THE Government is to order virtually every squaddie from Europe's largest Army base to the Gulf as part of a massive operation to relieve battle weary troops.

Almost every operational unit based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, will be flown to Iraq in July to take over from soldiers who toppled Saddam Hussein.

The 600 men serving with the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards in Basra have been told they will begin returning to Catterick within the month.

After a period of leave, the regiment will begin preparations for a posting to Germany almost immediately.

Heading to the Gulf will be 4,000 troops from the region.

The North Yorkshire units are all part of 19 Mechanised Brigade - currently serving as the British Army's high-readiness unit following the completion of high-intensity training in Canada last October.

"This is the kind of challenge all the soldiers within the brigade have been looking forward to for several months," said brigade commander, Brigadier Bill Moore.

"It will not only test their mettle but also allow them to put into practice the very skills they have honed while training in Canada last year.

"In addition, they will be able to draw on their invaluable experience from operational tours in places such as Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone and Kosovo."

The units going to Iraq include the 1st Battalion of the King's Regiment - an armoured infantry unit based at Catterick's Bourlon Barracks - the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, based at the garrison's Alma Barracks, and the 1st Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, from the nearby Somme Barracks.

The garrison is also sending 3 Close Support Medical Regiment and the 5th Battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, a company of Royal Military Police, a detachment from the Royal Logistical Corps' bomb disposal squad, and a Headquarters and Signals squadron, which has only recently returned from Sierra Leone.

Sappers from the Ripon-based 38 Engineer Regiment are expected home soon, although other field squadrons from the same unit will be among the replacements.

The Royal Artillery's 40 Regiment, based at Alanbrooke Barracks, near Thirsk, and 5 Regiment, from Marne Barracks at Catterick, also have gunners on their way back from Iraq, while others are now on standby to leave.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the Commons yesterday another 1,200 reservists would be called up.

He said: "While details continue to be clarified, we envisage, by mid-May, 25,000 to 30,000 UK service personnel will remain deployed in the Gulf, continuing to fulfil our responsibilities towards the Iraqi people."