The history of Bundeswehr administrative assistance – help and rescue in times of need

When push comes to shove and civilian authorities reach their limits, the Bundeswehr is right where it is needed – and it has been for decades. In addition to its core mission, it also provides assistance at home and stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Germany. While initially there was no legal framework for it, administrative assistance has become a clearly regulated service over time.

February 1962: the German North Sea coast is hit by a devastating storm surge. The Hanseatic city of Hamburg sustains extremely severe damage. In the middle of the night, an enormous flood wave rolls up the River Elbe. More than 300 people die, thousands become homeless and lose everything they own.

There is no clear concept assigning the competences and responsibilities to the individual authorities, which hinders the fight against the forces of nature. Back then, crisis management as we know it today was still in its infancy. Units of the British and US armed forces supported the rescue measures of the fire brigades, the police, the Federal Border Police, BSG, and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, THW.

The still young Bundeswehr provided emergency aid as ordered by Helmut Schmidt, the future minister of defence and federal chancellor, who at the time was senator of the interior of Hamburg – the city of which 20 percent were flooded at the height of the disaster. Although not constitutionally authorised to do so, Schmidt had requested and employed military engineer forces with inflatable boats and helicopters of the Bundeswehr to support the rescue forces. In Hamburg alone, eleven battalions with around 8,000 soldiers and 4,000 members of Allied forces eventually assisted the civilian helpers. Schmidt retrospectively justified his request for Bundeswehr support, which at the time was not yet legitimised by the Basic Law, by simply stating that human lives had been at stake. Therefore, to him, the obvious thing was to act without hesitating even “a second”.

The birth of administrative assistance in Germany: the 1968 Emergency Acts

The Hamburg storm surge played an important role in ensuring that in 1968, as part of the emergency legislation, the domestic employment of the armed forces with the aim to deal with natural disasters and accidents was regulated by law. Until then, Article 35 of the Basic Law had merely stipulated that all Federal and Land authorities would render legal and administrative assistance to one another. An amendment to the Basic Law extended the competences of the Federal Government, stating that “in order to respond to a grave accident or a natural disaster, a Land may call for the assistance of police forces of other Länder or of personnel and facilities of other administrative authorities, of the Armed Forces or of the Federal Border Police” (Article 35 (2)).

The conditions: a request for administrative assistance, whose requests must be legally admissible, must be submitted to the Bundeswehr. In addition, the resources of civilian relief agencies must have been exhausted before the request, and suitable Bundeswehr personnel, equipment and material must be available.

National disaster relief: forces of nature and large-scale emergencies

Since then, crisis management teams of the federal states (the Länder), administrative districts and municipalities have frequently requested Bundeswehr personnel and materiel to cope with accidents or natural disasters – specifically, where their own capacities and, above all, capabilities have reached their limits. During the 1978/79 snow disaster in northern Germany, for example, it was only tanks and helicopters that were still able to get through to people trapped in the snow masses. They were stuck in their homes and many even in cars or trains. Even animal food was airdropped by Bundeswehr helicopters.

The “Army of Unity”: disaster relief during the Oder flood

Nearly 20 years later, the "Army of Unity" was put to test for the first time during the flood of the River Oder in 1997 and it did not do things by halves. Around 3,000 trucks, hundreds of tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, 60 helicopters, boats – everything the Bundeswehr was able to quickly mobilise was heading for East Germany. More than 30,000 soldiers from all parts of Germany were deployed, including many conscripts. During this incident, the task was to monitor and reinforce more than 130 kilometres of dyke for days on end. No civilian organisation could do this.

Between floods, fires and masses of snow

And the list goes on: be it floodings along the River Elbe, snow disasters in Bavaria, forest fires in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony or Bavaria, Bundeswehr units were welcome helpers in complicated situations, particularly because of their equipment and capabilities. Assistance was not limited to the provision of technical equipment. Logistics and often just many helping hands were decisive factors in crisis and emergency situations.

Above all, the Bundeswehr quickly established operational readiness where it was needed, like during the devastating flood disaster in the Ahr valley in 2021. More than 180 people died and more than 800 were injured. Thousands lost their homes. Roads and bridges were completely destroyed. In the following weeks, more than 2,300 Bundeswehr personnel – soldiers and members of civilian organisational areas and of homeland defence and security companies – were deployed to cope with the aftermath of the flood disaster. Soldiers built emergency bridges and temporary roads, set up satellite communication systems and drinking water treatment plants to restore basic services for the population.

The COVID-19 pandemic: the longest administrative assistance operation in history

However, the Bundeswehr did not only provide support during natural disasters, but also at the 2006 World Cup and it engaged in refugee relief and in combating swine fever and bark beetles. During the coronavirus pandemic, the Länder had already submitted their first requests for administrative assistance in the fight against the virus by the end of February 2020. Soldiers were then employed in adequate numbers, for example in health offices for contact tracking purposes, in test centres, hospitals and vaccination centres. Soldiers also supported the personnel in old-age and nursing homes. In addition, the Bundeswehr operated the transshipment centre for all COVID-19 vaccines and ensured their storage and distribution.

When the COVID-19 relief operation came to an end after more than two years, it had been the longest and largest in the history of the German armed forces. A total of 111,000 Bundeswehr personnel had been employed. At the peak, on a single day – 15 February 2021 – some 19,000 Bundeswehr members were employed to combat the pandemic.

Assistance despite scarce resources

Today, administrative assistance is coordinated by the Bundeswehr Joint Force Command at the Berlin and Schwielowsee garrisons. With more than 30 region liaison detachments in the administrative regions and more than 400 district liaison detachments in administrative districts and urban districts, the 16 subordinate regional territorial commands in the Länder form the territorial network for civil-military cooperation (CIMIC). The region and district liaison detachments are the first points of contact for local authorities seeking administrative assistance and disaster relief. Reservists with roots in the respective region provide their advice to regional crisis management teams, based on their military expertise regarding the possibilities, but also the limits of Bundeswehr support.

When a request for administrative assistance is submitted to the Bundeswehr Joint Force Command, it is first legally examined. At the same time, initial stocktaking of available resources is requested from the services and major organisational elements to start initiating the requested assistance. It must be emphasized in this context that administrative assistance is not, was not and is not going to be a core task of the Bundeswehr. Especially in view of the developments in the security landscape in recent years and the refocus on national and collective defence, personnel and material capacities must always be kept available for exercises and training. Nevertheless, whenever administrative assistance can be delivered and the legal requirements are met, the following continues to apply: if it is needed, the Bundeswehr will help the people in our country.

More information on the mission and tasks of administrative assistance can be found here: Administrative assistance provided by the Bundeswehr

Administrative assistance in pictures

by Bertie Meyer