I. German-Dutch Corps

I. German-Dutch Corps - 1. GE / NL Corps - XXX
Association badge
Lineup	Aug 30, 1995
Country	Germany  Netherlands more
Armed forces	armed forces Nederlandse krijgsmacht more
Armed forces	army Koninklijke Landmacht more
Type	High Readiness Force Headquarters  NATO Response Force (temporary)
Subordinate troops	- Staff Support Battalion - Communications and Information Systems Battalion If necessary: 1st Armored Division 43rd Mechanized Brigade
Strength	40,000 (use) ~ 1200 (continuously)
Insinuation	SHAPE
Stationing locations	Münster (seat of the staff) Eibergen Garderen
motto	Communitate valemus (together we are strong)
Awards	Flag of North Rhine-Westphalia (2015)
Web presence	I. DEU / NLD Corps
commander
Corps Commander	Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow
Deputy Corps Commander	Major General Gerard Koot
Chief of Staff	Brigadier General Rob Querido
insignia
Beret badge

The I. German-Dutch Corps ( I. DEU / NLD Corps ) is a multinational association with currently twelve participating nations. The German and Dutch armies are in the lead . The headquarters of the corps, which emerged among other things from the 1st corps of the Bundeswehr , is located in Münster, Westphalia .

Duties and subordination

The Corps is one of readily deployable headquarters ( Rapidly Deployable Corps Headquarters ) of the NATO -Hauptquartiers SHAPE . In this capacity, the corps is able to conduct multinational missions. In accordance with its schedule, the corps also provides forces for the NATO Response Force (NRF), the rapid reaction force of NATO, with up to 60,000 men . The respective national troops will continue to be commanded nationally, for the German portion this means leadership by the Army Command .

Positioning and leadership

Outside of operations, only the staff of the corps is deployed. The Staff Support Battalion in the Lützow barracks in Münster - Handorf and the Communications and Information Systems (CIS) battalion in Eibergen and Garderen in the Netherlands are permanently subordinate to him . If necessary, the 1st Panzer Division of the Bundeswehr in Oldenburg and the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade in Schaarsbergen are subordinate to the corps .

In September 2015, the defense ministers of both countries agreed to integrate the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade into the German 1st Armored Division. In return, a German tank battalion (PzBtl 414) becomes part of this Dutch brigade and in this German tank battalion a company is manned by Dutch soldiers. The association is stationed with German Leopard 2 battle tanks in Lohheide / Bergen military training area in Lower Saxony and should be fully operational by the end of 2019.

Association and beret badges

The association badge is worn by the German troops on the left sleeve of the service suit. It shows the Münster sending sword on a green background of a Gothic coat of arms, which is surrounded by two forearms in the colors of the flags of the “ Framework Nations ” Germany and the Netherlands. The beret badge of the members of the corps does not correspond to the otherwise usual beret badge - mostly based on the military type - but takes up the motif of the association badge again. Instead of the wreath of oak leaves that is otherwise common in the Bundeswehr , the badge is set in a simple ring on which the corps' motto “Communitate Valemus” (Together we are strong) is engraved.

See also : List of Association Badges of the Bundeswehr

history

The headquarters of the 1st German-Dutch Corps in Münster

The idea of ​​a common corps goes back to considerations of the commanding general of the 1st Corps, GenLt Hannsjörn Boës . When he learned that the only Dutch corps in Apeldoorn was to be dissolved, he proposed to the then General Inspector of the Bundeswehr, General Klaus Naumann , that both corps be merged. The proposal was positively evaluated by the respective political leaders. As a result, the defense ministers of both countries decided in 1993 to found the 1st German-Dutch Corps. Two previously independent corps, the German 1st Corps from Münster and the 1st Dutch Corps from Apeldoorn, were combined into one. The operational readiness was solemnly announced on August 30, 1995 in the presence of the then Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl in front of the castle in Münster. The first commanding general was the Dutch Lieutenant General Ruurd Reitsma, his deputy was the German Major General Günter Freiherr von Steinaecker . The city of Münster was chosen as the headquarters of the headquarters because it has a special meaning for both countries with the Peace of Westphalia . The tasks of the corps were initially defined as follows: defense of the areas of NATO members as part of the main defense forces , participation in peace missions , operations under the auspices of the UN , humanitarian interventions and operations in the event of natural disasters. Shortly after the operational readiness was established, further tasks were assigned to the corps. So the staff can be subordinated to the European Union on request .

At the same time, the transition to a multinational association began. Since November 2002, after the end of the command post exercise " Cannon Cloud " on the Baumholder training area , the corps was a High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters (HRF [L] HQ) - headquarters with high readiness for land forces - as part of the NATO Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) and ready for action within 20 to 30 days at almost full troop strength. The first mission under this task took place between February and August 2003 as ISAF headquarters in Afghanistan .

