British troops to leave Germany after six decades

Updated March 06, 2013 11:24:47

Audio: Listen to Barbara Miller's report (AM)

Britain has announced that its army bases across Germany are being closed and thousands of troops are being brought home, ending one of the enduring legacies of World War II.

British troops have been stationed in Germany since 1945, and many have forged close links with local German communities.

But with the Cold War threat from Russia long over, the UK government has been gradually reducing its presence in Germany.

Now it has announced that the majority of the 16,000 troops still there will be brought back to the UK by 2015, with the remainder out by 2019.

The speeded-up return of the troops will lead to a shake-up of army bases to accommodate them when they return. Four will close and parts of three others will shut to allow resources to be concentrated on bases where the returning forces will be stationed.

They will be based at seven sites, including Salisbury Plain in south-west England, Edinburgh and Leuchars in Scotland, Catterick in northern England and Colchester in south-east England.


The British contingent in Germany was known as the Army of the Rhine, and at the height of the Cold War was more than 60,000 strong.

The troops, along with contingents from other NATO nations, were facing off against Eastern Bloc forces stationed in Soviet-controlled East Germany.

Britain is trying to rein in a big budget deficit, and defence, along with other government departments, has had to make deep cuts to spending.

The MoD has also announced plans to reduce its army to around 82,000 personnel by 2020, and rely more on army reservists rather than full-time soldiers.


Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-war-2, united-kingdom, germany

First posted March 06, 2013 06:32:52