Army

10 Armoured Division

10 Armoured Division, which is headquartered in the Bavarian town of Veitshöchheim, exercises command and control over its subordinate brigades and battalions. The Division provides forces for the entire task spectrum of the armed forces. The Division stands its ground on deployments and missions, in standby commitments and in national crises. It is a cornerstone of national and collective defence.

Half-enveloped in a cloud of dust, a tank speeds across a sandy training ground. — Bundeswehr/Mario Bähr

Mission

Together with 1 Armoured Division, 10 Armoured Division is one of two major mechanised units of the German Army. 10 Armoured Division’s units are all based in the south of Germany. The headquarters of 10 Armoured Division are based in the Bavarian town of Veitshöchheim, near Würzburg.

As a mechanised major unit, 10 Armoured Division is geared towards operations across the entire intensity spectrum, including national and collective defence. However, the particular specialty of the servicemen and women of 10 Armoured Division is combined arms combat conducted by armoured forces.

Another hallmark of the Division is the French-German Brigade, which is based in Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany and in France. The fact that this mixed brigade, which was founded in 1989, is under binational command underlines the strong bond between Germany and France as close partners in Europe. The German Detachment, French-German Brigade is placed under the command of 10 Armoured Division.

What is more, a close partnership has been established between the Division and Lithuania and the Czech Republic. Multinationality is very common.

Operations abroad

10 Armoured Division acts as lead division for Army operations within the framework of the Kosovo Force (KFORKosovo Force), the European Union Training Mission (EUTMEuropean Union Training Mission) and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMAMultidimensionnelle Intégrée des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation au Mali).

Since early 2017, the Tenth has provided Army forces to the German element of the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFPenhanced Forward Presence) Battle Group in Lithuania, a recognised mission to protect NATO’s eastern flank. Battle Group contingents deployed to the Baltics rotate after a period of six months. After eight rotations the Division handed over this mission in February 2021. Up to that point, about 7,000 soldiers had been deployed to Lithuania.

From 2021, 10 Armoured Division assumes the role of lead division providing the forces to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force ). VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force enables NATO to respond to developments in the security situation even more quickly and flexibly. It thus makes an important contribution to national and collective defence. From 2022, 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade, which is based in Frankenberg/Saxony, will be on standby and will provide the land component of VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force from 2023 onwards. The forces will be kept available at the highest level of standby readiness in order to be able to respond to crises quickly and effectively.

Disaster relief

In matters of training and exercises, 10 Armoured Division cooperates with the armed forces of numerous friendly nations. At the request of other authorities, the Division’s soldiers provide support (officially termed administrative assistance) in the event of disasters and accidents, as for example in the serious flooding of the Danube in 2013, during the snow disaster in southern Bavaria in 2019 or, since April 2020, in the handling of the COVID-19Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. In doing so, up to 6,000 soldiers assist in the operation of testing stations and vaccination centres or simply help out in heavily-burdened nursing homes.

The Tenth stands ready when it is needed. We are: reliable - mobile - fast.

Facts and figures

300 soldiers
serve at the Division’s headquarters
29
battalion-size units are part of the Division
in 2 countries
and 5 federal states the Division is accommodated

Motto of 10 Armoured Division

Reliable – mobile – fast

Commander

Bundeswehr

Major General Ruprecht von Butler

Major General Ruprecht von Butler has been the Commander of 10 Armoured Division in the Bavarian town of Veitshöchheim since March 2021.

Organisation

For the purpose of task accomplishment, the following units are directly subordinate to 10 Armoured Division:

12 Armoured Brigade
37 Armoured Infantry Brigade
Franco-German Brigade
13. Light Armoured Brigade
131 Artillery Battalion
345 Artillery Battalion
10 Signal Battalion
905 Engineer Battalion
10 Operations Support Battalion
8 Supply Battalion
10 Reconnaissance Battalion
4 Tank Engineer Battalion

Headquarters and Signal Company, 10 Armoured Division

The Headquarters and Signal Company of 10 Armoured Division is based at Veitshöchheim garrison and numbers 190 soldiers.

The core mission of the company is to ensure the command and control capability of the division staff of 10 Armoured Division during command post training/exercises. The Headquarters and Signal Company of 10 Armoured Division ensures real-life materiel support and vehicle repair (maintenance) at Veitshöchheim garrison and on exercises.

Tel.: +49 931 9707 4410
Email: 10.PzDivStFmKpS1@Bundeswehr.org