1st Armoured Division (Germany)
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The 1st Panzer Division (german: "1. Panzerdivision", short: "1. PzDiv") is an armoured division of the German Army. Its headquarter is based in Oldenburg. In the course of the last reorganisation of the Bundeswehr it became the backbone of Germany's newly formed
intervention forces The intervention forces (german: Eingreifkräfte or ''EK'') are one of the three categories of force within the German Armed Forces (''Bundeswehr''), the others being stabilisation forces and support forces. The formations within the intervention f ...
with a manpower of 35,000 soldiers. The division is equipped and trained for high intensity combat operations against militarily organized enemies as well as peacekeeping missions. The majority of all German troops assigned to EU-Battlegroups and Nato Response Forces will come from this division. It also represents Germany's permanent contribution to the binational I. German/Dutch Corps. The 43rd Mechanized Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army is integrated into the 1st Panzer Division since 2019.


History

This division was formed on July 1, 1956, the day of the official inauguration of the
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
. It was the first fully operational unit of the new German Army. At first referred to as 1st Grenadier Division, it was reorganized in the 1980s and made fully armoured in 1981. During this period it was part of
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
of the Bundeswehr Heer, in turn part of NATO's
Northern Army Group The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established on ...
,
Allied Forces Central Europe Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004 from previous commands as part of NATO's continuing command structure reductions in the face of a then-dim ...
. 1st Panzer Division has deployed to 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 ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and to several peacekeeping operations. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large natural disasters such as the Hamburg Floods of 1962, disastrous wild fires in Northern Germany in the 1970s and the 2002 Floods in Eastern Germany. The division cultivates a partnership with the United States Army 28th Infantry Division. In April 2019 the division headquarters took the role of exercise High Command (HICON) for Exercise "Allied Spirit X" at Hohenfels Training Area in Bavaria.Sgt. Christopher Stewart (April 8, 2019) Germany's 1st Armored Division Spearheads Allied Spirit X
/ref> The exercise lead is routinely rotated among coalition/NATO partners. The exercise primarily involved the 21st Panzer Brigade, the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade, and their subordinate units; 5,630 participants from 15 nations took part. The division already had Dutch, British and Polish officers within its ranks. The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, took part in the exercise.Spc. Yon Henderson (April 17, 2019) Exercise brings American firepower to European partners
/ref> Six engineering advisor teams from
1st Security Force Assistance Brigade The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (1st SFAB) is a security force assistance brigade of the United States Army. It is based at Kelley Hill in Fort Benning, Georgia and is under the command of Colonel Christopher S. Landers and Command Sergea ...
provided hands-on experience and testing of secure communications between NATO allies and partners.Capt. Jay Beeman, 5th Battalion, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (April 30, 2019) Combat advisor teams sharpen skills in multinational exercise
/ref> _RIC-U_might_be_used_by_a_coalition_partner_to_encrypt_their_individual_networks,_when_interoperating_with_a_US_Army_voice_network..html" ;"title="RIC-U.html" ;"title=" RIC-U"> RIC-U might be used by a coalition partner to encrypt their individual networks, when interoperating with a US Army voice network.">RIC-U.html" ;"title=" RIC-U"> RIC-U might be used by a coalition partner to encrypt their individual networks, when interoperating with a US Army voice network./ref> Sgt. Sean Harding (25 February 2020) 3rd SFAB and Kurdish Peshmerga work side by side to defeat threats
Peshmerga refers to the Iraqi Kurkish Army.


Structure July 2022

* 1st Panzer Division (1. Panzerdivision), in Oldenburg ** Staff and Signal Company 1st Panzer Division, in Oldenburg ** 9th Panzerlehr Brigade (Panzerlehrbrigade 9), in Munster ** 21st Panzer Brigade (Panzerbrigade 21), in
Augustdorf Augustdorf is a municipality in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has an area of 42.18 km² and about 10,100 inhabitants (2020). History In 1775 Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold Simon August, Count of Lippe (12 ...
** 41st Panzergrenadier Brigade (Panzergrenadierbrigade 41), in
Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...
** 43rd Mechanized Brigade (43 Gemechaniseerde Brigade), in Havelte ** ''1st Operations Support Battalion'' (Unterstützungsbataillon Einsatz 1), in Oldenburg (Reserve unit) ** 325th Artillery Demonstration Battalion (Artillerielehrbataillon 325), in Munster ** Signal Battalion 610 (Fernmeldebataillon 610), in
Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Be ...
(Operationally assigned to NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast) ** ''901st Heavy Engineer Battalion'' (Schweres Pionierbataillon 901), in
Havelberg Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...
(Reserve unit)


Geographic Distribution


References


External links


Official website of Intervention Force Division / 1st Armoured Division
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1956 1 1956 establishments in Germany