Army group
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An army group is a military organization (formation) consisting of several armies, and is supposed to be self-sufficient for indefinite periods. An army group is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. In the Soviet Union an army group was called a "front".
World War II
In April 1943 the previously informal British-United States collaboration in the European Theater was strengthened by the establishment in London of a formal planning headquarters called Chief of Staff Supreme Allied Command, or COSSAC, and in February 1944 this headquarters was replaced by the final interallied headquarters for the Theater—Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF). Under SHAEF, headed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the elaborate activities of planning, supply, training, and military-diplomatic consultation went forward to prepare for the forthcoming invasion. Although General Eisenhower also became (in January 1944) the commanding general of the European Theater of Operations United States Army, the staff organizations of SHAEF and ETOUSA were distinct. Each headquarters as a rule had its own staff sections manned by separate personnel. The staff organization in SHAEF was headed by the Chief of Staff and had as an important officer the Secretary of the General Staff. The G-2 and G-3 divisions of SHAEF, which comprise a portion of this accession, functioned according to the United States War Department General Staff pattern.
Five interallied ground commands known as Army Groups had operational control, under SHAEF, of the British, Canadian, French, and United States Armies in the European Theater--the Twenty- first Army Group, the Fifteenth Army Group, the Twelfth Army Group, the Sixth Army Group, and the First Army Group.
Cold War period
During the Cold War, integration of NATO land forces in the Central Region was effected at the national corps level by two Army Groups: Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), which included the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), and Central Army Group (CENTAG). These two Principal Subordinate Commanders (PSCs) had only limited peacetime authorities, and issues such as training, doctrine, logistics, rules of engagement (ROE), etc., were largely a national, rather than Alliance, responsibility.
Current Situation
The military system of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization today is fundamentally different from the system that existed before the end of the Cold War. In November 1991, the NATO heads of state and government adopted the "New Strategic Concept" at the NATO Summit in Rome. This new conceptual orientation led among other things, to fundamental changes both in the force and integrated command structure. Two elements of AFCENT (Allied Forces Central Europe) -- CENTAG (Army Group, Central Europe) and NORTHAG (Northern Army Group, Central Europe) -- were dismantled.
Ground operations relating to the crisis in former Yugoslavia began in late 1992. In November 1992, the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina was provided with an operational headquarters drawn from NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), including a staff of some 100 personnel, equipment, supplies and initial financial support.
Structural changes began in June of 1993, when HQ Central Army Group (CENTAG, Heidelberg, GE) and Northern Army Group (NORTHAG, Mönchengladbach, GE) were deactivated and replaced by Headquarters Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT), which was activated in Heidelberg on 01 July 1993.
The commander of US Army, Europe, Gen. William W. Crouch, assumed an additional role as commander of NATO LANDCENT on 15 February 1996. He was the first American to command LANDCENT since its 1993 activation. Originally, the LANDCENT command was to be rotated between German and Dutch generals. The dual command of United States Army Europe (USAREUR) and LANDCENT allows the continued integration of US Army Europe into NATO's post-Cold War structure. All NATO corps, except for the 4th German Corps, are now multinational. There are now four multinational main defence corps in NATO's Central Region: one Danish-German, one Dutch-German and two German-United States. In addition, an agreement has been concluded setting out arrangements under which the European Corps, consisting of units from Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain, would be made available to NATO in times of crisis. Ensuring interoperability among units of different nations will be an ongoing challenge.
LANDCENT's missions are to:
- Protect the peace and deter aggression in NATO's central region.
- Plan, prepare and direct operations of land forces under NATO command.
- Plan, coordinate and conduct the land and air subcampaign jointly with NATO's Allied Air Command, Central.
- Develop plans for, and participate in, the MCP and PFP initiative.
- Support the flanks of the area of responsibilities.
- That area comprises Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.
References
- ALLIED COMMAND EUROPE RAPID REACTION CORPS
- FM 5-116 ENGINEER OPERATIONS: ECHELONS ABOVE CORPS, 09 FEB 1999
See also
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