Armored Brigade 20th

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Tank brigade 20
"Märkisches Sauerland"
- PzBrig 20 -
X

Association badge tank brigade 20

Association badge
active April 1, 1965 to 
March 19, 1992
Country GermanyGermany Germany
Armed forces Bundeswehr Kreuz.svg armed forces
Armed forces Bundeswehr Kreuz.svg army
Type Tank brigade
last staff seat Iserlohn

The tank brigade 20 "Märkisches Sauerland" in Hemer (later Iserlohn ) was from 1964 a brigade of the Army of the German Armed Forces and the 7th Panzer Division . The brigade was stationed in the Sauerland and was disbanded on March 19, 1992. From March 1970 to April 1975 the association operated as the 100th Panzer Regiment and was directly subordinate to the 1st Corps .

history

Prehistory in the army structure 1

The second seat of the staff was the Blücher barracks in Hemer

On January 11, 1957, the 13th Panzer Grenadier Battalion moved from Schleswig to Hemer ( Blücher barracks ) and was subordinated to the 3rd Panzer Division in Hamburg. The 20th Panzer Brigade traced its origins back to this battalion, and this reference can also be found on the internal association symbol with the 3 stars together with the 13 points. In a first reclassification in 1959, Panzergrenadierbataillon 203 emerged from Panzergrenadierbataillon 13, Panzergrenadierbataillon 203 became Panzergrenadierbrigade 204 and thus formed the origin of the planned Armored Infantry Brigade 20.

Army structure 2

In October 1961 advance personnel were created to set up this brigade and the personnel were further strengthened in October 1963. On April 1, 1964, the 20 Panzer Grenadier Brigade was officially set up in Hemer under its first commander, Colonel Fritz Möller. The brigade was subordinated to the 7th Panzer Grenadier Division in Unna. In 1965 the 7th Panzer Grenadier Division changed from the I. Corps in Münster to the III. Corps in Koblenz. This resulted in the reclassification to the Panzer Division. As a result, the 2nd Brigade of the division, the 20 Panzergrenadierbrigade, which was in formation, became a tank brigade, Panzerbrigade 20, which resulted in the renaming of Panzergrenadier Battalion 203 to Panzergrenadier Battalion 202. At the beginning of June 1965, in addition to the Panzergrenadierbataillon 202 (Hemer, Commander Lieutenant Colonel Schuwirth) and the Panzer Battalion 204 (Hemer, Commander Lieutenant Colonel van Lessen), there was also the supply battalion 206 ( Essen-Kupferdreh , Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jorke). In the same year, the armored infantry battalion 203 ( Wuppertal , Commander Lieutenant Colonel Niepenberg) was set up. However, the association still had no organic artillery battalion and no brigade units except for the headquarters company (chief: Major Boulanger). The field replacement battalion 207 in Menden was set up later.

Army structure 3

As a tank regiment in Army Structure 3

Association badge of the 100th Panzer Regiment

When not all of the planned tank brigades were set up in the 1960s, the 20th Panzer Brigade was converted into the 100th Panzer Regiment ( I. Corps ) in Hemer (Commander Colonel von Senger-Etterlin) on March 18, 1970 as a temporary solution, as the tank brigade had previously been part of the tank brigade 20 only two combat battalions. The 110 tank battalion and the 120 tank battalion were set up, each with an additional armored infantry company. The regiment's headquarters company also received a supply train, a pioneer train and an anti-tank mortar train. Due to difficulties in the management after the changeover, the headquarters company was separated from the trains and divided into a headquarters company and a supply company. In addition, the regiment received a repair company of the repair battalion 7 .

As a brigade in the Army Structure 3

On April 25, 1975, the 100th Panzer Regiment again became the 20th Panzer Brigade and an experimental brigade of Army Structure 4 . The two tank battalions 110 and 120 were given the designation Panzerbataillon 202 and 203 and the previously affiliated tank grenadier companies and the Panzermörserzug the Stabskompanie united to Panzergrenadier battalion 201. From the engineer platoon of Stabskompanie originated the tanks engineer company 200. The supply company was from Hemer to Unna laid and to supply company 200 expanded. The repair company of the repair battalion 7, which belonged to the previous regiment, was reorganized into the repair company 200. In October 1975 the armored artillery battalion 205 was set up in Dülmen from sub-units of the field artillery battalion 110. In the one-year test phase of Army Structure 4, Type 3 from July 1, 1976 to June 30, 1977, the armored infantry battalion 191 received and gave it Panzergrenadierbataillon 201 (formed April 1, 1975) to 19 Panzergrenadierbrigade in Ahlen . In detail, the brigade was therefore in the test phase:

  • Headquarters company
  • Panzer Grenadier Battalion 191
  • Panzerbataillon 202 (established April 1, 1975)
  • Panzerbataillon 203 (formerly Panzerbataillon 120, established April 1, 1975)
  • Panzerbataillon 204 (formation April 1, 1975)
  • Panzerartilleriebataillon 205 (set up October 1, 1975 in Dülmen )
  • Panzerpionierkompanie 200 (listed April 1, 1975)
  • Panzerjägerkompanie 200 ( Wuppertal , later Hemer )
  • Supply company 200 (listed April 1, 1975, Unna )
  • Repair company 200 (listed April 1, 1975)

In April 1976 the headquarters company moved from Hemer to Iserlohn so that the new Panzerjäger Company 200 could be set up in Hemer. Army Structure 4 proved to be viable and operational during military training stays and combat exercises, so that Panzergrenadierbataillon 191 and Panzergrenadierbataillon 201 were subordinated to their brigades again.

