Paratrooper Battalion 261
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Paratrooper Battalion 261 |
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 Internal association badge |
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| active | 1956 to March 31, 2015 |
| Country |
 Germany
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| Armed forces | armed forces |
| Armed forces |
 army
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| Branch of service | Paratroopers |
| Type | Intervention Battalion |
| Insinuation |
.svg){kind=small} Airborne Brigade 26
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| Location | Lebach , Graf Haeseler barracks |
| motto | Like bad luck and brimstone |
| Awards |
 Saarland flag ribbon (1984) |
| commander | |
| last commander | Lieutenant Colonel Markus Meyer |
The paratrooper battalion 261 in Lebach (Saarland) was part of the specialized forces of the Rapid Forces division and carried out the battle or the operation as part of the Airborne Brigade 26 or as a combat unit. It was used within the scope of the entire range of tasks, according to its design it was completely air transportable and capable of jumping with all parts.
assignment
The paratrooper battalion 261 had the task of protecting its own troops and facilities against irregular forces and terrorist threats and supporting the deployment of special forces in evacuation operations. In addition, it participated in the safe return of military and other official persons who are deployed on behalf of NATO / EU / OSCE / UN and carried out combat and reconnaissance in the context of operations in depth. The battalion took and held key objects and key sites as a prerequisite for important follow-up operations; led the battle in all types of combat and special combat actions and carried out quick initial operations with aircraft as air landing or parachute jump .
structure
The following companies were subordinate to the Paratrooper Battalion 261 in Lebach:
- 1./FschJgBtl 261 - supply / support company (generally "staff / supply company" with staff train, dog train, parachute special train, transport train, repair train, medical train, telecommunication train)
- 2./FschJgBtl 261 - Paratrooper Company (Operation / Combat Company - "in hoc signo vinces" )
- 3./FschJgBtl 261 - Paratrooper company EGB - extended basic qualification (operational / combat company - "Arriba Puma" )
- 4./FschJgBtl 261 - Paratrooper company (operational / combat company - "if already - because already" )
- 5./FschJgBtl 261 - heavy paratrooper company ( Wiesel MK / TOW / mortar , joint fire / fire support train - "no matter when - no matter where" )
- 6./FschJgBtl 261 - Paratrooper company (deployment support company / training company, including a safety train - "hand in hand" )
history
1956-1958
The army's deployment order number 21 of July 3, 1956 formed the organizational framework for the deployment of paratrooper units of the Bundeswehr . On the basis of this order, a pre-command of the Airborne Jäger Battalion 106 in Ellwangen (Jagst) arrived at the local Mühlberg barracks on July 16, 1956 .
Lt. Col. Erich Timm, officer of the parachute troops of the former German armed forces , was entrusted with setting up and managing the new paratrooper units of the Bundeswehr . On August 1st, other officers and NCOs, as well as long- serving crews, reported for duty. Most of them were taken over by the Federal Border Police or the police in the Bundeswehr and some originally came from the parachute troops of the former German Wehrmacht.
On September 3, 1956, the first volunteer recruits and trainers reported to take up service. This day is considered to be the birth of the Parachute Battalion 261. The battalion's first jumping courses were held from November 4, 1956 at the American jumping schools in Augsburg and Munich-Freimann.
With the formation of the 1st Airborne Division , the battalion was subordinate to it and renamed the 9th Airborne Fighter Battalion . In February 1957 the first exercises took place on the Heuberg military training area and in March on the Grafenwoehr military training area . The first conscripts entered on April 1, 1957, and the battalion reached its planned combat strength. In the first few years, the armament and equipment consisted of American material. From 1958, the jumping courses for the soldiers of the battalion took place at the newly founded air landing and air transport school in Altenstadt . On April 23, 1958, the A9 airborne combat group was placed under NATO's defense position.
1958-1969
On October 1, 1958, the battalion moved to Sigmaringen and on March 6, 1959, it was given the name Fallschirmjägerbataillon 261, which is still used today . The battalion demonstrated its level of training in several large exercises, and in May 1960 the paratroopers of the Bundeswehr competed for the first time in an exercise with French airborne troops. This exercise was the forerunner of the later regular COLIBRI exercises that still take place today . In November 1960, the battalion was the first German unit to hold a combat exercise on the French military training area of Mourmelon. On April 14, 1961, the battalion moved to its new garrison in Lebach .
In November 1965, a tragic accident occurred at the Baumholder military training area . A hand grenade detonated during an exercise. Major Ernst Himmighofen was fatally injured, and another soldier, Private Bernhard Simon, lost a hand. On December 9, 1966, the barracks of the paratrooper battalion 261 in Lebach was renamed Graf-Haeseler-Kaserne during a ceremony . In 1969 the ammunition depot guard was attacked. Four members of the 2nd Company were killed and one was seriously injured. This incident became known as the Lebach soldier murder .
