Canadian Military Forces in West Germany
At the end of World War II, Canada left a small occupation force in Germany that was integrated into the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). This contingent, based on the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, was withdrawn in 1946.
The acceleration of the cold war in the late 1940s, particularly the Berlin blockade and the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, led Canada to reassess its place in the postwar world order. A charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Canada initially earmarked a division-sized force to be deployed in the event of war in Europe. Overzealous Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) leaders then committed, without receiving approval first, twelve jet fighter squadrons and twelve light jet bomber squadrons. The Canadian government retracted the initial offer but agreed to build and commit twelve fighter squadrons. The situation in Korea, however, prevented the deployment of the Canadian division to serve with NATO. Suffering from the effects of an isolationist prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the army had been pared down after 1945 to a cadre and continental defense force. New formations had to be raised during “peacetime.” Consequently, the initial Canadian land force commitment to NATO consisted of a division, with one brigade group deployed forward in West Germany and two brigade groups based in Canada to be sent as reinforcements if the cold war went “hot.”The 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group (CIBG) landed at Rotterdam on November 21, 1951. At the time, there was concern that Korea was a feint for a major Soviet overt and covert attack on Western Europe. At the same time, the United States deployed four divisions by sea. These actions served as a deterrent maneuver to demonstrate transatlantic solidarity and to give some steel to the lightly equipped occupation forces. Operation Panda, as the 27 CIBG deployment was called, sent the Brigade directly to serve with Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in Hanover on the East German border.
Soon after, in early 1952, the first RCAF Sabre squadrons deployed by air across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe in Operation Leap Frog. Initially, 1 Air Division RCAF consisted of ten Sabre squadrons. It had numerous bases in Europe: the West Germany-based squadrons were located at Zweibrucken and Baden-Soellingen.Both formations were part of NATO’s Integrated Force. The 27 Brigade was part of I (British) Corps as an independent formation (one out of ten brigades in the corps), whereas 1 Air Division was nearly 25 percent of 4 Allied Tactical Air Force’s (4 ATAF) fighter strength. The brigade group redeployed to the Soest-Hemer-Iserlohn region outside of Cologne by 1953. Operationally, the brigade’s role was to shape the battlefield and force the advancing Soviets to pile up on several obstacles, which would present a target of sufficient density to warrant using nuclear weapons. This would offset the crushing Soviet conventional capability located on the other side of the Iron Curtain. At that time, the entire brigade rotated with the Canadian-based units every three years, and RCAF squadrons rotated personnel through the European-based squadrons. Consequently, 27 Brigade was relieved by 1 Brigade, 2 Brigade, and 4 Brigade in the 1950s. By 1958, the decision was made to keep 4 Brigade in place and rotate units through it.
The Canadian brigade participated in annual exercises alongside allied NATO forces. The purpose of these exercises, in addition to preparing for war, was to present a deterrent posture to the Warsaw Pact and to stiffen up the European allies in a myriad of ways. For example, surplus Canadian equipment was transferred to the Dutch and French armies. Training exchanges and Partnerschaft relationships were established with Bundeswehr units. The emergent Luftwaffe (air force) acquired Canadian-built F-86 Sabres and trained alongside Canadian pilots in the NATO aircrew training program. Reconciliation between Canadians and Germans at the national as well as personal level was facilitated by these expanding contacts.
The presence of an effective, salient Canadian military contribution numbering 12,000 people plus their dependent communities was a critical aspect of Canada’s NATO commitment in West Germany. The West Germans were not alone in confronting the massive threat on the other side of the Iron Curtain, and this fact was demonstrated time and again as the Centurion tanks of the Canadian brigade and the F-86 Sabre fighters of 1 Air Division patrolled the skies. In time, four squadrons of CF-100 Canuck all-weather fighters, usually reserved for the air defense of North America, were deployed to serve with 1 Air Division. In general, the role was to engage in aerial combat to gain air superiority and to escort nuclear strike aircraft headed for interdiction targets.Changing NATO strategy with regard to nuclear weapons had a direct impact on Canadian forces stationed in West Germany. Canada had always favored a NATO nuclear strategy, and the Europe-committed forces started training as early as 1951 to operate on a nuclear battlefield. Almost all exercises incorporated the nuclear dimension into them. The decision by the Eisenhower administration to implement nuclear sharing arrangements with NATO allies altered the Canadian force structure. Honest John free-flight rockets were made available to the brigade by 1961, and with the reduction of British forces in BAOR, Canada’s contribution became even more numerically significant in that one surface- to-surface missile battery amounted to 25 percent of the Honest John batteries in I (British) Corps.
On the air side, the Canadian government accepted a nuclear strike role for 1 Air Division, which meant scrapping the F-86 and CF-100 fighters and reducing the air commitment from twelve squadrons to eight. Canada chose the Lockheed F-104 in 1959—1960. Built in Canada under license, the CF-104 Starfighter equipped six strike and two reconnaissance squadrons. All aircraft had the ability to deliver nuclear weapons: the strike squadrons could carry weapons with a yield of 1 megaton.
