The problem is the amount of granulation and desire to give promotions for every few months or years of service. At the time a soldier has finished even the most basic training after 12 months, they would already have been promoted 3 times! Compared to the former German militaries, a modern Hauptgefreiter is equivalent to an old Gefreiter (who used to be a skilled soldier good at his craft, but without leadership requirements, now it’s just someone straight out of basic training). In our army, a soldier is only considered an OR-1 after finishing the 12 months of required training to be a basic rifleman in the professional forces. In the Bundeswehr, the same person would be considered OR-3 - the same rank that our enlisted troops would reach after a total of 5 years in service. Just utter insanity, and I thought the Americans using Staff Sergeants as squad leaders was bad. You can go look at the NATO rank translations, and you’ll see the BW has 2-4 ranks for every actual rank level, but they just slap Unter, Ober, Stabs to everything to make it seem like more ranks.
Your pronunciation of German words is very good, especially with the tongue twisters that are Feldwebel-variations also, Division 2025 explanation next? I´d be very interested in that
this could also be located at the location at Soesterberg. one of the 43 repair units will be relocated there for that reason. but as far as we know that wont be for a while
Love all the videos! I would be very interested in a compare and contrast video about armies with direct entry Nco programs and armys that dont. Pros/cons, Methodology, why and why not. Etc Thank you for being the best military organization Nerd on UA-cam!
This breakdown of the German Leopard units was engaging, well done Battle Order. Your pronunciation of the German ranks was pretty spot-on. It has to be said, the family tree of the Leopard 2 is quite hefty to say the least.
Imagine adding all the other variants like the Leopard 2PL, SG, A4M, Strv 122, PSO, RI, NG, TR, 2A6EX, E. Don’t even get started on other non-tank variants like SPAA and engineering, and the Vickers Mk.7 which uses the Leopard 2’s hull.
Very well put together and researched video. You did a great job and, with some unit specific differences in rank and what personnel is available (like a KpChef could also be first a Hauptmann which usually gets promoted during his time as CO) is pretty correct. One thing to note of the KpTrpFhr (OpsSgt) and KpFw (1st Sgt) is that their rank are position specific. A normal HptFw isnt promoted (usually) unless deployed to these two positions. A HptFw who goes to be a OpsSgt is then usually promoted directly if he fulfills the requirements or during his time there. The 1st Sgt is a Oberstabsfeldwebel and the same applies to this. A Stabsfeldwebel who goes to this position is either directly promoted if he already has the requirements or also promoted once he does. Its, atleast in my experience, not unusual that these positions get filled with the "incorrect" lower ranks but the promotion usually isnt that far off when they do. Also whats to note here is the fact the NCO-led C platoon (in German also called the "Portepee-Zug") is usually the "experienced" platoon as the NCO stays longer in his Platoon Leader role as opposed to A and B Platoon as the Officers usually rotate to a new position after 2-3 years. Oh and the Enlisted usually get placed according to their experience. The Platoon Leader tank is usually staffed with the most experienced Enlisted men to lessen the work the PL has to give to his own tank for him to be able to focus more on his Platoon. The other 3 tanks are usually then filled with who the TCs want on their tank. PL (ZgFhr) will usually only have Obersstabsgefreiter as his Enlisted crew as these are usually the most experienced, sometimes Stabsgefreiter or even Hauptgefreiter are put there if they prove themselfes early as competent Tankers in their role. The other 3 tanks usually get then the less experienced one. Either the B1 or B3 staff the least experienced enlisted men as these are, aas you already said, the Kettenhunde of the PL and 2nd PL. Great job nonetheless.
@@AndrewClose-oi6ct medium forces would be a more accurate translation. I guess it would be nice to compare them to the American Stryker brigade combat team.
Very nice organized overview of a complicated subject.
2 місяці тому+10
I started trying to do a "short" Video about all Leo 2 Variants and then had to stop because I couldnt get Photos/Video definatly showing all the Minutely different Models :) Which was probably a good call for my sanity. Great Video. But dont try and see the german Tank Museum in Münster. It is in Munster :)
There is an own careerline in the Bundeswehr which match the warrant officers of the US Army even better. Called Fachdienstoffiziere who rank typicly bettween Lt and Captain. They are very common in the German Army Aviation branch an fullfill simular tasks as the US Warrants( mainly pilot and maintanace rolls).
Not that precisely, as the German Army prouds itself to be founded on a well educated NCO corps that can lead men (and women) in battle. The Warrant Officers are the Fachdienstoffiziere that have more specialized tasks and are not trained that much to be leaders (at least like comparable officers, German officers learn to think one level above, so as a platoon leader you learn company tactics, etc).
