The Rapid Forces Division ( German : Division Schnelle Kräfte ), formerly Special Operations Division ( Division Spezielle Operationen ), is an airborne division of the German Army that was activated in 2001 and received its current designation in 2014.
16-436: Its headquarters staff is based at Stadtallendorf . It was created as 1st Airborne Division ( 1. Luftlandedivision ) in 1956 and reflagged twice in 1994 and 2001 as Airmobile Forces Command/4th Division ( Kommando Luftbewegliche Kräfte/4. Division ), Special Operations Division and eventually Rapid Forces Division. The division leads three combat brigades and special forces troops, all of which are fully air-mobile. In June 2014,
32-463: A devastating earthquake. From there on 1st Airborne Division or its successors deployed troops to Somalia , Croatia , Albania , Bosnia , Kosovo , Afghanistan and Congo . The paratroopers saw extensive action in Afghanistan. With four of the nation's highest awards for gallantry —among others—having been awarded to its members, the division's Paratrooper Battalion 263 is the most decorated unit of
48-607: Is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf , Hesse , Germany . It lies about 18 km (11 miles) east of Marburg . In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Under the German system of Naturräume , Stadtallendorf lies in the West Hesse Depression zone ( westhessische Senkenzone ) which is divided into basins and ridges. With respect to these, the town lies on the Upper Hesse Ridge which separates
64-628: The Amöneburg Basin in the west from the Schwalmbecken (another basin) in the east. On this ridge may also be found the Neustadt Saddle , abutted by the town's northeast edge. This upland is part of the divide between the Rhine and Weser watersheds . Stadtallendorf borders in the north on the town of Rauschenberg (Marburg-Biedenkopf) and the community of Gilserberg ( Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ), in
80-650: The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The 1st Airborne Division existed throughout the Cold War and was disbanded in 1994. The capability for air-transportable forces was eventually replaced by Airmobile Forces Command/4th Division, a division-sized formation the duties of which shifted to more complex scenarios of current days. This happened mainly because of two incidents in 1994 and 1997 where German citizens had to be rescued from Rwanda and Albania , once even by foreign troops as
96-769: The Dutch 11th Air Mobile Brigade was fully integrated into the division as part of the binational military cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands and in 2017 the Romanian 81st Mechanized Brigade followed suit. Created in 1956, 1st Airborne Division's main tasks were to act as the backbone of counterattacks behind the enemy lines of the Warsaw Pact and to respond to hostile breaks through allied front lines. The very first commanders of this unit were illustrious paratrooper generals such as Bern von Baer and Hans Kroh , both recipients of
112-681: The Federal Highways ( Bundesstraßen ) B 454 and B 62, and by rail to the railway station on the Main-Weser line. An extension to Bundes autobahn 49 is currently being discussed, but there have been ecological questions about the wisdom of such an undertaking: the Herrenwald (masters' woods) is home to the Great Crested Newt , which is on the list of protected species. In an area of 78.3 km live approx. 21,600 inhabitants, 16,900 of those in
128-815: The German Army. Following the restructuring of the German armed forces, the Special Operations Division was transferred into the new Rapid Forces Division ( German : Division Schnelle Kräfte ). In June 2014 the 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade (11th Airmobile Brigade) of the Royal Netherlands Army joined the division. The Dutch forces will remain stationed in the Netherlands but will cooperate in training and exercises of their German counterparts. 49°00′24.66″N 12°07′22.07″E / 49.0068500°N 12.1227972°E / 49.0068500; 12.1227972 Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf
144-483: The German military lacked adequate forces to carry out evacuation operations on their own. One of the three existing brigades (Airborne Brigade 25 " Black Forest ") was drawn on to provide the headquarters for the German Army's new special forces unit, the Kommando Spezialkräfte . The first overseas deployment of this division took place in 1961 when its troops rendered humanitarian assistance to Morocco after
160-545: The Wheel of Mainz stand for the town's old allegiances. Until secularization, Stadtallendorf belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz , and thereafter to Hesse . The bear is a reference to an old name for the town, Allendorf im Bärenschießen , once used to distinguish the town from other places called Allendorf, and now needless thanks to the town's newer name. The arms have been kept even as other communities have been amalgamated with
176-754: The east on the town of Neustadt , in the southeast on the town of Kirtorf , in the south on the town of Homberg (Ohm) (both in the Vogelsbergkreis ), and in the west on the towns of Amöneburg and Kirchhain (both in Marburg-Biedenkopf). Stadtallendorf was given city rights in 1960; it had been known until then simply as Allendorf. During World War II , Stadtallendorf was a secret munitions centre. The armament firms WASAG ( Westfälisch-Anhaltische Sprengstoff Actien-Gesellschaft , "Westphalian & Anhaltish Explosives A.G.") and DAG produced munitions and explosives in two separate large facilities located in
SECTION 10
#1732858483401192-462: The ground, 697 tonnes were dug out of a dump, and 3 tonnes of TNT – still capable of exploding – were unearthed. Steinlager Allendorf was a primitive American prison near the University of Marburg . [1] where Nazi Germany general and staff officers (more than 200) such as Franz Halder and Heinz Guderian and scientists such as Wilhelm Schaefer were interrogated after World War II . As of
208-530: The last municipal elections held on 27 March 2011, town council seats are apportioned thus: Stadtallendorf's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In azure, dexter a bear rampant sinister Or armed gules and langued Or, sinister a lion rampant striped per fess nine times in gules and argent (the Lion of Hesse), langued gules and armed Or, both holding a six-spoked wheel argent (the Wheel of Mainz ). The Hessian lion and
224-548: The old Allendorf as part of Hesse's municipal reforms. Stadtallendorf maintains partnerships with the following towns: Stadtallendorf station is served at hourly intervals by the Mittelhessen-Express (SE 30). The town is economically successful, as large factories such as Ferrero oHG mbH (confectionery), Fritz Winter GmbH & Co. KG (engine foundry), Hoppe AG (lock manufacturing), and others have chosen to build here. The town's transport connections are by road to
240-571: The wartime arms works were built were said to be one of Germany's biggest contaminated former industrial sites, in parts with high concentrations of chemical contaminants on residential properties. Since 1991, the premises have undergone a far-reaching cleanup; in March 2006, the job was officially declared done. According to information from the Hesse Environment Ministry, the cleanup cost € 167 million. 154 tonnes of contaminants were dug out of
256-508: The woods nearby. At the time, it was one of the largest of all munitions production centres in Europe . The Munition centre continued throughout the war without being detected by the Allies . Labor was provided by both German and foreign forced laborers, including prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates, housed in about a dozen camps in the surrounding area. The 6 square kilometre premises where
#400599