Remote spy troops (Bundeswehr)

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Beret badge of the remote spy troops

The Fernspähtruppe was a branch of service in the German army . The Fernspäher were among the deployment and command support troops of the Armed Forces . The main task was to obtain key information deep behind enemy lines by means of small, independent, foot-operated tele-spotting teams.

The long-distance spy troop was decommissioned in 2008. Most of the personnel were used to set up the Army Reconnaissance Force. Smaller parts switched to the special forces . With the special forces and the army reconnaissance troops, sub-units are still set up that operate in a similar way to the disbanded remote surveillance troop.

assignment

The main task was to gain key knowledge in crisis and conflict areas for the operational management level. For the longest time of their existence, tele scouts were directly subordinate to a corps . The later subordination to the DSK was purely for service purposes. Their Latin motto was "oculus exercitus" ( German : "eye of the army").

The televsion troops cleared up enemy forces on their own, on foot and deep behind enemy lines . The use of the patrols could over a longer period in all climates done. The remote scouts avoided the fight and tried to operate undetected . Remote scouts were able to support special and specialized forces in the operational area .

Command missions , pranks or ambushes , and the targeted deactivation of high-value targets were not among the tasks of the televsionists. These are carried out by the special forces command , before it is set up by the B1 paratrooper companies or by hunting commandos in hunting combat . Only in exceptional cases were these assignments carried out by remote spying personnel.

Operational principles

Shipment

One of the most important operational principles was the undetected infiltration and exfiltration into and out of the operational area. This could be more than 150 kilometers in front of its own troops in the enemy rear. The transport to the operational area, but also the retrieval, took place via land, air or, to a certain extent, also by sea.

enlightenment

The aim of the reconnaissance was to gain knowledge of the situation in the deep enemy space on the strength, deployment, movements and intentions of enemy forces. Of particular interest were high-value targets such as enemy command posts of large formations and their telecommunication facilities, locations of extensive operational equipment such as (rocket) artillery , bridge building pioneers and extensive supply columns on their march over marching streets as well as aircraft with their (field) airfields, logistical key infrastructure such as ammunition and fuel - and material stores as army supply points as well as (makeshift) ports and inland waters as supply routes.

In the emergency room, the main focus of a four to six-man long-distance patrol is to remain undetected. An observatory will be set up at the site, from which reconnaissance results can be obtained over a longer period of time. The remote surveillance team is on duty without interruption. The reconnaissance takes place with modern optronic observation technology .

As part of the joint tactical fire support , forward air controlling - the directing of air missions by radio and laser target lighting from the ground - could be part of the order.

The observation point in the "classic" tele-spying operation offers space for four tele spies and serves as a bivouac , radio and observation point . For the construction and camouflage with transport of the excavated earth, a team needs two full nights. The "fox hole" was i. d. R. 130-140 cm deep and had a base of nine square meters. Through a hatch ( English name: Viewport ) could be observed. When deployed, a squad could stay in this camouflaged hole in the ground for up to 14 days. However, this approach was no longer the rule later on.

Nowadays it is more common to observe from an open hiding place , which enables easier change of position . Depending on the situation, observation is carried out directly from the hiding place or by a remote observer, who at the same time secures the troop as an alarm post.

A scouting party generally performs movements at night and can, under combat-like conditions in seepage , away from roads and paths, take an hour for one kilometer.

Messaging

As soon as the observatory was set up, radio communication was established with the command post of the remote surveillance company in order to pass on the results of the reconnaissance . The radio was operated by two soldiers of the scouting team in shifts , while the squad leader and the deputy take turns observing. The military command was able to receive information about the situation promptly and continuously . The telecommunication traffic was carried out in the long-distance traffic with a 100-watt voice and Morse radio in burst mode . In Morse radio the letters were coded into numbers . The advantage of the number system was that no complete training in Morse radio was required. This process has been replaced by radio data transmission in the burst process.

