Berlin Brigade
Encyclopedia
After the end of World War II
, under the conditions of the Yalta
and Potsdam
agreements, Allied forces occupied West Berlin
. This occupation lasted throughout the Cold War
. The Berlin Brigade was a term used to describe the brigade
-sized garrison forces based there by the British and American armies; the French army also had units in Berlin, called Forces Françaises à Berlin
.
unit was an independent brigade based in Berlin; its shoulder sleeve insignia was the U.S. Army Europe patch with Berlin tab.
During the Berlin Wall
Crisis of 1961, the army reorganized the command structure of the forces in Berlin and created the U.S. Army Berlin and created the Berlin Brigade from the units already in the city. At this time, the infantry units of the Brigade were organized according to the "pentomic" structure: One "battle group" consisted of five line (rifle) companies, a combat support company, and a Headquarters & Headquarters company. Berlin Brigade had the 2nd & 3rd battle groups of the 6th US Infantry Regiment assigned to it from 1960 through 1964, when structure reverted to battalions.
The brigade consisted of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions of the 6th Infantry Regiment
(reflagged to 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the 502d Infantry Regiment), Battery C 94th Field Artillery (replaced by Echo Battery 320th Field Artillery), Company F of the 40th Armor, 42nd Engineer Company, 42nd Military Police Company (Customs), 287th Military Police Company (Separate), 43rd and 76th Chemical Detachments, 279th Station Hospital (became US Army Hospital Berlin in 1976), 168th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service), and 298th Army Band. The 168th and 298th share the distinction of being the longest serving units in Berlin. They both arrived to the city in a 37-vehicle convoy on 3 July 1945. The commanders of both units were old high school classmates.
Until the end of the Cold War members of the Brigade were eligible for the Army of Occupation Medal
with Germany clasp. Because of the legal status of West Berlin, it was technically "occupied" territory left over from World War II
.
During the early 1980s, the U.S. Army Regimental System
initiative renamed a large percentage of infantry, armor and artillery battalions to align overseas commands with units assigned to stateside brigades, reinforcing the Army's regimental designations and unit morale. The original intent was to initiate personnel replacement and rotations within regiments, a "next step" that did not provide sufficient flexibility to Army personnel managers. The impact on Berlin-based infantry battalions was to re-designate 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions, 6th Infantry Regiment to 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions, 502nd Infantry Regiment
, respectively, during the summer of 1984, assigning Berlin infantry units a shared identify with infantry battalions of 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.
Under the treaties which enabled the reunification of Germany, all non-German military forces were required to leave Berlin. The Berlin Brigade was officially deactivated by President
Bill Clinton
on 6 July 1994.
Individual members of the brigade deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990–1991. But the first Berlin Brigade units to take part in an out-of-theater operation were the command-and-staff element of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) as well as B Company of the 6th Battalion, 502nd Infantry, and the 42nd Engineer Co. These units served in Operation Provide Comfort, a relief and protection mission for Iraqi Kurds. They served with a multinational "Allied Ground Combat Force" that also included British, French, Italian, Dutch, and Turkish infantry companies. Based in Silopi, Turkey, near the Iraqi border, from July to October 1991, these ground forces were soon withdrawn to avoid entanglement in the local Turkish-PKK conflict and because it was decided that the US Air Force presence at Incirlik constituted an adequate deterrent to Iraqi attempts at encroaching on the Kurdish autonomous zone. *Soldiers of this task force were authorized to wear the Berlin Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insigina as a combat patch on the right shoulder of their uniform. The first and only time elements of the BBDE were authorized too.
Elements of the Berlin Brigade were the first combat units selected to deploy as a member of the United Nations Protectionary Forces (UNPROFOR) to Macedonia in July 1993; later to be renamed Task Force Able Sentry. Members of the Berlin Brigade also deployed in July 1994, to Entebbe, Uganda as part of Joint Task Force Support Hope, to help prevent a humanitarian crisis resulting from large-scale refugee movements caused by the civil war in Rwanda.