@ The video stated that they were not common enlisted NCOs, but were instead career NCOs that were brought in initially at that higher rank, and initially trained and then managed that way.
just wait until we send you your new panther kf51 and lynx kf41 tanks. We germans will make your tank forces interesting believe me. germans never let you down (like you italiens did 80 years ago.. just a little reminder xd). at least italy, norway, lithuania, tschechia and the dutch still know who their friends are. The god damn polish people on the other side bought their new tanks from south corea! i never will forgive that betrail. Never bring corean tanks into OUR european tank marked. 23 leopard nations, every tank cannon in the western world, even the american abraham tanks, the ariete tanks and the french leclerc tank cannon are german. We get rid of the french leclerc with knds and the msbt, the challenger 3 tank is build by a company owned 51% by rheinmetall and is developed by rheinmetall and of course with challenger 3 also got a german tank cannon. with the panther kf51 we also got rid of the italian ariete tanks and FINALLY finally the hole european tank marked of the western world is german, and EUROPEAN DOMINATION is finally entirely completed! yeeeah. do you see we germans are friendly now and totally god rid of the idea of world domination or something like that. buuut there is this one little country which betrayed us by buying corean main battle tanks.. its called poland. what do we do here to solve that problem..
Could you do a similar video on the Austrian armored forces? They are similarly equipped, however due to the different terrain and environment they also use a variety of unique systems and produce their own vehicles such as the Pandur. They also still service the Kürassier light tanks as mobile direct fire support
has been said before but i have to really congratulate on the German pronunciation! Division 2025/2027 and the Neue Heeresstruktur overall would be very amazing to see a video on. Also maybe look at the Mittlere Kräfte wich will be the German interpretation of the Stryker based Forces. The concept, especially in combination with the Boxer vehicle is interesting and could be compared to other 8x8 based forces. Greetings from Hamburg
The Stabskorporal and Korporal is in contrast to Oberstabsgefreiter also linked to your duty position. For example every enlisted man will reach "Oberstabsgefreiter" after 4 years but he wount become a "Korporal" if his position in the unit structure doesnt support this pay grade. To become a Korporal and later Stabskorporal you habe to apply for a position which supports this rank. For example in Light Infantry Battalions (Jägertruppe) the Enlisted Sharpshooters are usualy Korporal/Stabskorporal as well as the driver for the Battalion Commander and the squadleader of Tow/Mels anti tank squads or similar Specialized enlisted squads.
Great video! I'm curious bout the officer ranks though, because I'm not used to seeing Captains (Hauptmänner) as platoon leaders and Majors as company COs. That must be a very reason development, as been Captains leading companies and Lieutenants (or NCOs) leading platoons was the norm a few years back. Rank inflation is definitely a thing though, so I can imagine, that this has changed recently.
These are the desired ranks at least in the army. COs in the Navy Infantry and the Air Force are supposed to be Hauptleute. Also, this might be diverted from due to availability, especially in places where specific qualification is required, for example the Fallschirmjäger EGB.
I'm also used to NCO's running the platoons, but I served during a time when conscription was still a thing and there were a lot more career NCO's in the Bundeswehr than there are today
Rank inflation is a thing, but so is MBTs becoming ever more complicated and expensive. When a single Leo2A8 comes in well above 10 million Euros, you want someone with lots of experience in command of 4 or even 14 of them ...
There are two versions of the Leopard 2A4, the 1. batch and 2.nd batch. The Leopard 2A4 from the first batch can not be upgraded, those of the 2nd batch can be upgraded to 2A6/A7. Germany therefore sold early all Leopard 2A4 of the first batch for a cheap price, eg to Poland, Turkey, Singapore. They developed own upgrade programs for their 2A4´s, with more or less success. The difference between the two Leopard 2A4s is considerable, those of the second batch have multi-layer armor, those of the first batch only have steel armor, that cannot be changed or upgradet.
Apparently, the German battalions will eventually be joined by the first Lithuanian tank battalion made from the newest Leopard 2s and two additional new armored infantry battalions with the CV-90s. Along with existing forces, that's quite a lot for a small country like Lithuania.
@@norbi1411 despite other nations, Lithuanias issue os more paying for the gear to outkit their troops, less form getting the manpower. They dont have the money, but Lithuanians know what russian (or german) occupation means. They want to remin free this time.
Ok. I am German. I was a paratrooper back when it was still a division. I´m a long time follower of Battle Order. (In fact since the third video) This is the first video that broke my mind.
I was in service as a Stabsunteroffizier until 2014 and today I have learned for the first time about the new Bundeswehr ranks of Korporal/Stabskorporal. Thank you for that! =D
I think you switched up the locations of the PzLehrBtl 93 and PzBtl414 @13:55 ... the 93rd is in Munster near Celle and it kind of makes sense to have the 414 near the dutch border.
414 is indeed situated near Bergen, whereas L93 is in Munster, which is about 30 km to the north of it. Yes, we have two batallions on top of each other. Problem?
414 is in Bergen because thats a big training ground where lots of Brits and Holländers already trained for many decades. So its a "grinded in" location and the Dutch know they prefer to defend the Netherlandson German or Baltic ground anyway.
I know you did a short on the Australian infantry section, but I would love to see a full video on a battalion or even a brigade, as well as a Canadian one would be interesting
APS is kinda obsolete for FPV drone protection as the radar will most probably have a higher speed threshold for an incoming projectile to catgeorize it as a missile. Otherwise anyone walking by/ a bird flying by will trigger a APS activation which would be horrible for any friendlies nearby. And ATGMs are now becoming secondary when you have 1000USD drones which can do the anti-tank work. What is the option for drone protection in 2A8? I would be guessing nothing better than cope cages or God forbid the horrible turtle tank stuff.
