National People's Army
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The National People’s Army (German: Nationale Volksarmee) served as the military of the German Democratic Republic.
History
The formation of the National People’s Army on March 1, 1956 (shortly after the formation of the West German Bundeswehr), was the final realization of an idea which had begun with the proclamation of the development of national armed forces, in which the foundation and military structure was formed. This structure was formed within the larger framework of the Warsaw Pact, and with the guidance of the Soviet Union. Many former members of the Wehrmacht who had been imprisoned by the Soviets formed the basis of the nascent NVA. By the middle of 1956, around 27 percent of the members of the officer corps of the NVA were former members of the Wehrmacht. Of the 82 highest command positions in the military, 61 were held by former members of the Wehrmacht. The military knowledge and experience of the veteran officers who had previously been in combat was indispensable at the beginning of the NVA.
Until 1962 the NVA was an all-volunteer army. After the introduction of conscription, the troop strength of the NVA lay at around 170,000 troops.
The SED had made sure to secure a special role for the party in the structure of the army. With few exceptions, the officers and officer candidates were members of the SED. Even amongst the NCOs there was a higher fraction of party members.
According to their own self image, the NVA served as the Instrument of Power of the Working Class, to protect and secure the achievements of socialism from outside aggression. It therefore acted for the defense of the German Democratic Republic, and of the Warsaw Pact as a whole, against expected imperialist aggression. Many of the members of the army were of the opinion that their service was useful to the country, and that they were contributing to the protection of world peace.
The NVA never took part in full scale combat, however, the NVA was included in the plan for the suppression of the Prague Spring of 1968. The NVA was on the march into Czechoslovakia for political reasons, however they weren’t there to take part directly. There were plans to use the 7. Panzerdivision and the 11. Motorisierte Schützdivision in the intervention, however, because of the expect negative impact on foreign politics that would be caused by deploying German troops outside of Germany for the first time since the Second World War, these divisions were never deployed. They instead rendered logistical help during the advance, and stood at the border ready to intervene in the event that the Soviet Army could not quell the uprising. In the fall of 1981, the NVA was prepared, if the need be, to intervene in Poland on the side of the Soviet Army.
More often, the NVA was in a state of heightened combat readiness, such as in 1961 during the construction of the Berlin Wall, in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, in 1968 during the intervention by the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia, and for the last time in the fall of 1989.
The NVA was disbanded in 1990, and its facilities and equipment were given over to the Bundeswehr. Most facilities were closed, and equipment was either sold or given to other countries. Most of the officers and NCOs were let go, with only 3,200 of this 36,000 strong group being retained in the Bundeswehr, with most of these being demoted by one rank.
Until March 1, 2005, time served in the NVA was listed as time “served in a foreign military”. Henceforth, it is to be known as “served outside of the Bundeswehr”.
Utilization of former NVA material after 1991
The NVA was, in relation to its equipment and training, one of the strongest armies in the Warsaw Pact. It was outfitted with a large number of modern weapons systems, most of Soviet origin, from which a small portion were given back to the Soviet Union in 1990.
The remaining equipment and materials was very substantial. Large quantites of replacement parts, medical supplies, atomic, biological and chemical warfare equipment, training devices and simulators, etc. had to be disposed of.
One of the first measures taken after reunification was a survey and securing of weapons and devices by former members of the NVA. The federally operated Material Depot Service Gesellschaft (MDSG) was charged with taking custody of and warehousing this equipment. The MDSG employed 1,820 people who were primarily taken from the Bundeswehr. The MDSG was privatised in 1994. Unless the defense material was given free of charge to beneficiaries in the new federal states or other deparments, to museums, or to friendly nations in the context of aid supplies in third world nations, it was destroyed.
Left behind were:
- 767 aircraft (helicopters, fixed wing aircraft), 24 of which were MiG-29s
- 208 ships
- 2,761 tanks
- 133,900 wheeled vehicles
- 2,199 artillery pieces
- 1,376,650 firearms
- 303,690 tons of ammunition
- 14,335 tons of fuel and cleaning materials
The sale of BTR-60s to Turkey at the beginning of the 1990s (with the stipulation that they not be used in internal conflicts, especially against the Kurds), made headlines. It was later proven by German journalists that these former NVA vehicles were, and still are, being used in regions with Kurdish populations, in violation of this stipulation.
Recruitment and conscientious objection
Before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, military service in the GDR was voluntary, though the Free German Youth and public schools mounted intensive recruitment drives and service in the NVA was often a prerequisite for career advancement. Compulsory service had been introduced earlier in West Germany (1956)—one year after the Federal Armed Forces were established—but the GDR held back from this step until 1962. The reason was partly that the authorities feared that conscription would swell the ranks of GDR citizens fleeing to the West. The situation changed when the border was sealed in August 1961, and five months later the government announced a mandatory service term of 18 months for men.
