The Army Forces Command (german: Heeresführungskommando) in Falckenstein Barracks in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

was one of the two leadership pillars 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 ...

, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (''Kommando Heer''). Since 1994, Army Forces Command, as a higher command authority, has directed the majority of military units within the Army. However, army troops on operations abroad are commanded by the

Bundeswehr Operations Command 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 ...

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 ...

based at

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. At its merger in 2012 Army Forces Command had about 83,500 soldiers in its subordinate organisations. Army Forces Command was last led by

Lt. Gen. Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, 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 ...

Carl-Hubertus von Butler and reports to the German General Staff.

Badge

The Army Forces Command badge is similar to the badge of the former

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

, although it lacks the Roman numeral. It portrays the symbol of German sovereignty, the federal eagle. Its colour scheme is based on that of the German Federation: black, red and gold. The badge is worn by military personnel on the staff of the Command on the left sleeve of their service dress. The braided black and gold piping represents its status above the Army's divisions, which have silver instead of gold braid.

Tasks

The primary functions of the Command were: * Full military command of all subordinate formations and staffs * Allocation of troops to operations and training * Planning and managing the training and exercise activity of the Army * In exceptional cases, command of smaller operations (normally the task of the

)

History

Until the 1990s, the

was led on operations by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The change in the security situation in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

resulting from the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

required a national German command to be formed. Following the disbandment of

, Army Forces Command was formed in the same location in Koblenz on 31 March 1994 from elements of the former corps staff and placed under command of

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 ...

Klaus Reinhardt Klaus Reinhardt (15 January 1941 – 30 November 2021) was a German Army general. He was the commander of the German Army Forces Command, the NATO ''Joint Headquarters Center'' (formerly ''Headquarters Allied Land Forces Central Europe''), and ...

. From 2001, with the Army's division reporting directly to Army Forces Command, the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

level of command was dropped. In 2002, the

was established and, from then on, German troops on international operations are commanded from there. Before that, Army Forces Command led a number of operations, beginning in 1995, such as

IFOR The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NATO ...

, SFOR,

AFOR The Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (AMF) was a small NATO quick reaction force, headquartered at Heidelberg, Germany, active from 1960 to 2002. It formed part of Allied Command Europe (ACE), headquartered at SHAPE at Casteau, Belgium. The lan ...

and

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo Security Force, Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2 ...

(KFOR) 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 ...

and the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

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 ...

Commanders

Army Forces Command was led by a

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 ...

. The general in charge of Army Forces Command from 16 March 2009 was Lieutenant General Carl-Hubertus von Butler. He succeeded Lieutenant General

Wolfgang Otto Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and '' gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regul ...

. Reporting to the commander were his deputy (a major general) and his chief of staff (a brigadier general). The staff of Army Command consisted of some 400 soldiers and 50 civilians. The fourth post at general level in the time of Drew and Korte was the post of the General of National and Territorial Tasks (GNTA).

Staff Organisation

*''G1'': personnel and administration *''G2'': Army intelligence, arms control, meteorology and geo *''G3'': command, planning, operational readiness, training and exercise planning *''G4'': logistics / materiel / maintenance *''G5'': civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) *''G6'': communications / IT / command support *''Surgeon-General'': head of Army medical services, planning and advice on medical support *''PIZ'': The Press and Information Centre; informing the public and organizing military bands *''Troops Psychology'': advice to the commander on psychological issues *''Legal advice'': legal advice to the commander *''Controlling/centralised tasks'': monitoring expenditure and the budget, optimization Army Forces Command also has links to the US Army Command (JHC Heidelberg), the French Army, the Dutch Army, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, as well as the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, and German Navy.

Forces under Command

From 2010, Army Forces Command has the following formations under command as part of "Army 2010" (''Heer 2010'') or the New Army" (''Neues Heer''): * Army Forces Command in

** Franco-German Brigade at Müllheim (German element) ** Intervention Forces Division / 1st Armoured Division at

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

***

Panzerlehrbrigade 9 The 9th Panzerlehr Brigade is a formation of about 5,000 men strong within the German Armed Forces or Bundeswehr, which is subordinated to the 1st Panzer Division in Hanover. The bulk of the brigade is stationed in Munster. Two battalions are ...

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

*** 21st (Lipperland) Armoured Brigade at

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 ...

** Special Operations Division at Stadtallendorf *** 26th (Saarland) Airborne Brigade at

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...

*** 31st (Oldenburg) Airborne Brigade at

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

*** Special Forces Command (brigade-level) at Calw ** DLO

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 ...

at Veitshöchheim *** 1st Airmobile Brigade at

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...

*** Army Combat Support Brigade (''Heerestruppenbrigade'') at

Bruchsal Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...

10th Armoured Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

(

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen (district), Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowne ...

) *** 23rd Mountain Infantry Brigade "

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

" at Bad Reichenhall *** 12th Armoured Brigade "

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

" at

Amberg Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...

** 13th Mechanized Infantry Division (

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 ...

) *** 37th Mechanized Infantry Brigade "

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

" at Frankenberg/Sa. *** 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade "

West 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 ...

" at

Torgelow Torgelow () is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in north-eastern Germany. It is situated on the river Uecker, 12 km south of Ueckermünde, and 41 km northwest of Szczecin, Poland ...

In addition the following central depots also answer to the Army Command: * Herongen Army Central Depot *

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...

Army Central Depot * Central Mobilisation Base at Brück :Multinational formations Army Forces Command also provided forces for EU Battlegroups, for the NATO Response Force and for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

when asked. In addition to the Franco-German Brigade, Army Command provides permanent German elements on the staffs and supporting units as well as other troops for: * Eurocorps ( Straßburg) ** German elements of the staff ** Franco-German Brigade **

when required * 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps (

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

) ** German elements in two permanent battalions and one staff company *

Multinational Corps Northeast 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 ...

(

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

) ** German elements of the staff ** 13th Mechanized Infantry Division when required for the Danish-Polish-German Corps Gliederung HFüKdo 2010