The newer variants of Leo2 are currently being offered with a RWS instead of a pintle-mounted MG, including the probability of fitting the RWS with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.
I remember seeing a video a while back about a German tank unit moving to Lithuania as part of Steadfast Defender, in which one of the Leopard crewman explicitly stated that his units A7V was a newly produced tank when they received it. My memory could be wrong, but I think I also read something along the line that new production was cheaper than upgrading due to age and wear in some forum, thus only the first batch was of upgraded tanks. Does anyone know more?
As far as i know tank hulls suffer fatigue after decades in use (depending on how many hours and how rough they where driven) so they have to be replaced by new ones anyway. And the older turrets have a weak spot in the turretfront,where the optics where originaly positioned. So getting new ones might be necessary. Plus germanys 100bio "Sondervermögen" can only be spend on purchasing stuff, not Training recruitment etc.
@@patta8388 Incorrect. You got numbers mixed up, all A6 will eventually be _upgraded_ to A8, the 105 A8 order will not replace legacy systems. They are all additional units.
But to be fair thats probably the case for any modern army. Tanks being developed further are getting more complex in context of electronics, protection capabilities and similar things, which means they are also getting more expensive. That naturally leads to lower numbers and (without having done any deeper research) I am pretty sure that this phenomenon occurs on most modern armys nowadays.
Good overview with one glaring ommission: Future officers arent mentioned, probably because in the German system their rank insignia, just like their tasks authority and paygrade, are almost identical to their equivalent NCO ranks, just with a "Litze" added. Fahnenjunker = Unteroffizier Faehnrich (ensign) = Feldwebel Oberfaehnrich = Hauptfeldwebel Basically, GER army officer candidates all come up through the NCO ranks as "mustangs", proving themselves first as group and platoon leaders (though at ca twice the speed of regular NCOs). No unexperienced shavetails giving orders to old sergeant majors after 3 months of training. For purposes of these charts that means that the Segeant Majors shown as platoon leaders often are indeed Oberfaehnriche, one step below Second Lt.
Still inexpierienced for German standards, new LTs still get slack, as should be. Then again their NCO corps is really elitist. Some SNCO Platoon leaders with 15 years in the force. That's an expierience advantage you simply can not catch up to as an Officer.
I have been looking on your videos for a long time, and i think it would be great if you done a video about units (Army, Regiment, Battalion, etc. ) and their signings. I think this would be great for alot of people.
@@Texo333 yes. As the European Divisions are supposed to fight under NATO Corps, having just a Brigade available might not make that much sense in terms of cooperation. If the Dutch wanted a Division they would have a Armored, Medium Armored and Airborne Brigade in their Division which might not make that much sense
Could you make an explanatory video about the entire organizational structure of the Cyprus National Guard (Cyprus Army)? - It's a relatively small army, it will probably be easy for you to do it. 😉👍
There are son many other Leopard 2 variants, but likely all will eventuall be replaced by the Leopard 2A-RC 3.0 (aka Leopard 3), which has an unmanned turret, a crew of only 3 and can use the 120mm L55, or a new 130mm gun from Rheinmetall, or even the 140mm Ascalon. I assume this will effectively be the new tank and there will be no further progression towards the MGCS.
I’ve often heard criticism about the promotion culture in the German army. It’s important to understand that German soldiers typically complete vocational training before joining the military. At least 60% of Bundeswehr personnel have undergone such training. For example, a combat engineer (Pionier) likely trained as a bricklayer, steelworker, or reinforced concrete constructor before enlisting. Someone responsible for vehicle maintenance might have been trained as an auto mechanic or automotive mechatronics technician. And so on. This means that these individuals often spend three years learning a civilian trade before joining the Bundeswehr. As a result, they already have the necessary technical knowledge and then receive specialized military training. This stands in stark contrast to someone in the U.S. who joins the army straight out of high school or perhaps worked at McDonald’s before enlisting.
The A7V program is born in 2017 and A7V means "verbessert" or enhanced. And the A7V is in reference to the A7V of 1917, only 20 pieces produced during the WWI...
If I'm not mistaken, then he german battalions have a number in their name but that doesn't mean this is their "number", like the 1st Mountain Division. It's more like a "name". Otherwise the number would be infront. (Panzerbataillon 414 is tank battalion 414)
During the Cold War, the first two digits indicated the brigade a battalion belonged to, the third digit indicated the number of the battalion in the brigade. Battalions one to four were usually combat units, five was artillery and six was support. This scheme has been abandoned because a lot of units were merged and disbanded after 1990. Now there are odd combinations like Armoured Brigade 21 having three medium infantry battalions, none of which has 21x as their number.
Leopard 2A8 is inferior to K2 and M1A2 in terms of parameters, quality, delivery time and price. Poland pays less for 250 M1A2 SEPV 3 tanks that will be delivered from 2025. The Czech Republic is paying almost 2 billion dollars more for 75 Leopard 2A8 chassis, of which only about 50 are tanks and the rest are special vehicles, and the delivery time is the 2030s.
Leopard 2A7V literally beat the K2 in the Norwegian trials. Polish tanks are upgraded old Abrams, Romania is buying completely new ones that are more expensive than Leopard 2A8.
