunewald ** Railway Transport Officer Station

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

** BRIXMIS, British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany administered by Berlin Bde HQ Under the treaties that enabled the

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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

References

Further reading

External links and references