Paratroopers (Bundeswehr)
The paratroopers is a branch of service in the army of the Bundeswehr . The German paratrooper troops are part of the army's combat troops and form the infantry with the hunters and mountain troops . The paratroopers form the infantry core of the German airborne troops . Specially equipped and trained, the paratroopers are used by parachute jump for infantry combat in difficult terrain.
assignment
The paratrooper troops are deployed like the hunter troops . Conceived as light infantry , the paratrooper troops are deployed on foot using light weapons in impassable and cut terrain and lead infantry combat there. The demands on the soldiers of the paratrooper troops are very high, just like their workload. Paratroopers fight both in defense and attack in local and urban warfare, in the fight for water, forests and field positions.
The paratroopers are brought into the emergency room using light, partially buoyant motor vehicles or through the air. In contrast to the hunters ' troops , they are particularly capable of being brought up through the air by parachute jump, but like the hunters' troops, they can also land with transport helicopters. Jump and use in unfamiliar terrain are particularly difficult. Paratroopers can operate surprisingly at crucial stages of the battle or behind the enemy. Because of this ability, paratroopers often form the operational reserve or "first-hour forces" of a large formation, which can surprisingly take bridgeheads or key areas and hold them until troops arrive. Behind enemy lines , the paratroopers able because of their armament and equipment for a short time without the support of other troops to fight in the infantry special operations to lead.
The integrated heavy companies provide fire support with their mortars , automatic cannons and anti-tank weapons loaded on air-transportable weapon carriers . The infantry group is conditionally qualified for anti-tank weapons. The paratroopers are only protected against enemy fire, especially by artillery, to a limited extent in field positions, and against the effects of NBC weapons only through their personal NBC protective equipment.
Since the paratroopers are only equipped with light weapons and light special vehicles, they need the support of other branches of service for longer deployments.
The combat and command support units of the airborne brigades are also capable of air landing in order to be able to follow the paratroopers into the operational area .
history
The paratrooper troops of the Bundeswehr with the associated airborne troops were set up in accordance with deployment order No. 21 on July 3, 1956 with the airborne fighter battalions 106 Ellwangen and 116 Kempten . According to the original plan from 1955, the army of the Bundeswehr u. a. consist of 2 airborne brigades. Only with the deployment order No. 39 (Army) of the Federal Minister of Defense of November 23, 1956, the deployment of the 1st Airborne Division as the 9th Division of the Bundeswehr was ordered. Up until the start of training by the airborne and air transport school in February 1958, the first parachute training courses were also held for the training staff at the parachute training school of the 11th US Airborne Division in Augsburg .
The paratrooper brigade 25 ("Black Forest brigade ") and paratrooper brigade 26 ("Saarland brigade "), each consisting of two paratrooper battalions, were formed from the battalions . The first autumn exercise was carried out in 1958 with allied forces and French paratroopers. As a result, an equipment association of reservists was set up with the 3rd battalion of each brigade .
Only in Army Structure III was another active paratrooper battalion set up in the brigades now renamed the Airborne Brigade, and the equipment association was renumbered as the fourth battalion.
At the beginning of 1970, Airborne Brigade 27 was set up with the parachute battalions 313, set up in 1960, followed by 272 and paratrooper battalion 291, followed by 271. The paratrooper battalion 273 (mob) was set up for the brigade, which was renumbered as parachute battalion 274 with the establishment of a further active battalion. The brigade has now merged with the 31st Panzergrenadierbrigade in Airborne Brigade 31 , subsequently Paratrooper Regiment 31. After the parachute battalion 314 was disbanded, Parachute Battalion 373 of Jägerbrigade 37 was subordinated to this brigade .
The anti-tank capability existed very early in the 5th / Heavy Jäger companies with recoilless M40 guns and anti-tank guided missiles SS.11 on DKW Munga , later TOW on Kraka . The power carts were replaced from 1991 by the air-transportable weapon carrier Wiesel . In the 1970s, the anti-tank missile system MILAN on Iltis , then Wolf, was also introduced in the IV anti-tank platoons of the Jäger companies .
From 1991 paratroopers were regularly part of the first German contingent of foreign missions , so u. a. 1993 at the German Support Association Somalia .
From 1994 onwards there was a number of reclassifications, the staff of the 1st Airborne Division was disbanded in 1994 and its units and units were initially assigned to the Air Mobile Forces / 4 Command. Division subordinated.