I'd be very interested in a video on the Dutch plan to make its own tank batallion if any information about its structure and organisation is already available.
As a Kraut I can say that your pronaunciation of the German ranks/ vehicles is damn good. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for your extra confirmation Kraut 👌
Except for the Büffel - the ü always gets them! 😅
English is a Germanic language so it's not super difficult once you figure out the vowels.
I have the same thought. Other English speaker would shredded this words to pieces. 😅
Well, for an American
Keeping track of the German Army ranks is an even bigger headache than tracking all the Leo 2 variants in that family tree...
Leopard 2 is child's play. Try the Boxer and all the MAN trucks. It's so much worse
Its simpel. Expirance in your designatet field makes you leader and outrank any one. Very easy. Rank is symbolic. Knowledge is power.
I can't agree, while different from US one, German rank system makes sense
Those are two best rank systems in my opinion
The problem is the amount of granulation and desire to give promotions for every few months or years of service. At the time a soldier has finished even the most basic training after 12 months, they would already have been promoted 3 times! Compared to the former German militaries, a modern Hauptgefreiter is equivalent to an old Gefreiter (who used to be a skilled soldier good at his craft, but without leadership requirements, now it’s just someone straight out of basic training). In our army, a soldier is only considered an OR-1 after finishing the 12 months of required training to be a basic rifleman in the professional forces. In the Bundeswehr, the same person would be considered OR-3 - the same rank that our enlisted troops would reach after a total of 5 years in service. Just utter insanity, and I thought the Americans using Staff Sergeants as squad leaders was bad. You can go look at the NATO rank translations, and you’ll see the BW has 2-4 ranks for every actual rank level, but they just slap Unter, Ober, Stabs to everything to make it seem like more ranks.
@@LDZMarder Yeah it really isnt lmao
That chart of the Leo 2s development history is a thing of beauty!
And it doesn't even cover all the 2A4 variants for other countries!
@@MajinOthinusyea, it's about German service Leopards...
@derrickstorm6976 Utterly and entirely besides the point.
Awesome Video! One minor error: PzLehrBtl 93 is shown on the map at Münster. But it is located in Munster. The two dots are 300km apart 😂
shush! It is a deliberate deception to fool "the enemy"
Das ist eine Absichtliche Täuschung "Des Feindes"!!
Yeah thats an easy thing to miss.
@@ulrichkalber9039Was für Feinde!? Das rot -grune Deutschland hat nur Freunde 😊😊😊
I dont know how many people make this error....
Love it. When's the video on German Panzergrenadiers coming?
Es ist kein Mensch, es ist kein Tier, es ist ein Panzergrenadier!
@@not-a-theist8251 Und Gott fragte die Steine, wollt ihr Panzergrenadiere werden? - und sie antworteten, Nein Herr, wir sind nicht hart genug.
Never Say NEVER 😎 Justin Bieber
@@not-a-theist8251 Mein Liebling ist für die Jäger.
Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger!
@@not-a-theist8251 Eisenschwein setzt kette ein und 1+1 ist 4 ich bin ein Panzergrenadier, darf man auch nicht vergessen
Your pronunciation of German words is very good, especially with the tongue twisters that are Feldwebel-variations
also, Division 2025 explanation next? I´d be very interested in that
Just seeing the different production variants and where they were sent shows that nothing ever changes.
The Dutch army just ordered 46 of Leopard-2A8 which will undoubtably become part of the German army as the Dutch army is now fully integrated.
this could also be located at the location at Soesterberg. one of the 43 repair units will be relocated there for that reason. but as far as we know that wont be for a while
Slava HEINEKEN 🍺🦾
@@YuccavdHeideif that is true. They will be right next to Amersfoort. Home of the Cavalry..
@rubensteenvoorden1923 exactly. Ain't no coincidence that there used to be a tank training grounds at the Leusder heide
fully integrated in what?
Love all the videos!
I would be very interested in a compare and contrast video about armies with direct entry Nco programs and armys that dont.
Pros/cons, Methodology, why and why not. Etc
Thank you for being the best military organization Nerd on UA-cam!
Leo in Sicht: Upvote-Pflicht! 🔥🔥🔥
This breakdown of the German Leopard units was engaging, well done Battle Order. Your pronunciation of the German ranks was pretty spot-on. It has to be said, the family tree of the Leopard 2 is quite hefty to say the least.
War Thunder devs looking at that Leo conversion chart:
*Write that down, write that down!*
This family tree is as convoluted as that of the Hapsburg’s
its only half of it. He did start at the Leo2 base line.
Imagine adding all the other variants like the Leopard 2PL, SG, A4M, Strv 122, PSO, RI, NG, TR, 2A6EX, E.
Don’t even get started on other non-tank variants like SPAA and engineering, and the Vickers Mk.7 which uses the Leopard 2’s hull.
@@dannyzero692 or the Leotard or was it the le´pard?
They've already starting the inbreeding with the dutch and canadians!
