NATO Battlegroup Lithuania

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A German Marder armored personnel carrier and a Dutch armored personnel carrier CV9035 after an exercise in June 2017
Main battle tank Leopard 2 on the Lithuanian-Polish border during exercise Iron Wolf, part of Saber Strike 17, in June 2017

The NATO Battlegroup Lithuania is the task force of the North Atlantic Pact Organization ( NATO ) in Lithuania . It has been ready for combat since August 2017 with units rotating from Belgium , Germany , France , Croatia , Luxembourg , the Netherlands and Norway and has a strength of 1,200 men. The association is under the leadership of the German Bundeswehr in Rukla , 30 km from Kaunas .

background

The battlegroup is being set up within the framework of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) decided by the Alliance . This is intended to assure the Baltic countries and Poland of the support of the alliance and a deterrent against Russia . A NATO battle group will be set up in each of the four countries in the course of the year.

The eFP was decided at the alliance summit in July 2016. The “leading nations” are Germany in Lithuania, Great Britain in Estonia , the USA in Poland and Canada in Latvia . Russia sees the deployment of the eFP as a provocation.

deployment

1. rotation

The Bundeswehr provides around 450 soldiers consisting of:

  • a combat company of the Panzer Grenadier Battalion 122 from Oberviechtach with 20 Marder armored personnel carriers ,
  • six Leopard 2A6 battle tanks of Panzerbataillon 104 from Pfreimd and other vehicles as well
  • a supply company and
  • a staff platoon.

2. Rotation

On August 3, 2017, the German commander of the Panzergrenadier Battalion 371 Lieutenant Colonel Thorsten Gensler took over command of the German-led NATO eFP battalion Battle Group Lithuania from Lieutenant Colonel Christoph Huber and the strength of the eFP battalion (without reinforcement forces) in Rukla is according to the operations command of the Bundeswehr a total of 916 soldiers, including:

  • GermanyGermany Germany 442 soldiers
  • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : Mechanized infantry company from 44 Pantserinfanteriebataljon "Johan Willem Friso" (with IFV CV9035NL , total: 237 soldiers)
  • NorwayNorway Norway : mixed mechanized infantry company from Telemark Bataljon (with IFV CV9030NF1 and Leopard 2A4NO, total: 158 soldiers)
  • BelgiumBelgium Belgium : Supply company from 18 Bataljon Logistiek and 29 Bataljon Logistiek (total: 57 soldiers)
  • LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg parts in the supply company, in the staff, as well as reconnaissance forces (total: 22 soldiers)

The Bundeswehr provided parts from the following units:

3. Rotation

On February 5, 2018, the German commander of the Jäger Battalion 292 Lieutenant Colonel Wolf Rüdiger Otto took over command of the German-led NATO eFP battalion Battle Group Lithuania from Lieutenant Colonel Thorsten Gensler. The strength of the eFP battalion (without reinforcement forces) in Rukla amounts to a total of 1286 soldiers, according to the command of the Bundeswehr, including:

  • GermanyGermany Germany 500 soldiers
  • FranceFrance France : A mountain troop company from the 7 e bataillon de chasseurs alpins and an armored train from the 5 e Régiment de Dragons (with BV-206D , Leclerc battle tank , total: 280 soldiers)
  • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : Mechanized infantry company from 44 Pantserinfanteriebataljon "Johan Willem Friso" (with IFV CV9035NL , total: 240 soldiers)
  • CroatiaCroatia Croatia : Mechanized infantry company of the 1st mehanizirana bojna "Tigrovi" (with Patria wheeled armored vehicle , total: 230 soldiers)
  • NorwayNorway Norway : reconnaissance platoon (total: 35 soldiers)
  • IcelandIceland Iceland 1 Staff member of the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs

At its core, the battalion consists of mechanized and infantry forces. Reinforcement forces (e.g. reconnaissance forces , NBC defense or artillery ) are brought in when necessary, for example during exercise projects . The German contribution includes leadership, parts of a staff and supply company and at least one fighting company on a permanent basis.

