Territorial Command

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A territorial command was a higher command authority in the territorial army of the Bundeswehr .

The following territorial commands were planned:

history

Deployment (Army Structure III)

Organization of the Territorial Army 1969–1992

Until 1969, the Territorial Defense Command was the supreme command authority of the Territorial Army . In 1969, the Territorial Defense Command was decommissioned as part of the capture of Army Structure III and dissolved on March 31, 1970. The concept of an independent armed forces under national leadership was abandoned. Instead, the troops previously subordinated to the Territorial Defense Command were assigned en masse to the Army . From then on, the army was divided into the field army, which was integrated into the NATO command structure , and the territorial army under national command. Many of the previous orders were transferred to the command authorities in the army, in particular the newly established territorial commands Schleswig-Holstein , North and South in 1969 .

The spatial responsibility of the territorial commands encompassed the area of ​​an army group and extended to several federal states . The territorial commands were subordinate to the inspector of the army or the command staff of the army . Even in the event of a defense , the territorial commands were not integrated into the NATO command structure, but were subordinate to the national commander. The territorial commandos were subordinate to the homeland security commandos, large infantry units , which were locally and temporarily capable of conducting combat in the rear area .

Army structure IV

With Army Structure IV , the partially active homeland security commands that had existed since 1970 were converted into six homeland security brigades and six more inactive homeland security brigades were set up. This was the first time that the territorial army received partially mechanized brigades capable of conducting independent combat , which could be deployed as a mobile reserve against enemy troops. In 1985 the territorial army reached its largest size with around 64,000 soldiers. After mobilization, it should grow to around 450,000 men. In the mid-1980s , additional support units were set up. They should serve as the logistical backbone for the planned VS reinforcements from overseas. These units emerged from the Wartime Host Nation Support Program . The legal basis was an agreement with the United States of April 15, 1982. The transport of troops across the Atlantic was trained annually as part of the REFORGER exercises.

Army structure V

Organization of the territorial army in West Germany in the subsequent Army Structure V

In Army Structure V in the early 1990s , the territorial army was significantly reduced as a result of the end of the Cold War . In East Germany , the Territorial Command East was reorganized. The plan was to merge the staffs and units of the field and territorial armies. The territorial commands and corps or the divisions and military area commands should merge in the peace structure. This amalgamation was only partially realized. At the corps / territorial command level, only the corps / territorial command east merger was carried out but was soon reversed. Instead, all territorial commands were decommissioned by 1995. The merged divisions / military area commands were directly subordinated to the Army Command .

Overview of the territorial commands

Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command

Association badge Territorialkommando Schleswig-Holstein

The Territorial Command Schleswig-Holstein was the territorial command in Military District I . From 1969 to 1994, the staff of the territorial command was also the Staff of the Military District Command I . This defense area included the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein . The seat of the staff was Kiel . Unlike the command areas of the other territorial commands, his defense area was not in the area of ​​the Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) but was assigned to the area of ​​the Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) . The commander of the territorial command was also the "German Plenipotentiary in the area of Allied Forces Northern Europe ". The Territorial Command primarily supported the German units of the German- Danish headquarters of the Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT) .

The Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command was established in 1969 and dissolved in 1994. Territorial defense tasks of the Territorial Command North were transferred to the merged " Wehrbereichskommando I / 6th Panzer Grenadier Division".

Territorial Command North

The territorial command north was the territorial command in the area of ​​the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) or in the military areas II and III . These two defense areas included the states of Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia and Bremen . The headquarters of the staff was the JHQ Rheindahlen in Mönchengladbach .

The North Territorial Command was established in 1969 and dissolved in 1994. Territorial defense tasks of the Territorial Command North were assigned to the merged Military Area Command II / 1st Panzer Division and the Military Area Command III / 7th Panzer Division .

Territorial Command South

Association badge Territorialkommando Süd

The Territorial Command South was the Territorial Command in the area of ​​the Central Army Group (CENTAG) or in the Defense Areas IV , V and VI . These three defense areas included the states of Hesse , Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland , Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria . The headquarters of the staff was Heidelberg .

The South Territorial Command was established in 1969 and dissolved in 1994. Territorial defense tasks of the Territorial Command South were assigned to the merged Military Area Command IV / 5th Panzer Division , Military Area Command V / 10th Panzer Division and Military Area Command VI / 1st Mountain Division .

Territorial Command East (Corps / Territorial Command East)

The Eastern Territorial Command was reorganized after reunification to manage Defense Areas VII and VIII . These two defense areas included the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Saxony , Thuringia , Brandenburg , Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin . The seat of the staff was Potsdam . In contrast to West Germany , the merger of the corps and territorial commands provided for in Army Structure V was carried out in East Germany, so that territorial defense in East Germany was organized between 1991 and 1995 by the merged “Corps / Territorial Command East”.

The Eastern Territorial Command was established in 1991 and dissolved in 1995. Tasks of territorial defense of the "Corps / Territorialkommando Ost" were assigned to the merged Military Area Command VII / 13th Panzer Grenadier Division and to Military Area Command VIII / 14th Panzer Grenadier Division. The IV Corps emerged from the corps .

Web links

Commons : Coats of arms Territorialkommandos (Bundeswehr)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Sleeping army . In: Der Spiegel . No. 35 , 1970 ( online ).
  • Rolf Clement, Paul Elmar Jöris : 50 years of the Bundeswehr . Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg, Berlin, Nonn 2005, ISBN 3-8132-0839-7 .
  • OW Dragoons: The Bundeswehr 1989 . Territorial Command SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Territorial Command NORTH. Territorial Command SOUTH. Appendix: Territorial structure. 4th edition. 2.2 - Army, February 2012 ( religte.com [PDF; accessed July 10, 2018]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the Central Service Regulations (ZDv) 1/50, No. 202, subordination to troops is the basic subordination relationship in the armed forces. This essentially includes personal - especially disciplinary - matters, training, care and other professional matters.