The Berlin Infantry Brigade of the British Army
was formed in October 1953 out of the force called "Area Troops Berlin" 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 BFPO
45.
The actual 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 7 Flight Army Air Corps
, based at RAF Gatow
, provided aviation support. Other units such as 62 Transport and Movements Squadron RCT
, 14 Field Workshop REME
, RAOC, 504 CRASC (ODT), 131 DID RASC, Det No 2 Independent Petrol Station Platoon RASC, 31st Quartering and Barracks Office RASC,121 & 122 Barracks Stores, 38 (Berlin) Field Squadron RE
, 229 Signals Squadron and 3 Squadron 13 Signals Regiment Royal Signals, 3 Intelligence and Security Coy Int Corps, 247 Provost Coy RMP
and the British Military Hospital (BMH) Berlin were also permanently based in Berlin.
In 1992 the Brigade was reduced to 2 Battalions, then further reduced in 1993 to a single Battalion. It was disbanded in September 1994.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, under the conditions of the Yalta
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
and Potsdam
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
agreements, Allied forces occupied West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. This occupation lasted throughout the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The Berlin Brigade was a term used to describe the brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
-sized garrison forces based there by the British and American armies; the French army also had units in Berlin, called Forces Françaises à Berlin
Forces Françaises à Berlin
Forces Françaises à Berlin or Forces Françaises de Berlin was the name for the units of the French Forces stationed in Cold War-era West Berlin according to the agreements of the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference....
.
United States
The Berlin Brigade of the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
unit was an independent brigade based in Berlin; its shoulder sleeve insignia was the U.S. Army Europe patch with Berlin tab.
During the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
Crisis of 1961, the army reorganized the command structure of the forces in Berlin and created the U.S. Army Berlin and created the Berlin Brigade from the units already in the city. At this time, the infantry units of the Brigade were organized according to the "pentomic" structure: One "battle group" consisted of five line (rifle) companies, a combat support company, and a Headquarters & Headquarters company. Berlin Brigade had the 2nd & 3rd battle groups of the 6th US Infantry Regiment assigned to it from 1960 through 1964, when structure reverted to battalions.
U.S. 6th Infantry Regiment
The 6th Infantry Regiment was formed in 1812. Its most famous commander was Zachary Taylor, later the twelfth President of the United States. The Motto, "Regulars, By God!" derives from the Battle of Chippawa, in which British general Riall noticed that the approaching regiment had on the uniforms...
(reflagged to 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the 502d Infantry Regiment), Battery C 94th Field Artillery (replaced by Echo Battery 320th Field Artillery), Company F of the 40th Armor, 42nd Engineer Company, 42nd Military Police Company (Customs), 287th Military Police Company (Separate), 43rd and 76th Chemical Detachments, 279th Station Hospital (became US Army Hospital Berlin in 1976), 168th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service), and 298th Army Band. The 168th and 298th share the distinction of being the longest serving units in Berlin. They both arrived to the city in a 37-vehicle convoy on 3 July 1945. The commanders of both units were old high school classmates.
Until the end of the Cold War members of the Brigade were eligible for the Army of Occupation Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
The Army of Occupation Medal is a military award of the United States military which was established by the United States War Department on 5 April 1946. The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had performed occupation service in either Germany or Japan...
with Germany clasp. Because of the legal status of West Berlin, it was technically "occupied" territory left over from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
During the early 1980s, the U.S. Army Regimental System
U.S. Army Regimental System
The United States Army Regimental System was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System, to provide each Soldier with continuous identification with a single regiment, and to support that concept with a personnel system that would increase a soldier’s probability of serving...
initiative renamed a large percentage of infantry, armor and artillery battalions to align overseas commands with units assigned to stateside brigades, reinforcing the Army's regimental designations and unit morale. The original intent was to initiate personnel replacement and rotations within regiments, a "next step" that did not provide sufficient flexibility to Army personnel managers. The impact on Berlin-based infantry battalions was to re-designate 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions, 6th Infantry Regiment to 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions, 502nd Infantry Regiment
502nd Infantry Regiment
The 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment was established during World War II as a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. The Regiment saw substantial action in World War II and went on to deploy in the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation...
