43 Mechanised Brigade ( nl, 43 Gemechaniseerde Brigade) is one of the three combat

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 ...

s of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

, the others being the 13th Light Brigade and 11th Airmobile Brigade. The brigade has armored and non-armored vehicles at its disposal, and is tasked with conducting

combat operations Combat operations area - process is undertaken by armed forces during military campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements to facilitate the setting of objectives, direction of combat, and assessment of the operation plan's success. ...

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

and various ceremonial tasks. On 17 March 2016, the 43rd Mechanised Brigade was integrated into the 1st Panzer 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 ...

. At the same time, the German 414 Tank Battalion became subordinate to the 43rd Mechanised Brigade. In this battalion one of the four companies is manned by Dutch personnel equipped with 18 German

Leopard 2A6 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

main battle tanks A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

. The Brigades Headquarters as well as most of the units are located at the Johannes Post Barracks in

Havelte Havelte ( Drèents: ''Haovelte'' or ''Haovelt'') is a village in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Westerveld, Drenthe, about 60 km (37.2 mi) south-southwest of Groningen and 120 km (74.5 mi) northeast o ...

, in the province

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

Organization

The 43 Mechanized Brigade is made up of the following units: * Embleem 43 Gemechaniseerde Brigade

43 Mechanized Brigade, in

** 43 Staff Company (43 Stafcompagnie), in Havelte ** 44 Armoured Infantry Battalion " Johan Willem Friso" (44 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Johan Willem Friso), in Havelte *** Battalion Staff with two CV9035

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

s *** 3x armoured infantry companies with 14 CV9035 each *** Weapons Company **** 1x reconnaissance platoon with

Fennek The Fennek, named after the fennec (a species of small desert fox), or LGS Fennek, with LGS being short for ''Leichter Gepanzerter Spähwagen'' in German (Light Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle), is a four-wheeled armed reconnaissance vehicle p ...

light armoured reconnaissance vehicles **** 2x anti-tank platoons with

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

anti-tank missiles **** 1x mortar platoon with nine 81mm mortars ** 45 Armoured Infantry Battalion " Oranje Gelderland" (45 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Oranje Gelderland), in Havelte *** Battalion Staff with two CV9035 infantry fighting vehicles *** 3x armoured infantry companies with 14 CV9035 each *** Weapons Company **** 1x reconnaissance platoon with

light armoured reconnaissance vehicles **** 2x anti-tank platoons with Spike anti-tank missiles **** 1x mortar platoon with nine 81mm mortars ** 414th Panzer Battalion (GE & NL, 414 Pantserbataljon), in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

(Germany) *** 1st Staff Company *** 2nd; 3rd; 4th (Dutch) and 5th (Reserve) Tank Company, with Leopard 2A6MA2

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s ** 10

National Reserve Corps The National Reserve Corps (Dutch: ''Korps Nationale Reserve'', abbreviated Natres) is a part of the Royal Netherlands Army. NATRES is a corps in the sense that it has a specialized task. The reservist is, like all Dutch military personnel, a m ...

(NATRES) Battalion (10 Natresbataljon), in

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

*** Alpha Company (Alfacompagnie), in Assen *** Bravo Company (Bravocompagnie), in Assen *** Charlie Company (Charliecompagnie), in

Wezep Wezep is a town in the municipality of Oldebroek, Netherlands. Located in the province of Gelderland, it had about 13,500 inhabitants in 2012.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. The Wezep railway station, ...

*** Delta Company (Deltacompagnie), in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

*** Echo Company (Echocompagnie), in Amersfoort *** Foxtrot Company (Foxtrotcompagnie), in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

** 11 Armoured Engineer Battalion (11 Pantsergeniebataljon), in Wezep *** Staff Company, 111 and 112 Armored Engineer Company, 101

CBRN Defense Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfare, biological, radiological warfare, radiological or nuclear warfare, nucle ...

Company ** 43 Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron " Huzaren van Boreel" (43 Brigadeverkenningseskadron Huzaren van Boreel), in Havelte, with Fennek light armoured reconnaissance vehicles ** 43 Medical Company (43 Geneeskundige Compagnie), in Havelte ** 43 Maintenance Company (43 Herstelcompagnie), in Havelte

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Mechanised brigades Brigades of the Netherlands