District Defense Command
Defense district commands ( VBK ) were subordinate to the military area commands of the Bundeswehr .
The main task was the territorial defense in their defense district. The first defense district commands were set up as part of the territorial army in the early 1960s and switched from the army to the armed forces base in 2001 . The defense district commands were decommissioned in mid-2007. Their orders were essentially taken over by the state commandos and the subordinate district and district liaison commands.
assignments
As part of the Territorial Army , the Defense District Command took on regional armed forces joint subtasks of territorial defense in the rear area, limited to their defense district . Essentially, the defense district commands ensured the freedom of operation of the Allied troops operating in their defense district, as well as the field army of the Bundeswehr. To this end, they were supported by the troops directly subordinate to the higher military area command and territorial command. About the connection commands (and until 2001 to unterster level also Defense district headquarters ) defense area command of maintaining contact with the Allied forces, associations of the Army (from divisions down) civilian administrations (especially the regional councils , district administrators , mayors or provincial governments ), as well as departments of the Territorial Defense Administration (For example military area administrations , site administrations , district defense replacement offices ). In 2001, instead of the defense district commands, district liaison commands were set up to cooperate with the lower civilian authorities .
For this purpose, the defense district commands administered or operated depots in the defense districts for defense material , ammunition defeats , training areas , shooting ranges , smaller tank farms and other fixed military facilities or educational facilities such as the Bundeswehr technical schools . The site elders (in Hamburg and Munich : site commanders ) and site sergeants were mostly also commanders of the local defense district commands or the subordinate defense district commands.
The units of the homeland security troops subordinate to the defense districts were able to secure important infrastructure such as marching roads, river crossings, airfields, mobilization bases, special ammunition depots , command posts , fixed telecommunication facilities , etc. against airborne , infiltrated or breached enemies, with limited time and location . The subordinate Wallmeister troops prepare barriers in the event of a defense .
During peacetime, the defense district commands trained reservists as part of military exercises and led military command and reserve battalions , which were of particular importance for the replacement of the Bundeswehr and mobilization . In addition to the support commands, some defense district commands took on tasks within the framework of the WHNS program and supported Allied forces in mobilizing in Germany.
After the end of the Cold War , at the latest after the change to the armed forces base, the tasks for preparing the defense case , especially in the area of mobilization, personnel replacement , construction of barriers and homeland security, were greatly reduced. The focus was now on the peacekeeping operations of the military facilities, contact with civilian agencies, civil-military cooperation and support for (now mostly voluntary) reservist work in cooperation with the Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces .
structure
Like most units of the Territorial Army, the Defense District Commands comprised only a few active soldiers. Only in the event of a defense could the Defense District Command, through the summoning of reservists and mobilization of stored and civilian material, grow to a troop strength that fluctuated greatly from Defense District Command to Defense District Command, but around 1989 mostly corresponded to a brigade of the field army . For the longest time of their existence, most of the defense district commands, derived from the civil administrative structure, were further subdivided into subordinate defense district commands at the level of the districts and urban districts . Many defense district commands or their subordinate Defense district headquarters were around 1,989, depending on location more homeland security companies , homeland security regiments , usually with several subordinate hunter battalions and assurance companies and security battalions as the core of infantry dominated homeland security force assumed. Defense district commands near the border to the territory of the Warsaw Pact were often smaller than one of the brigades of the field army because units of the homeland security troops were mostly not deployed with them, or only to a very limited extent. In addition, they were often subordinate to Wallmeister troops , predominantly stationary telecommunication facilities , site commanderships , traffic commands , military training area commands , Bundeswehr technical schools , military command and reserve battalions , as well as liaison commands to allied armed forces, to units of the field army or to civilian administrative offices .
history
prehistory
In 1958, the establishment of “VP- TV rods ” began. The territorial defense staff were subordinate to the military area commands that had been planned shortly before .
