1 (German/Netherlands) Corps

1 (German/Netherlands) Corps conducts multinational operations and joint/combined missions, i.e. the servicemen and women of the Corps work in conjunction with the Air Force, Navy or other major organisational elements of Germany’s Federal Armed Forces.

1 (German-Netherlands) Corps will provide forces for the 2021 Joint Task Force HQHeadquarters (Land). In this role, the Corps will be able to plan, organise and conduct joint operations over a long period of time. Fundamentally, this means that the Corps can lead several brigades at a time, while also coordinating the employment of Navy, Air Force and special operations forces.
The Corps is thus constantly adapting itself to a continuously changing world and possible security challenges.

Highly versatile

Besides serving as the corps headquarters in Münster, it has two binational units, a signal battalion and a headquarters and support battalion, directly subordinate to it.

The headquarters houses a classic corps staff, or serves as a headquarters for a special response force, in other words as a Joint Task Force Headquarters.

It can also serve as a headquarters to command a brigade-size or larger unit comprising all land forces, i.e. as a Land Component Command.

The mission would then be conducted either under the command of the two Framework Nations – Germany and the Netherlands – or of NATO or the EU.

Mobile command post

Twelve nations currently work together in the Corps. All of the member units provide an overall strength of around 1,100 servicemen and women. When deployed on operations, the forces assigned to the Corps can number as many as 80,000 soldiers, depending on the mission.

The Corps has a mobile command post at its disposal, which can operate independently and without any infrastructural support. When required, the first soldiers are ready to move no later than 48 hours after receipt of orders.

New command and control responsibility

Since January 2019, 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps has, as Land Component Command, again assumed command and control responsibility for the NATO Response Force. It can be rapidly deployed and carry out operations spanning the entire task spectrum of NATO-wide alliance defence.