Country Germany Type Division | Branch Army Size About 12,500 soldiers | |
Active September 26, 1990 – June 28, 2013 Role Conventional warfare, homeland defense | ||
The 13th Panzergrenadier Division (13. Panzergrenadierdivision) was a mechanized division of the German Army. Its staff was based at Leipzig. The division was a unit of the German Army's stabilization forces and specialized on conflicts of low intensity and homeland defense. The division was Germany's permanent contribution to Multinational Corps North East.
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History
This division was formed in 1990 after German reunification and integrated troops of the former German Democratic Republic's National People's Army into the new unified military of Germany.
The division saw action in the Balkans during numerous deployments, including one deployment to Kosovo with division commander Lieutenant General Roland Kather serving as KFOR commanding officer. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large natural disasters such as disastrous floods in 1997. In more recent times, the division has seen intense action against insurgents in northern Afghanistan.
A member of the 13th Panzergrenadier Division was awarded his nation's highest decoration for gallantry, the Honour Cross for Bravery on January 22, 2010. Master Sergeant Daniel Seibert led a heroic counterattack against a superior insurgent force in the village of Basoz in Afghanistan's Kunduz Province on June 4, 2009. His actions killed ten Taliban insurgents and saved a jeopardized reconnaissance squad from almost certain destruction.
The 13th Panzergrenadier Division was disbanded on June 28, 2013, as part of a restructuring of the German armed forces. The division's units had previously been transferred to 1st Panzer Division and the Airmobile Operations Division. 13th Panzergrenadier Division was succeeded by the Army Training Command (Ausbildungskommando Heer).