@@dannyzero692 add the HU and DK, for the 2a7s
Very well put together and researched video. You did a great job and, with some unit specific differences in rank and what personnel is available (like a KpChef could also be first a Hauptmann which usually gets promoted during his time as CO) is pretty correct. One thing to note of the KpTrpFhr (OpsSgt) and KpFw (1st Sgt) is that their rank are position specific. A normal HptFw isnt promoted (usually) unless deployed to these two positions. A HptFw who goes to be a OpsSgt is then usually promoted directly if he fulfills the requirements or during his time there. The 1st Sgt is a Oberstabsfeldwebel and the same applies to this. A Stabsfeldwebel who goes to this position is either directly promoted if he already has the requirements or also promoted once he does.
Its, atleast in my experience, not unusual that these positions get filled with the "incorrect" lower ranks but the promotion usually isnt that far off when they do. Also whats to note here is the fact the NCO-led C platoon (in German also called the "Portepee-Zug") is usually the "experienced" platoon as the NCO stays longer in his Platoon Leader role as opposed to A and B Platoon as the Officers usually rotate to a new position after 2-3 years.
Oh and the Enlisted usually get placed according to their experience. The Platoon Leader tank is usually staffed with the most experienced Enlisted men to lessen the work the PL has to give to his own tank for him to be able to focus more on his Platoon. The other 3 tanks are usually then filled with who the TCs want on their tank.
PL (ZgFhr) will usually only have Obersstabsgefreiter as his Enlisted crew as these are usually the most experienced, sometimes Stabsgefreiter or even Hauptgefreiter are put there if they prove themselfes early as competent Tankers in their role. The other 3 tanks usually get then the less experienced one. Either the B1 or B3 staff the least experienced enlisted men as these are, aas you already said, the Kettenhunde of the PL and 2nd PL.
Great job nonetheless.
Didnt know about some of the specific Leo A7 and M variations, very nice video.
Very cool breakdown and visual presentation of the development of the Leopard 2!
Also the display of total numbers of different versions.
Great Job!
PzLBtl 93 is stationed in Munster near Lüneburg not Münster
In Münster kann es nur ein Fahrrad Battalion geben
Brilliant. Have been waiting for an overview of modern Heerstruktur. Panzergrenedier next? And then a review of the forthcoming 14:56 “Middleforces”?
@@AndrewClose-oi6ct medium forces would be a more accurate translation. I guess it would be nice to compare them to the American Stryker brigade combat team.
@ oh I agree, I was just relating to the strict deutsch translation. 🙌🏻
@@AndrewClose-oi6ct ah fair!
Very nice organized overview of a complicated subject.
I started trying to do a "short" Video about all Leo 2 Variants and then had to stop because I couldnt get Photos/Video definatly showing all the Minutely different Models :) Which was probably a good call for my sanity. Great Video. But dont try and see the german Tank Museum in Münster. It is in Munster :)
The use of these career NCOs in these organizations reminds me very much of warrant officers in Army Aviation.
There is an own careerline in the Bundeswehr which match the warrant officers of the US Army even better. Called Fachdienstoffiziere who rank typicly bettween Lt and Captain. They are very common in the German Army Aviation branch an fullfill simular tasks as the US Warrants( mainly pilot and maintanace rolls).
Not that precisely, as the German Army prouds itself to be founded on a well educated NCO corps that can lead men (and women) in battle. The Warrant Officers are the Fachdienstoffiziere that have more specialized tasks and are not trained that much to be leaders (at least like comparable officers, German officers learn to think one level above, so as a platoon leader you learn company tactics, etc).
Not really they are common enlisted NCOs
@ The video stated that they were not common enlisted NCOs, but were instead career NCOs that were brought in initially at that higher rank, and initially trained and then managed that way.
I know Italian tanks (right now) aren’t interesting to cover, but get me a video on Italian Centauro (Cavalry) units and my life is yours!
just wait until we send you your new panther kf51 and lynx kf41 tanks. We germans will make your tank forces interesting believe me. germans never let you down (like you italiens did 80 years ago.. just a little reminder xd). at least italy, norway, lithuania, tschechia and the dutch still know who their friends are. The god damn polish people on the other side bought their new tanks from south corea! i never will forgive that betrail. Never bring corean tanks into OUR european tank marked. 23 leopard nations, every tank cannon in the western world, even the american abraham tanks, the ariete tanks and the french leclerc tank cannon are german. We get rid of the french leclerc with knds and the msbt, the challenger 3 tank is build by a company owned 51% by rheinmetall and is developed by rheinmetall and of course with challenger 3 also got a german tank cannon. with the panther kf51 we also got rid of the italian ariete tanks and FINALLY finally the hole european tank marked of the western world is german, and EUROPEAN DOMINATION is finally entirely completed! yeeeah. do you see we germans are friendly now and totally god rid of the idea of world domination or something like that. buuut there is this one little country which betrayed us by buying corean main battle tanks.. its called poland. what do we do here to solve that problem..
Awesome video! Your quality keeps improving. Would love to see a video on the new NATO multi-national brigade in Latvia
JAAAAA! Finally a video about the (modern) Bundeswehr!!
