Berlin Infantry Brigade

The Berlin Infantry Brigade was a British 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 occupation lasted throughout the Cold War. The French Army also had units in Berlin, called Forces Françaises à Berlin and the US Army's unit in Berlin was the Berlin Brigade.

British Berlin Infantry Brigade

British Army Chieftain tanks of the Berlin armoured squadron, taking part in the Allied Forces Day parade in June 1989

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 despite being based in Germany. However, it is recorded, at the very least, by the mid-1980s, that the brigade was indeed part of BAOR, being its second major component after I (BR) Corps.

The military post code for Berlin was originally BAOR 2, later BFPO 45.

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.

When the Berlin Wall fell, 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, Wavell Barracks, (replaced by 1st Btn, Irish Guards December 1989)
    • 1st Btn, The Light Infantry, Brooks Barracks
    • 1st Btn, Royal Welch Fusiliers, Montgomery Barracks
    • C Squadron, 14th/20th King's Hussars, Smuts Barracks, (18x Chieftain)
    • 38th (Berlin) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
    • 6th Troop, 46th (Talavera) Air Defence Battery, 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, (12x Javelin)
  • 2nd Regiment, Royal Military Police
    • 246th (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, in Helmstedt, mans Checkpoint Alpha
    • 247th (Berlin) Provost Company, Royal Military Police, mans Checkpoint Bravo and Checkpoint Charlie
    • 248th German Security Unit, support unit with German personnel
  • 3rd Squadron, 13th Signal Regiment (Radio), Royal Signals, Signals Intelligence at RAF Gatow
  • 3rd 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, (Signals intelligence at RAF Gatow and Teufelsberg
  • British Military Hospital Berlin
    • 2nd Field Sanitation Section
    • 50th British Red Cross Convalescent Home
    • 194th Field Dental Centre
  • 62nd Transport & Movements Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport
  • Movement Control Office (MCO) Gatow
  • 14th (Berlin) Field Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
  • Berlin Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps
  • Ordnance & Ammunition Depot, Royal Army Ordnance Corps
  • 93rd Section Special Investigation Branch, Royal Military Police
  • 31st Quartering and Barracks Office, Royal Army Service Corps
  • 504th Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC) (Overseas Deployment Training)
  • Detachment, 2nd Independent Petrol Platoon, Royal Army Service Corps
  • 121st Barracks Stores, Royal Army Service Corps
  • 122nd Barracks Stores, Royal Army Service Corps
  • 131st Detail Issue Depot, Royal Army Service Corps
  • 3rd Station Maintenance Section, Royal Army Service Corps
  • Detachment, 164 Railway Operations Company, Royal Engineers
  • District Depot Railways Berlin - Lines of Communication
  • Railway Transport Officer Station Spandau
  • Railway Transport Officer Station Grunewald
  • Railway Transport Officer Station Charlottenburg
  • BRIXMIS, British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany administered by Berlin Bde HQ

Under the treaties that enabled the reunification of Germany, 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 or British Forces Germany garrisons.

Different names of the Berlin Infantry Brigade from 1945–1994:

Month, Year	Name
November 1946 -	British Troops Berlin
February 1949 -	Area Troops Berlin
October 1953 -	Berlin Infantry Brigade Group
December 1963 -	Berlin Infantry Brigade
April 1977 -	Berlin Field Force
January 1981 – September 1994	Berlin Infantry Brigade

See also

• British Forces Germany
• Berlin Brigade
• Forces Françaises à Berlin

External links and references

• 248 German Security Unit Veterans Association
• Berlin Brigade Memories
• History of the Berlin Brigade
• 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
• "West Alliierte in Berlin". The history of the three Western Allied Forces and their civilian employees in Berlin from 1945–1994. http://www.waib.de. 
• BerlinBrigade.com Dedicated to all that served in West Berlin from 1945 to 1994

References

• Durie, W. (2012). The British Garrison Berlin 1945-1994 "No where to go" Berlin: Vergangenheits/Berlin. ISBN 978-3-86408-068-5.

Bibliography

• British Garrison Berlin 1945 -1994, "No where to go", W. Durie ISBN 978-3-86408-068-5 (will be published in Germany on 14 May 2012)