British Army's History In Germany
Updated: 10:27pm UK, Monday 04 March 2013
By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent
The British Army arrived in Germany after the end of the Second World War to control the British zone of the country.
It became known as the Rhine Army or BAOR because of the location of bases in West Germany. Its first Commander-in-Chief was one Field Marshall Montgomery.
In the early years, relations between locals and occupiers were completely non-existant.
The British were not allowed to socialise with Germans. To ensure these strict rules were followed, bases were like small towns and everything was catered for - shopping, entertainment, schooling, you name it.
So separate were the two cultures, and such was the British loathing of Germany, that the military even had its own currency to avoid money going into the German economy.
It was also a reflection on the number of serving military in the country at the time. At its height the BAOR numbered 150,000 personnel and that is not including wives and children.
The Cold War followed some years later and Germany became the frontline against the communist threat from the East. Soldiers based there remember training for an imminent Soviet invasion and practising drills in the event of a nuclear strike.
As the years went on, and Germany rebuilt itself, relations softened and soldiers were allowed to fraternise with German women. Naturally some ended up marrying each other and that hasn't changed a bit.
In the late 1980s it became a target for a new enemy. Ten people were killed in attacks by the IRA between 1988 and 1990. This campaign only ended when two Australian tourists were shot dead after being mistaken for off-duty British soldiers.
In recent times Germany has been an important staging post for British forces as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have demanded a change in focus.
Any soldier of a certain generation is likely to have spent some time in Germany, whether posted there on a more permanent basis or just in the country on exercise.
The well known sports broadcaster Barry Davies began his future career whilst serving in Germany. He commentated on inter-regimental sports matches for the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) radio and so a vocation began.
The relationship between the British military and the Germans was one that started from the lowest point imaginable but has grown into one of shared resources and outlook.
They arrived as occupiers, became guests, and will leave as friends.
By 2019, a long and entwined history, will come to and end.
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