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Introduction

The majority of British forces in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Niedersachsen belong to the 1st (UK) Armoured Division. The Division has existed in the British Army since 1809 when the Duke of Wellington formed it, in Portugal, from two British brigades and one Hanoverian brigade of the King's German Legion. Therefore, since its inception in the 1800s the 1st (UK) Armoured Division has had strong links with this part of Germany.

The Division has been stationed in Germany since June 1960, as part of NATO, first in Verden an der Aller and since 1993 here in Herford. The 1st (UK) Armoured Division is now the only British division to be stationed in Germany, from a peak of 4 divisions during the height of the Cold War, though it is not the only element of the British Forces in Germany. The Support Command is based in Rheindahlen, (just outside Mönchengladbach), with some 3,600 personnel.

Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps

 

It is important to understand how 1 (UK) Armoured Division fits into Britain's contribution to NATO. In 1990, following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the British Government conducted a defence review, which reduced the size of the British Army from 155,000 personnel to 116,000. The impact of this restructuring was that the British Army of the Rhine was reduced to a strength of 1 Armoured Division with supporting troops. That division is the 1st (UK) Armoured Division, which is now assigned as part of the UK's contribution to the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps.

Mission 

1 (UK) Armoured Division is to:

  1. Deliver the appropriate force elements required at Part 5
    (Command and Signal) of the LCP within allocated resources.
  2. Be prepared to deploy all, or part, of its force elements world wide as part of a NATO, national or coalition force to conduct joint operations across the spectrum of conflict.
  3. Deliver the appropriate infrastructure support and conduct effective estates development planning within geographical boundries in order to contribute to the land component of the UK's military capability.

Org Chart 

1 (UK) Division comprises three brigades. Until earlier this year all 3 brigades were configured in the same way, each having 2 tank regiments and 2 armoured infantry battalions. The tank regiments are in the process of being equipped with our most recent main battle tank, Challenger 2 whilst the infantry are equipped with the Warrior Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle . As a result of the United Kingdom's Strategic Defence Review , there has been a reorganisation of the British Army and each brigade based in Germany will lose an armoured regiment, although these regiments will return to the Division on deployment for operations. The reorganisation process will take a number of years.