British soldiers dug-in by the side of a road in West Germany, 1979

Photograph, Cold War, West Germany (1948-1990), 1979.

Training was a major part of life in the British Army of the Rhine. There were months of primary 'special to arm' training, with soldiers working on their marksmanship with rifles, or firing their tank guns, or their artillery pieces. Temporary bridges were laid by engineers. Signallers worked on communications. All this built up to a major exercise in the Autumn, the Field Training Exercise, or FTX.

Training in Germany was unique for the British, in that they were able to practise their warfighting skills at scale over the exact ground they expected to fight over should the Cold War turn hot.