Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe sea). In December 1950 it was announced that the forces initially to come under General Eisenhower's command were to be the U.S. Seventh Army in Germany, the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), with the 2nd Infantry and 7th Armoured Divisions, to be bolstered by the 11th Armoured Division and a further infantry division, three French divisions in Germany and Austria, the Danish, Belgian, and the Independent Norwegian Brigades in Western Germany, and the American and British garrisons in Austria, Trieste, and Berlin. Four days after Eisenhower's arrival in Paris, on 5 January 1951, the Italian defence minister, Randolfo Pacciardi,
Alfred Gruenther of Staff in 1947-1949. In 1949, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and served as the U.S. Army's deputy chief of staff for plans and operations. In 1951, Gruenther was promoted to four-star general and appointed as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (COFS SHAPE) under Gen. Eisenhower, who became the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). He continued to serve under Gen. Matthew Ridgway and later replaced him as SACEUR. From 11 July 1953 to 20 November 1956, he was Supreme Allied Commander, Europe/Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (SACEUR/USCINCEUR). On December 31, 1956,