414 Tank Battalion

Last updated
414 Tank Battalion
  • Panzerbataillon 414
  • 414 Tankbataljon
COA PzBtl 414.png
Coat of arms
ActiveOperational
CountryFlag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
Flag of Germany.svg Germany
BranchFlag of the Royal Netherlands Army.svg  Royal Netherlands Army
Colour of Germany.svg  German Army
Type Tank
Sizearound 400
Garrison/HQ Bergen-Lohheide
Insignia
NATO Map Symbol
414
NATO Map Symbol - Unit Size - Battalion.svg
43
Military Symbol - Friendly Unit (Solid Light 1.5x1 Frame)- Armour (NATO APP-6).svg

414 Tank Battalion (German : Panzerbataillon 414; Dutch : 414 Tankbataljon) is a mixed German and Dutch tank battalion, consisting of around 100 Dutch and 300 German soldiers. [1]

Contents

History

The battalion was founded in 2016, [2] and became fully operational in 2019. [3]

Previously the German battalion, part of the 41st Panzergrenadier Brigade was active from 1991 to 2006 at Spechtberg. It was established on the basis of the 22nd and 23rd Panzer Regiments, 9th Panzer Division, of the Land Forces of the National People's Army, the former East German Army. [4]

On 17 March 2016, the battalion was attached to the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade which is in turn a part of the German 1st Panzer Division. [5]

The barracks of 414 Panzerbattalion are in Bergen-Lohheide, Lower Saxony.

It has been described as a step towards a "European army". [3]

Structure

414 Tank Battalion consists of the following elements: [6]

Out of the 100 Dutch soldiers, 72 are tank crew. The other 28 are staff members, maintenance and support crew.

Commander since 2022 is Luitenant-kolonel (Oberstleutnant) Sebastiaan Schillemans (NL)

Equipment

Klietz, Germany, exercise Peacock Supremacy, February 15, 2018. A German Leopard 2 tank and a Dutch CV9035NL from the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade. Duitse Leopard-gevechtstank en een Nederlands CV90 tijdens een gevechtsoefening ter voorbereiding op de flitsmacht.jpg
Klietz, Germany, exercise Peacock Supremacy, February 15, 2018. A German Leopard 2 tank and a Dutch CV9035NL from the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade.

The battalion's main armament is the Leopard 2 A6MA2 main battle tank. The unit has 49 or 50 tanks of these upgraded MBTs. The tank is modified with the Dutch battlefield management system ELIAS (Essential Land-based Information Application & Services). This was done anticipating the fact that 414 Tank Battalion would join the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) of the NATO Response Force in 2019. [8] [9] Additionally the German C3I Führungs und Informationssystem des Heeres and the SEM 80/90 VHF radio system can be installed. [10]

The Leopard 2A6MA2s, 50 in total, were upgraded to 2A6MA3 to match the 2A7V standard starting sometime in March-April 2019. [11] [12] [13]

Insignia of previous Panzerbataillon 414 PzBtl 414.jpg
Insignia of previous Panzerbataillon 414

References

  1. ↑ Improved Leopards for German-Dutch tank battalion Dutch Ministry of Defence
  2. ↑ Fiorenza, Nicholas (18 September 2015). "Dutch mechanized brigade to be integrated into German panzer division". Jane's Defence Weekly . Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Bennhold, Katrin (20 February 2019). "A European Army? The Germans and Dutch Take a Small Step". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Panzerbataillon 414 n.A." Panzerbataillon184.de (in German). Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Geschichte". German Army official website (in German). Bundeswehr. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Gliederung". German Army official website (in German). Bundeswehr. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Panzerbataillon 414 in Lohheide". 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "Digitale revolutie op rupsbanden". magazines.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "Grote sprong voorwaarts". magazines.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "BW – Kampfpanzer Leopard 2A6MA2". Archived from the original on 26 March 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Fiorenza, Nicholas (9 April 2019). "Bundeswehr awards Leopard 2 upgrade contract". Janes Information Services . Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Bundeswehr Leopard 2 MBT At 40 ~ Part 5". Local Forces News. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Verbesserungen am Leopard 2 und Geschosse für Panzerhaubitze" [Improvements to Leopard 2 and projectiles for armored howitzers]. Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany) (in German). 20 March 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.