Between peace and war: the German state has one of the oldest national schools of special forces
The German state has one of the oldest national schools of special forces with an extensive history of their practical application in real conflicts and a number of operations that are unique in scale and effectiveness that have significantly changed the course of world history. However, for understandable historical reasons, the history of the German special forces must be divided into two parts: the special operations forces of the "imperial" states of Germany - Kaiser and Nazi - and the modern special forces of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).
It is generally accepted that even after the restoration of the armed forces of the FRG in 1955 (ten years after the end of the Second World War), special forces units were absent for a long time. The description of the history of the post-war German special forces usually begins in September 1973 - the time of the creation of the anti-terrorist unit of the federal police Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9).
GSG 9 personnel, late 1970s. (c) dpa
In fact, the course for the development of special forces was taken by the German Ministry of Defense shortly after the creation of the Bundeswehr and Germany's accession to NATO, but this work was simply not advertised. The latter was explained by both obvious considerations of secrecy and declared ideological attitudes (the initial concept of the Bundeswehr as an "army for democracy" under full public control) and legal considerations (the constitution banned the use of the army outside Germany).
Ideological obstacles did not prevent the Germans from creating in 1958 the 1st Airborne Division, among the tasks of which was the capture of strategically and operationally important objects in the rear of the enemy. In the future, it became the basis for the selection of special forces soldiers.
West German parachutist, 1958. (c) Buonasera, creativecommons.org
At the same time, in 1958, the training of naval saboteurs began for the naval forces (Navy) of the Federal Republic of Germany, which were still being formed at that time. In 1964, they were combined into a separate company of combat swimmers as part of an amphibious group (a unit in the Navy). The main task of the company, stationed by the naval base in Kiel, was to carry out sabotage actions against the ships and vessels of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and the Navy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) with the beginning of a full-scale war with the Warsaw Pact countries.
Combat training of a separate company of combat swimmers, 1980s. (c) kampfschwimmer.de
The first specialized reconnaissance and sabotage units as part of the ground forces were created in the early 1960s. Their appearance is associated with the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe - their search and destruction became one of the main tasks of special forces units of all major military powers of that time.
The father of the modern German army special forces can be considered Wehrmacht veteran Lieutenant Colonel Konrad Rittmeier, who was appointed in 1961 as the commander of the "Training Group R" at the school of paratroopers in Schongau (Bavaria). In 1963, the "R group" was reorganized into the 200th deep reconnaissance company. Later, on its basis, two more deep reconnaissance companies were formed - the 100th and 300th. Thus, in the 1960s, three deep reconnaissance companies were formed in the FRG (according to the number of available army corps), which existed until 1996.
Combat training of the 300th deep reconnaissance company, 1960s. (c) fernspaehkompanie300.de
As for the famous and most often associated with the phrase "special forces of the Federal Republic of Germany" special forces GSG 9 (9th border group), it was formed in September 1973. This happened exactly one year after the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics, organized by members of the Palestinian organization "Black September".
The name GSG 9 was given due to the decision to form an anti-terrorist special unit within the federal border guard, which at that time consisted of eight border groups (analogues of border detachments in our terminology). The new special unit became the ninth. After the reorganization of the Federal Border Guard in 2005, the GSG 9 special group of about 250 people is part of the German Federal Police under the direct command of the Minister of the Interior.
Personnel GSG 9, 2015. (c) dpa
A similar unit GSG 9 was created in 1974 as part of the People's Police of the GDR. It received the name Diensteinheit IX (9th service), or 9 Volkspolizei Kompanie (9th company of the people's police), and initially had 30 people. By 1980, its number was increased to 111 fighters. There is evidence that Diensteinheit IX was involved in the search for soldiers who deserted with weapons from the units of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After German reunification in 1990, some of the Diensteinheit IX fighters were admitted to the Spezialeinsatzkommando police special forces in the East German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt.
Diensteinheit IX staff (c) otvaga2004.mybb.ru
In the spring of 1995, the Minister of Defense presented to the Bundestag Defense Committee a concept for a new structure called the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) - Special Operations Command. The core of the created KSK was made up of officers of the 25th Airborne Brigade, stationed in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The official date for the creation of the KSK is September 20, 1996, when the flag-raising ceremony took place at the Graf Zeppelin Kaserne military base in Calw.
KSK personnel, mid-1990s. (c) Heer / KSK
Most of the troops were recruited from the former Bravo Kompanie, a spetsnaz company of separate airborne brigades created in the early 1990s and already trained for hostage rescue operations. Another source of trained personnel was the deep reconnaissance companies of the reformed army corps.
In the early 2000s, the German armed forces approached the next stage of reforms. The issue of creation was on the agenda. The NATO Rapid Reaction Force, in their composition was supposed to involve the German airborne troops and the Special Operations Command. It was decided to unite KSK and airmobile forces within a single organizational structure. As a result, in April 2001, a special operations division (Division Spezielle Operationen, DSO) appeared in the Bundeswehr, in addition to the KSK, it included the 26th and 31st airborne brigades.
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Personnel of the Special Operations Division (DSO) of the German army at the Schneller Adler 2011 exercise near Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt. (c) Jens Schlüter / dapd
The main military campaign of the Special Operations Command was participation in the war in Afghanistan, where its forces have been very actively involved since November 2001. The KSK special forces have a number of successful operations, among which the most important is the arrest in the fall of 2012 of Mullah Abdul Rahman, one of the Taliban leaders and the so-called shadow governor of northern Afghanistan.
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The personnel of the KSK contingent operating in Afghanistan since the end of 2001, 2013. In early May 2013, he suffered the first irrecoverable losses. (c) Reuters
The experience of participating in the Afghan campaign prompted a change in the German concept of using special forces. Instead of the anti-terrorist bias, the priority of the classic tasks of army special forces returned: reconnaissance, guidance and correction of artillery and aviation, military actions to capture or destroy important objects and the command of the enemy. The idea also arose of combining DSO units with the structural units of the army aviation under a single command.