Could you do a similar video on the Austrian armored forces? They are similarly equipped, however due to the different terrain and environment they also use a variety of unique systems and produce their own vehicles such as the Pandur. They also still service the Kürassier light tanks as mobile direct fire support
The last Kürassiers were decomissioned in 2014, with their last role having been recon tanks in the Artillery and Reconnaisance Bataillons (AAB)
12:19 The GTF cant be an armored kitchen, field kitchens are trailers and found in the staff and support company.
Your diagrams showing both the Leopard 2 variants/Evolution aswell as the different ranks are very good!
has been said before but i have to really congratulate on the German pronunciation!
Division 2025/2027 and the Neue Heeresstruktur overall would be very amazing to see a video on.
Also maybe look at the Mittlere Kräfte wich will be the German interpretation of the Stryker based Forces. The concept, especially in combination with the Boxer vehicle is interesting and could be compared to other 8x8 based forces.
Greetings from Hamburg
The Stabskorporal and Korporal is in contrast to Oberstabsgefreiter also linked to your duty position. For example every enlisted man will reach "Oberstabsgefreiter" after 4 years but he wount become a "Korporal" if his position in the unit structure doesnt support this pay grade. To become a Korporal and later Stabskorporal you habe to apply for a position which supports this rank. For example in Light Infantry Battalions (Jägertruppe) the Enlisted Sharpshooters are usualy Korporal/Stabskorporal as well as the driver for the Battalion Commander and the squadleader of Tow/Mels anti tank squads or similar Specialized enlisted squads.
And then comes the feared "Stellenwahrheit" ^^
Very well done and researched, and good pronounciation :) Thanks a lot, and greets from Germany :)
Slava SAUERKRAUT 🥙
Great video!
I'm curious bout the officer ranks though, because I'm not used to seeing Captains (Hauptmänner) as platoon leaders and Majors as company COs. That must be a very reason development, as been Captains leading companies and Lieutenants (or NCOs) leading platoons was the norm a few years back. Rank inflation is definitely a thing though, so I can imagine, that this has changed recently.
They're are still in the onfantry.
These are the desired ranks at least in the army. COs in the Navy Infantry and the Air Force are supposed to be Hauptleute.
Also, this might be diverted from due to availability, especially in places where specific qualification is required, for example the Fallschirmjäger EGB.
I'm also used to NCO's running the platoons, but I served during a time when conscription was still a thing and there were a lot more career NCO's in the Bundeswehr than there are today
They still have NCOs and Junior Officer like Lt. Leading Platoons only the 1st Platoon leader is meant to be more experienced.
Rank inflation is a thing, but so is MBTs becoming ever more complicated and expensive.
When a single Leo2A8 comes in well above 10 million Euros, you want someone with lots of experience in command of 4 or even 14 of them ...
Very good pronounciation! Good to see modern german units
Never thought id see the GÜZ mentioned anywhere on youtube
Their urban training area is the largest on the continent. Shame no one except Germans can pronounce the name though.
You should do a video regarding Cypriot Armored Divisions + most suitable procurement for the National Guard.
I would *love* to see one of these covering Chally units.
There are two versions of the Leopard 2A4, the 1. batch and 2.nd batch. The Leopard 2A4 from the first batch can not be upgraded, those of the 2nd batch can be upgraded to 2A6/A7. Germany therefore sold early all Leopard 2A4 of the first batch for a cheap price, eg to Poland, Turkey, Singapore. They developed own upgrade programs for their 2A4´s, with more or less success. The difference between the two Leopard 2A4s is considerable, those of the second batch have multi-layer armor, those of the first batch only have steel armor, that cannot be changed or upgradet.
Apparently, the German battalions will eventually be joined by the first Lithuanian tank battalion made from the newest Leopard 2s and two additional new armored infantry battalions with the CV-90s. Along with existing forces, that's quite a lot for a small country like Lithuania.
It's not that big of a step in terms of manpower from what they already got
@@norbi1411 despite other nations, Lithuanias issue os more paying for the gear to outkit their troops, less form getting the manpower. They dont have the money, but Lithuanians know what russian (or german) occupation means. They want to remin free this time.
@@Grimshak81 thats why they building a whole new permanent millitary base for germany
Correct, because they dont want to end up impoverished and colonized by russians again
Ok. I am German. I was a paratrooper back when it was still a division. I´m a long time follower of Battle Order. (In fact since the third video)
This is the first video that broke my mind.
I also second that the pronounciation of the German terms was very good!
I was in service as a Stabsunteroffizier until 2014 and today I have learned for the first time about the new Bundeswehr ranks of Korporal/Stabskorporal. Thank you for that! =D
9:46 that pudding is so delicious
Such a good video. I see tonks and I hit the like. Simple transaction.
*Thank you, Comrad!*
2:00 those 68 Leopard 2A4 got a hell of an upgrade I must say.
Awesome video, thanks! I have been looking forward to see the German military in your videos.
Well done! Thanks for posting.
Respect for not completely butchering German words, I couldn't have watched this video otherwise.
Great vid BO. Very informative.
LETS F**KING GOOOOOOOO!!!
_GERMAN ARMOR IS THE _*_FINEST IN THE WORLD!_*
Great video Battle Order, keep up the good work! I would like to see something related to Sweden, lots of new and exiting equipment to come!
Id love to see a Battle Order video on the Turkish forces.
