1st Panzer Division (Bundeswehr)
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The 1st Panzer Division (german: "1. Panzerdivision", short: "1. PzDiv") is an armoured 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 ...
. Its headquarter is based in
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 ...
. 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 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 ...
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 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 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 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 ...
operations. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large
natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
s such as the Hamburg Floods of 1962, disastrous wild fires in
Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
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 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 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 ...
** 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 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 of ...
** ''1st Operations Support Battalion'' (Unterstützungsbataillon Einsatz 1), in
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 ...
(Reserve unit) ** 325th Artillery Demonstration Battalion (Artillerielehrbataillon 325), in
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 ...
** Signal Battalion 610 (Fernmeldebataillon 610), in
Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark (district), Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Uecker, Ucke ...
(Operationally assigned to NATO's
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 ...
) ** ''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