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German Army

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Army

The German Army (German: Heer [listen] ([Media helphelp]·[info])) is the land component of the Bundeswehr ("Federal Defence Forces") of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally, the German military forces have been composed of the Army, the Navy, and after the First World War, the Air Force. The Heer was re-formed in the 1950s as the Army of West Germany as part of the Bundeswehr. From 1991 onwards, with the reunification of the East Germany, the Army of the East German, the NVA was integrated into the now unified force.

A German infantryman stands at the ready with his G36 during a practice exercise in 2004
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A German infantryman stands at the ready with his G36 during a practice exercise in 2004

Contents

History

Pre-1914

Following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo the Prussian Kingdom had years of military successes in the 19th Century & 20th Century. Every able bodied man between the ages of 17 and 45 was liable for military service. There were 4 classes of service; Active (Aktiv), Reserve, Landwehr and Landsturm. The Landwehr and Landsturm were only called up at times of war. The basic unit of the army at this time was the Regiment. Regiments were typically raised and supported by a specific city or region. Each regiment was then stationed near its home city. The Reserve regiment was often made up of past members of the local regiment. The Landwehr and Landstrum units were also organized the same way. An individual could spend all 22 years of military service surrounded by their friends and family. This created close ties within regiments, but the entire population of young men from a city or region could be wiped out in one battle.

World War I 1914-1918

The German Army (Heer) was not so much one united army. It was separated based on the kingdoms before unification. There were four such armies: the Prussian Army (Preussisches Heer), the Saxon Army (Sächsisches Heer), the Bavarian Army (Bayrisches Heer) and the Württemberger Army (Würtembergisches Heer). These were the main four armies of Imperial Germany. Prussia had the largest army out of the four. The Prussian Army became the nucleus of the Imperial German Army (Kaiserliche Armee or Deutsches Reichsheer) with the unification of Germany in 1871. By 1914 the German Army fielded 50 Active Divisions and by 1918 it fielded over 250 divisions. The Term "German Army" did not come into being until after 1918, via the treaty of Versailles.

Overview

Since Germany first became a modern unified state in 1871, previous names of overall German military forces have included:

Reichswehr 1918-1935

Following the end of WWI and the collapse of the German Empire most of the German army (Heer) was demobilized or simply dissolved. Many former soldiers drifted into small armed groups known as Freikorps. The Freikorps were generally groups of 100 men or fewer that protected a neighbourhood or town. On March 6th, 1919 an army known as the Vorläufige Reichswehr (Provisional German Defence Force) was formed with about 400,000 men, many drawn form the Freikorps. Then, in September 30, 1919 the Übergangsheer (Transitional Army) was created from the Defence Force and the Freikorps. Finally, on January 1, 1921 the 100,000 man Reichswehr was formed with 7 Infantry Divisions and 3 Cavalry Divisions. It was the Reichswehr who put down Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch.

Wehrmacht 1935-1945

Under the Treaty of Versailles the Reichswehr was only allowed 100,000 soldiers split between the Army and the Navy. In 1933 the Nazi party came to power and began dismantling the treaty. The Army was founded as part of the Wehrmacht in May 1935 with the passing of the "Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defence Forces". The Wehrmacht was expanded to include the Army and Navy and with a third branch known as the Luftwaffe. Initially, the Army was expanded to 21 Divisional sized units and smaller formations. Between 1935 and 1945 this force grew to consist of hundreds of Divisions and thousands of smaller supporting units. Between 1939 and 1945 close to 13 million served in the Army. Over 1.6 million were killed and over 4.1 million were wounded. Of the 7361 men awarded the initial grade of the highest German combat honour of WWII, the Knight's Cross, 4777 were from the Army making up 65% of the total awarded. The German Army was implicated in widespread war crimes including assisting in the genocide of European Jewry during the The Holocaust. The Allies dissolved the German Army on August 20, 1946.

Current Army

Structure

The German Army is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff in the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin and Bonn. The major commands are the German Army Command in Koblenz and the German Army Office in Cologne.

German Army Command

The German Army Command in Koblenz (Heeresführungskommando) leads all combat units (three armoured/mechanized divisions, two special divisions and one several brigade). It is command by a general-lieutenant.

German soldiers of the 13th Panzer Division qualify on the M16 at Wuerzburg as part of partnership range with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division
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German soldiers of the 13th Panzer Division qualify on the M16 at Wuerzburg as part of partnership range with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division

German Army Office

The German Army Office in Cologne is responsible for administration, education, training and logistic of the German Army. It is commanded by a general-lieutenant or a general-major.