In 1966, the government of Charles de Gaulle demanded the removal of Canadian nuclear weapons delivery units from French soil. Canadian nuclear operations were conducted from Zweibrucken, Baden-Soellingen, and eventually Lahr, which was traded for the Canadian bases in France. Indeed, the decision by Canada to acquire the F-104 airframe influenced other NATO allies to do the same so they could access the nuclear stockpile. The Luftwaffe also adopted the Starfighter as its nuclear strike aircraft, and Germany’s relationship with Canada prospered.The Berlin crisis of 1961 prompted Canada to prepare to reinforce 4 Brigade in West Germany with one of the Canadabased brigades: 3 Brigade was readied for action in the summer of 1961, and shipping was on the verge of being called up when the crisis subsided. In a year, the Cuban missile crisis almost escalated out of control. At that time, Canadian general Jean V. Allard was commanding a British division that included 4 Brigade. A tripartite but non-NATO organization called LIVE OAK had been established to forcibly open the Berlin access routes in the event of blockage. Allard’s British division was earmarked to handle LIVE OAK tasks, and it moved to Helmstedt when the crisis broke. Ultimately, the force was stood down when the Soviets turned their ships back. At this point, the CF-104 squadrons were in the process of deploying to West Germany and were not yet prepared to execute nuclear operations. However, 4 Brigade had its Honest John rockets prepared if the situation escalated: the brigade moved to its deployment areas near the Harz Mountains in case the Warsaw Pact attacked.
It would not be the last time. In 1968, the Czech crisis “Prague spring” generated a massive Soviet reinforcement of its forces in East Germany through Poland. This prompted a NATO alert, with NATO nuclear forces on quick reaction alert loading up with their weapons and ground units deploying to survival areas. Again, 4 Brigade (now 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, after it had been reequipped with armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, and a Centurion tank upgrade) moved off at high speed to its defensive positions forward of the Weser River.
The 1960s were the heyday of Canada’s military commitment to NATO in West Germany. In terms of numbers and quality, the air and land forces were significant contributions to NATO security. One Air Division boasted 33 percent of 4 ATAF’s nuclear strike capacity and approximately 10 percent of the air-deliverable nuclear weapons in Allied Command Europe. Four Brigade retained 25 percent of I (British) Corps’ nuclear capacity, and one-eighth of its conventional capacity. Canadian pilots were assigned high-risk targets (command-and-control sites, missile sites) because of their superior skills, and Canadian soldiers were tasked to cover a dangerous gap that developed in
NORTHAG due to Belgian withdrawals from their sector.
By 1970, however, two factors emerged to reduce the effectiveness of Canada’s NATO forces in West Germany. NATO strategy shifted to “flexible response,” which reduced dependency on nuclear weapons in favor of fighting conventionally as long as possible first and then using nuclear weapons if that failed. The election of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the subsequent defense review unleashed antinuclear and anti-NATO thinking in the cabinet and among elements of the bureaucracy. In theory, the reduction in nuclear forces should have been accompanied by an increase in conventional forces in order to implement the new strategy. Instead, Trudeau decided to cut nuclear forces and at the same time reduce conventional forces. Outright withdrawal from West Germany was averted when a compromise was struck between anti- and dissident pro-NATO cabinet factions. The number of CF-104 squadrons was reduced from eight to three, and those three squadrons were redeployed as conventional attack squadrons. The base at Zweibrucken was closed, leaving Lahr and Baden- Soellingen as the primary Canadian air bases. Four Brigade lost its Honest John rockets and then was slashed in half, from three infantry battalions to two, with the tank regiment and artillery regiment each cut in half.
To make matters worse, the salient contributions to forward defense in NORTHAG that 4 Brigade made became moot when the brigade was forced to relocate to Lahr and Baden-Soellingen bases. The remnants of 4 Brigade were assigned to a vague reserve role for Central Army Group (CENTAG), and all saliency was lost.It took the Trudeau government five years to realize that its policy was flawed. Instead of taking action to correct it, however, cosmetic improvements were made to satisfy West Germany’s leadership, which was pressuring Canada to remain effective players in the defense of the NATO Central Region. For example, a minimalist number of Leopard tanks were purchased in 1978 to equip 4 Brigade, replacing aging Centurions. In time, the Trudeau government was replaced. In 1983, the Mulroney government pledged to reinvigorate Canada’s NATO commitment. Numerous improvements were made to 4 Brigade, including improved antitank capability, better mobilization plans, and the adoption of a clear mission on the intercorps boundary on the Czech border between VII (US) and II (German) Corps, a critical juncture. CF- 104s, not designed for close air support operations, were crashing far too often on training missions, so the New Fighter Aircraft project was initiated in the late 1970s. In time, the CF-18 Hornet was selected. Three squadrons totaling forty-eight aircraft were deployed to Baden-Soellingen by 1985. The CF-18 was multirole: it could conduct air superiority operations as well as air-to-ground missions, though the propensity was for aerial combat.
The disapperance of the Warsaw Pact as a result of peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe caused the Canadian government to reconsider its military engagement in West Germany. Beginning in 1990, Canadian forces withdrew from West Germany. Two CF-18 squadrons from Baden-Soellingen, plus an infantry company to guard them were deployed to Bahrain in the fall of 1990 as part of the operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Units of 4 Brigade (this included 4
Combat Engineer Regiment and a composite Royal Canadian Regiment/Royal 22nd Regiment battalion group) joined the United Nations Protection Force (UN- PROFOR) in the spring of 1992, which was deployed as a peacekeeping force in Croatia. By 1993, the CF-18s flew back to Canada, and the remnants of 4 Brigade closed out, unit by unit.
Sean M. Maloney
See also U.S. Bases in West Germany; World War II
References and Further Reading
Bashow, David L. Starfighter. Stoney Creek: Fortress Publications, 1991.
Maloney, Sean M. War without Battles: Canada's NATO Brigade in Germany, 1951—1993. St. Catharines: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1997.
------. “Berlin Contingency Planning: Prelude to Flexible Response, 1958—63.” Journal of Strategic Studies 25, no. 1 (March 2002): 99-134.
Milberry, Larry. The Canadair Sabre. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1986.
Morin, Jean, and Richard H. Gimblett.
Operation Friction: The Canadian Forces in the Persian Gulf, 1990—1991. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1997.