Franco-German Brigade

Coordinates: 47°48′58.61″N 7°37′16.27″E / 47.8162806°N 7.6211861°E / 47.8162806; 7.6211861

Franco-German Brigade
French: Brigade Franco-Allemande
German: Deutsch-Französische Brigade

Coat of arms of the Franco-German Brigade.
Active October 2, 1989 – present
Country France, Alsace, Germany
Branch Army
Type Mechanised infantry
Size 1 brigade (5,980)
Part of Eurocorps
Garrison/HQ Müllheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Motto(s) Le devoir d'excellence
Dem Besten verpflichtet
("Devoted to excellence")
Commanders
Current
commander		 General Marc Rudkiewicz

The Franco-German Brigade (French: Brigade Franco-Allemande; German: Deutsch-Französische Brigade) is a special military brigade of the Eurocorps of the European Union, founded in 1989, jointly consisting of units from both the French Army and the German Army.[1]

History

The Brigade was formed in 1987 following a summit between President Mitterrand of France and Chancellor Kohl of Germany. The Brigade became operational on October 2, 1989, under the command of General Jean-Pierre Sengeisen. Currently, the FGB is stationed at Müllheim, Metz, Donaueschingen, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Sarrebourg, and Immendingen as part of the Eurocorps.[2]

In February 2009 it was announced that a German battalion of the force was to be moved to Illkirch near Strasbourg, the first time a German unit had been stationed in France since the German occupation of World War II.[3]

On 31 October 2013, France announced that in 2014 it would shut down 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.[4]

Organisation

Flag of the Brigade.

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.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Franco-German Brigade on official Eurocorps website". Archived from the original on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  2. ↑ "History of the Franco-German Brigade (in German)". Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  3. ↑ International Herald Tribune, German battalion to be stationed in France, February 7, 2009
  4. ↑ Agence France-Presse (31 October 2013). "France Dissolves Symbolic Regiment Based In Germany". Defense News.
  5. ↑ "Structure of the Franco-German Brigade (in German)". Retrieved 2008-02-23.
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