There was, at first, no alternative service for conscientious objectors. This changed in 1964 when, under pressure from the national Protestant church, the GDR's National Defense Council authorized the formation of Baueinheiten (construction units) for men of draft age who "refuse military service with weapons on the grounds of religious viewpoints or for similar reasons".
The construction soldiers wore uniforms and lived in barracks under military discipline, but were not required to bear arms and received no combat training. In theory, they were to be used only for civilian construction projects. The GDR therefore became the only socialist state in history to provide a non-combat alternative for conscientious objectors. However, the government took care to segregate the construction units from regular conscripts; fearing that other soldiers would be contaminated by pacifist ideas. Moreover, conscripts who chose the alternative service option often faced discrimination later in life, including denial of opportunities for higher education.
Organization
The NVA was comprised of four main branches:
- The Landstreitkräfte (Ground Forces) with a strength of 120,000.
- The Volksmarine (People's Navy) with a strength of 16,300.
- The Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung (Air Forces/Air Defence) with a strength of 39,000.
- The Grenztruppen der DDR (Border troops of the GDR), consisting of 50,000 border guards.
In wartime, mobilization of the NVA's reserves would have nearly doubled its strength. GDR authorities also had at their disposal the internal security troops of the Ministry of the Interior (who controlled the Volkspolizei) and the Ministry for State Security, and 210,000 members of the party's auxiliary "Combat Groups of the Working Class" (Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse), who were available in times of war.
The highest level of leadership for the NVA was the Ministry for National Defense (Ministerium für Nationale Verteidigung) headquartered in Strausberg near East Berlin. NVA administration was divided into the following commands:
- the Kommando Landstreitkräfte (KdoLaSK) based in Geltow near Potsdam.
- the Kommando Luftstreitkräfte und Luftverteidigungskräfte (KdoLSK/LV) based in Strausberg.
- the Kommando Volksmarine (KdoVM) based in Rostock.
- the Kommando der Grenztruppen (KdoGT) based in Pätz near Berlin.
The units of the Landstreitkräfte (ground force):
TRANSLATION:
Motorisierte-Schützen-Division - motorised/mechanized infantry division
Panzerdivision - tank division
Artillerieregiment - artilleryregiment
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie - rocket/artillery control battery
Flak-Raketene Regiment - AA-missile regiment
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr - aa-missile control battery
Raketenabteilung - rocket detachment
Schwere Werferabteilung - heavy mortar detachment
Panzerjägerabteilung - light AT-detachment
Aufklärungsbatallion - reconnaissance battalion
Pionierbatallion - engineer battalion
Nachrichtenbatallion - signal battalion
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung - material security battalion
Instandsetzungsbatallion - repair battalion
Batallion Chemische Abwehr - chemical-defence battalion
Sanitätsbatallion - medical battalion
Ersatzregiment - replacement regiment
Military District North (headquarter in Neubrandenburg)
1. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division - Potsdam
Order of battle 1980-90:
Mot.-Schützenregiment 1 Hans Beimler
Mot.-Schützenregiment 2 Arthur Ladwig
Mot.-Schützenregiment 3 Paul Hegenbarth
Panzerregiment 1 Friedrich Wolf
Artillerieregiment 1 Rudolf Gypner
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 1
Flak- Raketene Regiment 1 Anton Fischer
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 1
Raketenabteilung 1 Rudi Arndt
Schwere Werferabteilung 1 Hermann Rentzsch
Aufklärungsbatallion 1 Dr. Richard Sorge
Pionierbatallion 1 Willi Becker
Panzerjägerabteilung 1
Nachrichtenbatallion 1 Bodo Uhse
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 1 Georg Handke
Instandsetzungsbatallion 1 Otto Schliwinski
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 1 Herbert Kittelmann
Sanitätsbatallion 1
Ersatzregiment 1
8. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division - Schwerin
Order of battle 1980-90:
Mot.-Schützenregiment 27 Hans Kahle
Mot.-Schützenregiment 28 Wilhelm Florin
Mot.-Schützenregiment 29 Ernst Moritz Arndt
Panzerregiment 8 Arthur Becker
Artillerieregiment 8 Erich Mühsam
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 8
Flak- Raketene Regiment 8 Willi Schröder
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 8
Raketenabteilung 8 Hermann Schuldt
Schwere Werferabteilung 8 Mathias Thesen
Aufklärungsbatallion 8 Otto Moritz
Pionierbatallion 8 Tudor Vladimirescu
Panzerjägerabteilung 8 Heinrich Dollwetzel