Lineup
The defense district commands emerged from the "VP-TV staffs" to take over Army Structure II in the 1960s (mostly until 1963) as part of the territorial army . They were placed under the command of the six military area commands that had been planned some time before . Based on the civil administrative structure , each defense district usually roughly corresponded to one of the government districts (in Rhineland-Palatinate already the government districts targeted after the regional reform in 1969 ). In the small states of Saarland , Hamburg , and Bremen , the command area covered the entire state. In Lower Saxony, the small administrative district of Braunschweig and the small administrative district of Aurich were part of larger defense districts that comprised several administrative areas of Lower Saxony. No administrative districts were established in Schleswig-Holstein ; when dividing Schleswig-Holstein into two defense districts, the historical border between Schleswig and Holstein and the size of the administrative districts of other countries were used. Accordingly, the staffs were mostly located in the state capital or at the seat of the regional council for better coordination with the civilian staff. Because of the special international legal situation corresponding to the four-power status , no West German troops were stationed in West Berlin and consequently no territorial defense organization with defense district commands was planned. The following defense district commands were initially set up in the defense areas:
- Military District Command I
-
Military District Command II
- Defense District Command 20 (initially referred to as the Bremen site command, Bremen )
- Defense District Command 21 ( Osnabrück )
- Defense District Command 22 ( Hanover )
- Defense District Command 23 ( Hildesheim , later Braunschweig )
- Defense District Command 24 ( Oldenburg )
- Defense District Command 25 ( Lüneburg )
- Defense District Command 26 ( Stade )
- Military District Command III
- Military District Command IV
- Military area command V
- Military District Command VI
Reorganization in Schleswig-Holstein
The special organization of the NATO command structure in the area LANDJUT or in the territorial command Schleswig-Holstein / Wehrbereichskommando I and the special administrative structure in the state of Schleswig-Holstein , where the state government, unlike in the other large states , did not set up government districts , was also reflected reflected in the organization of the territorial army in Schleswig-Holstein. The defense district commands 11 and 12 were dissolved in 1975 and 1,966th The Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command / Wehrbereichskommando I led the defense district command directly.
Dissolution in the context of territorial reforms
In the course of the municipal territorial reforms in North Rhine-Westphalia , the administrative district of Aachen was dissolved in 1972 and its territory was assigned to the district government in Cologne . Similarly, Defense District Command 36 was decommissioned. The defense district command 31 in Cologne took over the troops and orders in the defense entfallenen District 36th
Similarly, it was on the merger in 1978 of the administrative district of Osnabrück and the county Oldenburg to the newly established Weser-Ems process. The Defense District Command 21 was decommissioned and its command area was incorporated into the enlarged Defense District Command 24 . At about the same time, Defense District Command 26 was decommissioned and its previous area was incorporated into Defense District 25 in order to map the incorporation of the Stade administrative district into the Lüneburg administrative district .
After reunification
After reunification , the territorial structures known from West Germany were quickly created in the new federal states and Berlin as a whole. The previous administrative territorial structure of the land forces of the National People's Army with the military districts III and V as the highest level of organization no longer existed. Correspondingly, several newly planned defense district commands were subordinated to the new military area commands VII and VIII . However, when designing the new defense districts and choosing the locations for the staffs, they clearly oriented themselves towards the districts known from the German Democratic Republic . In Saxony the chosen defense districts corresponded to the government districts established later . In Saxony-Anhalt , the "division" of the former area of the Halle district into the new administrative districts of Dessau and Halle did not lead to a reorganization and division of the Defense District Command 81. In the other East German states, no government districts were set up, so the structure was based on the districts initially existed. The following defense district commands were newly planned in East Germany:
- Military District Command VII
-
Military District Command VIII
- Defense District Command 81 ( Halle )
- Defense District Command 82 ( Magdeburg )
- Defense District Command 83 ( Cottbus )
- Defense District Command 84 ( Potsdam )
- Defense District Command 85 ( Frankfurt (Oder) )
- Defense District Command 86 ( Schwerin )
- Defense District Command 87 ( Neubrandenburg )
- Defense District Command 88 ( Bad Doberan )
- Defense District Command 100 / Headquarters Berlin ( Berlin )
The Defense District Command 100 / Location Commandantur Berlin established for Berlin was set up at the same time as the other Defense District Command. In 1995 it was subordinated to Military District Command VIII. In 1997 it was renamed the Berlin site command. Despite being renamed, the Berlin site command continued to take on similar tasks to the other defense district commands.
The size of the homeland security force was reduced. In addition to the dissolution of many security battalions, security companies and homeland security companies, the homeland security regiments were reduced in size and reorganized as homeland security battalions from around 1992 . With the abolition of the WHNS program , the security troops set up in the defense districts were also disbanded beginning in 1992.
Merger with brigades
Plans to merge the staffs of a defense district command and a brigade to take over the army structure V (N) analogous to the merging of the divisional and military area command posts and the corps / territorial command east did not go beyond the beginnings between 1994 and 1996. Briefly merged:
- Panzer Brigade 39 / Defense District Command 71
- Panzergrenadierbrigade 40 / Defense District Command 86
- Panzerbrigade 42 / Defense District Command 84
- Panzerbrigade 36 / Defense District Command 64
Reorganization in Northern Germany
In Schleswig-Holstein, Defense District Commands 11 and 12 were reorganized in October 1993. The Defense District Command I was now subject to the following Defense District Commands:
-
Military District Command I
- Defense District Command 10 ( headquarters in Hamburg )
- Defense District Command 11 ( Schleswig , later Rendsburg )
- Defense District Command 12 ( Eutin , later Schleswig )
On October 1, 1997, Military District Command VIII was dissolved. The management of the defense district command in the northern part of the "old" military area VIII, specifically in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , was transferred to the military area command I in Kiel . The defense district commandos in the southern military area, specifically in the states of Berlin , Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg , switched to military area command VII in Leipzig .
