National People's Army of the GDR

The GDR (German Democratic Republic) is a state located in the central part of Europe and existed from 1949 to 1990. Why did this period go down in history? We will talk about this in our article.

A little bit about the GDR

East Germany became the capital of the GDR. The territory occupied 6 modern federal states of Germany. The GDR under the administrative system was divided into lands, districts and urban areas. It is worth noting that Berlin was not included in any of the 6 lands and had a special status.

Creation of the GDR Army

The GDR Army was established in 1956. It consisted of 3 kinds of troops: land, navy and air force. On November 12, 1955, the government promulgated the creation of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 18, next year, the law "On the Establishment of the National People's Army and the formation of the Ministry of National Defense" was formally approved. In the same year, various headquarters, subordinate to the Ministry, began their activities, and the first subsections of the NAN took a military oath. In 1959 the Military Academy of F. Engels was opened, in which young people are trained for future service. It played an important role in the formation of a strong and efficient army, as the training system was thought through to the smallest detail. Yet it should be noted that up to 1962 the army of the GDR was replenished for hire.

The GDR included included Saxon and Prussian lands, on which the most belligerent Germans had previously lived. It was they who served to make the NNA become a powerful and fast-growing force. Prussians and Saxons quickly moved up the career ladder, occupying first senior officer posts, and then taking over the management of the NNA. We should also remember the traditional discipline of the Germans, love of military affairs, the rich experience of the Prussian military and advanced military equipment, because all this made the GDR army virtually invincible.

Activities

The GDR army began its active activity in 1962, when the first maneuvers were held in Poland and the GDR, in which soldiers from the Polish and Soviet sides participated. The year 1963 was marked by the holding of large-scale military exercises called the Quartet, in which NNA, Polish, Czechoslovak and Soviet troops participated.

Despite the fact that the army of the GDR was by no means impressive, it was the most efficient army in the whole of Western Europe. The soldiers showed excellent results, which in many respects was based on studying in the Academy of F. Engels. Those who joined the army for hire, trained in all skills and became powerful weapons of murder.

Doctrine

The National People's Army of the GDR had its own doctrine, which the leadership developed. The principles of organizing the army were based on the denial of all the postulates of the Prussian-German military. An important point of the doctrine was the strengthening of the defense forces to protect the country's socialist system. The importance of cooperation with the armies of the socialist allies was emphasized separately.

Despite the great desire of the government, the National People's Army of the GDR was not able to completely break all ties with the classic of the military traditions of Germany. The army partially practiced the old customs of the proletariat and the era of Napoleonic wars.

The Constitution of 1968 said that the National People's Army of the GDR is designed to protect the territory of the state, as well as its citizens from external encroachments of other countries. In addition, it was pointed out that all forces would be left to protect and strengthen the socialist system of the state. To preserve its power, the army maintained close ties with other armies.

The numerical expression

By 1987, the National Army of the GDR had 120,000 soldiers. Army ground forces consisted of 9 air defense regiments, 1 air support regiment, 2 anti-tank battalions, 10 artillery regiments, etc. The army of the GDR, which had sufficient weapons, defeated the enemy with the ability to handle its resources, cohesion and thoughtful tactical approach.

Preparation

The training of soldiers took place in the higher officers' schools, which were attended by almost all young people. Especially popular was the previously mentioned Academy of F. Engels, which produced professionals in its field. By 1973, the army was 90% composed of peasants and workers.

Structure in the Army

The territory of Germany was divided into two military districts, which were in charge of the People's Army of the GDR. Headquarters of the districts are located in Leipzig and Neubrandenburg. A separate artillery brigade was also created, which was not part of any district, each of which had 2 motorized divisions, 1 missile brigade and 1 armored division.

Army Uniforms

The Soviet army of the GDR was wearing a uniform with a red collar-stand. Because of this, she received the nickname "canaries". The Soviet Army was carrying a service near the GB building. Soon, the question arose about creating your own form. It was invented, but it was very similar to the Nazi form. The excuses of the government consisted in the fact that the necessary quantity of such uniforms is located in warehouses, that its production is established and does not require intervention. The reason for the adoption of the traditional uniform was also the fact that the GDR did not have large financial investments. There was also an emphasis on the fact that if the army is a people's army, its form should be associated with the proletarian folk tradition.

The form of the army of the GDR was inspired by a certain forgotten fear associated with the times of Nazism. History tells that when Prague hosted a military band, half of the Czechs fled in different directions, seeing the uniform of soldiers with helmets and woven epaulettes.

The army of the GDR, whose uniform was not very original, had a pronounced color differentiation. Employees in the navy wore blue clothes. Air Force air forces dressed in light blue colors, and anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft missile troops wore a light gray uniform. The border troops should wear bright green clothes.

