| German Army | |
|---|---|
| Heer | |
 Logo of the German Army | |
| Founded | 12 November 1955; 70 years ago (12 November 1955)[1] |
| Country |  Germany |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Land warfare |
| Size |
|
| Part of | Bundeswehr |
| Army Command | Strausberg |
| Mottos |
|
| Anniversaries | 12 November 1955 |
| Equipment | List of equipment |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | Awards and decorations |
| Website | deutschesheer |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | |
| Federal Chancellor |  Friedrich Merz |
| Minister of Defence |  Boris Pistorius |
| Inspector General |  GeneralCarsten Breuer |
| Inspector of the Army |  Lieutenant GeneralChristian Freuding |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Insignia |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack helicopter | Eurocopter Tiger |
| Trainer helicopter | Eurocopter EC135 |
| Utility helicopter | NH90 |
TheGerman Army (German:Heer, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces ofGermany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West GermanBundeswehr together with theMarine (German Navy) and theLuftwaffe (German Air Force). As of 2024[update], the German Army had a strength of 63,047 soldiers.[2]
| Bundeswehr |
|---|
 |
| Branches |
| Organisational areas |
| Joint Medical Service Joint Support Service |
A German army equipped, organized, and trained following a single doctrine and permanently unified under one command was created in 1871 during theunification of Germany under the leadership ofPrussia. From 1871 to 1919, the titleDeutsches Heer (German Army) was the official name of the German land forces. Following the German defeat inWorld War I and the end of theGerman Empire, the main army was dissolved. From 1921 to 1935 the name of the German land forces was theReichsheer (Army of the Realm) and from 1935 to 1945 the nameHeer was used. TheHeer was one of two ground forces of the Third Reich duringWorld War II but, unlike theHeer, theWaffen-SS was not a branch of theWehrmacht but was a combat force under theNazi Party's ownSchutzstaffel (SS). TheHeer was formally disbanded in August 1946.[3]
After World War II, Germany wasdivided into theFederal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany), which both formed their own armed forces: on 12 November 1955 the first recruits began their service in the West GermanHeer, while on 1 March 1956 the East GermanLandstreitkräfte der NVA (Land Forces of the National People's Army) were founded. During the Cold War, the West German Army was fully integrated intoNATO's command structure while theLandstreitkräfte were part of theWarsaw Pact. Following the process ofGerman reunification in 1990, theLandstreitkräfte were partially integrated into the German Army. Since then, the German Army has been employed in peacekeeping operations worldwide and since 2002 also in combat operations in Afghanistan as part of NATO'sInternational Security Assistance Force.
Following World War II theAllies dissolved theWehrmacht with all its branches on 20 August 1946. However already one year after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949 and because of its increasing links with the West under German chancellorKonrad Adenauer, the Consultative Assembly ofEurope began to consider the formation of aEuropean Defence Community with German participation on 11 August 1950. Former high-rankingWehrmacht officers outlined in theHimmeroder memorandum a plan for a "German contingent in an international force for the defense of Western Europe." For the German land forces the memorandum envisioned the formation of a 250,000 strong army. The officers saw the need for the formation of twelvePanzer divisions and six corps staffs with accompanying Corps troops, as only armoured divisions could muster a fighting force to throw back the numerically far superior forces of theWarsaw Pact.[4]
Theodor Blank was appointed "officer of the Federal Chancellor for the Strengthening of Allied Troops questions". ThisDefence Ministry forerunner was known somewhat euphemistically as the Blank Office (Amt Blank), but explicitly used to prepare for therearmament of West Germany (Wiederbewaffnung).[5] By March 1954 the Blank Office had finished plans for a new German army. Plans foresaw the formation of six infantry, four armoured, and two mechanised infantry divisions, as the German contribution to the defense of Western Europe in the framework of aEuropean Defence Community.[4] On 8 February 1952 the Bundestag approved a German contribution to the defense of Western Europe and on 26 February 1954 theBasic Law of the Republic was amended with the insertion of an article regarding the defence of the sovereignty of the federal government.[6] Following a decision at theLondon Nine Power Conference of 28 September to 3 October 1954, Germany's entry intoNATO effective from 9 May 1955 was accepted as a replacement for the failed European Defence Community plan. Afterwards the Blank Office was converted to the Defence Ministry and Theodor Blank became the first Defence Minister. The nucleus of army was the so-calledV Branch of the Department of Defence. Subdivisions included wereVA Leadership and Training,VB Organisation andVC Logistics.
