Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment
Encyclopedia
The Friedrich Engels Guards Regiment (also known as NPA Guard Regiment 1) was a special guard unit of the East German National People's Army
(NPA). The regiment was named after Friedrich Engels
.
of the GDR in East Berlin and the terrain of management education, the military intelligence service of the GDR in Berlin-Köpenick.
The regiment's headquarters was with the patrol commander of the town in Friedrich-Engels-Kaserne at Kupfergraben 1 stationed in Berlin. It had seven companies, most of which were made up of conscripts.
Three companies were honor guard
companies for the protocol service, the honor guard at the "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism" in the Neue Wache
and the Great Wachaufzug held weekly on Wednesday at 14:30 was the Guards Parade.
Four companies were guard companies, one of which consisted of reservists.
The guard regiment was established in 1962 from parts of the Hugo Eberlein Guards Regiment but wasn't given the title "Friedrich Engels" until 1970. As only Allied troops could be stationed in Berlin due to the special status of the city, the regiment was formally subordinate to the garrison commander.
The main tasks were the ceremonial presentation of the honor guard at the memorial on Unter den Linden
(New Guard) and the Big Wachaufzug held every Wednesday and was always quite a spectacle. In addition, the honor companies as formations honor to welcome state guests from the GDR were used. Special duties were also performed at the Great Tattoo, other guards of honor, honor companies at funerals of senior figures and wreath-laying ceremony was rounded off with this picture.
The soldiers of the guard regiment "Friedrich Engels" were generally conscripts, that was after 18 months, the time around. The presentation weapon was the SKS
rifle - in the army under the name "S carabiner led". Each soldier of honor companies had two carbines, a training and a performance carbine. The honor guard at the Unter den Linden was equipped with their own rifles whose bolt and bayonet were chromed.
The Regiment was dissolved along with the rest of the NPA in 1989.
National People's Army
The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
(NPA). The regiment was named after Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
.
Mission
It served representative purposes and for surveillance of various objects in NPA East Berlin, including the City headquarters, the office of the Ministry of National DefenseMinistry of National Defence (East Germany)
The Ministry of National Defense was the chief administrative arm of the East German National People's Army. The MND was modeled on that of the Soviet Union. The headquarters of the Ministry was in Strausberg in Berlin. The Hugo Eberlein Guard Regiment provided security and guard services to the...
of the GDR in East Berlin and the terrain of management education, the military intelligence service of the GDR in Berlin-Köpenick.
The regiment's headquarters was with the patrol commander of the town in Friedrich-Engels-Kaserne at Kupfergraben 1 stationed in Berlin. It had seven companies, most of which were made up of conscripts.
Three companies were honor guard
Honor guard
An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity...
companies for the protocol service, the honor guard at the "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism" in the Neue Wache
Neue Wache
The Neue Wache is a building in central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is located on the north side of the Unter den Linden, a major east-west thoroughfare in the centre of the city. Dating from 1816, the Neue Wache was designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and is a leading example...
and the Great Wachaufzug held weekly on Wednesday at 14:30 was the Guards Parade.
Four companies were guard companies, one of which consisted of reservists.
History
The guard regiment was formed by order No. 99/62 of the Minister of National Defense of the GDR. Its duties were guard duty, guard of honor, honor parade, and implementation of the military ceremony.The guard regiment was established in 1962 from parts of the Hugo Eberlein Guards Regiment but wasn't given the title "Friedrich Engels" until 1970. As only Allied troops could be stationed in Berlin due to the special status of the city, the regiment was formally subordinate to the garrison commander.
The main tasks were the ceremonial presentation of the honor guard at the memorial on Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
(New Guard) and the Big Wachaufzug held every Wednesday and was always quite a spectacle. In addition, the honor companies as formations honor to welcome state guests from the GDR were used. Special duties were also performed at the Great Tattoo, other guards of honor, honor companies at funerals of senior figures and wreath-laying ceremony was rounded off with this picture.
The soldiers of the guard regiment "Friedrich Engels" were generally conscripts, that was after 18 months, the time around. The presentation weapon was the SKS
SKS
The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...
rifle - in the army under the name "S carabiner led". Each soldier of honor companies had two carbines, a training and a performance carbine. The honor guard at the Unter den Linden was equipped with their own rifles whose bolt and bayonet were chromed.
The Regiment was dissolved along with the rest of the NPA in 1989.
Uniforms
Its uniforms were nearly identical to those of the those of National People's Army (NPA) and were distinguished primarily by the honorary cuffband on the left sleeve bearing the regiment's name.See also
- WachbataillonWachbataillonThe Wachbataillon is the German Bundeswehr's elite drill unit. The Wachbataillon is the largest battalion of the German forces with about 1,800 soldiers, split in two garrisons in Berlin and Siegburg...
- the West German equivalent. - Hugo Eberlein Guard RegimentHugo Eberlein Guard RegimentThe Hugo Eberlein Guard Regiment, officially Wachregiment "Hugo Eberlein" was a military unit which provided security to the East German Ministry of National Defence. It was formed in 1956 as the Wachregiment der Hauptverwaltung Ausbildung...
- The guard unit of the GDR MinDef