CURRENT ORGANIZATION OF THE BUNDESHEER

by Hank Meyer

(Posted to the TacOps mailing list, August 13, 2000.)

As TacOps is ground combat oriented, the following is an overview
of the current German Army (Heer only) organization current as of
a couple of months ago:

3 Corps:

I German/Nethlands (bi-national structure)
II German/US (national peacetime, bi-national wartime)
IV German (national control/structure)

7 Divisions and 1 Crisis Reaction Div Hq:

1 Geb Div (Munchen) [II corps] KRK earmarked?
1 Pz Div (Hannover) [I corps]
4 KRK Div (Regensberg?) [strat reserve] (units assigned as needed)
5 Pz Div (Mainz) [II corps] US V Corps earmarked?
7 Pz Div (Dusseldorf) [I corps] AARC earmarked?
10 Pz Div (Sigmaringen) [II corps] EuroKorps earmarked?
13 PzGren Div (Leipzig) [IV corps] national control
14 PzGren Div (Neubrandenberg) [IV corps] LANDJUT earmarked?
[*note that LANDJUT is now trinational (including some Polish
formations) and that it's HQ has moved to Stettin]

26 Combat Brigades (22 active/semi-active and 4 reserve)
[I'm not sure if the Attack Helicopter Regiment was folded into
the LLMech Bde or if it is still an independent army level asset]

Reaction/Main Defense Forces (10 brigades - 3 combat bns each)

Rapid Reaction (6 brigades - fully manned, volunteers)
1 Luftmechanisierte Bde
12 Pz Bde
21 Pz Bde
31 LuftLande Bde
37 Jaeger Bde
D/F (mech) Bde

Main Defense (4 brigades - fully manned, conscripts)
23 GibirgsJaeger Bde
26 LuftLande Bde
39 Pz Bde
40 PzGren Bde

National Defense Forces (16 brigades)

Reduced Readiness (4 brigades, 3 combat bns each - 70% manning)
1 PzGren Bde
7 PzGren Bde
9 Pz (Lehr) Bde
14 Pz Bde

Semi-Active [2 active, 2 non-active bns] (8 brigades)
[*upon mobilization, each of the active bns splits it personnel
between the 4 combat bns and they fill out with reservists]
18 Pz Bde
19 PzGren Bde
30 PzGren Bde
34 Pz Bde
36 Pz Bde
38 PzGren Bde
41 PzGren Bde
42 Pz Bde

Non-Active/Reserve (4 brigades, 3 combat bns each)
2 Pz Bde
5 PzGren Bde
8 Pz Bde
32 PzGren Bde

For more specific info, check the following references:

The Military Balance 1999-2000 (Germany listing)
International Institute for Strategic Studies, London

Country Briefing - Germany
Janes Defense Review, 7 July 99 (pages 24-35)

Organisation und Struktur des Heeres
http://www.bundeswehr.de/bundeswehr/heer/struktur.html

German Ground Army Command Structure / Truppen Struktur
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/t1000/190/flecktarn_dt_taktischezeichen-1.h
tml (note that some of the info on this unofficial site is not
as current as the previous one, but it does have tactical unit TO&E
info not readily available elsewhere -- this is useful for those of
you wanting to cobble together a TacOps formation with German data).

Official service specific pages can be found at:
Heer URL http://www.bundeswehr.de/bundeswehr/heer/index.html
Marine URL http://www.bundeswehr.de/bundeswehr/marine/index.html
Luftwaffe URL http://www.bundeswehr.de/bundeswehr/luftwaffe/index.html

Unofficial O/Bs for the three services can be found on Neil Baumgartner's
Orders of Battle Page at http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9059/ Note
that you will find a full current O/B for a number of countries there,
including a quite specific one for the full US Armed Forces.

REORGANIZATION OF THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES

The recent German Defense Commission (similar to the US QDR) report
"Die Bundeswehr - sicher in 21.Jahrhundert" is available in German,
French, and English at the BMV website in downloadable, html and
PDF formats. This is quite significant in that it not only downsizes
the manpower structure of the Bundeswehr, but reduces the number of
conscripts drastically. This has raised concerns both domestically
and within the EEC that the result will be a much more independent
military capability for Germany. The following resources will
give you a comprehensive overview of the issues and proposals:

German Military Facing Radical Restructuring - May 9, 2000
Germany considers a groundbreaking restructuring of its military,
with changes that could break precedents set as far back as the 1950s.
http://www.stratfor.com/europe/commentary/0005092105.htm

The Bundeswehr - Advancing Steadily into 21th Century -
Cornerstones of a Fundamental Renewal (MS-Word-File)
http://www.bundeswehr.de/ministerium/politik_aktuell/zukunftskonzepte.html

Common Security and The Future of The Bundeswehr
Report of The Commission to The Federal Government (Online-html-Document)
http://www.bundeswehr.de/ministerium/politik_aktuell/zk-e1.html

Hank Meyer
hcmeyer@uci.edu
LTC, AR, USAR (Rtd)
Managing Partner, Chameleon Interactive Media

Some corrections/additions to the above information (also posted on the TacOps list 8/13/00):

>Only missing one info: What about the German-French binational Brigade
>in Strasbourg?

It's listed under the Reaction/Main Defense Forces as the
D/F (mech) Bde. I didn't identify the brigades by specific
divisions, as those relationships are in flux. The location
for each Bde HQ can be found on the Organisation und Struktur
des Heeres webpage (I did't feel like writing all of them out).

Note that in peacetime all seven standard division (the KRK
does not have this additional tasking) HQs function both as an
operational and as a regional defense administrative HQ. This
role is split upon mobilization.

A couple of quick corrections/typos:

7 Pz Div (Dusseldorf) [I corps] *ARRC* earmarked?
(ARRC = Allied Rapid Reaction Corps = British HQ)

37 Jaeger Bde [AMF earmarked]
(AMF = Allied Mobile Force)

The two main thrusts of the reorganization proposal are to cut the
overall size of the Bundeswehr from 330,000 to between 260,000
and 300,000 in size to both decrease its reliance of 10 month
conscripts and to develop a long service career force. More
importantly, the proposal would give the Bundeswehr an independently
deployable (with complete national command & control, combat support,
and service support/logistics capability). The implications that have
some in the EC worried are for possible unilateral German action
in central europe (does this sound familiar <grin>) outside the NATO
command structure. Domestic crtitics are concerned that moving from
a national service to a volunteer force will both undermine the
integration of the military with society, and (equally importantly)
deplete the yearly pool of alternative service laborers who choose
to work in hospitals, schools, forestry, civil services, etc and who
currently constitute a resource that would be costly to replace.

Hank