The army saw itself explicitly not as a successor to the defeatedWehrmacht, but as in the traditions of thePrussian military reformers of 1807 to 1814 and the members of themilitary resistance during National Socialism, such as the officers which undertook the failed20 July plot to assassinateAdolf Hitler in 1944[citation needed]. Nevertheless, for lack of alternatives the officer corps was made up largely of formerWehrmacht officers. The first Chief of the Army was the formerWehrmachtGeneral der PanzertruppeHans Rottiger, who had been involved in the drafting of the Himmeroder memorandum.
The official date of the founding of the army is 12 November 1955 when the first soldiers began their service inAndernach.[7] In 1956 the first troops set up seven training companies in Andernach and began the formation of schools and training centers. On 1 April 1957, the first conscripts arrived for service in the army. The first military organisations created were instructional battalions, officer schools, and the Army Academy, the forerunner to theFührungsakademie der Bundeswehr inHamburg.[6] In total of twelve armoured and infantry divisions were to be established by 1959, as planned in Army Structure I. To achieve this goal existing units were split approximately every six months. However the creation of all twelve divisions did not take place until 1965. At the end of 1958 the strength of the army was about 20,200 men. The army was equipped at first with American material, such as theM-47 Patton main battle tank. Three corps commands were formed beginning in 1957: the I Corps, II Corps, and theIII Corps.
Also in 1957 the "Office for Territorial Defence" was established as the highest Territorial Army authority. The Office for Territorial Defence was under the direct command of theFederal Ministry of Defence and commanded theTerritorial Army (Germany) (Territorialheer), a reserve formation. While theHeer along with theMarine andLuftwaffe were firmly integrated into the NATO Military Command Structure, theTerritorialheer remained under national command. The main function of theTerritorialheer was to maintain the operational freedom of NATO forces through providing rear area defence against saboteurs, enemy special forces, and the like. There were three Territorial Commands (Territorialkommandos), including North,South, andSchleswig-Holstein, and up to sixWehrbereichskommandos (WBKs), military regional commands.[8] By 1985 each of the WBKs had twoHeimatschutzbrigades (HSBs, home defence brigades).
The development of Soviet tactical nuclear weapons required the development of a new Army structure even beforeArmy Structure 1 was fully achieved. To minimize the effects of attacks with tactical nuclear weapons on massed forces, the 28,000 strongdivisions of theHeer were broken up into smaller and more mobilebrigades underArmy Structure 2. These smaller units were also to be capable of self-sustainment on a nuclear battlefield for several days, and to be capable of moving quickly from defense and to attack. The new armoured and mechanised brigades were capable ofcombined arms combat. Each division was composed of three brigades. The armoured brigades consisted of an armoured infantry battalion, two armoured battalions, a self-propelled artillery battalion and a supply battalion. The mechanised brigades consisted of a motorised infantry battalion, two mechanised infantry battalions, an armoured battalion, a field artillery battalion and a supply battalion. The motorised brigades consisted of three motorised infantry battalions, an anti-tank battalion, a field artillery battalion and a supply battalion. The alpine brigades consisted of three alpine battalions, a mountain artillery battalion and a supply battalion. By 1959 theHeer consisted of 11 divisions of 27 brigades, fourPanzer (armoured), fourPanzergrenadier (mechanised), twoJäger (motorised), and oneGebirgsjäger (alpine).
From roughly 1970 onward,Army Structure 3 saw the targeted number of 36 active brigades raised by 1975 while the 2nd and 4thPanzergrenadier divisions were reorganised intoJäger formations. The armiesFallschirmjäger (paratrooper) brigades were renamed intoLuftlande (airborne) brigades and a third brigade (Luftlandebrigade 27) was formed.
UnderArmy Structure 4 from 1980/81 on, the German Army fielded 12 divisions (with 38 active brigades): sixPanzer (armoured), fourPanzergrenadier (mechanised), oneLuftlande (airborne), and oneGebirgs (alpine) divisions. Ten active divisions were grouped into three corps:I German Corps as part of NATO'sNorthern Army Group, II German Corps andIII German Corps as part ofCentral Army Group. The remaining heavy division (6th Panzergrenadier Division) was part ofAllied Forces Baltic Approaches. In peacetime the 1st Airborne Division was assigned to II German Corps with its three brigades to be distributed among the three Corps respectively in wartime, forming a quick reaction reserve.[9]
The number of active brigades rose compared to Army Structure 3 due to twoHeimatschutz territorial defense brigades (51 and 56) being assigned to the field army as part of a mechanised and mountain division respectively. The non-NATO assigned territorial army formed 10 further territorial defense brigades for rear area security at varying readiness levels, with most units being partially manned in peacetime and others being entirely non-active units with equipment in storage.
