The
13th Mechanized InfantryMechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....
Division (German:
13. Panzergrenadierdivision) is a mechanized division of the
German ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
.
Its staff is based at
LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. The division is a unit of the German Army's
stabilization forces and specialized on
conflicts of low intensityLow intensity conflict is the use of military forces applied selectively and with restraint to enforce compliance with the policies or objectives of the political body controlling the military force...
and homeland defense.
The division is Germany's permanent contribution to
Multinational Corps North EastMultinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland...
.
History
This division was formed in 1990 after the
German reunificationGerman reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
and integrated troops of the former
German Democratic Republic'sThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
National People's ArmyThe National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
into the new unified military of Germany.
This division has seen action on the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
during numerous deployments, including one deployment to
KosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
with division commander
Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Roland Kather serving as KFOR commanding officer. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large natural disasters such as disastrous floods in 1997. In more recent times, the division has seen intense action against insurgents in northern Afghanistan.
A member of 13th Mech.Inf.Div was awarded his nation's highest decoration for gallantry, the
Honour Cross for BraveryThe Badge of Honour of the German Armed Forces is a series of military decorations of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany...
on January 22, 2010.
Master SergeantA master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
Daniel Seibert led a heroic counter attack against a superior insurgent force in the village of Basoz in Afghanistan's
Kunduz Province on June 4, 2009. His actions killed ten Taliban insurgents and saved a jeopardized
reconnaissanceRecce may refer to:* Reconnaissance, military scouting* SEAL Recon Rifle, a rifle used by US Navy SEALs also called the Recce Rifle* Recce , a pre-shoot reconnaissance of a film location...
squadIn military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
from almost certain destruction.
Organisation
- 13th Panzergrenadier Division
- Staff Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
- Army Band 2
- Signals Battalion 610
- Mechanized Infantry Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
37 "Free State of Saxony"The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
- Staff Company
- Armoured Battalion 393
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 371
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 391
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 909 (reserve)
- Reconnaissance Battalion 13
- Reconnaissance Battalion 910 (reserve)
- Armoured Engineer Battalion 701
- Engineer Battalion 903 (reserve)
- Signals Battalion 701
- Logistics Battalion 131
- Mechanized Infantry Brigade 41 "Hither Pomerania
Western Pomerania, Cispomerania or Hither Pomerania are terms used in English to translate the German Vorpommern the western extremity of the historic region of the duchy, later Province of Pomerania, nowadays divided between the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Poland.Forming part of...
"
- Staff Company
- Armoured Battalion 413
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 401
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 411
- Mechanized Infantry Battalion 908 (reserve)
- Reconnaissance Battalion 6
- Armoured Engineer Battalion 803
- Engineer Battalion 901 (reserve)
- Signals Battalion 801
- Logistics Battalion 142
External links