Change to the armed forces base
In 2001 the territorial army was disbanded. The military area commands and defense district commands were subordinated to the newly established armed forces base . The defense areas and defense districts were fundamentally reorganized and their number reduced. The subordinate defense district commands were dissolved by 2004 and some of its tasks were transferred to the newly established district liaison commands. The defense district commands were now the lowest command authorities of the territorial defense organization. A defense district now usually comprised several administrative districts or similarly large areas. Most recently there were 27 defense district commands and the Berlin site command . They were under 50 liaison commands and the representatives for regional affairs (BeaRegA).
Weir area I - coast
Defense District Commands | Map of the WBK with the VBKs | |
---|---|---|
VBK 10 |
VBK 11 |
|
VBK 20 |
VBK 23 |
|
VBK 24 |
VBK 25 |
|
VBK 86 |
VBK 87 |
Defense area II
Defense District Commands | Map of the WBK with the VBKs | |
---|---|---|
VBK 31 |
VBK 34 |
|
VBK 35 |
VBK 42 |
|
VBK 46 |
VBK 47 |
Defense area III
Defense District Commands | Map of the WBK with the VBKs | |
---|---|---|
StOKdo Berlin |
VBK 71 |
|
VBK 75 |
VBK 76 |
|
VBK 81 |
VBK 82 |
|
VBK 84 |
VBK 85 |
Defense area IV - Southern Germany
Defense District Commands | Map of the WBK with the VBKs | |
---|---|---|
VBK 51 |
VBK 52 |
|
VBK 63 |
VBK 65 |
|
VBK 66 |
VBK 67 |
resolution
All defense district commands were decommissioned by approximately 2007. Some of his assignments were transferred to the newly established state commandos and subordinate district liaison commands , district liaison commands and the regional security and support forces set up until around 2012 as "successors" of the homeland security force. In Berlin, the previously established as a defense district headquarters remained Garrison Command Berlin received and acted by 2007 as Land Command for the State of Berlin.
Remarks
- ↑ a b c d e f g Note: The association badges are shown for the military area commands . For the subordinate defense district commands , the internal association badges ("breast tags") introduced from 1980 and last worn are shown. The internal association badges shown here were mostly only worn by the soldiers in the staff and / or in the staff company . Often the internal association badges shown here were used pars pro toto as a “coat of arms” for the entire defense district command. As an association badge ("sleeve badge" of the service suit ) the soldiers of the defense district command wore the association badge of the superior military area command. Defense district commands that were decommissioned prior to the introduction of the internal association badges never had internal association badges. The departments subordinate to the defense district commands mostly had their own internal association badges.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e O.W. Dragoons: The Bundeswehr 1989 . Territorial Command SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Territorial Command NORTH. Territorial Command SOUTH. Appendix: Territorial structure. 4th edition. 2.2 - Army, February 2012 ( religte.com [PDF; accessed July 10, 2018]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Defense district commands. BArch, BH 30. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on December 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Defense District Commands . BArch, BH 32. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on December 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Military District Command II. BArch, BH 28-2. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Military District Command III. BArch, BH 28-3. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Military area command IV.Barch, BH 28-4. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Military area command V. BArch, BH 28-5. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ^ Military District Command VI. BArch, BH 28-6. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b “Guenther”: Vbk 11 + 12. In: [Cold War Forum - Military Plants & Relics of the Cold War http://www.cold-war.de/ ]. February 27, 2015, accessed November 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Military area command VII / 13. Panzergrenadier Division. BArch, BH 40-7. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Military District Command VIII / 14. Panzergrenadier Division. BArch, BH 40-8. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Jürgen Dreifke: Heer im Wandel 1955–2017. July 2016, accessed December 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Military District Command I / 6. Panzergrenadier Division. BArch, BH 40-1. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d e Defense District Command I - Coast - (Kiel). BArch, BW 68-1. In: invenio. Federal Archives, 2004, accessed on July 14, 2018 .
Web links
- Defense District Commands. BArch, BH 30. In: invenio. Federal Archives, accessed on December 14, 2018 .