The 13th Light Brigade ( nl, 13 Lichte Brigade) is one of the three combat brigades of the Royal Netherlands Army, the other ones being 11th Airmobile Brigade and 43rd Mechanised Brigade. The brigade is a fully motorised brigade, equipped with

Fennek The Fennek, named after the fennec (a species of small desert fox), or LGS Fennek, with LGS being short for ''Leichter Gepanzerter Spähwagen'' in German (Light Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle), is a four-wheeled armed reconnaissance vehicle p ...

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and Bushmaster wheeled, armoured vehicles.

History

The brigade was formed as the 13th Motorized Brigade, and came from the 3rd Infantry Brigade. The 3rd Infantry Brigade was part of the First Division '7 December' which was formed on 1 September 1946. In 1950 the brigade was transformed into a mechanized infantry brigade, the 13th Mechanized brigade, which became part of the 4th Division and was stationed in North Germany. After the reforms of 1970 the brigade became again a part of the First Division. In the early 1990s the brigade became a fully mechanized brigade. In 2013, the brigade lost its mechanized infantry fighting vehicles and was equipped with wheeled equipment and therefore renamed 13th Light Brigade.

Organization

The 13th Light Brigade is made up by the following units: * 13 Lichte Brigade embleem embleem

13 Light Brigade, in

Oirschot Oirschot (; ''Orskot'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is situated from the city of Eindhoven and from the city of Tilburg in the province North Brabant (Noord-Brabant). The municipality ha ...

** 13 Staff Company (13 Stafcompagnie), in Oirschot ** 17 Armoured Infantry Battalion " Fuseliers Prinses Irene" (17 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Fuseliers Prinses Irene), in Oirschot *** A; B; C and D Company, with

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

s ** 42 Armoured Infantry Battalion " Limburgse Jagers" (42 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Limburgse Jagers), in Oirschot *** A; B; C and D Company, with Boxer armoured fighting vehicles ** 30

National Reserve Corps The National Reserve Corps (Dutch: ''Korps Nationale Reserve'', abbreviated Natres) is a part of the Royal Netherlands Army. NATRES is a corps in the sense that it has a specialized task. The reservist is, like all Dutch military personnel, a m ...

(NATRES) Battalion (30 Natresbataljon), in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

*** Alpha Company (Alfacompagnie), in Vlissingen *** Bravo Company (Bravocompagnie), in Breda *** Charlie Company (Charliecompagnie), in Oirschot *** Delta Company (Deltacompagnie), in Brunssum *** Echo Company (Echocompagnie), in

Vredepeel Vredepeel is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg, in the municipality of Venray, with a population of 230. It is home to the Royal Netherlands Army's Joint Ground-based Air Defense Command. The village was first mentioned in 1712 as "in de ...

** 41 Armoured Engineer Battalion (41 Pantsergeniebataljon), in Oirschot *** Staff Company, 411 and 412 Armored Engineer Company, 414 CBRN Defense Company ** 42 Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron " Huzaren van Boreel" (42 Brigadeverkenningseskadron Huzaren van Boreel), in Oirschot, with

light armoured

reconnaissance vehicle A reconnaissance vehicle, also known as a scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance. Both tracked and wheeled reconnaissance vehicles are in service. In some nations, light tanks such as the M551 Sheridan and AMX-13 have ...

s ** 13 Medical Company (13 Geneeskundige Compagnie), in Oirschot ** 13 Maintenance Company (13 Herstelcompagnie), in Oirschot ** Robotics and Autonomous Systems Cell (Robotica en Autonome Systemen cel), in Oirschot

Equipment

* 97

armoured reconnaissance vehicles * 117

armoured vehicle in various types. * 30 Bushmaster infantry mobility vehicles in various types. * 72 Mercedes-Benz G280 CDI terrain vehicles. * 6 Milrem THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles.

References

{{Reflist Brigades of the Netherlands