, respectively, during the summer of 1984, assigning Berlin infantry units a shared identify with infantry battalions of 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.
Under the treaties which enabled the reunification of Germany, all non-German military forces were required to leave Berlin. The Berlin Brigade was officially deactivated by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
on 6 July 1994.
Individual members of the brigade deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990–1991. But the first Berlin Brigade units to take part in an out-of-theater operation were the command-and-staff element of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) as well as B Company of the 6th Battalion, 502nd Infantry, and the 42nd Engineer Co. These units served in Operation Provide Comfort, a relief and protection mission for Iraqi Kurds. They served with a multinational "Allied Ground Combat Force" that also included British, French, Italian, Dutch, and Turkish infantry companies. Based in Silopi, Turkey, near the Iraqi border, from July to October 1991, these ground forces were soon withdrawn to avoid entanglement in the local Turkish-PKK conflict and because it was decided that the US Air Force presence at Incirlik constituted an adequate deterrent to Iraqi attempts at encroaching on the Kurdish autonomous zone. *Soldiers of this task force were authorized to wear the Berlin Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insigina as a combat patch on the right shoulder of their uniform. The first and only time elements of the BBDE were authorized too.
Elements of the Berlin Brigade were the first combat units selected to deploy as a member of the United Nations Protectionary Forces (UNPROFOR) to Macedonia in July 1993; later to be renamed Task Force Able Sentry. Members of the Berlin Brigade also deployed in July 1994, to Entebbe, Uganda as part of Joint Task Force Support Hope, to help prevent a humanitarian crisis resulting from large-scale refugee movements caused by the civil war in Rwanda.
United Kingdom
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
was formed in October 1953 out of the force called "Area Troops Berlin" 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
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
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
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
, being its second major component after I (BR) Corps.
The military post code for Berlin was BFPO
British Forces Post Office
The British Forces Post Office 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...
45.
The actual 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 7 Flight Army Air Corps
7 Flight Army Air Corps
7 Flight Army Air Corps is an independent flight of the British Army Army Air Corps, based at the British garrison in Seria, Brunei. They replaced C Flight, 660 Squadron AAC, following the handover of Hong Kong in 1997....
, based at RAF Gatow
RAF Gatow
Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force military airbase is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau...
, provided aviation support. Other units such as 62 Transport and Movements Squadron RCT
Royal Corps of Transport
The Royal Corps of Transport was a British Army Corps formed in 1965 from the transport elements of the Royal Army Service Corps and the movement control element of the Royal Engineers . The depot was Buller Barracks in Aldershot...
, 14 Field Workshop REME
Reme
Reme may refer to:*Rəmə, Azerbaijan*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers...
, RAOC, 504 CRASC (ODT), 131 DID RASC, Det No 2 Independent Petrol Station Platoon RASC, 31st Quartering and Barracks Office RASC,121 & 122 Barracks Stores, 38 (Berlin) Field Squadron RE
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, 229 Signals Squadron and 3 Squadron 13 Signals Regiment Royal Signals, 3 Intelligence and Security Coy Int Corps, 247 Provost Coy RMP
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
and the British Military Hospital (BMH) Berlin were also permanently based in Berlin.
In 1992 the Brigade was reduced to 2 Battalions, then further reduced in 1993 to a single Battalion. It was disbanded in September 1994.
External links and references
- USA 6941st Guard Veterans Association
- Berlin Brigade Memories
- Installations of the Berlin Brigade
- History of the Berlin Brigade
- History of the French, American and British Berlin Brigades
- McNair Museum, Initiativkreis Berlin Stiftung e.V. former civilian employees of the Berlin Allies
- Berlin 1969 – the Allies in Berlin at midpoint of the Cold War
- Co F 40th Armor site by Bob Decker.
- Berlin U.S. Military Veterans Association (BUSMVA) website
- British Army of the Rhine Locations
- Berlin-Brigade Installations
- BerlinBrigade.com Dedicated to all that served in West Berlin from 1945 to 1994