10th Armoured Division (Germany)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=10^th Armoured Division
"10. Panzerdivision"


caption=10th Armoured Division Shoulder Insignia
country=Germany
type=Division
branch=Army
dates=1959 - present
specialization=Division for armoured warfare and warfare in heavy terrain
command_structure=German Army
size=About 12.100 soldiers
current_commander=Major General Markus Bentler
garrison=Sigmaringen
nickname=Lion's division
"Löwendivision"
motto=Reliable, mobile, quick!
"Zuverlässig - beweglich - schnell!"
battles=Operation Joint Guardian
ISAF Operations in Afghanistan
notable_commanders= General Johann Adolf Count of Kielmannsegg, COMAFCENT 1967-1968
anniversaries=April 1st 1959The 10th Armoured Division or "10. Panzerdivision" is an armoured division in the German Army of the Bundeswehr. Its HQ garrison is based at Sigmaringen. The division is a unit of the German Army's Stabilization Forces or "Stabilisierungskräfte" and specialized on conflicts of low intensity.

History

The division was formed as the "10. Panzerdivision" of the new German Army in 1959. Originally only consisting of armoured units, it is now also superordinate to Germany's last Mountain Warfare unit. For this reason, the Edelweiss badge has become another commonly used insignia for the division as well. The 10th Armoured Division is a part of Germany's permanent contribution to Eurocorps, the other being German shares to Franco-German Brigade which was subordinate to the division till 2006.

After 1993, troops of the division did participate in numerous overseas deployments. Among them were the first out-of-area land deployment operations for the Bundeswehr (in fact any German military unit after World War II): to Somalia as part of UNOSOM II from 1993 to 1994, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the IFOR Implementation Force from 1995 to 1996 and SFOR Stabilisation Force from 1996 to 1998. It was also involved in the Bundeswehr's first firefight during Operation Libelle in 1997. In 2000, the 10th Armoured Division deployed more than 8,000 personnel to the Balkans. Between 2002 and 2003, it deployed to various operations on the Balkans and in Afghanistan.

Its designation as "10. Panzerdivision" and the name of its HQ garrison as "Graf-Stauffenberg-Kaserne" is a historical reference to key members of the German Resistance and July 20 Plot who had served in the preceeding 1939-1943 10. Panzer Division of Germany's Wehrmacht during WWII.

Organisation

*10th Armoured Division
** HHC
** 10th Army Band
** 14th Armored Brigade "Upper Palatinate"
*** HHC
*** 4th Logistics Battalion
*** 4th Armoured Engineer Battalion
*** 8th Reconaissance Battalion
*** 104th Armoured Battalion
*** 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion
*** 122nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion
** 23rd Mountain Infantry Brigade
*** HHC
*** 230th Mule Company
*** 8th Mountain Engineer Battalion
*** 8th Mountain Logistics Battalion
*** 210th Mountain Signals Battalion
*** 230th Mountain Reconaissance Battalion
*** 231st Mountain Infantry Battalion
*** 232nd Mountain Infantry Battalion
*** 233rd Mountain Infantry Battalion

ee Also

* German Army
* Eurocorps
* Yugoslav Wars

External Links

[http://www.deutschesheer.de/portal/a/10div/ Official Website of the 10th Armoured Division]