Pistorius honors “milestone”
Bundeswehr takes over field army of the Netherlands
03/30/2023, 8:48 p.m
The Netherlands has now placed its entire field army under the control of the Bundeswehr. Defense Minister Pistorius speaks of a milestone. The regrouping should create large units suitable for war within NATO.
Germany and the Netherlands are bringing their armed forces even closer together. At a ceremonial roll call in Veitshöchheim, Franconia, a Dutch light brigade was placed under the command of a German armored division – according to the Federal Ministry of Defense, the entire Dutch field army is now under the command of the Bundeswehr.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke of a “milestone” on the common path. Especially in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, “moving together is even more important than usual”. Pistorius and his Dutch colleague Kajsa Ollongren signed a corresponding cooperation agreement at the ceremony in front of the Veithöchheim residential palace. During a visit to the Netherlands, Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the defense cooperation between the two countries as “unique in Europe”. The “complete integration of all three Dutch army brigades into Bundeswehr structures” is a “milestone”.
10th Panzer Division is to become “cold start capable”.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Dutch 13th Light Brigade from Oirschot, which was placed under German command, is one of three combat brigades in the Dutch armed forces. The brigade is equipped with Boxer wheeled armored vehicles and the Fennek reconnaissance vehicle. Both are also used in the Bundeswehr. The further integration creates “synergy effects” and means “an increase in capabilities”, explained the ministry. The 10th Panzer Division, reinforced by the Dutch brigade, should in future in the German army “form the focus of national and alliance defense and therefore be quickly deployable, operational and, above all, capable of cold starts”.
The move marks a chapter in the military amalgamation that began in 2014. At that time, the 11th Airmobile Brigade of the Netherlands was integrated into the German Rapid Forces Division (DSK). Two years later, the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade was integrated into the Bundeswehr’s 1st Armored Division. The process is not a one-way street: In 2018, the German anti-aircraft missile group 61 was assigned to the Dutch Ground Air Defense Command, followed a year later by the German naval battalion of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
New structures for alliance defense
For the Bundeswehr, the reinforcements from the Netherlands coincided with a reorganization of the three divisions of the German Army. The reorganization is intended to largely align the land forces with national and alliance defense and to offer an interim solution for the lack of weapons and equipment that has been going on for years, which prevents full operational readiness. The divisions are reorganized along three categories – light, medium and heavy forces.
light powers
Under the leadership of the existing Rapid Forces Division (DSK), air-deployable and highly mobile units such as paratroopers, mountain troops, but also the Special Forces Command (KSK) are combined. In the event of tension, they are the fighters of the first hours and only have light vehicles and weapons. However, they can be the first to arrive to deter or ward off an attacker. These soldiers are also kept ready for so-called national crisis and risk prevention – i.e. also for saving German citizens abroad from war, chaos or natural disasters.
Medium powers
You are a new category. The core feature are vehicles on wheels and axles. Unlike heavy tracked vehicles, wheeled armored vehicles can travel independently and quickly, even over longer distances. For this purpose, wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, wheeled howitzers, armored personnel carriers and wheeled engineering equipment are purchased, including more heavily armed wheeled vehicles. A bulk order has already been placed. In Australia, the Ministry of Defense ordered more than 100 Boxer wheeled armored vehicles with a 30mm automatic cannon from the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr.
heavy forces
They are armed with the Leopard 2 main battle tank, the Puma infantry fighting vehicle and the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The heavy tracked vehicles offer the highest protection, the greatest mobility and are particularly assertive in combat. However, they are also slower – calculation examples assume a third of the wheel speed – and require heavy-duty transporters.