Schools & training centers:
Logistic units:

Kinds of troops

In the German Army, unlike in the armies of its neighbours (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark), there are no individual regiments. Instead, individual battalions of infantry, armour, artillery etc are given unique numbers.

The German Army distinguishes 11 different types of troops, known as Truppengattungen. Each corps is responsible for education and training of their units, mostly by their own schools or training centers.

Signal Corps

Units of the signal corps are responsible for communication, strategic reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Most units of the signal corps belong to the Joint Support Center (Streitkräftebasis).

Signal Units
Stabs- und Fernmeldebataillon 4
Stabs- und Fernmeldebataillon 200
Gebirgsfernmeldebataillon 210
Stabs- und Fernmeldebataillon 701
Stabs- und Fernmeldebataillon 801
Stabs- und Fernmelderegiment 1
Führungsunterstützungsbataillon DLO
Luftlandefernmeldebataillon DSO

Army Reconnaissance Corps

During the Army Transformation the armoured reconnaissance corps (Panzeraufklärungstruppe) gets the new name Heeresaufklärungstruppen. The reason is that the original task of the armoured reconnaissance corps has changed. Today they need for example drones of the artillery or specialists from military intelligence units.

Reconnaissance Troops
Aufklärungskompanie 90
Aufklärungskompanie 210
Luftlandeaufklärungskompanie 260
Luftlandeaufklärungskompanie 310
Fernspählehrkompanie 200
Aufklärungsbataillon 3
Aufklärungsbataillon 6
Aufklärungsbataillon 8
Aufklärungsbataillon 13
Gebirgsaufklärungsbataillon 230

The army reconnaissance corps is equipped with Fennek, Luchs, Wiesel 1, the drone reconnaissance system KZO, ALADIN and LunaX, the radar system BÜR (Bodenüberwachungradar), Fuchs and Dingo. A typical reconnaissance battalion (Aufklärungsbataillon) is structured in a HQ & support company, two armoured reconnaissance companies, a drone reconnaissance company and a separate military intelligence platoon.

Armoured Corps

The German Army armoured corps (Panzertruppen) are armored units (Panzertruppe), equipped with main battle tanks, and mechanized units (Panzergrenadiertruppe).

Armoured Troops Mechanzied Troops
Panzerbatallion 33 Panzergrenadierbataillon 92
Panzerbataillon 92 Panzergrenadierbataillon 112
Panzerbatallion 104 Panzergrenadierbataillon 122
Panzerbataillon 203 Panzergrenadierbataillon 212
Panzerbatallion 303 Panzergrenadierbataillon 371
Panzerbataillon 413 Panzergrenadierbataillon 391
  Panzergrenadierbataillon 401
  Panzergrenadierbataillon 411

A typical armoured battalion (Panzerbataillon) consists of a HQ & support company and three Tank companies (equipped with 42 MBTs). The new mechanized battalion (Panzergrenadierbataillon) consists of a HQ & support company and three mechanized companies (equipped with up to 40 Marder 1 A5 or Puma). Formerly there was a fifth company with mortars or/and anti-tank units.

Infantry Corps

Within the German Army, there are three types of infantry:
Paratroops Mountain Infantery Light Infantry
Fallschirmjägerbatallion 261 Gebirgsjägerbataillon 231 Jägerbatallion 292
Fallschirmjägerbatallion 263 Gebirgsjägerbataillon 232 Jägerregiment 1 (luftbeweglich)
Fallschirmjägerbatallion 313 Gebirgsjägerbataillon 233  
Fallschirmjägerbatallion 373 Gebirgsjägerbataillon 571  

A typical infantry battalion is structured in a HQ & support company, three light infantry companies and a indirect fire support company ("The Heavy Coy". These company consistis of two anti-tank platoons (equipped with Wiesel 1, TOW), two machine gun platoons (equipped with Wiesel 1, machine gun 20mm) and two mortar platoons (today equipped with mortar 120mm on M113, in future on Wiesel 2). Then you find specialised Infantry Platoons like a ski (Skizug) and a mountain ranger platoon (Hochgebirgszug) of the mountain infantery, a HALO platoon (Freifallzug) of the paratroops or K9 dog platoon (Diensthundezug) are found in the HQ & support company (Stabs- und Versorgungskompanie).

Special Forces

Through the Army Transformation the special forces divison DSO was formed. Soldiers of the Special Forces Command (Kommando Spezialkräfte), formerly belonging to the infantry, today have their own corps.

