Military District V (East Germany)

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Founded1. March 1956
Disbanded2. October 1990
Military District V
Militärbezirk V
District colour (Truppenfahne)
Land Forces of the National People's Army
Founded1. March 1956
Disbanded2. October 1990

Military District V (MB V for short) was a military district of the National People's Army of East Germany. It was created in the northern part of the GDR territory, military-administrative territorial association[1] of units, units and military facilities of various branches of service, special troops and services of the Land Forces of the National People's Army and the (military) substitute system of the NVA.[2]

In the event of mobilization, the 5th Army (NVA) and the Territorial Military District V would have been formed from these formations.

The 5th NVA Army was to form part of the 1st Front of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG).[3]

The strongest massing of the 1st Front would have been in the direction of North German Plain with the 2nd Guards Tank Army and 3. Shock Army on the line Wittenberge, Stendal to Magdeburg[3] and facing the NATO NORTHAG. The operational planning for the deployment of the 5th Army, which was revised in 1983, 1985 and 1988[3] and had defensive and offensive phases, was the responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Front. At the alert level of full combat readiness, Military District V was led by an army staff and a command from the Territorial Military District.

The planning framework, which in the initial phase assumed aggression by NATO, envisaged bringing their units to a standstill close to the border and going on the offensive from there. In this phase the aim was to overcome enemy barriers and defensive positions and to destroy NATO formations one by one as quickly as possible. The attack speed was assumed to be 50 kilometers per day of combat.

The 5th Army in the North would have been reinforced by the Soviet 94th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the Soviet independent tank regiments 138. and 221. It would have been commanded by the soviet high-command.[4]

It was active from 1 March 1956, to 2 October 1990.

It included Motorized Rifle Troops[5] (mechanized infantry);[6] tank troops; Missile Troops/Artillery; army air defence; Army Aviation Forces; and Special Troops and Services

In 1990, the Chief Military District V / Commander 5th Army was Lieutenant General Horst Sylla;[7] (from 15 September 1990) Major General Manfred Jonischkies; and the Chief of the Territorial MB V (in the state of defence) was to be Major General Henri Thuneman.

The headquarters was located at the Neubrandenburg under the name Command Military District V (Kdo MB V)[8] and included the field command of the 5th Army (NVA) and the leadership of the Territorial Military District.[9]

One armored division (9th Panzer Division) and two motorized infantry divisions (1. motorisierte Schützendivision (1st MSD), and 8th MSD) were assigned to Military District V from the NVA Land Forces. Other associations, troop units, units and facilities were run as an army complex under direct subordination.

Stationing of the Land Forces of the NVA on the territory of the GDR.

The military-administrative subdivision of the GDR state territory into three geographical areas (Northern, Southern, Berlin area) has served since the early 1950s for the coordinated preparation (planning, organization, command) and implementation of all national defense measures, taking into account the different military-geographical conditions and the requirements of the Soviet armed forces grouping in military-strategic directions.[10]

In the course of the administrative reform of 1952, the competences of the federal states were transferred to the districts of the GDR. The military-administrative responsibilities were already consistently centralized at the republic level and implemented by the territorial administrations of the KVP (North TV-12 and South TV-24). TV Nord (TV 12) was responsible for the GDR districts of Neubrandenburg, Rostock, Schwerin, Potsdam, Frankfurt/Oder and Magdeburg.[11]

Close cooperation between the NVA and the state bodies and local administrations in the territory was crucial to ensure efficient collection of human and material resources in the interests of national defence.

Order of battle in the 1980s

Artist's rendering of a T-34-85 in service with the Landstreitkräfte

1st Motor Rifle Division (Potsdam)

  • 1st Motor Rifle Regiment "Hans Beimler"
  • 2nd Motor Rifle Regiment "Arthur Ladwig"
  • 3rd Motor Rifle Regiment "Paul Hegenbarth"
  • 1st Panzer Regiment "Friedrich Wolf"
  • 1st Artillery Regiment "Rudolf Gypner"
  • 1st AA-Missile Regiment "Anton Fischer"
  • 1st Rocket Detachment "Rudi Arndt"
  • 1st Heavy Mortar Detachment "Hermann Rentzsch"
  • 1st Reconnaissance Battalion "Dr. Richard Sorge"
  • 1st Engineer Battalion "Willi Becker"
  • 1st Light AT Detachment "Willy Sägebrecht"
  • 1st Signal Battalion "Bodo Uhse"
  • 1st Logistical Security Battalion "Georg Handke"
  • 1st Repair Battalion "Otto Schliwinski"
  • 1st Chemical Defence Battalion "Herbert Kittelmann"
  • 1st Medical Battalion
  • 1st Replacement Regiment

8th Motor Rifle Division (Schwerin)

  • 27th Motor Rifle Regiment "Hans Kahle"
  • 28th Motor Rifle Regiment "Wilhelm Florin"
  • 29th Motor Rifle Regiment "Ernst Moritz Arndt"
  • 8th Panzer Regiment "Arthur Becker"
  • 8th Artillery Regiment "Erich Mühsam"
  • 8th AA-Missile Regiment "Willi Schröder"
  • 8th Rocket Detachment "Hermann Schuldt"
  • 8th Heavy Mortar Detachment "Mathias Thesen"
  • 8th Reconnaissance Battalion "Otto Moritz"
  • 8th Engineer Battalion "Tudor Vladimirescu"
  • 8th Light AT Detachment "Heinrich Dollwetzel"
  • 8th Signal Battalion "Kurt Bürger"
  • 8th Logistical Security Battalion "Herbert Tschäpe"
  • 8th Repair Battalion "Wilhelm Pieck"
  • 8th Chemical Defence Battalion "Erich Correns"
  • 8th Medical Battalion "Hans Rodenberg"
  • 8th Replacement Regiment

9th Panzer Division (Eggesin)

District units in the late 1980s

References

External links

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