Northern Army Group

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Association badge of the NORTHAG
AFCENT command structure
Areas of responsibility of the corps in NATO Central Europe in the 1980s
Units in 1989

The Northern Army Group ( NORTHAG - Army Group North ) was a federation of several Western European army corps , which during the Cold War in case of defense of NATO should be assumed. They would have been under a single command .

Operating area

In NATO's defense plan against a potential threat from the Warsaw Pact , NORTHAG was assigned the area between Hamburg and Kassel (north-south) and the German-Dutch or Belgian border up to the (then) inner-German border (west-east) . The locations of the NORTHAG armed forces were accordingly largely in this area. To the north, the command area of ​​the Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) and the Central Army Group (CENTAG) to the south .

assignment

NORTHAG had its defense focus in the North German Plain and would in fact only have started the defense at the level of the Weser Uplands. NORTHAG had nine divisions at its disposal on a front width of 380 kilometers. NORTHAG had divided its area of ​​responsibility into several lines of delay and defense (LIVERPOOL and TORONTO on the Ems - Soest - Winterberg line , Weser - Fulda line). In the 1989 scenario, the Elbe Lateral Canal largely represented the VRV . To the east of it in Wendland and in the Wolfsburg area , delay units (including the 41st NL Panzer Brigade) were deployed. The key sites were located south of Hamburg , in the Nordheide, between Celle and Hanover and between Hanover and Salzgitter . Depending on the course of the war, the I. NL Corps, I. DE Corps and I. BR Corps should carry out armored counter-attacks.

history

The High Command ( HQ ) NORTHAG was set up on November 1st, 1952 in Bad Oeynhausen and moved to Mönchengladbach - Rheindahlen in 1954 . At the Mönchengladbach location, the HQ NORTHAG was merged with three other command posts, the headquarters of the Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and the headquarters of the Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG).

In the 1960s, NORTHAG's plan of operations aimed at channeling enemy units until they reached the defense area in the Weser area . During this time, an operational deep reconnaissance was carried out at a depth of up to 500 kilometers on the territory of the GDR and Poland . This educational work was supported by the British 23rd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). In order to protect oneself from a possible surprise attack by the Warsaw Pact and to make a sensible division of troops at the focal points, the reconnaissance results that could be obtained within the first 48 hours after the occurrence of an armed conflict were assigned.

In the 1980s, the staff of the I. DE Corps adhered to the tactic “hold on to the VRV”. The GDP 88 of the I. BR Corps provided for a much more mobile defense up to the line of the Weser. The North German Plain was viewed by NATO as one of the most important and at the same time most vulnerable sections in Germany's defense. In the case of the I. NL Corps, it was assumed that it would take about 48 hours before the GDP positions could be reached. The I. DE Corps had the task of conducting the delayed battle until the I. NL Corps was fully operational . The I. BR Corps withheld some of its forces in Great Britain. The "weaker" division was deployed in more difficult terrain. The same applied to the I. BE Corps, which also had difficult terrain to maintain and only had two divisions available to defend the so-called "Strip of Göttingen". It kept around 50% of its troops in Belgium. For the REFORGER provision of the III. US Corps was estimated to take about 30 days.

COMNORTHAG General Martin Farndale had a new multinational operational concept practiced in 1987 on the "Certain Strike" exercise (September 10-25, 1987), during which a complete US corps was relocated to Germany for the first time.

Maneuver (selection)

  • Maiden Trip (1979) 43rd Pantser Brigade (NL)
  • Thor Keystone (1979)
  • Hard Fist (1979)
  • Spearpoint 80 / Crusader (1980) in the Hildesheim conurbation, Hanover, Alfeld, Hameln
  • Strong Weir 82 (1982)
  • Eternal Triangle (1983)
  • REFORGER '83
  • Lionheart 84 (1984) the greatest autumn maneuver of the British since the end of WW II
  • Defiant Saxons (1985)
  • Crossed Swords (1986)

Association badge

During the construction of the main building for the joint headquarters, the JHQ (Joint Headquarters), a Franconian battle ax ( Franziska ) was found. It was chosen as the association badge for the NORTHAG, as it symbolizes the victory of a western army against attackers from the east. The Franks defeated an army under the leadership of Attila near Châlons-sur-Marne in AD 451 , thus ending a conquest of Western Europe by the Huns .

organization

In the NATO command structure, the HQ NORTHAG was subordinate to the Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), which was subordinate to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).

The commander-in-chief of HQ NORTHAG was basically a British general who was also commander-in-chief of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). The chief of staff was a German major general , with a Belgian and a Dutch major general as deputy.

The following national associations have been assigned to HQ NORTHAG:

These associations were subordinate to their respective national command posts. The entire power of command over the corps should only be transferred to NATO, and thus to HQ NORTHAG, in the event of a defense. The air support should be provided by the 2 ATAF.

In addition to the multinational staff, the following national troops were subordinate to the HQ NORTHAG even in peacetime:

  • the 13th Belgian telecommunications company (13th Cie T Tr)
  • the 28th British Telecommunications Regiment (NORTHAG)
  • the German telecommunications battalion 840 (NORTHAG)
  • a Dutch telecommunications company and the
  • NORTHAG-Fernmeldekompanie (NORTHAG Air Support Radio Squadron), which was composed of soldiers from all four nations.

