I. Corps (Belgium)

I Corps (Belgium)
Badge of the I. BE Corps
active	1951 to 1995
Country	Belgium
Armed forces	Belgian armed forces
Type	corps
Strength	40,000
Insinuation	NORTHAG
former seat of the staff	Haelen barracks, Cologne
motto	Scutum Belgarum

The coat of arms of the Belgian armed forces in Germany

Haelen barracks in Cologne-Junkersdorf

Deployment area of ​​the I. BE Corps

Battle structure of the I. BE Corps

Belgian Samaritan tank 1988

The I. Corps (Belgium) or I. BE corps on French 1st Corps d'Armée Belge was a Belgian major unit , which during the Cold War until 1996 the multinational NATO -Heeresgruppe NORTHAG was assumed. It belonged to the Forces Belges en Allemagne (FBA).

assignment

The I. BE Corps was in the combat patrol of NORTHAG in the central German mountainous region. used between Harz in the north and Kassel in the south. The focus was on Göttingen ( "Stripes of Göttingen" ). The corps was supposed to wage a delay battle near the border against armored forces of the Warsaw Pact . The left neighbor of the I. BE Corps was the I. BR Corps and on the right border to Army Group CENTAG the III. DE Corps of the Bundeswehr . Similar to the I. NL Corps , the I. BE Corps was unfavorably deployed and needed a certain period of time to reach the GDP positions in its area of ​​responsibility from Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia ( Aachen , Cologne , Soest and Siegen ). The main task of the 1st Belgian Corps was to repel tank attacks of the Warsaw Pact in the combat sector assigned to it and to bring them to a standstill. In peacetime the two divisions each consisted of three brigades, which, however, could have been increased to four in the V case.

Strength

During the Cold War, Belgium had an army of around 66,000 men, half of which were deployed in the Belgian I. Corps with two active divisions and three mechanized brigades each plus combat support troops. The rest of the army was used to defend Belgium at home. Equivalent to the US Rangers , the Belgian armed forces had a Para-Commando-Brigade (French Régiment Para-Commando) with two paratroopers and one command battalion. The 1st Belgian Corps was assigned to NATO and the rest to the domestic armed forces. The 1st Belgian Corps was used operationally in the border defense of the FRG and originally came from the occupation forces after the Second World War. The brigades included two tank battalions, one anti-tank battalion, one or two tank battalions, an artillery battalion, an engineer company and various supply troops. In the early 1980s, the Belgian Corps was considered the weakest on the NATO central front. It comprised 25,000 men in an armored and an armored infantry brigade. Since 1976 the workforce had been reduced by 7,000 men. A mechanized infantry brigade and division troops were relocated back to Belgium . Only after mobilization were the Belgians able to grow two divisions. In peacetime the Belgian Army had a strength of 34,000 men, which in the V case could be doubled to 68,000 men. Many of these troops were stationed in West Germany. At that time around 60,000 Belgian soldiers living in the FRG, including their family members, had to be supported. In 1973 two brigades were relocated to Belgium, north of Leonsburg and south of Bastogne / Marche-en-Famenne. This alleviated some of the social problems associated with the separation of troops stationed in West Germany and home. The troops of the I. BE Corps participated in a number of annual exercises and maneuvers to maintain a continuous combat readiness.

Armament and equipment

After the Second World War, the Belgian army was one of the largest buyers of US military equipment. This included tanks, armored personnel carriers, machine guns, rocket launchers and more. Between 1970 and 1980 the Belgian army bought 96 M108 self-propelled howitzers and 41 M109 self-propelled howitzers , 290 tactical HAWK anti-aircraft missiles in support of the Belgian NIKE squadrons . There were also sales contracts worth US $ 110 million for 127 M109A2 SP155mm howitzers from BMY and another contract worth US $ 106 million for 114,000 pieces of 155mm ammunition for the M485A2 main battle tank from General Defense Corp. The main equipment included the armored personnel carrier (Transportpanzer, APC - Armored Personnel Carrier). 1,000 outdated M75 APC and AMX-VCI vehicles had to be replaced by 500 new AIFV tanks (Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle). Also over 500 MI 13 and 80 GTK boxers . The latter is fully amphibious and a MILAN -PALR can be fired from its turret . For a long time, there were no modernization plans for the modernization of the Belgian tank and artillery forces. There were over 300 Leopard 1 main battle tanks in their active combat forces. In the reserve there were still 55 outdated M47 MBTs. For a long time, the artillery relied on light artillery with 105mm self-propelled guns. These were 20-year-old self- propelled howitzers with a short range and a low explosive radius per projectile. This made them significantly weaker than 155mm self-propelled howitzers, as they were common with NATO at the time. The modernization process took place between 1975 and 1985 . The Leopard 1 was the standard vehicle in the tank battalions. Only the reconnaissance units used lighter types of tanks. The anti-tank battalions were equipped with various light anti-tank weapons (LAW - Light Antitank Weapons). These mainly included Swingfire and MILAN, as well as tank destroyers from tank destroyers . Gepard anti-aircraft tanks manufactured in Germany were added to the Belgian anti-aircraft batteries. In 1984 Honest John tactical missiles were replaced by Lance medium-range missiles. Among the most battle-tested troops were the Para-Kommandos that fought in Kolwezi Province in 1978 .

