Northern Army Group
Encyclopedia
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
, during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
History
NORTHAG's headquarters was established on 1 November 1952 in Bad OeynhausenBad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
, but was relocated in 1954 to Rheindahlen
Rheindahlen Military Complex
JHQ Rheindahlen, latterly also called the Rheindahlen Military Complex, is a British forces base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. JHQ stands for Joint Headquarters and the base has functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany since being built in the 1950s...
. At the location Munchengladbach was NORTHAG HQ with three other command posts, the headquarters of the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
(BAOR) and the headquarters of RAF Germany (RAFG).
Badge
During the construction of the main building of the joint HQHQ
HQ may refer to:* HQ, an abbreviation for headquarters* HQ, an abbreviation for high quality* HQ , a 1975 album by Roy Harper* Hagströmer & Qviberg, a Swedish investment bank* Harley Quinn, a DC Comics character and enemy of Batman...
, the JHQ (Joint Headquarters), a Frankish battle ax
Battle axe
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes...
(Franziska) was found. It was the badge NORTHAG chose because the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
were a West-European tribe fighting against attackers from the East. The Franks defeated in the year 451 AD, an army under the leadership of Attila in Châlons-sur-Marne and ended thus a conquest of Western Europe by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
.
Organization
In the NATO command structure NORTHAG belonged to Allied Forces Central EuropeAllied Forces Central Europe
Joint Force Command Brunssum is the NATO military command based in Brunssum, Netherlands. JFC-B reports to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe based at Casteau, Belgium. It is one of three operational level commands in the NATO command structure, the others being Joint Force Command...
(AFCENT), which in turn reported to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
(SHAPE).
Commander in Chief of the HQ NORTHAG was basically a British General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and Chief of the British Rhine Army (BAOR). Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
was a German Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, with the Belgian and Dutch Major-General as alternates.
The HQ NORTHAG were assigned the following national formations:
- The I Belgian CorpsI Corps (Belgium)I Corps of the Belgian Army was a army corps active during World War I , World War II, and the Cold War.During the Belgian Campaign of 1940, it initially held defences at Liège but was forced to retreat by the German XVI Panzer Corps...
, - The I British Corps
- The I Dutch Corps (included First Division 7 DecemberFirst Division 7 DecemberThe Eerste Divisie "7 December" or "First Division 7 December" was a division of the Royal Netherlands Army, active from at least 1946 to 2004. It was sent to the Dutch East Indies to restore "peace, order and security" in 1946...
, 4th, and 5th Divisions in 1985) - The I German Corps (from 1957).
These organizations fell in peacetime under their respective national command authorities. Only in the case of attack did overall management authority over the Corps transfer to the NORTHAG HQ. Air support was channeled through 2 ATAF.
HQ NORTHAG had under its authority multi-national staff personnel, even in peacetime, and the following national units under control:
- The 13th Belgian Telecommunications CompanyCompanyA company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
(13 Cie T Tr) - The 28th Signal Regiment, Royal SignalsRoyal Corps of SignalsThe Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
(NORTHAG) - The German Telecommunications BattalionBattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
840 (NORTHAG) - A Dutch telecommunications company and the
- NORTHAG telecommunications company (radio NORTHAG Air Support Squadron), which consisted of soldiers from all four nations.
Intern was responsible for the communication between the headquarters and the associations, the responsible NORTHAG signal group. This was a multinational grouping, which the subordinate telecommunication organizations served, each a different type of connection required (relay, cable, etc.).
In the case of war the headquarters of the 2nd ATAF and NORTHAG would be relocated to the JOC (Joint Operations Center), a bunker complex in the St. Pietersberg in Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
area.
Field Operations
In the NATO defense plan, NORTHAG was assigned the area between HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
(North-South) and the German-Dutch, Belgian to the (then) inner-German border to defend against a potential threat from the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
. The locations of NORTHAG forces were accordingly, mostly in this area. In the north the command bordered Allied Forces Northern Europe
Allied Forces Northern Europe
Allied Forces Northern Europe was the most northern NATO command located at Kolsås outside Oslo. It was part of Allied Command Europe from around 1952 to 2003...
(AFNORTH) and in the south the Central Army Group (CENTAG).
Ground operations relating to the crisis in former Yugoslavia began in late 1992. In November 1992, the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina was provided with an operational headquarters drawn from HQ NORTHAG, including a staff of some 100 personnel, equipment, supplies and initial financial support.
Disbandment
On 24 June 1993, the headquarters of NORTHAG and 2 ATAF officially disbanded during a military ceremony. The last commander of NORTHAG was General Sir Charles GuthrieCharles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank
General Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, was Chief of the Defence Staff between 1997 and 2001 and Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1994 and 1997.-Army career:...
, KCB LVO OBE. The last Chief of Staff was Major General Helmut Willmann, later commander of the Eurocorps
Eurocorps
Eurocorps is a multinational standing army corps available for the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance.Headquartered in Strasbourg, France, the force was created in May 1992, activated in October 1993 and declared operational in 1995....
.
Further reading
- David G. Haglund and Olaf Mager (eds), Homeward bound? : allied forces in the new Germany, Westview Press, 1992. xi, 299 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. ISBN 0813384109.