Artillery Corps

The majority of artillery corps (Artillerietruppe) within the German Army are Panzerartillerie (armoured artillery). After the Army Transformation the German Army will only have six artillery units. The German Army needs for e.g. Peacekeeping no artillery, so the new artillery corps is really smaller, but the units are bigger and stronger.

Air Defence Corps

The air defence corps (Flugabwehrtruppe) is in the German Army not part of the artillery corps. After the Army Transformation the German Army has five air defence units:

Army Aviation Corps

The army air corps (Heeresfliegertruppe) contains all helicopter units of the German Army, which are mostly organized in regiments. There are three types of helicopter regiments: the attack helicopter regiment (equipped with Bo155PAH, replaced by the Tiger), the light transport helicopter regiment (equipped with UH-1D, replaced by the NH90) and the transport helicopter regiment (equipped with CH-53G). The German Air Forces and the German Navy also have their own transport helicopter units.

helicopter units
Heeresfliegeraufklärungsstaffel 100
Heeresfliegerunterstützungsstaffel 1
Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 1
Transporthubschrauberregiment 10
Transporthubschrauberregiment 15
Kampfhubschrauberregiment 26
Transporthubschrauberregiment 26
Transporthubschrauberregiment 30
Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36

A helicopter regiment is normally structured in a HQ squadron, a support squadron, a flying group (Fliegende Gruppe), with three squadrons, and a mechanic group (Luftfahrzeugtechnische Gruppe), with four squadrons. Each regiment is mostly equipped with up to 40 helicopters.

Engineer Corps

The engineer corps (Pioniertruppe) support all units in their mobility. The engineer corps has many faces: the engineer units (Pioniere), the armoured engineer units (Panzerpioniere), the airborne engineer units (Luftlandepioniere), the mountain enigneer (Gebirgspioniere) and other units. Special engineers (Spezialpioniere) do not belong to the engineer corps of Heer - they belong to the Joint Support Command (Streitkräftebasis). They are responsible for repairing runway or pipelines or they build field camps. The engineer corps becomes in the new army structure bigger and more effective.

Panzerpioniere Luftlandepioniere Gebirgspioniere Pioniere
Panzerpionierkompanie 92 Luftlandepionierkompanie 260 Gebirgspionierbataillon 8 schweres Pionierbataillon 130
Panzerpionierkompanie 203 Luftlandepionierkompanie 270    
Panzerpionierkompanie 550      
Panzerpionierbataillon 8      
Panzerpionierbataillon 4      
Panzerpionierbataillon 701      
Panzerpionierbataillon 803      

NBC Corps

The NBC corps (ABC-Abwehrtruppe) is responsible to decontaminate people, vehicles and other material. They also search for nuclear, bacterial or chemical sources. These research squads are equipped with the NBC Fox (ABC-Spürpanzer Fuchs), which will be replaced by the MRAV Boxer.

NBC units
leichte ABC-Abwehrkompanie 110
leichte ABC-Abwehrkompanie 120
ABC-Abwehrbataillon 7
ABC-Abwehrregiment 750

Army Logistic Corps

The logistic corps of the German Army (Logistiktruppen) support the combat units. The German Army logistic corps is the result of the fusion of the corps of maintenance troops (Instandsetzungstruppe) und the corps of supply troops (Nachschubtruppe). The logistic units, mostly logistic battalions (Logistikbataillone) have many tasks: transportation, maintenance/repairing of vehicles, weapons and other material, supply of material, cooking meals for troops, etc.

Logistic Troops
Versorgungsbataillon D/F Brigade
Logistikbataillon 3
Logistikbataillon 4
Logistikbataillon 7
Logistikbataillon 141
Logistikbataillon 131
Logistikbataillon 142
Luftlandeunterstützungsbataillon 262
Luftlandeunterstützungsbataillon 272
Logistikbataillon

A typical logistic battalion of the German Army consists of a HQ & support company, two light maintenance companies and two supply/transport companies. (In Contrast a logistic battalion of the Joint Support Center consists of a HQ & support company, two maintenance companies, two supply companies, a transport company and a special supply company.)

Weapons

Light Weapons

Reconnaissance Systems

Combat vehicles

Artillery

Air Defence Systems

Engineer Equipment

Helicopters

Logistic Equipment

Non-combat vehicles

Reference

See also

External links


 
Bundeswehr (Military of Germany)

Heer (Army) | Marine (Navy) | Luftwaffe (Air force)
Zentraler Sanitätsdienst (Central Medical Services)| Streitkräftebasis (Joint Service Support Command)

 

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