Nachrichtenbatallion 8 Kurt Bürger
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 8 Herbert Tschäpe
Instandsetzungsbatallion 8 Wilhelm Pieck
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 8 Erich Correns
Sanitätsbatallion 8 Hans Rodenberg
Ersatzregiment 8
9. Panzerdivision - Eggesin
Order of battle 1980-90:
Panzerregiment 21 Walter Empacher
Panzerregiment 22 Soja Kosmodemjanskaja
Panzerregiment 23 Julian Marchlewski
Mot.-Schützenregiment 9 Rudolf Renner
Artillerieregiment 9 Hans Fischer
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 9
Flak- Raketene Regiment 9 Rudolf Dölling
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 9
Raketenabteilung 9 Otto Nuschk
Schwere Werferabteilung 9 Friedrich Ebert
Aufklärungsbatallion 9 Eduard Claudius
Pionierbatallion 9
Nachrichtenbatallion 9 Adolf Bytzeck
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 9 Robert Stamm
Instandsetzungsbatallion 9 Paul Dessau
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 9 Michael Niederkirchner
Sanitätsbatallion 9 Wolfgang Langhoff
Ersatzregiment 9
Military District South (headquarter in Leipzig)
4. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division - Erfurt
Order of battle 1980-90:
Mot.-Schützenregiment 22 Thomas Müntzer
Mot.-Schützenregiment 23 Anton Saefkow
Mot.-Schützenregiment 24 John Scheer
Panzerregiment 4 August Bebel
Artillerieregiment 4 Willi Bredel
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 4
Flak- Raketene Regiment 4 Hermann Danz
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 4
Raketenabteilung 4
Schwere Werferabteilung 4
Aufklärungsbatallion 4 Wilhelm Girnius
Pionierbatallion 4 Walter Kaiser-Gorrish
Panzerjägerabteilung 4 Franz Jacob
Nachrichtenbatallion 4
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 4
Instandsetzungsbatallion 4
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 4
Sanitätsbatallion 4
Ersatzregiment 4
11. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division - Halle
Order of battle 1980-90:
Mot.-Schützenregiment 16 Robert Uhrig
Mot.-Schützenregiment 17 Fritz Weineck
Mot.-Schützenregiment 18 Otto Schlag
Panzerregiment 11 Otto Buchwitz
Artillerieregiment 11 Wilhelm Koenen
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 11
Flak- Raketene Regiment 11 Georg Stöber
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 11
Raketenabteilung 11 Magnus Poser
Schwere Werferabteilung 11
Aufklärungsbatallion 11 Heinrich Brandes
Pionierbatallion 11 Willi Gall
Panzerjägerabteilung 11 Hermann Vogt
Nachrichtenbatallion 11 Otto Brosowski
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 11 Bernhard Koenen
Instandsetzungsbatallion 11
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 11 Erwin Hörnle
Sanitätsbatallion 11
Ersatzregiment 11
7. Panzerdivision - Dresden
Order of battle 1980-90:
Panzerregiment 14 Karol Swierczewski
Panzerregiment 15 Paul Hornick
Panzerregiment 16 Leo Jogiches
Mot.-Schützenregiment 7 Max Roscher
Artillerieregiment 7 Albert Hößler
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 7
Flak- Raketene Regiment 7 Paul Rockstroh
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 7
Raketenabteilung 7 Alfred Kurella
Schwere Werferabteilung 7 Ernst Schneller
Aufklärungsbatallion 7 Ludvik Svoboda
Pionierbatallion 7 Arthur Thiermann
Nachrichtenbatallion 7 Egon Dreger
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 7 Kurt Schlosser
Instandsetzungsbatallion 7 Gustav Schneider
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 7 Johann Eggert
Sanitätsbatallion 7
Ersatzregiment 7
Under the Kommando Landstreitkräfte obeyed some special trained units - like the 40. Fallschirmjägerbataillon Willi Sänger
The structure and equipment was mostly of Soviet design, and the NVA operated in close collaboration with the Soviet armed forces.
Uniforms
Rank Insignia
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| Marshal of the GDR | Army-General | General | General-Lieutenant | General-Major |
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| Colonel/Group | Lieutenant Colonel/Wing | Major | Captain (Officer) | First Lieutenant/Flying Officer | Lieutenant | Staff-Lieutenant |
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| Ensigns of the NVA | |||
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| Senior Staff Ensign | Staff Ensign | Senior Ensign | Ensign |
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| Non Commissioned Officers of the NVA | ||||
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| Warrant Officer 2nd Class | Staff Sergant/Flight Sergant/Petty Officer | Sergeant Major | Staff Sergeant Major | Non Commissioned Officer |
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| Team-Ranks of the NVA | ||
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| Staff Private | Private | Soldier |
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