The 13th Panzergrenadier Division (''13. Panzergrenadierdivision'') was a mechanized division of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. Its staff was based at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. The division was a unit of the German Army's stabilization forces and specialized on conflicts of low intensity and homeland defense. The division was Germany's permanent contribution to

Multinational Corps North East Multinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LAND ...

History

This division was formed in 1990 after

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

and integrated troops of the former German Democratic Republic's

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

into the new unified military of Germany. The division saw action in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

during numerous deployments, including one deployment to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

with division commander

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Roland Kather serving as

KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defunct ...

commanding officer. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large natural disasters such as disastrous floods in 1997. In more recent times, the division has seen intense action against insurgents in northern Afghanistan. A member of the 13th Panzergrenadier Division was awarded his nation's highest decoration for gallantry, the Honour Cross for Bravery on January 22, 2010. Master Sergeant Daniel Seibert led a heroic counterattack against a superior insurgent force in the village of Basoz in Afghanistan's

Kunduz Province Qunduz (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethni ...

on June 4, 2009. His actions killed ten

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

insurgents and saved a jeopardized

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

from almost certain destruction. The 13th Panzergrenadier Division was disbanded on June 28, 2013, as part of a restructuring of the German armed forces. The division's units had previously been transferred to 1st Panzer Division and the

Airmobile Operations Division __NOTOC__ Airmobile Operations Division (''Division Luftbewegliche Operationen'') was a division of the German Army. The division was founded on 1 July 2002 and reported for duty 8 October 2002. Airmobile Operations Division consisted of approxima ...

. 13th Panzergrenadier Division was succeeded by the Army Training Command (''Ausbildungskommando Heer'').

Organisation

*13th Panzergrenadier Division ** Staff

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

** Army Band 2 ** Signals Battalion 610 ** Mechanized Infantry

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

37 "Free State of Saxony" *** Staff Company *** Armoured Battalion 393 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 371 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 391 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 909 (reserve) *** Reconnaissance Battalion 13 *** Reconnaissance Battalion 910 (reserve) *** Armoured Engineer Battalion 701 *** Engineer Battalion 903 (reserve) *** Signals Battalion 701 *** Logistics Battalion 131 ** Mechanized Infantry Brigade 41 "

Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

" *** Staff Company *** Armoured Battalion 413 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 401 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 411 *** Mechanized Infantry Battalion 908 (reserve) *** Reconnaissance Battalion 6 *** Armoured Engineer Battalion 803 *** Engineer Battalion 901 (reserve) *** Signals Battalion 801 *** Logistics Battalion 142

References

{{Bundeswehr divisions Military units and formations established in 1990 Mechanized divisions of the German Army Military units and formations disestablished in 2013

History

Organisation

See also

References