The Rapid Forces Division (), formerly Special Operations Division (), is an airborne division of 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 ...

that was activated in 2001 and received its current designation in 2014. Its headquarters staff is based at

Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stadta ...

. It was created as 1st Airborne Division (''1. Luftlandedivision'') in 1956 and reflagged twice in 1994 and 2001 as Airmobile Forces Command/4th Division (''Kommando Luftbewegliche Kräfte/4. Division''), Special Operations Division and eventually Rapid Forces Division. The division leads three combat brigades and special forces troops, all of which are fully air-mobile. In June 2014, the Dutch 11th Air Mobile Brigade was fully integrated into the division as part of the binational military cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands and in 2017 the Romanian 81st Mechanized Brigade followed suit.

History

Created in 1956, 1st Airborne Division's main tasks were to act as the backbone of counterattacks behind the enemy lines of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

and to respond to hostile breaks through allied front lines. The very first commanders of this unit were illustrious paratrooper generals such as Bern von Baer and Hans Kroh, both recipients of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

. The 1st Airborne Division existed throughout the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and was disbanded in 1994. The capability for air-transportable forces was eventually replaced by Airmobile Forces Command/4th Division, a division-sized formation the duties of which shifted to more complex scenarios of current days. This happened mainly because of two incidents in 1994 and 1997 where German citizens had to be rescued from

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, once even by foreign troops as the German military lacked adequate forces to carry out evacuation operations on their own. One of the three existing brigades (Airborne Brigade 25 "

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

") was drawn on to provide the headquarters for the German Army's new special forces unit, the

Kommando Spezialkräfte The Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) (, alternatively Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM)) is a unified combatant command and a large brigade-level unit of the German Army (Heer) designated to perform Covert operation, covert operations, ca ...

. The first overseas deployment of this division took place in 1961 when its troops rendered humanitarian assistance to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

after a devastating earthquake. From there on 1st Airborne Division or its successors deployed troops to

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and Congo. The paratroopers saw extensive action in Afghanistan. With four of the nation's highest awards for gallantry—among others—having been awarded to its members, the division's Paratrooper Battalion 263 is the most decorated unit of the German Army. Following the restructuring of the German armed forces, the Special Operations Division was transferred into the new Rapid Forces Division (). In June 2014 the ''

11 Luchtmobiele Brigade The 11th Airmobile Brigade () is the rapid light infantry brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, focused on conducting air assault operations. Troops of the brigade are qualified to wear the maroon beret upon completion of the demanding training ...

'' (11th Airmobile Brigade) of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

joined the division. The Dutch forces will remain stationed in the Netherlands but will cooperate in training and exercises of their German counterparts.

Organization

* Rapid Forces Division (Division Schnelle Kräfte), in

** Staff and Signal Company, Rapid Forces Division, in Stadtallendorf ** Airborne Brigade 1 (Luftlandebrigade 1), in

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

***

Fallschirmjäger Regiment 26 (Fallschirmjägerregiment 26), in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

***

Fallschirmjäger Regiment 31 (Fallschirmjägerregiment 31), in Seedorf ** Embleem 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade

11 Airmobile Brigade (11 Luchtmobiele Brigade), in Schaarsbergen ** Mountain Brigade 23 (Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23), in

Bad Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall (; Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...

Special Operations Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

(Kommando Spezialkräfte) (KSK), in

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...

Helicopter Command (Kommando Hubschrauber), in Bückeburg *** THRgt 10

Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 10), in

Faßberg Faßberg (ang. Fassberg) is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen. History :''The pre-war history of Fassberg air base includes a n ...

***

Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30), in Niederstetten *** KHRgt 36

Attack Helicopter Regiment 36 (Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36), at

Fritzlar Air Base Fritzlar Air Base (German: ''Heeresflugplatz Fritzlar'', IATA: FRZ, ICAO: ETHF) is a military air field of the German Army Aviation Corps. It is located near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse, Germany. The airfield is part of the Georg-F ...

*** International Helicopter Training Centre (Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum), in Bückeburg ** Staff and Command Support Company, Special Operations Component Command (SOCC), in

Hardheim Hardheim is a municipality in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The town is twinned with Müntschemier Müntschemier () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative dist ...

** Long Range Reconnaissance Company 1, in

Schwarzenborn Schwarzenborn is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies ...

(activated 1 Oktober 2022)

Geographic Distribution

References

External links

Official Website of the Division Schnelle Kräfte
{{Authority control Airborne divisions of Germany Army divisions of the Bundeswehr 2001 establishments in Germany German involvement in the Syrian civil war Military units and formations established in 2001 Rapid reaction force units and formations