The Bundeswehr provides parts from the following units of the Franco-German Brigade :

The Bundeswehr mainly uses the GTK Boxer , the Fuchs armored transport vehicle and the Wiesel tracked vehicle as vehicles in this rotation . The international partners use the armored personnel carriers CV90 , Patria AMV , VBCI and the main battle tank Leclerc .

4. Rotation

The forces of the 4th rotation were adopted into action on June 14, 2018 in Bad Frankenhausen . The commander of the 4th rotation eFP battalion Battle Group Lithuania will be the commander of the 393 tank battalion, Lieutenant Colonel René Braun. The Bundeswehr provides parts from the following units of the Panzergrenadierbrigade 37 :

in addition:

  • Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic : mechanized infantry company from the 41st mechanizovaný prapor from Žatec
  • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : Mechanized infantry company from 44 Pantserinfanteriebataljon "Johan Willem Friso" from Havelte , a total of 220 men
  • BelgiumBelgium Belgium : mechanized infantry company from the 1/3 Bataillon de Lanciers from Marche-en-Famenne , a total of 250 men
  • LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg : Reconnaissance platoon from Diekirch , a total of 25 men (integrated into the Belgian company)

5. Rotation

The forces of the 5th rotation were adopted on December 11, 2018 in Pfreimd . The commander of this rotation is the commander of tank battalion 104 from tank brigade 12 , Lieutenant Colonel Peer Papenbroock. With 450 of the total of 600 German soldiers, this association also provides the majority of the forces. In addition, soldiers from the staff / telecommunications company of Panzer Brigade 12, the Central Medical Service , the armed forces base and the Cyber ​​and Information Room command are also involved. In addition to the German parts, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands provide additional forces. Thus, the eFP-Bataillon Battle Group Lithuania I / 2019 is roughly structured:

  • Panzerbataillon 104 from Pfreimd provides not only the battalion command, but also the staff and supply company as well as a combat company
  • Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic : mechanized infantry company
  • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : Mechanized infantry company from the 17th Pantser Infantry Battalion "Guard Regiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene" from Oirschot

It is also planned to strengthen the battle group for exercise projects through combat support forces of the reconnaissance and artillery troops. Around 200 soldiers can be sent to Lithuania for this purpose. The contingent took over from the 4th contingent on February 4, 2019 and will again be deployed in Lithuania for six months.

6. Rotation

From July 2019, the main focus of the forces of the 6th Rotation will be the 391 Panzer Grenadier Battalion from Bad Salzungen . The command of the multinational battlegroup eFP II / 19 will be the battalion commander of this battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Rouven Habel. The first soldiers are moving to Lithuania at the end of July. The 391 Panzer Grenadier Battalion will provide a total of around 500 soldiers. In addition to the battalion command, these are divided into a staff and supply company and a combat company with Marder armored personnel carriers, which is reinforced by battle tanks from tank battalion 393 from Bad Frankenhausen. With the support forces from the supply battalion 131 from Bad Frankenhausen, reconnaissance battalion 13 from Gotha, tank pioneer battalion 701 from Gera and the artillery teaching battalion 345 from Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, over 700 German soldiers will do their service in Lithuania at times. Belgian, Dutch, Norwegian and Czech soldiers will also be part of the battle group. The replacement by the 7th rotation is planned for February 2020.

7. Rotation

The forces of the 7th Rotation, consisting of 1200 men, were mainly provided from February 2020 by the 371 Panzer Grenadier Battalion from Marienberg in Saxony , and other units of the 37th Panzer Grenadier Brigade . The commander of the lead battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Axel Niemann, also became the leader of the EFP battlegroup. Further units come from the following alliance states:

  • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : mechanized infantry from 45 Pantserinfanteriebataljon "Oranje Gelderland" in Havelte with IFV CV9035NL, self-propelled howitzer train from 41 Afdeling artillery "Korps Veldartillerie" from 't Harde with self-propelled howitzer 2000
  • CroatiaCroatia Croatia : mechanized infantry company from the 3rd mehanizirana bojna "Pauci" from Knin (with Patria armored vehicle)
  • NorwayNorway Norway : mechanized infantry company from " Telemark Bataljon" (with IFV CV9030NF1 and Leopard 2A4NO)
  • Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic
  • LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg : parts of the supply company
  • IcelandIceland Iceland

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_146557.htm
  2. ↑ Thomas Wiegold: NATO Battlegroup in Lithuania: German advance command arrived with delay , eyes straight ahead !, January 24, 2017.
  3. ↑ Hundreds of German soldiers in Lithuania from 2017 , Rheinische Post, October 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ Enhanced Forward Presence: Tanks on the way to Lithuania. February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017 .
  5. ^ Press and Information Center of the Army: Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) - Farewell to Lithuania. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Deutschesheer.de, January 17, 2017, archived from the original on February 20, 2017 ; Retrieved February 19, 2017 . 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.deutschesheer.de
  6. ^ NATO presence in the east: battalion from Oberviechtach leads operation in Lithuania ( memento from February 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) , Bayerischer Rundfunk, December 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Lukas Kalvaitis: First troops of the NATO enhanced forward presence battalion come to Lithuania from Belgium. In: http://kam.lt/ . Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, January 24, 2017, accessed June 22, 2018 .
  8. ^ Daniel Richter: Marienberger Jäger adopted into the Baltic States. bundeswehr.de, June 23, 2017, accessed June 28, 2017 (deu).
  9. ↑ Press officer Enhanced Forward Prescence: Anniversary and handover: One year of Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania. bundeswehr.de, February 6, 2018, accessed on February 7, 2018 (deu).
  10. ^ French Contingent beginning service with the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion to be introduced at a ceremony in Rukla. In: http://kam.lt/ . Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, January 19, 2018, accessed June 22, 2018 .
  11. ↑ King of the Netherlands visited Dutch military personnel in Rukla. In: http://kam.lt/ . Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, June 15, 2018, accessed June 22, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Croatian soldiers deployed in Lithuania to join the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group. In: http://kam.lt/ . Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, March 17, 2017, accessed June 22, 2018 .
  13. ↑ BMVg press and information staff: Questions and answers on the enhanced forward presence. bundeswehr.de, February 5, 2018, accessed February 7, 2018 (eng).
  14. ↑ Farewell to the tank soldiers in the Baltic States. In: www.deutschesheer.de. German Army, June 15, 2018, accessed June 19, 2018 .
  15. ↑ České jednotky zamíří do Pobaltí. S minomety a obrněnci Pandur. In: https://zpravy.idnes.cz/ . Retrieved July 11, 2018 (cze).
  16. ↑ Preparation for Lithuania: combat exercises on the laptop. In: http://www.deutschesheer.de/ . PIZ German Army, November 16, 2018, accessed December 17, 2018 .
  17. ^ Commanders of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania changed over. In: http://kariuomene.kam.lt/ . MOD Lithuania, February 4, 2019, accessed March 19, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Farewell to the Upper Palatinate soldiers in Lithuania. In: http://www.deutschesheer.de/ . PIZ Deutsches Heer, December 17, 2018, accessed on December 17, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Preparation for Lithuania: Grenadiers practice delay combat. In: https://www.deutschesheer.de/ . PIZ German Army, March 19, 2019, accessed on March 19, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Robert-Helge Patry: Panzergrenadierbataillon 371 exercises intensively for Lithuania. In: https://www.bundeswehr.de/ . PIZ German Army, September 27, 2019, accessed on July 28, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Effective deterrence and defense at the eastern NATO borders is our common commitment, Minister of National Defense R. Karoblis says. In: http://kam.lt/ . Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, February 6, 2020, accessed July 28, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Homecoming ceremony for 2nd HRVCON to Lithuania. In: https://www.morh.hr/ . Croatian Ministry of Defense, July 24, 2020, accessed July 28, 2020 .