Brigadegefechtsübung Grantiger Löwe

Tankograd Publishing
Fast Track 13

After intensive preparations lasting more than a year, and training at the company level taking place during numerous months, the advance party of Panzerbrigade 12 and its subordinate units deployed on 21 January 2015 from their various garrisons in Bavaria to Lower Saxony’s Bergen-Hohne Training Area encompassing 280km² of land north of Hannover to conduct the brigade combat training exercise Grantiger Löwe (Angry Lion).
Panzerbrigade 12 (12th Armour Brigade) “Oberpfalz”, activated in 1959 at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kaserne in Amberg, is a mission- and combat-experienced force of the German Army as part of 10. Panzerdivision (10th Armour Division). The new 10. Panzerdivision, named Division Süd up till the end of 2014, was activated on 01 October 2013 by incorporating personnel and material from the Division Luftbewegliche Operationen (DLO, Division Airmobile Operations) and the former 10. Panzerdivision located in Sigmaringen in the Lower Franconian Veitshöchheim. The formation features Panzerbrigade 12, Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 (23rd Mountain Infantry Brigade), Panzergrenadierbrigade 37 (37th Mechanised Infantry Brigade) and three battalions of division troops, and it is allocated the task of providing forces for Bundeswehr missions in odd-numbered years. Amongst others, the mission of 10. Panzerdivision is to lead Panzerbrigade 12, Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23, Panzergrenadierbrigade 37, Artillerielehrbataillon 345 (345th Artillery Training Battalion ), Artilleriebataillon 131 (131st Artillery Battalion) and Sicherungsbataillon 12 (12th Security Battalion), as well as to take over responsibility for the planning and execution of German Army missions in 2015.