Brigades in the field army grew to four combat battalions instead of three. Mechanised brigades typically consisted of onePanzer and threePanzergrenadier battalions, of which one was a partially active and mixed formation, containing a tank company and two mechanised companies. Armoured brigades similarly consisted of onePanzergrenadier and threePanzer battalions, with one armoured battalion being mixed and partially active (containing one mechanised and two tank companies).
Mechanised infantry battalions in mechanised brigades typically had one of three companies equipped as motorised infantry withM113 APCs instead ofMarder IFVs.
After 1990, theHeer absorbed theNationale Volksarmee, the armed forces ofEast Germany. The former East German forces were initially controlled by theBundeswehr Command East under the command of Lieutenant GeneralJörg Schönbohm and disbanded on 30 June 1991.[10] In the aftermath of the merger, the German Army consisted of four Corps (including IV Corps atPotsdam in the former DDR) with a manpower of 360,000 men. It was continuously downsized from this point. In 1994III Corps was reorganised as theGerman Army Forces Command. In 1996, the 25th Airborne Brigade was converted into a new command leading the Army's special forces, known as theKommando Spezialkräfte.
Logistics,CBRN defense, territorial defense and military police units were split off into the newly formedJoint Support Service and medical units into theJoint Medical Service in 2000. The transferred units continue to wear army uniforms.
The 2001 onwards restructuring of the German Army saw it move to a seven division structure – five mechanised (each with two mechanised brigades), one special forces, and one air assault.
In 2003, three Corps still existed, each including various combat formations and a maintenance brigade, as well as theI. German/Dutch Corps, a joint German-Netherlands organization, used to control in peacetime the 1st Panzer and 7th Panzer Divisions as well as Dutch formations. The 1st Panzer would have reported to the corps in wartime while the 7th would be posted to theAllied Rapid Reaction Corps. II Corps was German in peacetime but would have exchanged a division with theV U.S. Corps in time of war (the5th Panzer). The 5th Panzer Division was formally disbanded as of 30 June 2001. In peacetime it also commanded the10th Panzer Division, which was allocated toEurocorps and which parents the German half of theFranco-German Brigade. The1st Mountain Division at Munich was also subordinate to this headquarters.
The IV Corps was headquartered atPotsdam in eastern Germany and controlled two Panzergrenadier Divisions, the13th and 14th. The14th Panzergrenadier Division also took control of units in Western Germany re-subordinated from the6th Panzergrenadier Division when it lost its command function. It would have made up the German contribution to theMultinational Corps Northeast in time of war. IV Corps also used to have under its command the Military District Command I, the1st Airmobile Brigade, and the Berlin Command (de:Standortkommando Berlin).
The current structure was assumed with the most recent German Army reform which also suspended conscription by 1 July 2011[11] and saw the army move to a purely professional three division structure with a view on creating smaller, more flexible and more deployable units, emphasising global employment against non-state threats such as international terrorism or as part of UN and EU missions.[12]
As of January 2022[update], the German Army had a strength of 62,766 soldiers.[2]
Panzer
Panzergrenadier
Fallschirmjäger
Infantry
Gebirgsjäger
Special Forces
The German Army is commanded by theInspector of the Army (Inspekteur des Heeres) based at theArmy Command (Kommando Heer) inStrausberg nearBerlin. The training centers are supervised by the Army Training Command inLeipzig.
The combat units of the army now include two armoured divisions and the lighter rapid forces division. Unlike other European armies such as neighbouring France,regiments are not a common form of organization and are thus rare in the German army. Battalions and regiments are directly subordinate to brigades or to divisions as divisional troops. German infantry battalions field 1,000 men, considerably larger than most NATO armies. While some brigades are still designated as eitherPanzer (armour) orPanzergrenadier (mechanised infantry) formations, these names are by now traditional and no longer imply a different organisation, for example an armoured brigade would not be expected to contain more tanks than a mechanised one.