When the Bundeswehr approached the next stage of reform in 2011, the question of creating a new formation - the Division Schnelle Kräfte (DSK) - was on the agenda. The personnel core of DSK was made up of officers of the special operations division, in fact, it was its reorganization with the addition of army aviation units to it.
In June 2014, the 11th airmobile brigade of the Dutch army was included in the DSK. The personnel of the division is now 11, 3 thousand people, including 2, 1 thousand Dutch. The division, in fact, is deployed according to wartime states and is in constant combat readiness. But it is worth noting that due to the slow pace of rearmament to multipurpose NH90 helicopters, the division, on its own, can transfer no more than two of its battalions at a time.
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The personnel of the reconnaissance group of the Rapid Reaction Division (DSK) overcome the water obstacle on the regular landing craft. (c) Bundeswehr / C. Schulze
After all the changes to date, the Rapid Reaction Division includes the Special Operations Command, the German 1st Airborne and Dutch 11th Airmobile Brigades, as well as three army aviation regiments (the 10th and 30th transport helicopter and the 36th combat helicopter).
Operationally, the KSK is subordinate to the Special Operations Division (Abteilung Spezialoperationen) of the Bundeswehr Joint Operational Command, created in 2012. The combat structures of the command are four special-purpose companies and a special company formed from the experience of missions to Afghanistan. Its main function is electronic suppression of enemy communications equipment, as well as suppression of control signals for radio detonators of mines and improvised explosive devices.
Each of the four special-purpose combat companies (numbering approximately one hundred men) includes five platoons. Fighters of different platoons, in addition to the general training for all, receive additional specialization. The soldiers of the ground operations platoon gain the skills of driving various vehicles and surviving in the desert. Although all commandos receive parachute training, paratrooper platoons are also trained in high-altitude skydiving.
German "specialists" on the roof of the house. (c) Heer / KSK
Training for amphibious platoon fighters includes additional training for combat swimmers and training for survival in the jungle and equatorial terrain. Fighters of platoons, intended for operations in mountainous and arctic conditions, receive additional mountaineering training. It should be noted that each company has a sniper group with appropriate training in long-range and ultra-long range shooting and camouflage.
Applied mountaineering. (c) Heer / KSK
Each combat platoon consists of four squads (groups). All fighters receive medical and mine-explosive training, while some of the group's fighters have their own specialization. The minimum group consists of four people and includes a medic and a mine explosives specialist.
The evacuation of the wounded by an army aviation helicopter. (c) Heer / KSK
Soldiers of the Special Operations Command (KSK) undergo complex multi-stage training. First, all spetsnaz candidates take the Bundeswehr's Einzelkampferlehrgang Combat Survival Course (EKL). It currently consists of two stages - basic EKL1 and advanced EKL2. The basic stage was previously required for any candidate for the rank of officer, now the course is required only for officers of combat units.
Collective overcoming. (c) Heer / KSK
The five-week advanced EKL2 course includes intensive physical tests, mountain, parachute, fire training, learning the basics of camouflage, reconnaissance and identification of targets, preparing cover and organizing ambushes. Those who have completed the advanced course receive one more patch and the right to pass the entrance tests at KSK.
ComradeSukhov: "In the old fortress it was necessary to take it through the pipe." (c) Heer / KSK
Entrance tests also consist of two stages. The three-week first stage includes a series of physical tests, psychological and intellectual computer tests. Those who passed the first stage of tests (on average about 60% of applicants are eliminated) are admitted to the second stage, which is called the "Survival Course of a Special Forces Fighter".
Culling during EKL. (c) Bundeswehr / Detmar Modes
In addition to the 90-hour march through the mountain-wooded area of the Black Forest, psychological tests are included in the course. The applicants are subjected to a long stay without sleep, food and water, interrogations with the use of psychological and physical stimuli (water, sound stimuli). At the beginning of the 21st century, the dropout rate exceeded 90%, then the course was somewhat simplified and now the dropout rate has dropped to 80%. Those who have completed the course have the opportunity to conclude a contract and be enrolled in the personnel lists of the KSK Training and Testing Center.
Practicing assault and "cleansing" the premises. (c) Heer / KSK
In this center, a soldier undergoes a two-year training, which includes numerous courses, trainings, exercises in 17 different training camps and schools around the world. Future KSK fighters undergo Arctic training in the Arctic Circle in Norway, desert training in Israel, training for combat in the jungle in French Guiana. Much attention is paid to language training - a special forces soldier must be able to speak fluently at least two foreign languages. The special forces training program also includes a hand-to-hand combat course. And only after two (sometimes three) years of intensive training, a soldier is transferred to combat units. At the same time, throughout the entire service (the age of special forces fighters is limited to 41 years), the German special forces, in fact, continues to study.
"I'll take you to the tundra …" (c) Heer / KSK
To attract candidates and retain staff, much attention is paid to financial incentives. Each soldier who has passed the entrance tests of special forces receives a one-time payment of 3 thousand euros and, in addition to his monetary allowance, an increase of about 1 thousand euros per month. For each year of service in spetsnaz units, a soldier receives a bonus of 5 thousand euros plus a bonus of 10 thousand euros for six consecutive years of service.
KSK fighters have a high professional reputation, therefore, a big problem in recent years has been the departure of experienced unit fighters to private military companies. Moreover, many young owners of the special forces badge, having served only the first contract and having received the corresponding entry in their resume, are sent to work in a PMC. In an attempt to attract new recruits, the command has in recent years relaxed the conditions of admission and, in part, the training system.