Army structure 4

On October 1, 1980, Panzergrenadierbataillon 201 was renamed to Panzergrenadierbataillon 202. Panzergrenadierbataillon 202 was renamed Panzergrenadierbataillon 204 at about the same time and moved to Ahlen. In Hemer, the mixed tank battalion 201 was also set up, whose three combat companies: one Panzergrenadier company, and two tank companies, were subordinate to the existing three battalions. Panzerjägerkompanie 200, newly equipped with the HOT anti-tank missile system , was relocated from Hemer to Wuppertal. From 1983 the brigade received the Leopard 2 main battle tank .

The brigade comprised around 2900 soldiers in the peace structure in the autumn of 1989 . The planned growth force in the case of defense was around 3300 men. For nursery which was convened by reservists and the mobilization of non-active units provided. At the end of Army Structure 4 in autumn 1989, the brigade was still part of the 7th Panzer Division and was roughly divided into the following troop units :

From 1990 the brigade was nicknamed the Märkisches Sauerland. The Panzerjägerkompanie 200 relocated back to Hemer in 1990.

Army structure 5 until disbandment

Tank brigade 20 “Märkisches Sauerland” was disbanded on March 19, 1992 , soon after the end of the Cold War . The armored battalion 203 and the armored artillery battalion 205 changed as well as the armored pioneer company 200 to the meanwhile also disbanded Panzergrenadierbrigade 19 “Münsterland” in Ahlen . While the armored artillery battalion 205 shared the fate of the armored grenadier brigade 19, the armored battalion 203 and the armored pioneer company 200 moved to Augustdorf , where they are now subordinate to the 21 armored brigade .

Commanders

The commanders of the brigade were (rank when taking command):

No. Surname Beginning of the appointment End of appointment
11 Colonel Henning Brümmer October 1, 1990 March 31, 1993
10 Colonel Klaus von Heimendahl April 1, 1985 September 30, 1990
9 Colonel Hartmut Foertsch October 1, 1982 March 31, 1985
8th Colonel Dr. Dietrich Genschel October 1, 1980 September 30, 1982
7th Colonel Dieter Clauss April 1, 1979 September 30, 1980
6th Colonel Henning von Ondarza 1st October 1977 March 31, 1979
5 Colonel Hans Velde 1st October 1973 September 30, 1977
4th Colonel Gottfried Tornau April 1, 1970 September 30, 1973
3 Colonel Dr. Ferdinand von Senger and Etterlin 1st October 1969 March 31, 1970
2 Colonel Ernst-August Blumschein October 1, 1965 September 30, 1969
1 Colonel Fritz Möller April 1, 1964 September 30, 1965

Association badge

Hand-embroidered association badge for the service suit
Internal association badge of the staff / staff company

The blazon of the association badge for the uniform of the members of the Panzer Brigade 20 read:

Red rimmed in red a rising silver Ross .

The association badge showed the Westphalia horse . It is similar to the coat of arms of the Prussian province of Westphalia , whose coat of arms also part later of the North Rhine-Westphalian coat of arms is where most units of the Division deployed were. The association badges of the division and the subordinate brigades were identical except for the shelves . In the tradition of the Prussian color sequence , the association badge of the Panzer Brigade 20 was given a red border as the "second" brigade of the division.

Since the badges of the division's brigades differed only slightly, the internal badge of the staff or the staff company pars pro toto was occasionally used as the brigade's "badge" instead . It showed the horse known from the association badge , a stylized Leopard 2 battle tank , three wolf fishing rods as in the city ​​arms of Hemer and other places in the region, and three stars in the shield head .

Remarks

  1. ↑ From March 18, 1970 to April 25, 1975, the 20th Panzer Brigade was planned as the 100th Panzer Regiment .
  2. ↑ Shown are the internal association badges, for which a wearing permit was officially granted until around the mid-1980s. Inactive units (equipment units, partially active, cadre units) are shown in italics .
  3. ^ "First" brigade: Panzergrenadierbrigade 19 (= white board). "Second" Brigade: Panzer Brigade 20 (= red board). "Third" Brigade: Panzer Brigade 21 (= yellow board).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c location database of the Bundeswehr in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the training grounds used by the Bundeswehr abroad. In: Website of the Military History Research Office . Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr , Military History Research Office , accessed on February 17, 2020 (For technical reasons, direct links to individual search queries or search results are not possible. Please use the “search form” to research information on the individual departments).
  2. ↑ a b c d O. W. Dragoner (Ed.): The Bundeswehr 1989 . Organization and equipment of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany at the end of the Cold War. 4th edition. 2.1 - Army. Army Office. I. Corps. II Corps. III. Corps, February 2012 (167 p., Relektiven.com [PDF; 747 kB ; accessed on February 21, 2020] First edition: 2009, overview of the series at Relict.com).
  3. ^ Uwe Walter: The structures and associations of the German army . 1st edition. Part 1., I. Corps: (1956-1995). Edition AVRA, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-946467-32-8 , pp. 104 (260 pp.).
  4. ↑ Section MA 3 : BArch BH 9-20 / Panzer Brigade 20 –Märkisches Sauerland–. In: Research application invenio . President of the Federal Archives , 2004, accessed on February 17, 2020 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 26 ′ 31 ″  N , 7 ° 46 ′ 15.1 ″  E