Jägerbataillon 33 (Federal Army)

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Jägerbataillon 33
- JgB 33 -

Lineup September 13, 1956
Country AustriaAustria Austria
Armed forces Roundel of Austria.svg Federal Army
Armed forces Land Forces
Branch of service Combat troop
Type Hardened infantry force
Subordinate troops

Battalion Command Headquarters
Company
1st Jäger Company
2nd Jäger Company
3rd Jäger Company
Combat Support Company
Insinuation 3rd Fighter Brigade
Seat of the staff Burstyn Barracks , Twelveaxing
Nickname 33er
motto You come from 33!
Colours green
Commander
commander Colonel Rupert Hütter

The Jägerbataillon 33 (JgB 33) emerged from the tank battalion 33 in the course of the army reform in 2016 . Due to this restructuring of the Austrian Armed Forces , the battalion's main battle tanks were surrendered and they were converted into a hardened fighter battalion, which is subordinate to the 3rd Jäger Brigade. With the Dingo 2 , the Pandur armored personnel carrier (Panzer) and the protected reconnaissance vehicle Husar, the battalion has modern, hardened vehicles that contribute to the fulfillment of orders.

The entire unit is stationed in the Burstyn barracks in Zwölfaxing , Lower Austria , and is the only combat unit in the Vienna area alongside the guard battalion .

history

On September 13, 1956, the Federal Ministry of Defense ordered a tank department to be set up in Hörsching . The newly created association was initially referred to as the 1st tank school department of the tank troop school and consisted of the department staff and two tank companies equipped with M24 and T-34/85 tanks. The first draft date of military servants was October 15, 1956. As a result of the Hungarian uprising , two alarm companies were set up and stationed on the Hungarian border from October 1956 to January 1957.

At this point in time, the armored troop school had already been relocated from Hörsching to Götzendorf an der Leitha . The 1st tank school department initially remained in Hörsching. On March 18, 1957, a third tank company was set up in Götzendorf. On September 15, 1957, Zwölfaxing was designated the department's home garrison. For the time being, this only affected the department staff and the 2nd and 3rd companies. The 1st company was stationed as a separate unit in Bruckneudorf . In 1959, the 1st tank school department was the first in Austria to be equipped with the M 47 medium battle tank and was henceforth the most powerful tank unit in the armed forces.

On August 1, 1960, the 1st Panzer School Department was renamed Panzerbataillon 33 and placed under the newly established 9th Panzer Brigade. At the same time, the battalion was reformed and consisted from now on of the department staff, in which an M-47 platoon was integrated, a staff company and three companies that were also equipped with M-47 battle tanks. In May 1961 , a combat exercise was held at the Allentsteig military training area in front of the assembled federal government .

On 29 April 1962, the battalion took solemnly his new ensigns , one of the Officers' Association donated the "Old Rider" script , which the Saxon coat of arms contains. It illustrates the tradition of the Lower Austrian Dragoon Regiment "Friedrich August King of Saxony" No. 3 , the so-called "Saxony Dragoons". This was transferred to the PzB 33 by decree in 1967.

Badge of JgB33, the royal. Saxon coat of arms included

On June 5, 1964, the conversion and training on the M60 A1 battle tank took place . Just one year later, the battalion was able to report that it was fully operational with 51 battle tanks. In the following years, the battalion was involved in all major exercise projects and was able to prove itself in numerous deployments in disasters, both in the home state and in Vienna , Carinthia and East Tyrol . Because it was equipped with heavy recovery equipment, the PzB 33 had to cope with numerous technical missions.

In 1968, as part of the army reform at that time, the 3rd tank company was shut down, but it was retained as a mob company. On August 21 of the same year, the battalion was alerted due to the Prague Spring and deployed to secure the Vienna-Schwechat airport . On February 20, 1969, a partnership with Simmering-Graz-Pauker AG took place , the first partnership in the history of the Federal Army. The partnership also involved the donation of an honorary horn, which was ceremoniously handed over to the field troop.

From 1975 the battalion also belonged to the "standby force", whose units were intended as counter-attack forces in the context of space defense . In 1981 the 3rd Panzer Company was reactivated, which was only present as a device unit for twelve long years. In cooperation with the Swiss Army , the exercise "Compass" was carried out in 1984 at the Allentsteig military training area. This exercise brought a first high point in terms of combat simulation and led to the conversion to a modern and state-of-the-art radio system.

In January 1985 the structure of the PzB 33 was changed again, now to a "three-way structure". From this point on, the battalion had four tank companies with 13 battle tanks each, with the 4th company being shut down as a Mob company. Meanwhile, the M60 A1 was getting on in years and the general technical condition gave cause for concern. The situation with the engines was particularly critical, which meant that the battalion was denied participation in the parade on the occasion of “30 Years of the Armed Forces”. It was not until 1987 that the first M60 A1 could be handed in for a major overhaul, combined with an increase in combat value . The general renovation and modification to stand M60 A3 Ö was carried out for the tub at the Noricum company in Liezen , for the tower in the Simmering plant of Steyr Daimler Puch AG . At the same time as the tanks were converted, the squad was also retrained for the new A3 Ö. In August 1989, all battle tanks were converted and the battalion was fully operational again.