.svg)
1. Panzerdivision inOldenburg.svg)
Panzerlehr Brigade 9, inMunster.svg)
Panzer Brigade 21, inAugustdorf.svg)
Panzergrenadier Brigade 41, inNeubrandenburg
43 Mechanized Brigade (Royal Netherlands Army), inHavelte (Netherlands).svg)
10. Panzerdivision, inVeitshöchheim.svg)
Panzer Brigade 12, inCham
13 Light Brigade (Royal Netherlands Army), inOirschot (Netherlands).svg)
Panzergrenadier Brigade 37, inFrankenberg
Panzerbrigade 45, inRūdninkai (Lithuania)
Franco-German Brigade, inMüllheim.svg)
Rapid Forces Division, inStadtallendorf.svg)
Airborne Brigade 1, inSaarlouis
11 Airmobile Brigade (Royal Netherlands Army), inSchaarsbergen (Netherlands).svg)
Gebirgsjäger Brigade 23, inBad Reichenhall.svg)
Special Operations Forces (KSK), inCalw[13]
Home Defence Regiment 1, inRoth
Home Defence Regiment 2, inMünster
Home Defence Regiment 3, inNienburg
Home Defence Regiment 4, inAlt Duvenstedt
Home Defence Regiment 5, inOhrdruf
Eurocorps (German elements), inStrasbourg (France)_Corps.svg)
1 (German/Dutch) Corps, inMünster.svg)
Multinational Corps Northeast, inSzczecin (Poland)
Central Army Depot, inHerongen
Central Army Depot, inPirmasens
Central Mobilisation Base, inBrück
As of August 2025, Germany plans to invest €350 billion in new equipment through 2041. These investments come on top of the special fund of €100 billion. This includes the following estimated budgets:[16]
The German Army is divided into several branches, each known as aTruppengattung, which might also be part of aTruppengattungsverbund which includes severalTruppengattungen. EachWaffengattung carries a certain beret color (except for the mountain troops, who carry adistinctive cap) and uniform markings in a certainWaffenfarbe, although the combinations might overlap.
| Truppengattungsverbund | Truppengattung | Beret color | Waffenfarbe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infantry |  Jägertruppe (motorized infantry) | Green |  Green |
 Gebirgsjägertruppe (mountain warfare) | Bergmütze | Green | |
 Fallschirmjägertruppe (airborne infantry) | Bordeaux | Green | |
| Armoured Forces |  Panzergrenadiertruppe (mechanized infantry) | Green | Green |
 Panzertruppe (tanks) | Black |  Pink | |
| Special forces |  Kommando Spezialkräfte | Bordeaux | Green |
| Artillery |  Artillerietruppe | Light Red |  High Red |
| Army aviation |  Heeresfliegertruppe | Bordeaux |  Gray |
| Military engineers |  Pioniertruppe | Light Red |  Black |
| Signals troops |  Fernmeldetruppe | Light Red |  Yellow |
| Army reconnaissance |  Aufklärungstruppe | Black |  Gold |
| Army logistics |  Instandsetzungstruppe (maintenance) | Light Red |  Middle blue |
 Nachschubtruppe (materiel and transportation) | Light Red | Middle blue | |
| Army medical service |  Sanitätsdienst Heer | Dark Blue |  Dark blue |
As part of various reorganizations (such as the creation of theJoint Support Service and theCyber and Information Domain Service) and the reductions in size of the Bundeswehr after 1990, severalTruppengattungen were dissolved.
| Truppengattung | Beret color | Waffenfarbe | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
 ABC-Abwehrtruppe (CBRN defense) | Light Red |  Bordeaux | Passed from the army to theJoint Support Service. |
 Feldjägertruppe (military police) | Light Red |  Orange | Passed from the army to theJoint Support Service. |
 Feldnachrichtentruppe (HUMINT) | Black | Gold | Dissolved; folded into theAufklärungstruppe. |
| Fernmeldetruppe EloKa (electronic warfare) | Dark Blue | Yellow | Passed from the army to theCyber and Information Domain Service. |
 Fernspähtruppe (special reconnaissance) | Black | Gold | Dissolved; folded into theAufklärungstruppe. |
 Heeresflugabwehrtruppe (army air defence) | Light Red |  Coral Red | Dissolved; anti-air defense largely left to the responsibilities of theGerman Air Force. |
 Militärmusikdienst (military bands) | Various |  White | Passed from the army to theJoint Support Service. |
 Operative Kommunikation (PsyOps) | Dark Blue | Yellow | Passed from the army to theCyber and Information Domain Service. |
| Panzeraufklärungstruppe (armored reconnaissance) | Black | Gold | Dissolved; folded into theAufklärungstruppe. |
 Panzerjäger (anti-tank) | Black | Pink | Dissolved; folded into thePanzertruppe. |
 Topographietruppe (military topography) | Light Red | High Red | Dissolved in 2004; restructured as theGeo Information Service. |
Waffenfarbe (Army and army support branch only)
The rank structure of the German army is adjusted to the rank structure ofNATO. Unlike its predecessors, the modern German Army does not use the rank ofColonel General. The highest rank for an army officer isLieutenant General, as the rank ofFull General is reserved for the Armed Forces chief of staff or officers serving as NATO officers.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 German Army[17] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
| General | Generalleutnant | Generalmajor | Brigadegeneral | Oberst | Oberstleutnant | Major | Stabshauptmann | Hauptmann | Oberleutnant | Leutnant | ||||||||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Leadership | |
|---|---|
| Equipment | |
| Ranks and insignia | |
| NATO land forces |  | |
|---|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