history

Former company building of Fernspähkompanie 300 in Seelbach

Lineup

The long-distance spy troop was set up in 1962. In the Wehrmacht , a deep reconnaissance was carried out by commandos of the Brandenburgers , mainly by scouting troops of the reconnaissance troops, in particular by light tank reconnaissance troops of the tank scouts . The reason for the deployment in the Bundeswehr was the insufficient possibility of permanent observation in enemy-occupied areas by other reconnaissance forces. Major Konrad Rittmeyer , a war- experienced tank reconnaissance officer, set up the military service on November 16, 1961 in accordance with an order from the Army Office . The soldiers should be trained as lone fighters and parachutists and be single. In 1962, Rittmeyer began training the training staff. The location of the "Lehrgruppe R" ("R" for Rittmeyer) was the air landing and air transport school in Altenstadt / Schongau in Upper Bavaria . The future remote scouts came from the paratrooper troops , the mountain troops and the grenadier troops . After ten months the cadre was operational and the R teaching group was renamed Fernspählehrkompanie 200 .

The televsion troops until the end of the Cold War

A short time later, the cadres for the two newly founded tele-spying companies 100 and 300 were formed. In 1973, the tele-spying training center 900 was set up in Neuhausen ob Eck for further training of the young troops . In 1979 the tele-spying training center 900 was replaced by the newly established international tele-spying school in Weingarten . The International Remote Spying School also trained the remote scouts of allied armed forces. The basic idea of ​​the NATO school was to standardize the training and equipment of the NATO remote surveillance units. The special operations training center, which is still in existence today, emerged from the school in 2003 and trains not only tele scouts but also other special and specialized forces from Germany and allied nations.

In April 1976 the systematic assignment to the command troops took place . For this purpose, a tele-spying company was directly subordinated to each corps of the field army . In the division of the field army in Army Structure 4 , each of the three German corps had a tele-spying company :

In these companies, conscripts were usually only used in the company command group and in the telecommunications platoon, rarely as telecommunications soldiers in the patrol. Their basic and special basic training was partly carried out centrally at the training facilities of the remote surveillance troops. The conscripts on the telecommunication train were trained in number - touch radio with a focus on listening , as they occupied the receiving counterparts of the televsion troops. The telecommunication train could be divided into several groups in order to form several radio remote stations.

The remote patrols were mostly from an experienced principal or staff sergeant out of one of Fernspähfeldwebel and two other mostly NCOs oP was supported. The company was usually led by a major whose deputy was a captain and usually another officer as platoon leader .

reduction

In the course of a restructuring in the army, the Fernspähkompanien 100 and 300 were dissolved in 1996. Many of these two units, which were disbanded after around 35 years of history, provided the first soldiers of the Special Forces Command established in the same year .

resolution

As part of the transformation of the armed forces, the armored reconnaissance troops (with drone reconnaissance troops ), the long-distance reconnaissance troops , the field intelligence troops and the drone reconnaissance troops of the artillery were set up to form the new armies reconnaissance troops . In Germany, the long-distance scouts are therefore only part of the Army Reconnaissance Force and have not been an independent branch of service since March 2008.

Several factors contributed to the resolution. On the one hand, the long-distance spy troops had shrunk so much that the organization became inefficient as a separate branch. This was also due to the fact that after the end of the Cold War the army as a whole had shrunk and operating behind large enemy armies seemed less likely. Second, the newly established Army Reconnaissance Force should enable a reconnaissance organizationally from “one source”. From a technical point of view, modern communication technology allowed the (partial) armed forces to share all reconnaissance results . Thirdly, advances in airborne reconnaissance, especially through drones with powerful optics and image transmission systems, made inconspicuous reconnaissance over long distances possible, even in enemy-occupied areas.

Further development

The special skills of the long-range scouts were retained in the army to a certain extent after the division of the army. As part of the Army Reconnaissance Force, the Fernspählehrkompanie 200 continued until 2015. Forces of the special forces command could be used as televsion troops . The training of the remote scouts of the Army Reconnaissance Forces takes place through the restructuring in parts at the Training Center for the Army Reconnaissance Forces in Munster . The special operations training center also remains unchanged. In the army, the remaining long-distance scouts of the army reconnaissance troops were among the specialized forces of the army with extended basic skills . In the operational group , they support the special forces . In the planned "Army 2011 " structure, Fernspählehrkompanie 200 was dissolved in the second half of 2015. Personnel and equipment switched to the training center for special operations (new name from mid-2015: "Training and exercise center for special operations"), as the 1st platoon of the airborne reconnaissance company 310 ("Fernspähzug") and were replaced with two remote spy platoons, from the remote surveillance company 200, which was to be disbanded the airborne reconnaissance company 260 incorporated. Currently there are two airborne reconnaissance companies in the two airborne reconnaissance companies 260 in Lebach and 310 in Seedorf, each with two long-distance reconnaissance platoons, each with three long-distance patrols.