God I love that 10th Panzer Division Insignia
This is the video I was waiting for! Very very nice.
I think you switched up the locations of the PzLehrBtl 93 and PzBtl414 @13:55 ... the 93rd is in Munster near Celle and it kind of makes sense to have the 414 near the dutch border.
No, just the location of PzLehrBtl 93 is an error because Münster and Munster are different cities.
414 is indeed situated near Bergen, whereas L93 is in Munster, which is about 30 km to the north of it. Yes, we have two batallions on top of each other. Problem?
414 is in Bergen because thats a big training ground where lots of Brits and Holländers already trained for many decades. So its a "grinded in" location and the Dutch know they prefer to defend the Netherlandson German or Baltic ground anyway.
Canadian here, always wondered how our purchase went for those tanks. Got them for Afghanistan, then decided to buy them. Wish we would buy more.
Well done on the pronunciation of the German words in the video! Best I've heard so far from an english speaker tbh.
is there gonna be a video about the organisation of the german paratroopers in the near future?
6:17 "erklimme die Karriereleiter unser Oberstabsgefreiter"
Diese Ränge hören sich so dumm die können glatt vom ner Diktatur kommen
Great video. Small mistake: u showed the Panzerlehrbataillon 93 as located in Münster on ur map. Its actually located in Munster.
I know you did a short on the Australian infantry section, but I would love to see a full video on a battalion or even a brigade, as well as a Canadian one would be interesting
Greetings from Lithuania :). We will join the LEO family soon too. Good video :)
APS is kinda obsolete for FPV drone protection as the radar will most probably have a higher speed threshold for an incoming projectile to catgeorize it as a missile.
Otherwise anyone walking by/ a bird flying by will trigger a APS activation which would be horrible for any friendlies nearby.
And ATGMs are now becoming secondary when you have 1000USD drones which can do the anti-tank work.
What is the option for drone protection in 2A8? I would be guessing nothing better than cope cages or God forbid the horrible turtle tank stuff.
Combined arms is the option for drone protection. Skyranger 30. AHEAD airburst.
The newer variants of Leo2 are currently being offered with a RWS instead of a pintle-mounted MG, including the probability of fitting the RWS with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.
Finaly! I looking for this video long time :)
I remember seeing a video a while back about a German tank unit moving to Lithuania as part of Steadfast Defender, in which one of the Leopard crewman explicitly stated that his units A7V was a newly produced tank when they received it. My memory could be wrong, but I think I also read something along the line that new production was cheaper than upgrading due to age and wear in some forum, thus only the first batch was of upgraded tanks. Does anyone know more?
As far as i know tank hulls suffer fatigue after decades in use (depending on how many hours and how rough they where driven) so they have to be replaced by new ones anyway. And the older turrets have a weak spot in the turretfront,where the optics where originaly positioned. So getting new ones might be necessary.
Plus germanys 100bio "Sondervermögen" can only be spend on purchasing stuff, not Training recruitment etc.
@ This purchase would have predated to Sondervermögen.
They probably meant that they were newly received by them, not that they’re new builds. They just wrapped up delivering them last year
"[...] so the MP7s go to the turret crew."
I, and I shit you not, unironically heard "the *turd* crew." and was somewhat confused for a sec xD
Fun fact: With the 2A8 orders on the way Germany will have more MBTs and France and the UK combined in a few years.
The A8's will replace a bunch of the older A6's.
The total number of tanks won't change much, the Bundeswehr doesn't have the manpower.
@@patta8388 Incorrect. You got numbers mixed up, all A6 will eventually be _upgraded_ to A8, the 105 A8 order will not replace legacy systems. They are all additional units.
We used to have almost 3000 MBTs of which only about 300 remain. And not all of these are even ready for deployment.
I feel you, brother. A real disgrace from the Cold War days.
But to be fair thats probably the case for any modern army. Tanks being developed further are getting more complex in context of electronics, protection capabilities and similar things, which means they are also getting more expensive. That naturally leads to lower numbers and (without having done any deeper research) I am pretty sure that this phenomenon occurs on most modern armys nowadays.
We need a system with augmented reality visor for the crew - or the ai crew. Showing known mine positions and all that stuff.
Good overview with one glaring ommission:
Future officers arent mentioned, probably because in the German system their rank insignia, just like their tasks authority and paygrade, are almost identical to their equivalent NCO ranks, just with a "Litze" added.
Fahnenjunker = Unteroffizier
Faehnrich (ensign) = Feldwebel
Oberfaehnrich = Hauptfeldwebel
Basically, GER army officer candidates all come up through the NCO ranks as "mustangs", proving themselves first as group and platoon leaders (though at ca twice the speed of regular NCOs).
No unexperienced shavetails giving orders to old sergeant majors after 3 months of training.
For purposes of these charts that means that the Segeant Majors shown as platoon leaders often are indeed Oberfaehnriche, one step below Second Lt.
Still inexpierienced for German standards, new LTs still get slack, as should be. Then again their NCO corps is really elitist. Some SNCO Platoon leaders with 15 years in the force. That's an expierience advantage you simply can not catch up to as an Officer.
I have been looking on your videos for a long time, and i think it would be great if you done a video about units (Army, Regiment, Battalion, etc. ) and their signings. I think this would be great for alot of people.