1969-1993
A highlight of public appearances was in 1985 the formation of the honorary formation to visit the American President Ronald Reagan . After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reduction of the Bundeswehr that began in the following years, the battalion was threatened with disbandment. Military leaders of the battalion, Saarland politicians and the mayor of Lebach at the time, Nikolaus Jung, campaigned for the preservation of the paratrooper battalion and the garrison. On August 19, Minister Klaus Töpfer personally brought the Defense Minister's positive decision to Lebach. The paratrooper battalion 261 and its location in Lebach remained.
As the first German unit moved in 1993 the 5th Company, the command company of the battalion to Fort Bragg and then to Fort Chaffee in the US to the exercise and training center Joint Readiness Training Center to practice (JRTC) together with American paratroopers.
1993-2001
From November 1985 to July 1998, the 261 Paratrooper Battalion was part of the AMF (L) multinational brigade. As part of this, the battalion took over the AMF order in Northern Europe in 1993. Here the paratroopers should prove themselves in ice and snow. In 1995 they were the first foreign team to take first place in the NATO Challenge Cup , ahead of the Norwegian Telemark Battalion .
In 1993 a large part of the battalion was used for security tasks within the framework of UNOSOM II in Somalia . See also German Support Association Somalia . After the end of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia in 1996, soldiers of the battalion, as part of SFOR and KFOR , were involved in securing the peace process with security tasks or in a special function. To this day, soldiers of the battalion support the contingents in the Balkans with command personnel and other specialists.
Since April 1, 1997 it was part of the Einsatzverband evacuation operations.
2001-2015
In July 2002, the battalion moved to Afghanistan, where it provided the 1st contingent and the lead association of the Bundeswehr's security forces for the ISAF protection force. Until February 2003, a large part of the battalion was also the lead unit of the infantry units in the 2nd contingent of the Kabul Multinational Brigade as part of the International Protection Force ISAF in Afghanistan. On July 14, 2007, 30 members of the parachute battalion 261 belonging to the brigade took part in the traditional military parade on the occasion of the French national holiday, at which soldiers from all other EU countries were represented for the first time. As part of the realignment of the Bundeswehr, the paratrooper battalion 261 was dissolved on March 31, 2015. Parts of the battalion were transferred to the new 26th Paratrooper Regiment . The Lebach location will be retained.
Battalion commanders
The following were appointed as commanders of the battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel :
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Badge and slogan
The battalion's coat of arms with the red devil ties in with the honorary name "Green Devil" used by paratroopers from the time of the Wehrmacht. With the battalion motto - "... like bad luck and brimstone" - corps spirit , camaraderie and the obligation to do so are included in the coat of arms.
fiction
The crime scene "Home Front" of the Saarland Broadcasting Corporation (first broadcast January 23, 2011) takes place in the vicinity of the paratrooper battalion 261. Four soldiers of the battalion, who return traumatized from the Afghanistan mission, are suspected of having murdered a peace activist.
References
literature
- Chronicle 40 years of the paratrooper battalion 261 Lebach . Wilhelm Schorn / Wolfgang Minnich, self-published by the Bundeswehr, FschJgBtl 261 (ed.), ISBN 1556098111
- Paratroopers - The History of the 1st Airborne Division . Barett Verlag, Solingen, ISBN 3924753598 .
- German paratroopers today . VS-Books, ISBN 3932077091 .
Web links
- Traditional community of Lebach paratroopers
- Information in the Federal Archives about the Airborne Brigade 26
Individual evidence
- ^ The last change of command in: Saarbrücker Zeitung from October 1, 2013 (last accessed on June 24, 2014)
- ^ German Army, July 17, 2007
- ^ Graphic structure on the website of the German Army , as of 1998
- ↑ Unofficial website of 3./Fallschirmjägerbataillon 261 ( memento of the original from May 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Minich, Wolfgang; FschJgBtl 261 (Ed.): The Red Devils - like pitch and sulfur, Parachute Battalion 261 - 50 years 1956-1996, Ottweiler 1996
- ↑ Information from the German Armed Forces on relocation in Saarland, October 26, 2011 ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ LLBrig 26: Seedorfer Fallschirmjäger from April 2015 on a new assignment. www.deutschesheer.de, April 1, 2015, accessed April 5, 2015 .
- ↑ Joachim Lehnert: The home a last greeting. "Red Devils" say goodbye. www.deutschesheer.de, April 1, 2015, accessed April 5, 2015 .
- ^ Battalion history ( Memento from October 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 19.2 " N , 6 ° 54 ′ 32.2" E