Strongest of all, the color differentiation of the military manifested itself in the uniform of the ground forces. Artillery, air defense and missile forces wore brick-colored clothing, motorized rifles - white, landing troops - orange, and military-building - olive. The rear services of the army (medicine, military justice and financial services) were dressed in a dark green uniform.

Equipment

The equipment of the GDR army was quite significant. The shortage of weapons was almost non-existent, since the Soviet Union supplied a large number of modern military equipment at an affordable price. Predominantly developed and distributed in the GDR were sniper rifles. The Ministry of State Security of the GDR itself made an order for the creation of such weapons to strengthen the positions of anti-terrorist groups.

Army in Czechoslovakia

The army of the GDR invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, and from that time the worst period for the Czechs began. The invasion took place with the help of the troops of all countries participating in the Warsaw Pact. The aim was to occupy the territory of the state, and the reason was the reaction to a number of reforms that were called the Prague Spring. It is difficult to know the exact number of dead, as many archives remain closed.

The army of the GDR in Czechoslovakia excelled in cold blood and some cruelty. Eyewitnesses of those events recalled that soldiers treated the population without sentimentality, paying no attention to the sick, wounded and children. Mass terror and unreasonable rigidity - that's how you can characterize the activities of the people's army. Interestingly, some participants of the events said that the Russian army had practically no influence on the troops of the GDR and was supposed to silently demolish mockery of the Czechs by order of the high command.

If you do not take into account the official history, then it becomes interesting that, according to some sources, the GDR army was not introduced into the territory of Czechoslovakia, but concentrated at the borders of the state. Atrocities of the National Army of the GDR can not be justified, but one must take into account the mental tension, fatigue and guilt with which the Germans went to Prague. The question of the number of deaths, as well as how many of them were real accidents, remains a mystery.

Composition of the navy of the GDR

The navy of the GDR Army was the most powerful of all the allied countries of the USSR. He owned modern ships, which went into circulation in 1970-1980. At the time of German unification, the navy had 110 ships and 69 auxiliary vessels. They had different purposes, while they were modern and equipped. The ships were built at the national shipyards in the USSR and Poland. The air force had at its disposal 24 equipped helicopters. The personnel of the Navy was about 16 thousand people.

The most powerful were the three ships built at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in the USSR. At the same time in the army of the GDR was a special class of ships, which were very compact in size.

Activities after the unification of Germany

October 3, 1990 there was a reunification of Germany. By this time the strength of the GDR army was almost 90 thousand people. For some political reasons, a powerful and fairly large army was disbanded. Officers and ordinary soldiers were not recognized as military men, and their experience was canceled. The staff was gradually dismissed. Some of the military could return to the Bundeswehr, but only received inferior positions there.

If the military was deemed unfit for service in the new army, then it is still possible to find a logical explanation. They were brought up in a certain way, their focus was opposite to the goals of united Germany. Oddly enough, the new government decided to sell or dispose of most of the military equipment. The leadership of Germany was actively looking for wealthy sellers to sell as yet modern equipment more expensive. Some of the ships went to the Indonesian fleet.

The US government was very interested in the Soviet technology of Germany and hurried to buy some of it for themselves. The boat that was brought to the US Navy research center in Solomon attracted the greatest interest. A lot of research was conducted on it, and it was highly appreciated by American shipbuilders. As a result, it was recognized that such RSA posed a great threat to the US fleet.

Interestingly, no ship of the National People's Army was part of the navy of the united Germany. This concludes the history of the navy of the GDR, whose ships can be found in 8 different states.

Disappointment

After the unification of Germany, the country rejoiced, but thousands of officers of the former people's army were left to their fate. The army of the GDR, whose photo is presented in the article, was confused, disappointed and angry. Only recently did the soldiers represent the elite of society, and now they have become scum, which they did not want to hire. Soon enough, the population of the country realized that it was not the reunification of Germany, but the actual absorption by the western neighbor.

Former military idle queues on the stock exchanges to acquire any work, in order to feed themselves and their families. All that the employees (with higher and lower ranks) received after the unification of GDR are discrimination and humiliation in all spheres of life.

System of titles

In the NNA the system of titles consisted of the Wehrmacht distinctions. The titles and signs were carefully adapted to the system of the Soviet Army, since its gradation was somewhat different from the German one. By combining these two systems, the GDR army created something of its own. The generals were divided into four ranks: Marshal of the GDR, Army General, Colonel-General and Lieutenant-General. The officers consisted of colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains and senior lieutenants. Then came the sub-ensign of ensigns, sergeants and soldiers.

The National People's Army of the GDR was a powerful force that could significantly change the course of history throughout the world. The fate developed in such a way that the soldiers did not have an opportunity to show all their strength and power, as this was prevented by the unification of Germany, which led to the complete disintegration of the NNA.