Calls

Operations of the remote scouts - like those of the combat swimmers and the special forces command - were subject to strict secrecy in order not to endanger the fulfillment of the mission. Operations in Bosnia , Kosovo , Afghanistan and Congo have become known . Participation in the Operation Summer Rain of the Federal Intelligence Service is considered likely.

organization

classification

The Fernspähtruppe listed last on the deployment and command support troops of the Armed Forces . Until 1976, tele scouts were part of the infantry , initially part of the tank reconnaissance force .

Throughout its existence there were certain similarities with the tank reconnaissance troops, which carried the main burden of reconnaissance in the army. There were special similarities to the airborne reconnaissance aircraft , which made up a particularly qualified but small part of the armored reconnaissance force. Like the long-distance reconnaissance troops, airborne reconnaissance planes could be deployed by parachute jump, had relatively light equipment and were prepared, if necessary, to be on their own for a longer period of time or to operate infantry behind enemy lines in conjunction with other airborne forces.

Troops

The Fernspählehrkompanie 200 was the last remaining unit of the televised troops before the division was dissolved . At the time the branch was dissolved, it was directly subordinate to the Special Operations Division as a division force . She was stationed at the Special Operations Training Center in Pfullendorf . After the remote surveillance troops were disbanded, the remote surveillance company 200 was taken over unchanged by the Army Reconnaissance Troops and remained with the Special Operations Division, which has now been renamed the Rapid Forces Division.

Recruitment and training

recruitment

You could apply for a remote spying position either directly or by changing from other branches of service . Only long-term temporary soldiers were considered for use in the reconnaissance platoons . The training to become a sergeant major lasted at least 36 months. Due to the special assignment, the training to become a remote spying soldier was intensive and demanding. Thus, several days of penetration exercises were carried out regularly. The rigorous selection of suitable applicants was served in particular by the two-week entrance test (" green block training" - formerly " Ü - camp "), which often only a small number of applicants fulfilled.

education

The main focus of the training was learning the unnoticed infiltration and exfiltration of enemy territory and extensive telecommunications training .

The extensive training program included the parachutist course (automatic release), military free-fall jumping (formerly in the HALO jump procedure, now at the HAHO ), reaction shooting courses and combat in houses, close combat , lone combat course , survival course special forces and Combat First Responder as combat medicine training that enabled soldiers to be self-sufficient operating subunit to ensure medical care under operational conditions .

The long-distance scouting trains were each specialized in certain areas. Among other things, the remote scouts trained in reconnaissance in an urban environment - however, due to their low strength, they were not capable of local and house combat - in "difficult" terrain in the mountains , under unfavorable climatic conditions (winter combat), in amphibious missions or in the Free fall jump use.

Most of the course-related training for remote scouts from various NATO forces was carried out at the Special Operations Training Center. Experiences and further developments of the operational principles and equipment of the participating nations were also evaluated there. The parachutist training took place at the air landing and air transport school .

equipment

Vehicles and main weapon systems

The long-distance spy troops were fully motorized, but had no armored vehicles or heavy weapon systems , as the mission was never to fight against enemy forces. During the transfer, they were dependent on combat vehicles of other types of service.

Equipment of a long-distance patrol

Due to the long duration of deployment, the long- distance spy troops had to carry significantly more personal equipment than the infantry . Long-range scouts often had hand weapons and other items of equipment that were not part of the standard armament or standard equipment of the Bundeswehr.

In addition to standardized personal equipment, the equipment of the long-distance spy troops included special ( silenced ) short and long guns . This included the HK P11 pistol in the 1980s and early 1990s. In the early days, the Walther P1 and HK G3 A4 pistols, which were supplemented by the MP5SD and MP5k after the introduction .

