Bundeswehr (German Bundeswehr ) was formed in 1955 and during the Cold War it was the armed force of West Germany (FRG). However, after the fall of communism in the GDR and the demolition of the Berlin Wall, it became the armed force of a reunified Germany. In the course of the Cold War, it was seen as the first army to interact with an anticipated Soviet attack and to bear a heavy burden of counteracting the Soviet invasion. For this reason, it emphasized, among others, the development of armored weapons, which resulted in the introduction of the successful Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 vehicles into service. At the height of the Cold War, it numbered approx. 495 thousand. soldiers and 170 thousand. civilian workers. It consisted of 12 divisions divided into 3 general-military corps - most of them were mechanized and armored divisions. For example, at the beginning of the 1970s, there were as many as 252 tanks in the West German mechanized division. After 1989, the Bundeswehr underwent numerous reforms aimed at its reduction and the introduction of new equipment into the equipment. For example, in 2011, conscription was abandoned, and in the same year a reform was implemented, which was to reduce the Bundeswehr to 185,000. active service soldiers and 40 thousand. reservists. In 2013, about 63,000 people served in the land forces (German: Herr). soldiers. Currently, the core of the German armored forces are two divisions: the 1st and the 10th Panzer Divisions. The 1st Division has two armored brigades, while the 10th Division has only one armored brigade. The main tank of these brigades is the Leopard 2, of which at the beginning of 2015 there were 250 pieces in the line.
Bundeswehr (German Bundeswehr ) was formed in 1955 and during the Cold War it was the armed force of West Germany (FRG). However, after the fall of communism in the GDR and the demolition of the Berlin Wall, it became the armed force of a reunified Germany. Its land component is, of course, land forces (German Heer). In the course of the Cold War, it was seen as the first army to interact with an anticipated Soviet attack and to bear a heavy burden of counteracting the Soviet invasion. Given the small strategic depth of Germany, the importance of time and pace in the actions of the West German army was also realized. For this reason, in 1956 in the Bundeswehr, parachute troops (German Fallschirmjäger) were formed in the 1st Airborne Division, consisting of the 25th and 26th Brigades, which began training in 1958. It is worth adding that the West German parachute troops were perceived as the forces that were to delay the progress of the mechanized troops of the Warsaw Pact as much as possible. For this reason, they were equipped not only with their own universal Wiesel tracked vehicles, but above all with a very large variety of anti-tank weapons - especially anti-tank guided missiles. with cumulative heads. After 1989, and therefore after the end of the Cold War, the Bundeswehr underwent numerous reforms, and with it its airborne troops. At present, German paratroopers are concentrated in the Rapid Reaction Division composed of special forces (Kommando Spezialkräfte), two regiments of transport helicopters, a regiment of combat helicopters and the 1st Airborne Brigade consisting of two infantry regiments. The main transport helicopters are the decommissioned Bell UH-1D and the new NHI NH-90 and EC-135.