The Franco-German Brigade (; ) is a special

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

Eurocorps Eurocorps (, ), located in the French city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), is a multinational corps headquarters. Founded by France and Germany in 1992, it is today composed of personnel from six framework nations and five associated nations. The fram ...

, founded in 1989, jointly consisting of units from both the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

History

The Brigade was formed in 1987 following a summit between President Mitterrand of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and Chancellor Kohl of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Brigade became operational on 2 October 1989, under the command of General Jean-Pierre Sengeisen. Currently, the FGB is stationed at Müllheim,

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the States of Germany, federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar ''Districts of Germany, Kreis''. It ...

Illkirch-Graffenstaden Illkirch-Graffenstaden () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is the second-largest suburb of the city of Strasbourg, and is adjacent to it on the south-southwest. Illkirch-Graffenstaden's population ...

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older ) is a commune of northeastern France. In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains. Geography Sarrebourg is located in the ...

, and

Stetten am Kalten Markt Stetten am kalten Markt (Stetten a.k.M.) is a municipality in the Sigmaringen district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Towns The towns of Nusplingen, Frohnstetten, Storzingen and Glashütte are part of Stetten am kalten Markt. History The area ...

as part of the

. In February 2009 it was announced that a German battalion of the force was to be moved to Illkirch near

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, the first time a German unit had been stationed in France since the German occupation of World War II. On 31 October 2013, France announced that in 2014 it would inactivate the 110th Infantry Regiment based in Donaueschingen and thus withdraw around 1000 men from Germany. This would leave the brigade with 4000 men, but would put an end to each country having a major presence in the other, France would be left with ~500 troops in Germany and vice versa. Since 2016, French units are part of 1st Division and German units are part of '' 10th Panzer Division''.

Organisation

The Franco-German brigade can be described as a mechanised formation; its combat units are an armoured reconnaissance regiment, three infantry battalions, and an artillery regiment. The logistical support unit and the brigade's HQ have mixed complements drawn from both countries. * Staff, in Müllheim ( D) * 3^e Régiment de Hussards (3e RH) (3rd

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

Regiment), barracks Séré-de-Rivières in

( F) ** 1st Reconnaissance Company ** 2nd Reconnaissance Company ** 3rd Reconnaissance Company ** 4th Light Reconnaissance and Anti-Armour Company ** 5th Supply and Support Company ** 6th Combat Service Support Company * 1 Régiment d'Infanterie (1 RI) - Infantry Regiment in

(F) ** 1st Infantry Company ** 2nd Infantry Company ** 3rd Infantry Company ** 4th Reconnaissance and Combat Support Company ** 5th Supply and Support Company ** 6th Combat Service Support Company * Jägerbataillon 291 (291st Light Infantry Battalion), in

(F) ** 1st HQ & Supply Company ** 2nd Light Infantry Company ** 3rd Light Infantry Company ** 4th Reconnaissance Company * Jägerbataillon 292 (292nd Light Infantry Battalion), in Donaueschingen (D) ** 1st HQ & Supply Company ** 2nd Light Infantry Company ** 3rd Light Infantry Company ** 4th Light Infantry Company ** 5th Heavy Infantry Company (8x 120mm Mortars, and 8x TOW Anti-Tank, 8x MK20 Fire Support and 6x Reconnaissance Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carriers) ** 6th Combat Service Support Company * Artilleriebataillon 295 (295th Artillery Battalion), in

Stetten am kalten Markt Stetten am kalten Markt (Stetten a.k.M.) is a municipality in the Sigmaringen district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Towns The towns of Nusplingen, Frohnstetten, Storzingen and Glashütte are part of Stetten am kalten Markt. History The area ...

(D) ** 1st HQ & Supply Battery ** 2nd Self-Propelled Howitzer Artillery Battery with

PzH 2000 The Panzerhaubitze 2000 (), meaning "armoured howitzer 2000" and abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm Self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer developed by KNDS Deutschland (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW)) and Rheinmetall in the 198 ...

** 3rd Self-Propelled Howitzer Artillery Battery with PzH 2000 ** 4th Rocket Artillery Battery with

MLRS A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a vol ...

** 5th Target Acquisition Battery with radars (COBRA), UAV (KZO) and weather platoon. ** 6th basic training company * Panzerpionierkompanie 550 (550th Armoured Engineer Company), in

(D) * Logistic Battalion ( ), in Müllheim (D) ** 1st HQ & Supply Company (bi-national) ** 2nd Supply Company (bi-national) ** 3rd Maintenance Company (bi-national) ** 4th Transport Company (German) ** Combat Service Support Company (French) ** Staff Company Franco-German Brigade (bi-national)

References

* See also article in '' International Defence Review'', November 1994.

External links

Deutsch-Französischen Brigade
at Bundeswehr.de
The Franco-German brigade and the pilot unit of a proposed Single Eu27pean regiment of a European Army.
{{Authority control Brigades of France Brigades of the Bundeswehr Multinational army units and formations Infantry brigades of Germany France-Germany bilateral relations organisations France–Germany military relations Military units and formations established in 1989