British Forces Germany

British Forces Germany
British Forces Germany
Active	1945–2020
Country	Germany
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy; British Army; Royal Air Force
Type	Military headquarters
Part of	UK Ministry of Defence
Garrison/HQ	Bielefeld, Germany
Nickname(s)	BFG

52°07′34″N 8°40′59″E / 52.12611°N 8.68306°E / 52.12611; 8.68306

British Forces Germany (BFG) was the generic name for the three services of the British Armed Forces, made up of service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents (family members), based in Germany.^[1] It was established following the Second World War, the largest parts of it becoming known as the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and RAF Germany (RAFG). Both components had the mission of defending West Germany and remained there for the rest of the Cold War.

It was the largest concentration of British armed forces permanently stationed outside the United Kingdom.^[2] With the end of the Cold War, and the Options for Change defence review in the early 1990s, BFG as a whole was considerably reduced, with the British presence centred on the 1st Armoured Division, and supporting elements.

Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the permanent deployment in Germany ended in 2020. This was after British forces personnel were scaled down over several years, with 19,100 in April 2010, and 2,850 in April 2019.^[3] However, around 185 British Army personnel and 60 Ministry of Defence civilians will stay in Germany beyond 2020.^[4]

The remaining presence in Germany is known as British Army Germany.^[5]

^ "British Forces Germany" (PDF). www.BFGnet.de. Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
^ Chandler (2003), The Oxford History of the British Army, p. 360
^ Annual Location Statistics, 1 April 2019
^ "UK to maintain military presence in Germany". GOV.UK. Government of the United Kingdom. 30 September 2018.
^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[BFG_PDF-1] "British Forces Germany" (PDF). www.BFGnet.de. Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.

[2] Chandler (2003), The Oxford History of the British Army, p. 360

[3] Annual Location Statistics, 1 April 2019

[4] "UK to maintain military presence in Germany". GOV.UK. Government of the United Kingdom. 30 September 2018.

[auto-5] Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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