Awesome Video, as a German I learned so much out of it and I always enjoy us pronounciation 😅
The Netherlands also bought 50 2A8 to create a new battalion, not a shared one with the Germans
The dutch army is completely implemented in the german army.
But integrated in to the bundeswehr
So its owned by the netherlands but they are still part of the German division?
@@Texo333 yes. As the European Divisions are supposed to fight under NATO Corps, having just a Brigade available might not make that much sense in terms of cooperation. If the Dutch wanted a Division they would have a Armored, Medium Armored and Airborne Brigade in their Division which might not make that much sense
@@Texo333 yes. All of the dutch Land forces are integrated into the structure of the Bundeswehr.
Holy shit, the only thing that leopard family tree is missing is the habsburg jaw
you missplaced the panzerlehrbatallion 93 at 13:30 its stationed in Munster
Any deeper info about organisation of staff and support company?
Could you make an explanatory video about the entire organizational structure of the Cyprus National Guard (Cyprus Army)? - It's a relatively small army, it will probably be easy for you to do it. 😉👍
Can you do a video on the Danish army or other Nordic militaries?
Great video
There are son many other Leopard 2 variants, but likely all will eventuall be replaced by the Leopard 2A-RC 3.0 (aka Leopard 3), which has an unmanned turret, a crew of only 3 and can use the 120mm L55, or a new 130mm gun from Rheinmetall, or even the 140mm Ascalon.
I assume this will effectively be the new tank and there will be no further progression towards the MGCS.
I’ve often heard criticism about the promotion culture in the German army. It’s important to understand that German soldiers typically complete vocational training before joining the military. At least 60% of Bundeswehr personnel have undergone such training.
For example, a combat engineer (Pionier) likely trained as a bricklayer, steelworker, or reinforced concrete constructor before enlisting. Someone responsible for vehicle maintenance might have been trained as an auto mechanic or automotive mechatronics technician. And so on.
This means that these individuals often spend three years learning a civilian trade before joining the Bundeswehr. As a result, they already have the necessary technical knowledge and then receive specialized military training.
This stands in stark contrast to someone in the U.S. who joins the army straight out of high school or perhaps worked at McDonald’s before enlisting.
there is a hatch on the 2A7V to carry two G36Cs for the crew
The A7V program is born in 2017 and A7V means "verbessert" or enhanced. And the A7V is in reference to the A7V of 1917, only 20 pieces produced during the WWI...
Adding composite screens to a tank instantly makes it looked far more modern than it really is.
will you ever do video on cuban rifle squad? i can’t find very much documentation on them and it would be really cool, love ur videos always!
Brillant, once again
Hey man can you do a video or more about an Italian brigade?
Like Sassari or ariete or Garibaldi, pls man do it for the sake of my beloved country
Could you do a video on the German mechanised puma infantry
The moment a Company Sargent that i know, is shown at min. 9.44 in the video, LoL...
If I'm not mistaken, then he german battalions have a number in their name but that doesn't mean this is their "number", like the 1st Mountain Division. It's more like a "name". Otherwise the number would be infront. (Panzerbataillon 414 is tank battalion 414)
During the Cold War, the first two digits indicated the brigade a battalion belonged to, the third digit indicated the number of the battalion in the brigade. Battalions one to four were usually combat units, five was artillery and six was support. This scheme has been abandoned because a lot of units were merged and disbanded after 1990. Now there are odd combinations like Armoured Brigade 21 having three medium infantry battalions, none of which has 21x as their number.
@@daseinzigwahrem thank you for this information. Didn't know that there was such a concept behind those numbers
Großkatzen im Anmarsch!
That reminds me back to school and the text questions. I was waiting for the question "how many A2A6M+ does Germany own?" XD
ON Paper , technically working , that werent Just giving for free, or the ones that somehow maybe Operational?
Leopard 2A8 is inferior to K2 and M1A2 in terms of parameters, quality, delivery time and price. Poland pays less for 250 M1A2 SEPV 3 tanks that will be delivered from 2025. The Czech Republic is paying almost 2 billion dollars more for 75 Leopard 2A8 chassis, of which only about 50 are tanks and the rest are special vehicles, and the delivery time is the 2030s.
Leopard 2A7V literally beat the K2 in the Norwegian trials. Polish tanks are upgraded old Abrams, Romania is buying completely new ones that are more expensive than Leopard 2A8.
id like to see a video on the Canadian Mechanized Brigade Groups
He did one on Canada I just can't remember if it's mech. But it's on there main lav 6 and leopard one.
Hey battle order can you make a video on the polish he grom
Grinding the leo2a6 in warthunder tales longer than an abmverage upgrade cycle lol
pls do the ifv puma next
How does the Leopard 2 A7+ fit into all this? And how about the Leopard Revolutions 1 & 2?
This asks for an indept video on the Dutch army
They named one tank the A7V, i expected them to name the next major variant "K-Wagen"
Awesome 👍
I'd be very interested in a video on the Dutch plan to make its own tank batallion if any information about its structure and organisation is already available.
*mechanized
@@norbi1411 No a Tank Batallion, equipped with around 46 Leopard 2a8.