From 1996, Airborne Brigade 25 was dissolved with the parallel formation of the Special Forces Command as a new type of service at the old Calw location. At the same time, Fernspähkompanie 100 and 300 and the paratrooper command companies were dissolved and parts of them were transferred to the KSK . Paratroopers and KSK were jointly subordinated to the Rapid Forces Division.
As an airmobile part of the infantry , the paratroopers have gained importance in most western armies as well as in the Bundeswehr due to the changed security and operational situation. The paratroopers will also continue to play an important role in the future due to the increased need for “operations against irregular forces” in the context of asymmetrical wars in the extended range of tasks of the Bundeswehr and the increasing probability of national deployments to evacuate German citizens from crisis areas.
From April 2015 , individual companies of the paratrooper troops will be deployed on the eastern border of NATO in Latvia , Lithuania and Poland as part of the Provisional Response Capability together with American units as permanent advance forces.
education
After basic training , mostly at future regular army unit in one of recruits and field Alternate Company or directly in the headquarters company is done with a focus infanteristischer use, the more course-based infantry training, and focus training in local and urban warfare during a military training camp stay where the guest Infantry School in Hammelburg performed .
The parachute jump training takes place at the air landing and air transport school in Altenstadt . The skydiving course with automatic parachute opening lasts 3½ weeks and includes five jumps (usually three jumps in a row, one jump with a weapon and luggage and a night jump). The parachutist badge in bronze is awarded for the course .
Members of the parachute special trains take part in the freefall course and other training courses.
The paratroopers of the paratrooper companies EGB , who can be used specifically for hunting and in cooperation with the KSK, receive extended training . Guides and soldiers take part in lone fighter courses 1 and 2 as well as courses at the mountain and winter combat school and the special operations training center.
In contrast to the soldiers of the paratrooper companies, staff soldiers are mostly trained in other branches of the armed forces and, like paramedics, are transferred to a medical association after their basic training.
organization
classification
The paratroopers is among the combat troops and forms with the Jägertruppe and Gebirgsjägertruppe the infantry of the army. The paratrooper troops form the infantry core of the German airborne troops , whereby this affiliation is a categorization beyond the official military branches of the army. The German airborne troops essentially make up the units of the airborne brigades, which belong to the various branches of service .
The airmobile fighter regiment 1 (decommissioned in July 2015) followed the American concept of air cavalry and was not part of the paratrooper troops, but the fighter troops . Special forces such as the long-distance scouts or the special forces command are not or only partially capable of infantry combat due to their order, structure and lighter equipment, but are brought into their area of operation by parachute jump like paratroopers. These forces are not part of the paratrooper troops, but are assigned to the special forces category.
Active units
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Airborne Brigade 1 , Saarlouis
Units decommissioned
For other units of airborne troops, see the list of airborne units of the Bundeswehr
equipment
Main weapon systems
As an infantry arm, the paratroopers have comparatively little large equipment. The paratroopers have the usual hand weapons of the Bundeswehr. The weasel serves as a weapon carrier for the automatic cannon and TOW in the heavy hunter companies . Mortars are loaded onto Wolf's off-road vehicle. The ESK Mungo serves as an air-loadable transport vehicle for the infantry group. Aircraft are provided by the air force or army aviators .
Infantry systems
In the “ Infantryman of the Future ” concept, the paratrooper equipment is being further developed.
uniform
The weapon color of the paratrooper troops, which is worn as the color of the braids and collar tabs, is (hunter) green . The color of the weapon is shared by the paratrooper troops with the other armies of the infantry and the armored infantry troops , which were formerly part of the infantry. The color of the beret of the paratrooper troops is burgundy red , as is usual internationally for airborne troops . The beret badge of the paratrooper troops shows a falling eagle framed by oak leaves, which is similarly depicted in the association badge of the Rapid Forces Division . As a sign of their membership in the airborne troops, all soldiers in the Rapid Forces Division, regardless of their type, wear burgundy berets and the majority also wear the beret badges of the paratrooper troops. A special badge as a functional badge is the parachute jumper badge in bronze, silver and gold.
Beret badge and beret color
Knight badge in bronze
First German jumper badge - metal - 1957–1959
Second German jumper badge - patch 1959–1966
See also
The paratroopers work closely with the Luftwaffe Air Transport Squadron - Air Transport Wing 61 and Air Transport Wing 63 , equipped with the Transall transport aircraft and Air Transport Wing 62 with the new Airbus A400M and the helicopter wing 64 , equipped with the CH-53 , taken over by the Army Aviation Force .