Then the further development of the Land Component Command began . From the beginning of 2004 the corps was subordinate to the NATO Joint Forces Command in Naples and was used as the NATO Response Force Headquarters (NRF) in November 2002 . From January 14th to July 30th, 2005 it was in readiness as the fourth headquarters (NRF-4) and released the predecessor NRF-3, the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Italy (NRDC-IT) from Solbiate Olona in Italy , from. The corps completed the " Iron Sword " maneuver in May and June 2005 , during which more than 6,000 soldiers and 2,500 vehicles were relocated from Central Europe to Norway . With the transfer of around ten French officers in 2006, Czech soldiers in 2013 and the renewed transfer of a Belgian officer in 2014, a total of thirteen nations are currently working under one roof.

In accordance with the schedule, the 1st German-Dutch Corps took command of the NATO Response Force NRF -10 on January 16, 2008 until June . Also for 2015, the corps is deployed to take over command of the NATO Response Force NRF .

Former listing in structure NRF-4

During its status as the headquarters of the NRF-4, the corps was set up as follows.

• Staff and Headquarters Company 1st D / NL Corps, Münster (DE)
• Command Support Battalion 1st D / NL Corps, Münster (DE)
• Telecommunications Battalion 1st D / NL Corps , Eibergen / Garderen (NL)
• 43rd Mechanized Brigade , Darp (NL)
  • Rod
  • Staff support company, Apeldoorn (NL)
  • 1st light reconnaissance company, Rønne ( DK )
  • Paratrooper Company, Bakanliklar-Ankara ( TUR )
  • 24th anti-aircraft battery, Valencia ( ES )
  • 4./Feldjägerbataillon 152, Wilhelmshaven (DE)
  • 101st Telecommunications Battalion, Garderen (NL)
  • 103rd EloKa Battalion, 't Harde (NL)
  • 12th Air Mobile Infantry Battalion, Arnhem (NL)
  • Paratrooper Battalion 373, Doberlug-Kirchhain (DE)
  • 44th Panzer Grenadier Battalion, Steenwijk (NL)
  • Telemark Battalion ( Mechanized Battalion ), Rena ( NOR )
  • Artillery group ( mixed ), Haguenau ( FR )
  • 11th Panzer Engineer Battalion , Wezep (NL)
  • 101st Engineer Battalion, Wezep (NL)
  • NBC Defense Battalion 7 , Höxter (DE) (multinational)
  • Logistics Battalion, Apeldoorn (NL) (multinational)
  • Logistics Battalion 462, Diez (DE)
  • Repair Battalion 330, Garderen (NL)
  • 100th Transport Battalion, Garderen (NL)
  • Airborne Support Battalion 272 , Wildeshausen (DE)
  • Rapid Emergency Response Force Medical Service , Leer (DE) (multinational)

The troop strength was about 8,500 men.

Commanding generals

The following commanding generals - usually lieutenant-general - led the corps:

No.	Surname	nation	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
11	Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow	Germany	February 06, 2020	constantly
10	Lieutenant General Alfons Mais	Germany	May 10, 2019	February 06, 2020
9	Lieutenant General Michiel van der Laan	Netherlands	April 7, 2016	May 10, 2019
8th	Lieutenant General Volker Halbauer	Germany	September 25, 2013	April 7, 2016
7th	Lieutenant General Ton van Loon	Netherlands	April 13, 2010	September 25, 2013
interim	Major General Harm de Jonge	Netherlands	January 2010	April 13, 2010
6th	Lieutenant General Volker Wieker	Germany	July 1, 2008	January 2010
5	Lieutenant General Tony van Diepenbrugge	Netherlands	July 1, 2005	July 1, 2008
4th	Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst	Germany	4th July 2002	July 1, 2005
3	Lieutenant General Marcel Urlings	Netherlands	March 22, 2000	4th July 2002
2	Lieutenant General Karsten Oltmanns	Germany	November 27, 1997	March 22, 2000
1	Lieutenant General Ruurd Reitsma	Netherlands	August 30, 1995	November 27, 1997

literature

• Paul Klein , Axel Rosendahl-Huber, Wolfgang Frantz: Two years of the German-Dutch Corps. An accompanying examination. 1995-1997 . Ed .: Social Science Institute of the Bundeswehr (=  Social Science Institute of the Bundeswehr. Reports . Volume 67 ). 1999, ISSN  0342-2569 ( mgfa.de [PDF; 390 kB ; accessed on February 27, 2018]).

Web links

• 1st German-Dutch Corps. (Official Website)
• 1st German-Dutch Corps. (Website of the German Army)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Location database of the Bundeswehr. Retrieved March 25, 2020 . 

Coordinates: 51 ° 57 ′ 59.4 "  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 56.1"  E