In November 1990, the battalion moved to the Hungarian border for the first time for assistance , where the Halbturn section was taken over. Due to the Yugoslav crisis , a company of the battalion was stationed on the Slovenian border in the Leibnitz area from July 2 to 10, 1991 . The company consisted of 13 M60 A3 Ös equipped with live ammunition and assigned to Combat Group 1 .

M47 main battle tank; Panzerbataillon 33 was the first Austrian unit to be equipped with tanks of this type in 1959.

In 1997, training on the Leopard 2 A4 main battle tank began for the management staff in the Netherlands and Germany . At the beginning of 1998 the first M60 A3 Ö were decommissioned and on July 17th the first Leopard 2A4 arrived in Zwölfaxing. In September the first sharp shooting could take place in Allentsteig. On October 1, 1998, the 33rd Panzer Battalion was subordinated to the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade, previously it was part of the 9th Panzer Grenadier Brigade . In the same year a train equipped with a Leopard took part in the “ Kristall 98 ” maneuver . Two tank companies were already in action during the “ Smaragd 99 ” exercise . The first foreign deployment took place in 2003 ("AUCON 9 / KFOR ") with 48 cadre soldiers under the leadership of the battalion commander in Kosovo . Since 1996 the battalion has been on friendly terms with the German Panzer Battalion 33 from Neustadt am Rübenberge , combined with joint exercises. In recent years, a close partnership has also developed with the now defunct German tank battalion 363 from Külsheim . There was constant cooperation between Zwölfaxing and Külsheim with regard to training projects. The longstanding relationship with neighboring Germany was also documented by the regular participation of PzB 33 teams in the Ulm arms race. From August 17th to 22nd, 2002 soldiers from PzB 33 helped during the Elbe flood of the century in Germany and were deployed near Magdeburg . There was also a training partnership with the Czech tank battalion 73 from Praslavice .

Leopard 2A4 of the 3rd PzB 33 tank company at a public demonstration in Vorarlberg

Since 2001, teams from the battalion have also taken part in the annual, simulation-based competition for international tank crews on the Leopard 2A4, the “Swiss Tank Challenge”, and have always achieved top positions there.

Structure before 2016

All company badges of the PzB 33
Badge of PzB 33, the royal. Saxon crest containing

As a result of the restructuring of the armed forces, the PzB33 is reorganized into a hardened hunter battalion. All Leopard 2 A4 were brought to Wels in April 2015 and handed over to the 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade.

assignment

The main task of the JgB33 is the national military defense. In addition to its main task, the battalion is also used for disaster relief, assistance (especially border security), missions abroad and participation in international exercises. The tasks in the event of an incident are to secure the Vienna-Schwechat airport , the protection of critical infrastructure and constitutional facilities as well as the fight in urban and rural areas.

Outline and equipment and hardened vehicles

The battalion consists of around 160 professional soldiers (cadre soldiers) and 80 to 160 basic military servants. The battalion is currently equipped with the Dingo 2 , the Pandur armored personnel carrier (Panzer) and the protected reconnaissance vehicle Husar, as well as all common weapons of the Austrian infantry.

structure

  • Battalion Command
  • Headquarters company
  • 1. Hunter company
  • 2. Hunter company
  • 3. Hunter company (militia)
  • Combat Support Company
  • Cadre presence unit

While the 1st Jäger Company is entrusted with the training of recruits, the 2nd Jäger Company has the task of providing a cadre presence unit . Together, both companies form the combat force of Jägerbataillon 33. The Combat Support Company (KUKp) has the battalion's heavy weapons such as sniper rifles, anti-tank guided weapons and grenade launchers. In addition, the combat support company prepares cadre candidates for the NCO and officer courses and also looks after the soldiers during them.

Equipment and hardened vehicles

As a hunting force, the battalion has all the standard infantry weapons of the armed forces such as:

The hardened fighter battalion has modern vehicles such as:

Others

motto

The motto "You come from 33" appeared for the first time in the inaugural speech of the battalion commander Colonel dG Jure Bauer and quickly replaced the "Panzer ahead" slogan, which had become inappropriate due to the restructuring. The nine motto alluded to the soldiers of the battalion, who, regardless of where their military or civilian path leads, should always remember their soldier roots and their origins in "33".

Color and heraldic animals
Presentation of the new company badges 2018

The beret color is due to the 60-year armored tradition and the future as a hardened bandage, black instead of the green usual for infantrymen. The companies carry a heraldic animal that has been a tradition among the 33s for decades and is intended to symbolize the fighting spirit of the soldiers. These are the elephant for the headquarters company, the water buffalo for the 1st company , the rhinoceros for the 2nd company (cadre presence unit) and the bison for the 3rd company at that time, now the combat support company . The command is represented by the pandur (tank) .

Partnerships and charitable commitment

For several years now, JgB 33 has been organizing a charity event during Advent, the net proceeds of which will go to the Children's Cancer Aid parents' initiative . Members of the 33ers also collect donations for the Austrian Black Cross every year . The Jägerbataillon 33 is a partner association of the traditional Dragoon Regiment No. 3 King of Saxony, whose coat of arms is part of the association's badge.

The battalion has its own newspaper, "Der 33er" .

Web links