10th Panzer Division (Bundeswehr)

Not to be confused with 10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).

The 10th Panzer Division (German: 10. Panzerdivision) is an armoured division of the German Army, part of the Bundeswehr.^[2] Its staff is based at Veitshöchheim. The division is a unit of the German Army's stabilization forces and specializes in conflicts of low intensity.

10th Panzer Division
10. Panzerdivision
10th Panzer Division Shoulder Insignia
Active	1 April 1959–present
Country	Germany  Netherlands
Type	Panzer
Size	~12,100 soldiers
Part of	German Army
Garrison/HQ	Veitshöchheim
Nickname(s)	Lion's division Löwendivision The Tenth Die Zehnte
Motto(s)	Reliable, mobile, quick! Zuverlässig – beweglich – schnell!
March	Fridericus-Rex-Grenadiermarsch
Anniversaries	1 April 1959
Engagements	War in Bosnia Civil war in Albania Kosovo War War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Ruprecht Horst von Butler[1]
Notable commanders	Lieutenant General Leo Hepp General Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg General Günter Kießling Lieutenant General Josef Moll Major General Erhard Bühler

History

This division was founded as the 10. Panzerdivision of the new German Army in 1959. The 10th Panzer Division is a part of Germany's permanent contribution to Eurocorps, the other being the German contribution to the Franco-German Brigade which was subordinate to the division until 2006.

After 1993 troops of this division participated in numerous overseas deployments. Among them were the first out-of-area land deployment operations for the Bundeswehr (in fact of any German military unit after World War II). Troops were deployed to Somalia (UNOSOM II) from 1993 to 1994 and to Bosnia and Herzegovina (IFOR) from 1995 to 1996 and stayed in this country until 1998 (SFOR). Soldiers of the 10th Panzer Division's SFOR contingent were also involved in the Bundeswehr's first combat operation in 1997 (Operation Libelle). In 2000, the 10th Panzer Division deployed more than 8,000 personnel to the Balkans. Between 2002 and 2003, it deployed to various operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan.

In 2017, the 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade of the Czech Land Forces started to ″work closely″ with the division.^[3][4][5]

Since April 2024, the 10th Panzer Division provides the manoeuvre contingent for the Kosovo Force. The Franco-German Brigade provides the 200 soldiers from the division.^[6]

Organization

10th Panzer Division organization 2023 with integrated Dutch units

Main article: Structure of the German Army

• 10th Panzer Division (10. Panzerdivision), in Veitshöchheim^[7]
  • 12th Panzer Brigade (Panzerbrigade 12), in Cham
  • 13 Light Brigade (13 Lichte Brigade), in Oirschot (Netherlands)
  • 37th Panzergrenadier Brigade (Panzergrenadierbrigade 37), in Frankenberg
  • 45th Panzer Brigade (Panzerbrigade 45), in Rūdninkai Training Area (Lithuania) - brigade will activate in 2025 and initially consist of the 122nd Panzergrenadier Battalion and 203rd Panzer Battalion.^[8][9]
  • Franco-German Brigade (Deutsch-Französische Brigade), in Müllheim (administrative control of the brigade's German units)
  • 10th Signal Battalion (Fernmeldebataillon 10), in Veitshöchheim (activated 1 April 2021)^[10]
  • 10th Operations Support Battalion (Unterstützungsbataillon Einsatz 10), in Veitshöchheim (Reserve unit)
  • 10th Reconnaissance Battalion (Aufklärungsbataillon 10), in Füssen with Fennek reconnaissance vehicles and KZO drones
  • 131st Artillery Battalion (Artilleriebataillon 131), in Weiden in der Oberpfalz with 16x PzH 2000 155mm self-propelled howitzers, 8x M270 MLRS multiple rocket launch systems, KZO drones and 2x Euro-Art COBRA counter-battery radars — will move to Oberviechtach and join the 12th Panzer Brigade in 2024
  • 345th Artillery Demonstration Battalion (Artillerielehrbataillon 345), in Idar-Oberstein with 24x PzH 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, 8x M270 MLRS multiple rocket launch systems, 12x 120 mm mortars, KZO drones and 2x Euro-Art COBRA counter-battery radars
  • 4th Panzer Engineer Battalion (Panzerpionierbataillon 4), in Bogen
  • 905th Engineer Battalion (Pionierbataillon 905), in Ingolstadt (Reserve unit)
  • 8th Supply Battalion (Versorgungsbataillon 8), in Füssen

Geographic Distribution

10 Panzer Division

10 Signal
10 Ops Sup.

131 Artillery

345 Artillery

905 Eng.

12 Panzer Brigade

8 Recon

8 Mtn Panzer
104 Panzer

112 PzGren.

122 PzGren.

4 Engineer

4 Supply

37 PzGren. Brigade

13 Recon

363 Panzer

393 Panzer

701 Engineer

131 Supply

212 PzGren.

371 PzGren.

909 PzGren.

391 PzGren.

G/F Brigade

G/F Supply

291 Jäger

292 Jäger

295 Artillery

550 Engineer

Locations of 10th Panzer Division units:
Units: Panzer Panzergrenadier Jäger (Rifles) Reconnaissance Artillery Engineers Signals Logistics

See also

• German Army
• Eurocorps

References

1. "10. Panzerdivision".
2. "10. Panzerdivision". Heer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2006. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
3. "Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic deepen defence ties". NATO. NATO. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
4. Wirnitzer, Jan (22 February 2017). "Češi čelí ruské propagandě o předání 4. brigády Němcům. Ukázali dohodu" [The Czechs face Russian propaganda about handing over the 4th Brigade to the Germans. They showed an agreement]. iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 May 2017.
5. Stropnický, Martin. "Ministr Stropnický: Spolupráce armád je základem naší obranyschopnosti" [Minister Stropnicky: Cooperation between the [Czech and German] armed forces is the foundation of our defence]. army.cz. Ministerstvo obrany České republiky. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
6. "10 Armoured Division". www.bundeswehr.de. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
7. "10. Panzerdivision - Organisation". Deutsches Heer. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
8. "Bundeswehr-Brigade in Litauen". ARD. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
9. Waldemar, Geiger. "Panzerbrigade 45 – Litauenbrigade der Bundeswehr bekommt neue Ordnungsnummer". HartPunkt. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
10. Eberhard Zorn, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. "Tagesbefehl des Generalinspekteurs: Änderungen in der Grobstruktur". German Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

External links

• Official Website of the 10th Panzer Division

48°05′28.46″N 9°14′55.04″E