Internally, the NORTHAG Signal Group was responsible for communication between the headquarters and the associations. This was a multinational department that made use of the subordinate telecommunications associations, which each had to set up a different type of connection (radio relay, cable connection, etc.).

In the event of a defense, the headquarters of NORTHAG and 2 ATAF were to be relocated to the JOC ( Joint Operation Center ), a bunker facility in Cannerberg near Maastricht .

List of commanders

As a rule, the COMNORTHAG had a double function as commander of the BAOR and at the same time as COMNORTHAG. Served as COMNORTHAG:

  • General Sir John Harding, August 1951-September 1952
  • General Sir Richard N. Gale, September 1952-January 1957
  • General Sir A. Dudley Ward, January 1957-January 1960
  • General Sir A. James H. Cassels , January 1960-April 1963
  • General Sir William Gurdon Stirling , April 1963 - April 1966
  • General Sir John W. Hackett, April 1966-July 1968
  • General Sir GRDesmond Fitzpatrick, July 1968 - December 1970
  • General Sir Peter M. Hunt , December 1970-April 1973
  • General Sir Harry C. Tuzo, April 1973 - January 1976
  • General Sir Frank D. King, January 1976 - September 1978
  • General Sir William NR Scotter, September 1978-October 1980
  • General Sir J. Michael Gow, October 1980-July 1983
  • General Sir Nigel T. Bagnall, July 1983-July 1985
  • General Sir Martin B. Farndale, July 1985-November 1987
  • General Sir Brian LG Kenny, November 1987 - November 1989
  • General Sir Peter A. Inge, November 1989 - January 1992
  • General Sir Charles RL Guthrie, January 1992-March 1994

resolution

On June 24, 1993, the headquarters of NORTHAG and 2 ATAF were officially dissolved during a military ceremony. The last in command of NORTHAG was General Sir Charles Guthrie . The last chief of staff was Major General Helmut Willmann , later commander of the Eurocorps .

literature

  • Army Group North - Brochure - Publisher: HQ NORTHAG 1987
  • The five headquarters in Mönchengladbach - Brochure - Mönch-Verlag Koblenz 1987
  • The History of Northern Army Group Publisher: HQ NORTHAG 1993
  • C. McInnes: New Thinking in NORTHAG: The BAOR / NORTHAG Concept of Operations . Paper presented at 1988 International Studies Association Annual Convention, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 01/04/1988 - 30/04/1988
  • Jan Hoffenaar and Dieter Krüger: Blueprints for Battle: Planning for War in Central Europe, 1948-1968 . Foreign Military Studies, University Press of Kentucky, 2012

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martin Rink: Die Bundeswehr 1950 / 55-1989 (contributions to military history - military history compact, volume 6). De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2015. p. 192. ISBN 978-3-11-044096-6 .
  2. ↑ Heiner Möllers and Rudolf J. Schlaffer: Sonderfall Bundeswehr ?: Armed Forces in National Perspectives and in International Comparison (Security Policy and Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, Volume 12). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. 2014. p. 86. ISBN 978-3-11-034812-5 .
  3. ↑ Helmut R. Hammerich, Dieter H. Kollmer and Martin Rink: Das Heer 1950 to 1970: Concept, Organization and Positioning (Security Policy and Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, Volume 3), De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2006, p. 137, ISBN 978- 348-657-974-1 .
  4. ↑ Helmut R. Hammerich and Dieter H. Kollmer: Das Heer 1950 to 1970: conception, organization and installation. (Security Policy and Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, Volume 3). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. 2006. p. 137. 978-3486579741.
  5. ^ Martin Rink: Die Bundeswehr 1950 / 55-1989 (contributions to military history - military history compact, volume 6). De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2015. p. 193. ISBN 978-3-11-044096-6 .
  6. ^ Dieter Krüger and Felix Schneider: The Alps in the Cold War: Historical Space, Strategy and Security Policy (Contributions to Military History, Volume 71). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. 2011, p. 261. ISBN 978-348-658817-0 .
  7. ^ Günter Weisse, Andre Klump and Michael Frings: NATO-Intelligence: The military intelligence in the Supreme Headquarters (Shape): 1985-1989. Ibidem, 2013, ISBN 978-383820563-2 .
  8. ^ Richard J. Aldrich: Strategy and Counter-Surprise: Intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group. University of Warwick
  9. ^ [Helmut R. Hammerich: Defense at the Forward Edge of the Battle or rather in the Depth? Different approaches to implement NATO's operation plans by the alliance partners, 1955-1988]
  10. ^ Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). Retrieved June 19, 2018 .
  11. ↑ The exercise involved a complex passage of line in which 3 Corps passed through 1 Panzer-Division's lines in order to mount a counter-attack across River Aller in Anthony King: The Transformation of Europe's Armed Forces: From the Rhine to Afghanistan, Cambridge University Press, 2011. p. 110, ISBN 978-052-176-094-2 .
  12. ^ REFORGER 87 - Certain Strike. The Cold War's Largest Transatlantic Bridge
  13. ^ REFORGER Exercise Certain Strike 1987
  14. ↑ https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB427/docs/10-CINCUSAREUR.pdf REFORGER '83 After Action Report
  15. ↑ NATO Autumn Forge exercises: victilll of Vienna conventional forces talks? 1989
  16. ↑ NATO bunker. "Cannerberg" command post b. Maastricht. ACE-High Journal. Transmitter Journal
  17. ^ British Army Comand