| Northern Army Group | |
|---|---|
 NORTHAG insignia | |
| Active | 1 November 1952 – 24 June 1993 |
| Part of | Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Headquarters | Rheindahlen |
TheNorthern Army Group (NORTHAG) was aNATOmilitary formation comprising four Western EuropeanArmy Corps, during theCold War as part of NATO's forward defence in westernGermany.
The Army Group headquarters was established on 1 November 1952 inBad Oeynhausen, but was relocated in 1954 toRheindahlen. The HQ complex near Mönchengladbach contained NORTHAG HQ and three other command posts: the headquarters of theSecond Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF),British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) andRoyal Air Force Germany (RAFG).
Previously,21st Army Group had been on the left flank of the Allied advance into Germany, and had advanced into theNorth German Plain. This may have been the reason that a four-corps sized formation - which would usually be considered an army - was given the title of 'Army group'.
During the construction of the main Joint Headquarters (JHQ) building, a Frankishbattle axe (Francisca) was found. It was the badge that NORTHAG chose because theFranks were a West-European tribe fighting against attackers from the East. In the year 451 CE, the Franks defeated an army under the leadership ofAttila atChâlons-sur-Marne and thus ended the potential conquest of Western Europe by theHuns.
In the NATO command structure NORTHAG belonged toAllied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), which in turn reported toSupreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). NORTHAGs responsibility was the defense of the North German plains from south of the riverElbe to the city ofKassel. The defense north of the Elbe was the task of Allied Land Forces Command Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (COMLANDJUT), while south of Kassel it was the task ofCENTAG.
Commander in Chief of NORTHAG was the commanding General of theBritish Army of the Rhine (BAOR).Chief of Staff was a GermanMajor General, with a Belgian or Dutch Major General as alternates.
Northern Army Group was assigned the following formations:
These organizations fell in peacetime under their respective national command authorities. Only in the case of attack did operational control over the Corps automatically transfer to NORTHAG. Air support was provided by 2 ATAF.
During peacetime NORTHAG multi-national staff commanded the following units:
Northag Transport Company, Consisting of an HQ Platoon and four national platoons A British, B Dutch, C Belgium, D German.
In the case of war the headquarters of the 2nd ATAF and NORTHAG would be relocated to the JOC (Joint Operations Center), a bunker complex in the formerCannerberg marl mine in theMaastricht area.
There were two other corps not located on the front lines but associated with NORTHAG. TheIII French Corps with the2nd Armoured Division, and 10th Armoured, and8th Infantry Division began to be more closely associated with the northern part of the Central Front from the late 1970s.
In addition, from the late 1970s the U.S. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Armoured Division was forward deployed at Garlstedt.III (US) Corps was later assigned as a reserve corps. The rest of2nd Armored Division, along with1st Cavalry Division,5th Infantry Division (Mech),212th Field Artillery Brigade and3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment were tasked to join NORTHAG throughOPERATION REFORGER within days after an outbreak of hostilities. They were to draw their equipment fromPOMCUS depots in the Netherlands, Belgium andNorth Rhine-Westphalia. These reinforcements depended upon the air bridge across the Atlantic being opened and the vehicle depots being unharmed or protected from early Soviet action against them.
In the NATO defense plan, NORTHAG was assigned the area betweenHamburg andKassel (North-South) and the German-Dutch, Belgian to the (then) inner-German border to defend against a potential threat from theWarsaw Pact. The locations of NORTHAG forces were accordingly, mostly in this area. In the north the command borderedAllied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) and in the south theCentral Army Group (CENTAG).
Under General SirNigel Bagnall, NORTHAG tried to reorientate its defensive plans from a static defence to a more mobile approach.[3] By 1986, this plan envisioned the formation of armor-heavy reserves held under army group command.[4]
Ground operations relating to the crisis in former Yugoslavia began in late 1992. In November 1992, theUnited Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina was provided with an operational headquarters drawn from HQ NORTHAG, including a staff of some 100 personnel, equipment, supplies and initial financial support.
On 24 June 1993, the headquarters of NORTHAG and 2 ATAF officially disbanded during a military ceremony. The last commander of NORTHAG was GeneralSir Charles Guthrie, KCB LVO OBE.[5] The last Chief of Staff was Major GeneralHelmut Willmann, later commander of theEurocorps.