history

The I. BE Corps was established during the First World War , fought during the Second World War and was stationed in Germany during the Cold War . During the Belgian campaign in 1940 , the I. BE Corps held defensive positions near Liège (the battle for Fort Eben-Emael also took place in this section), but was defeated by the XVI. Panzer Corps forced to retreat. After the end of World War II, the Belgian association belonged to the Allied occupation forces. The headquarters of the corps was from October 15, 1946 in the Yser barracks in Lüdenscheid . In November, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Piron took command. In 1948 the HQ moved to the Haelen barracks near Junkersdorf in Cologne-Lindenthal . During the Cold War, the I. BE Corps was integrated into Army Group NORTHAG. During this time, the association was also equipped with short-range nuclear missiles. During the Battle Royal maneuver in September 1954 , the I. BE Corps consisted of the 1st BE Infantry Division (1st Division d'Infanterie) and the 16th BE Panzer Division (16th Pantserdivisie), to which the 1st Canadian Brigade and the 46. Paratrooper Brigade (16th UK Airborne Division). The Corps' 14th and 20th Artillery Battalions were supported by the 4th U.S. Army Field Artillery Division. This department was stationed near the Belgian battalions, in the Houthulst barracks, Langenwiedenweg, in Werl . In 1960 the 1st and 16th divisions were reclassified into mechanized divisions (Panzergrenadierdivision) of the LANDCENT type. At that time the 1st Division in Bensberg consisted of the 1st Infantry Brigade ( Siegen ), 7th Infantry Brigade ( Spich ) and 18th Panzer Brigade ( Euskirchen ). The 16th Panzer Division was divided into the 17th Panzer Brigade ( Düren ), the 16th Infantry Brigade (Lüdenscheid) and the 4th Infantry Brigade ( Soest ). In 1966 the mechanization of the Belgian army was further advanced and the armed forces were reduced to divisions with only two active brigades. In 1985 , the 16th Panzer Division consisted of the 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade in Soest and the 17th Panzer Brigade in Siegen. The 1st Division in Belgium consisted of the 1st Panzer Grenadier Brigade in Bourg Leopold and the 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade in Marche / Ardennes. In 1985 the I. BE Corps had the 10th Mechanized and the 12th Motorized Brigade available. In 1995 the corps merged with the 1st Mechanized Division and the Paracommando Brigade (FschJg) to form the Intervention Force. In 1996 the HQ was moved back from Germany to Belgium .

Commanding generals

• 1946 Lieutenant Général G. Fromont
• 1946 - 1951 Lieutenant Général JB Piron
• 1951-1954 Lieutenant Général A. Tromme
• 1954 - 1958 Lieutenant Général O. Gierst
• 1958 - 1960 Lieutenant General P. Berben
• 1960 - 1964 Lieutenant Général A. Crahay
• 1964 - 1966 Lieutenant Général A. Melchior
• 1966 - 1971 Lieutenant Général A. Franck
• 1971 - 1974 Lieutenant Général L. Teysen
• 1974 - 1976 Lieutenant General Ph. Brecx
• 1976 - 1978 Lieutenant General W. Gontier
• 1978 - 1979 Lieutenant General C. Ameryckx
• 1979 - 1981 Lieutenant General E. De Wilder
• 1981 - 1982 Lieutenant Général M. Gysemberg
• 1982 - 1986 Lieutenant General J. De Boodt
• 1986 - 1988 Lieutenant General H. Depoorter
• 1988-1993 Lieutenant Général R. Cauchie
• 1993 - 1996 Lieutenant General F. Briquemont

Subordinate associations

• 1st Division d'Infanterie
• 16de Pantserdivisie
  • 4th Pantser Infantry Brigade
  • 17th Brigade Blindée (17th Pantser Brigade)
  • 10th Pantser Infantry Brigade
• Corps Recon (Corps Reconnaissance)
• Corps Artillery (corps artillery)

The I. BE Corps had the following battle structure under NORTHAG in 1989:

Web links

• De 17e Pantserbrigade - La 17ème Brigade Blindée (Televox 1987) (French)
• Les FBA - Les Forces Belges en Allemagne 1946 - 2005 (French)

Notes and individual references

1. ^ Defense position according to NATO's General Defense Plan
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x} Belgian Army - History - Cold War at www.globalsecurity.org
3. ↑ First major NATO maneuver in the Quakenbrück - Münster - Paderborn - Lemgo - Minden area with the participation of the I. BR Corps and the I. BE Corps
4. ↑ Les Commandants en Chef des Forces Belges en Allemagne depuis 1946
5. ↑ ADM Atomic Demolition Ammunition