Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg) was a
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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 ...
(NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was headquartered at
Campbell Barracks
Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, was home to Headquarters, United States Army Europe (USAREUR) from 1948 to 2013. It was also home to Headquarters, V Corps and Headquarters, Allied Force Command Heidelberg.
History
As part of the Ge ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and reported to the
Joint Force Command Brunssum
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 ...
(JFCBS). During the
War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
ism, it provided command and control elements to the
International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
(ISAF). It was disbanded on 1 April 2013.
History
Cold War
![Corps sectors in NATO's Central Region](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Corps_sectors_in_NATO%27s_Central_Region.svg)
The Central Army Group (CENTAG) was established in 1952 and assigned to work with
United States Army Europe
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
at Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany. When 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 ...
was activated in 1955, some German personnel were assigned to the plans section of CENTAG.
In April 1959, the plans section of CENTAG became Headquarters, Central Army Group and was commanded by an
American general
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
. It remained at Campbell Barracks and was charged with defending southern Germany against any prospective
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
attack. It consisted of the
German II Corps, the
German III Corps
III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II.
III Army Corps
The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Gr ...
, the
US V Corps
V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism.
Shoulder sleeve insig ...
, and the
US VII Corps
The VII Army Corps of the United States Army was one of the two principal corps of the United States Army Europe during the Cold War. Activated in 1918 for World War I, it was reactivated for World War II and again during the Cold War. During b ...
.
In August 1961, CENTAG was relocated to
Hammonds Barracks
Hammonds LLP, also known as Hammonds Suddards, was an international law firm headquartered in Leeds, United Kingdom, with offices in Beijing, Berlin, Birmingham, Bradford, Brussels, Hong Kong, Leeds, Madrid, Manchester, Munich and Paris. The f ...
, (formerly Loretto Kaserne) Mannheim-Seckenheim, Germany and remained there until December 1980 when NATO determined coordination was better when three headquarters were located on the same installation.
CENTAG was returned to Campbell Barracks to be collocated with the
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Allied Force Command Heidelberg, Central Army Group (CENTAG) in southern West Germany. 4 ATAF ...
(4 ATAF) and the
Allied Command Europe Mobile Force-Land (AMF(L)).
Allied Land Forces, Central Europe, 1993-2000
Structural changes began in June 1993, when CENTAG and the
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 ...
(NORTHAG),
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
, Germany were deactivated and combined to form Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT), which was activated in Heidelberg on 1 July 1993.
LANDCENT's mission was to:
*1) contribute to the protection of peace and deterrence of aggression,
*2) plan, prepare and direct operations of allocated land forces for the security and defence of his area of responsibility,
*3) plan, coordinate, and conduct synchronized air/land operations in support of CINCENT's theater campaign, and
*4) be prepared to conduct peace support operations
At the lower level, all strictly national corps in the central region were superseded, in wartime plans terms at least, by the mid 1990s. All NATO corps, except for the
German IV Corps, were then multinational. In the mid-late 1990s there were four multinational main defence corps in NATO's Central Region: one Danish-German (
LANDJUT
Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP) was a Principal Subordinate Command (PSC) of the NATO Military Command Structure, with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002 and consisted of the Danish Armed Forces, ...
), one Dutch-German (
I. GE/NL Corps) and two German-United States (II GE/US and V US/GE). The two German-United States corps were strictly wartime command organisations.
Beginning in 1993, LANDCENT provided troops in the
Former Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the Breakup of Yugoslavia, breakup of the Socialist ...
. In 1995, LANDCENT provided troops for the
Implementation Force
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 ...
(IFOR) and later served as the headquarters of the
Stabilization Force
The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. I ...
(SFOR) in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
. When NATO acted in Kosovo in 1999, LANDCENT began operations in
Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
,
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 ...
and
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
,
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and would serve as the headquarters for the
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).
Originally, LANDCENT command was to be rotated between German and Dutch generals. In 1996, The commander of
US Army Europe
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
(USAREUR) assumed an additional role as commander of LANDCENT with General
William W. Crouch
General William Wright Crouch (born July 12, 1941) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1997 to 1998.
Early life
Crouch was born on July 12, 1941 in Los Angeles, Cali ...
assuming command. The dual command of USAREUR and LANDCENT allowed the continued integration of
American forces into NATO's post-Cold War structure. In addition, an agreement was made which set out the arrangements under which the
European Corps (Eurocorps), consisting of units from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, would be made available to NATO in times of crisis.
Twenty-first century
The departure from the Cold War era brought the implementation of a new NATO Integrated Military Structure and LANDCENT was formally designated as Joint Headquarters Centre (JHQ CENT) in a ceremony held in March 2000. The new structure, which accompanied this designation, included personnel from five additional nations: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Norway and Poland - making a total of 12 NATO Nations contributing to the Headquarters. In July 2004, JHQ CENT was once again reorganised and designated as Component Command-Land Headquarters, Heidelberg (CC-Land HQ HD).
In 2006, NATO recognised the need for a more flexible command and control structure. To augment the current operational level commands, NATO experimented with the use of Deployable Joint Staff Elements (DJSE). The DJSE allow
Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
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 ...
,
Allied Joint Force Command Naples
Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Sou ...
, and
Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon
Joint Force Command Lisbon was one of the largest NATO bases in south Europe Allied Command Operations. It was based in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal. In 2009 a French lieutenant general took command from the previous US Navy admiral who had fille ...
to command multiple operations from their home headquarters. CC-Land HQ HD was chosen to test the concept, and was designated Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC HD) in 2010.
The first operation in which the DJSE played a role was commanding the
International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
(ISAF),
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 ...
.
Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg has been deactivated as part of NATO's transformation. The newly activated
Allied Land Command
Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) is the standing Staff (military), headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander LANDCOM is the primary Ground warf ...
(LANDCOM), located in Izmir, Turkey, has assumed responsibilities from Allied Force Command Heidelberg in Germany as well as
Allied Force Command Madrid
Allied Force Command Madrid was a unit with the NATO Military Command Structure responsible for providing Deployable Joint Staff Elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. HQ Allied Force Command Madrid was garrisoned at Pozuelo de ...
in Spain. The deactivation was finally completed on March 14, 2013.
See also
*
CENTAG wartime structure in 1989
The Central Army Group (CENTAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Corps, Army Corps from two NATO member nations comprising Canadian Forces Europe, troops from Canada, West Germany and the United States. During the Cold War, CENTAG w ...
*
Timeline of events in the Cold War
This is a timeline of the main events of the Cold War, a state of and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union, its ...
Notes
References
*Thomas-Durrell Young, 'Multinational Land Forces and NATO: Reforming Processes and Structures,' Strategic Studies Institute, Carlisle Barracks, 1997
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allied Force Command Heidelberg
1952 establishments in West Germany
2013 disestablishments in Germany
Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1994–present
Military units and formations established in 1952
Military units and formations disestablished in 2013
Military units and formations of the Cold War
Organisations based in Baden-Württemberg
Joint military headquarters