The Kommando Landstreitkräfte (short: Kdo LaSK or Kommando LaSK) was the Army staff — and simultaneously the Army command of the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

(NPA)

Land Forces Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

of the former

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

History

On 1 December 1972 the ''Kommando LaSK'' was established under the command of LG Horst Stechbarth as independent Army Staff, and Main Army Command of the

, a

military branch Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifie ...

of the GDR National People's Army. As HQ served the former

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

of the

Oberkommando der Luftwaffe The (; abbreviated OKL) was the high command of the air force () of Nazi Germany. History The was organized in a large and diverse structure led by Reich minister and supreme commander of the Air force () Hermann Göring. Through the Mini ...

, built by

Ernst Sagebiel Ernst Sagebiel (2 October 1892 in Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable p ...

in 1936, and located in the area of the Wildpark Potsdam. It was disbanded together with the NPA in 1990. The legal successor became the Bundeswehrkommando Ost under LG

Jörg Schönbohm Jörg Schönbohm (2 September 1937 – 7 February 2019) was a German politician ( CDU) and a retired lieutenant general. He was the first commander of the so called Bundeswehr Kommando Ost (short: BwKdo Ost) Federal Armed Forces Command East (co ...

. Today the "Einsatzführungskommando of the Bundeswehr" is stationed in this Barracks.

Command and Organization

Command, Control, and Communications

The main task of the NPA Army Command was to provide Command, Control and Communications (C3) to the

as the whole, as well as to the subordinated corps-sized commands, officer's high schools, groups, organizations, and units of the NPA's Land Forces. Under deployment conditions, and in line with the situation awareness C3 had to be executed from the Component Headquarters in

Geltow Schwielowsee () is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Schwielowsee lake, through which the River Havel flows. The municipality was founded on December 31, 2002 in merger ...

, Field Component Headquarters or Operations Centers.

Commanding generals of the NPA Army Command

Source: ; Remark: The commanding general was competent, mandated and authorized to provide tasks and orders direct to the subordinated deputies. He was assisted by a so-called ''Militärrat of the Army Command'', the highest HQ advisory body on deputy level.

Organization

The command was composed by the following establishment: ; Deputy Minister and Commander-in-chief Army (3 star level) with the military advisor ; Deputy of the Commander Army Command (DC Army Command) and Chief of the Political Division (2 star level) with * Three branches including Chief Party Control Commission (de: PKK), Central Party Leadership (de: ZPL), Spec-Propaganda, and Political Branch of the Kdo LSK/LV ; DC Army Command and Chief of Staff (CS) (2 star level) with * Assistant

Chief Of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

(ACOS) and G3 (1 star level) with :* Branch 1 :* Branch 2 * ACOS and Chief General Tasks with :* Staff company, guard company and vehicle company * Chief G1 with PTA and WTA * Chief Organization/Replenishment with :* Branch Organization :* Branch Replenishment :* Chief

RECON In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconna ...

:* Chief General-Military Training and Schools (de: AMAS) :* Chief G6 with ::* Branches 1, 2 and 8th section :* Chief Mil Scientific (de: MiWi) :* Chief Chemical Services (de: CD) ; DC Army and Chief G4 (de. RD) (2 star level) with :* AC and CS G4 (1 Star level) :* Chief Medical Service :* Chief Combat Engineer Service :* Chief Military Architecture Accommodation (de: MBU) :* Chief Military Transport (de: MTW) :* Chief Closing and Equipment (de: BA) ; Chief SAM Forces (de. FRT) ; Chief Army Aviation ; Military

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

; Division 2000: - Here the branch G2 with responsibility to the military branch ''Land Forces'' of the National People's Army

Furthermore generals of the NPA Army Command

Subordinated commands, forces, units, and organizations

The following units and commands reported directly to NPA Land Forces Command:Joachim Nawrocki: ''Bewaffnete Organe in der DDR : Nationale Volksarmee und andere militärische sowie paramilitärische Verbände. Aufbau, Bewaffnung, Aufgaben. Berichte aus dem Alltag.'' Holzapfel Verlag, Berlin 1979, . * Military District Command III (de: Kommando Militärbezirk III, Kdo. MB-III) with headquarters * Military District V with headquarters at

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, 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 c ...

40th Artillery Brigade The 40th Artillery Brigade is an artillery formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, based in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, Pervomaisk. The unit was activated on 25 May 2015. On 23 August 2020, the Brigade was awarded the honorific "Grand Duke Vyt ...

(de: 40. Artilleriebrigade, 40. ABr) (Blankenfelde) * 40th Technical Training Center (de: Ausbildungs-Technisches Zentrum 40, ATZ-40) * 40th Parachute Training Base (de: Fallschirmjägerausbildungsbasis, FJABas-40) * Air defence missile training center 40 (de: Fla-Raketenausbildungszentrum 40, FRAZ-40) * 40th Multiple rocket launcher battalion (de: Geschoßwerferabteilung 40, GeWA-40) * 40th Construction engineering battalion (de: Ingenieurbaubataillon 40, IBB-40) *

Luftsturmregiment 40 The Luftsturmregiment 40 (LStR-40) "Willi Sänger" () was a air assault infantry unit of the German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundati ...

* Miltaty technical school of the Land forces "Erich Habersaath" * 40th Signal battalion (de: Nachrichtenbataillon 40, NB-40) * Land forces Officer Cadet School "Ernst Thälmann" * Foreign Military Officers Training School (de: Offiziershochschule für ausländische Militärkader "Otto Winzer") * Engineer construction battalion 40 (de: Pionierbaubataillon 40, PiBB-40) * 40th center for missile forces training (de: Raketenausbildungszentrum 40, RAZ-40) * 40th Support and Garrison Battalion (de: Wach- und Sicherstellungsbataillon 40, WSB-40)

Notes

References

* Torsten Diedrich (Hrsg./Bearbeiter im Auftr. des Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamtes): ''Handbuch der bewaffneten Organe der DDR.'' Weltbild, Augsburg 2004, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Kommando Landstreitkrafte National army headquarters 1970 establishments in East Germany 1990 disestablishments in East Germany Military units and formations established in 1972 Military units and formations disestablished in 1990