More recently, the troops had the G36K-AG36 , the MG4 , the MP7 and also the G22 with various night vision optics and target optics such as laser sights and, as a handgun, the HK USP .45 ACP , later the P12 .45 ACP with a silencer. Ammunition and ordnance as smoke grenades DM15 supplemented the weaponry.

The telecommunications comprised encryption - and burst end capable RF - radio with PDA - so the HRM-7000 and SATCOM as Iridium system . In addition, the troops had optronic equipment such as digital cameras and video cameras . The radio with batteries made up a significant part of the payload .

The additional equipment often consisted of a tactical vest , since the late 1980s a large volume Berghaus - backpack , one down - sleeping bag for the dry-cold climate zone , later replaced by a synthetic bag, deployment bathroom facilities with infusions , camouflage means and wire mesh as Tarnmittelhalter, garden spade to Creation of fox holes and other mission-oriented equipment such as a neoprene suit .

In particular, water in water canisters and food such as dehydrated emergency food type "EPa light" , in the early days one-man pack . The weight of the equipment could be between 35 and 65 kg (ordnance vest: 10 kg; backpack: 35–50 kg; equipment on the person and hand weapons: 10 kg) per soldier. Other equipment in the hiding place was urine bags and poop bags, also known as shit bags .

uniform

The color of the beret of the patrol troops was burgundy . Bordeaux was traditionally the beret color of most airborne troops in the Bundeswehr and NATO . The beret / military branch badge of the long-distance spy troops showed a stylized, falling eagle with a bundle of lightning in its claws in front of two crossed rider lances in a wreath of oak leaves . The beret badge was linked to elements that appeared both in the beret badge of the airborne troops (the falling eagle) and that of the armored reconnaissance troops (crossed rider lances of the Uhlans ). The color of the armored personnel carrier was golden yellow , like the armored scouts from which they emerged . The background was that the tank reconnaissance troops saw themselves in the tradition of the cavalry and therefore continued the golden yellow weapon color of the Wehrmacht cavalry .

The Fernspähtruppe wore the color green weapons between the end of 1962 and 1977/78, since in this period the infantry counted. When they were set up and from 1977/78 the weapon color was golden yellow. With the incorporation into the army reconnaissance troops, the troop category badge was omitted. The remaining long-distance scouts of the army reconnaissance troops were to wear the beret badge of the army reconnaissance troops, which shows two crossed lances, and, since they were subordinate to the Rapid Forces division, the burgundy red beret. In military practice, the plunging eagle with the long-distance spy flash was still worn on a burgundy beret.

Tactical sign

The tactical signs of Fernspähtruppe showed the NATO conventions that a following from bottom left to top right running line and a horizontal , interpretive right arrow. The diagonal line was also found in the tactical symbols of the tank reconnaissance troops and generally stood for reconnaissance groups ; the arrow for the great depth of penetration of the tele-observation troops.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Realization plan ARMY 2011. (PDF) Staff Inspector of the Army I 5, May 23, 2012, accessed on August 29, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Information on the realignment of the army. (PDF) Staff Inspector of the Army I 5, March 19, 2015, accessed on March 19, 2015 .
  3. ↑ https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/heer/organisation/faehätze/fernspaehen
  4. ↑ Bundeswehr ISAF War in Afghanistan was in Afghanistan
  5. ↑ a b cf. Editor: Fernspählehrkompanie 200th history. Federal Ministry of Defense , head of the press and information staff , March 5, 2014, accessed on June 23, 2014 (chronicle, in particular: “April 10, 1976: change of weapon color from green - paratroopers - to golden yellow - tank reconnaissance”).
  6. ↑ a b Berett International Military Magazine . Born 1990, 2 (April / May). Barett-Verlag GmbH, Solingen, April 1990. Partial quotation of the place of discovery can be found in wotan et al .: Televsioners and tank reconnaissance: Why the same weapon color? (No longer available online.) In: sondereinheiten.de. J. Gerle, July 12, 2003, archived from the original on November 4, 2014 ; Retrieved on June 23, 2014 (in particular Post No. 18 of July 12, 2003). 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sondereinheiten.de
  7. ↑ [1] # 66 In the room on tour: The remote scouts - Bundeswehr December 3rd, 2019