Military symbol
The military symbol of Fallschirmjägertruppe is the general NATO scheme from the following stylized representation of a canopy on two crossed lines. The crossed lines (similar to a St. Andrew's cross) form the basic symbol of all NATO infantry troops. It stands for crossed rifles, swords or bandeliers .
Rank designations
The lowest rank in units of the hunter , parachute and mountain troops is the hunter . He corresponds to the rank of rifleman, radio operator, armored infantryman, etc. ( → see here ) of other branches of service. The other ranks correspond to the general ranks of the Bundeswehr .
 Team rank
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| Lower rank | Higher rank | |
| - | Hunter | Private |
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Rank group : Teams-NCOs-NCO-NCOs-Lieutenant-Captains-Staff officers-Generals |
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Maintenance of tradition and criticism
The Bund Deutscher Fallschirmjäger serves as a traditional association and a supporter of war graves welfare . In addition, there is a non-profit association for paratroopers with the Hempel Foundation , which is supposed to provide unproblematic help with funds and to emphasize comradely aspects.
The Bundeswehr's understanding of tradition is regulated in the traditional decree. The culture of remembrance of the paratrooper troops of the Wehrmacht is therefore criticized by parts of the paratrooper troops in the Bundeswehr. The military achievements of these Wehrmacht members, known as "old eagles", receive special recognition from the German paratroopers, who particularly appreciate "achievement and willingness to make sacrifices" in the battle for Crete as exemplary in military terms. Only lightly armed and on their own, German paratroopers fought against some mechanized enemy forces in fortified positions on Crete . The soldier who fell on Crete will be commemorated on May 20th as part of the so-called Creta Day .
On the occasion of the accident on the Iller on June 3, 1957, in which fifteen paratroopers drowned while crossing the water, the Bundeswehr Soldiers Relief Organization was founded to provide support for soldiers who got into distress through no fault of their own, as well as their relatives and dependents.
literature
- Sören Sünkler: Europe's elite and special units . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 3-613-02853-0 .
- Sören Sünkler: The special units of the Bundeswehr . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 3-613-02592-2 .
- Carl Schulze, Torsten Verhülsdonk: German paratroopers today: From the 1st airborne division to the command of airmobile forces . VS-Books Verlag, o. O. 1998, ISBN 978-3-932077-09-8 .
- oA: Paratroopers. The history of the 1st Airborne Division . 2nd Edition. Enforcer Verlag, o. O. 1995, ISBN 978-3-939700-30-2 .
Web links
- The infantry troops. Federal Ministry of Defense , head of the press and information staff, accessed on October 12, 2010 .
- Website. Bund Deutscher Fallschirmjäger eV, accessed on October 13, 2010 .
- Video with impressions of German paratroopers on youtube
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Finding aid for inventory BH 8-9 “1. Airborne Division ". (No longer available online.) Federal Archives, archived from the original on March 29, 2014 ; Retrieved January 1, 2009 . 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.
- ↑ The death of Kempten . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1957, pp. 13 ( online ).
- ↑ Thomas Wiegold: A little more German 'spearhead' for NATO. In: eyes straight ahead! (Blog). February 1, 2015, accessed on February 1, 2015 : "According to the newspaper report, in addition to the tank grenadiers in the Provisional Response Capability, German paratroopers will also be available for a rotating (training) mission in the Eastern European NATO member states."
- ↑ a b The equivalent, higher and lower ranks are given in accordance with ZDv 14/5 B 185, cf. The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): ZDv 14/5. Soldiers Act . DSK AV110100174, change status July 17, 2008. Bonn August 21, 1978, rank designations in the Bundeswehr, p. B 185 (Not to be confused with the Law on the Legal Status of Soldiers (Soldiers Act) . The order of the ranks shown in the info box does not necessarily correspond to one of the regular rank sequences provided for in the Soldiers' Career Ordinance , nor does it necessarily correspond to the rank hierarchy described in the Superiors Ordinance a managerial relationship ).
- ↑ a b Paratroopers honor Crete fighters . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . SZ district issues. May 15, 2004, p. R2 .
- ↑ Commander breaks with controversial tradition . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . November 6, 1999, p. 64 . Wolfram Wette: An explosive tradition. The Bundeswehr is fighting with the Wehrmacht . In: The time . No. 52 , 1997 ( Zeit Online ).
- ↑ Nazi symbols and incitement to the people introduced in the investigation of the paratrooper battalion . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . December 22, 1997, p. 1 .
- ↑ http://soldatenhilfswerk.org/%C3%BCber%20uns.html
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