The intervention forces (german: Eingreifkräfte or ''EK'') are one of the three categories of force within the
German Armed Forces
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 ...
(''Bundeswehr''), the others being
stabilisation forces
Stabilisation forces (german: Stabilisierungskräfte) are one of the three categories of forces in the (armed forces of Germany), that classify formations according to their levels of equipment, readiness, training and capability. The other categ ...
and
support forces. The formations within the intervention forces which have a total of 35,000 soldiers are primarily intended for crisis intervention and provide the German contributions to the intervention forces such as the
NATO Response Force
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,JAMES KITFIEL(1 ...
and the forces for rescue and evacuation operations that are fundamentally a national responsibility.
Order of battle
Army
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 ...
provides the largest contingent of intervention forces with 20,700 soldiers. The main component of these forces is the
1st Panzer Division, which is distinguished from other "normal" Army divisions by a multitude of permanently assigned divisional combat support troops. The forces that are placed on readiness by the Army are capable of executing
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
operations at the divisional level. Also in the intervention forces are parts of the
Special Operations Division and
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 approxim ...
, which enhance the flexibility of the intervention forces as a result of their ability to execute airmobile operations. The following formations are grouped under the intervention forces along with almost all their subordinate units:
*
1st Armoured Division (''also: "Intervention Force Division"'')
**''Remark: All intervention forces except 3rd Logistic Battalion (stabilisation forces)''
**''Remark: All intervention forces except 1st Engineer Battalion (both stabilisation and intervention) and the 130th Heavy Engineer Battalion 130 (both) of 100 Engineer Regiment (the regiment deployed on operations leads the intervention/stabilisation divisional engineers on intervention missions.)''
*
Franco-German Brigade
german: Deutsch-Französische Brigade
, image = Deutsch-Französische Brigade.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of the Franco-German Brigade.
, dates ...
(German element)
**''Remark: all German elements are intervention''
*100th Airborne Air Defence Battery (
Seedorf)
*
26th Airmobile Brigade of the
Special Operations Division
**''Remark: All intervention forces except 262 Airborne Support Battalion (stabilisation forces)''
The following formations are mixed intervention/stabilisation forces, that are partly classified as stabilisation forces. These are thus intended both for intervention as well as peacekeeping missions and only specified company detachments are available for intervention missions:
*1st Engineer Battalion and 130th Heavy Engineer Battalion of 100 Engineer Regiment in
1st Armoured Division
*
Special Forces Command of the Special Operations Division
*
15th Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment of the Airmobile Operations Division (''to be disbanded'')
*
25th Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment of the Airmobile Operations Division (''disbanded and re-established as
Helicopter Wing 64
Helicopter Wing 64 (german: Hubschraubergeschwader 64) is a Wing (military aviation unit), wing of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). It was subordinate to Air Force Forces Command (Germany), Air Force Forces Command until that was disbanded ...
'')
*
1st Airmobile Brigade of Airmobile Operations Division
**''Remark: all intervention/stabilisation forces apart from 1st Army Aviation Support Squadron and 1st Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron (both stabilisation)
Remark: The list does not reflect the regular ORBAT of the Army, but only a list of the intervention forces of the Army. For the exact formation organisations and structures please following the links.
{dead link, date=November 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Air Force
The German Air Force
The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...
has - following a modular approach - laid down the percentage of all formations that are assigned to the three categories of force. All combat and air transport formations make a contribution to both intervention and stabilisation forces.
Navy
In the German Navy
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
it is intended to have two crews for the new frigates of class F125 that will replace the old guided missile frigates of class F122. In this way the ships will be able to spend longer on station in foreign waters. Based on the American prototype the crews will rotate on a specified cycle. In addition, unlike the Army, little is known about the composition of intervention forces in the Navy.
Streitkräftebasis
* 1st Logistic Brigade, Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...
** Staff and HQ Company, Delmenhorst
** 161st Logistic Battalion, Delmenhorst
For intervention operations the 1st Logistic Brigade commands the 161st Logistic Battalion which supports the combat logistics, e.g. the logistic battalions of the Army's brigades. The battalion thus plugs the gap between the static logistic bases in Germany and the combat logistic units. In Swiss military parlance this part of the logistic chain is described as "mobile Logistik" or mobile logistics, which is a very apt description.
See also
* Army Forces Command
The Army Forces Command (german: Heeresführungskommando) in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (''Komma ...
* German Navy
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
External links
Description of the Bundeswehr
References
Bundeswehr