History
In 1991 the defence ministers of The Netherlands and Germany decided to establish a binational unit to replace one German and one Dutch corps. In 1993 a treaty between the two countries was signed which resulted in two previously independent corps being amalgamated to form 1 German/Netherlands Corps or 1(GE/NL) Corps consisting of one German and one Dutch division. The corps' readiness for action was achieved on August 30, 1995 and celebrated in the presence of the Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The headquarters were chosen to be in Münster because Münster was already the location of the 1 German Corps' headquarters. For publicity reasons, it was announced that the Münster location was due to the particular significance for both countries as the place where the Peace of Westphalia was signed.
In 1997, Germany and the Netherlands laid down the cooperation in several documents. In general, these state that Germany and the Netherlands provide the Corps framework on an equal basis; both countries share the responsibility for command & control capabilities. In 2002, the Corps met NATO Full Operational Capability criteria and was certified to act as a High Readiness Force Headquarters capable of rapid deployment as part of a NATO Combined Joint Task Force. Since 2002, the multinational Corps HQ has been based on a Memorandum of Understanding between 12 NATO nations. During the deployment to Afghanistan as HQ ISAF between February and August 2003 the Corps executed bi-national command and control for the first time.
The original tasks of the corps lay in the defence of the territories of NATO member states as part of NATO's main defence force as well as taking part in peacekeeping missions, humanitarian missions and emergency aid during natural disasters.
Soon after its readiness for action, the corps was given new tasks: it was designated "Forces Answerable to the Western European Union", and since December 1999, the corps is a Land Component Command within NATO's command structure. At this time its subordinated divisions were the 1st German Panzer Division from Military District Command II in Hannover, and the Netherlands First Division 7 December, a mechanised infantry formation stationed in Apeldoorn, principally its 41st Armoured Brigade, in 1990s 41st Light Brigade?) that had been stationed in Seedorf, Lower Saxony as part of NATO deployments for several decades.
At the same time, the transition to a multinational unit began, which included considerable issues in organisational psychology between the two forces. After concluding exercise "Cannon Cloud" at the Baumholder proving ground in November 2002, the corps became a "High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters" (HRF(L) HQ) as part of NATO's Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF). The first deployment within this framework took place between February and August 2003 when the corps operated as ISAF's headquarters in Afghanistan. (HQ ISAF III?)
Following this, the "Land Component Command" was further developed. From the beginning of 2004, the corps was subordinate to NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples and became "NATO Response Force-Headquarters" (NRF) in November 2004. During the first half of 2005 it was on stand-by as the fourth headquarters (NRF-4) relieving NRF-3, NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps (NRDC-IT) at Solbiate Olona. The corps successfully completed exercise "Iron Sword" in June 2005 whereby more than 6,000 troops and 2,500 vehicles were moved from Central Europe to Norway.
Since the transfer of the first Belgian officer in 2005 and ten French Armed Forces officers in 2006 to Münster, twelve nations are represented at 1 German/Netherlands Corps.
From January to July 2005, the Corps assumed the standby role as the NATO Response Force Land Component Command to demonstrate the NATO Initial Operational Capability. During the months of May and June 2005, 1(GE/NL) Corps practiced this capability by conducting exercise IRON SWORD, a challenging Deployment Field Training Exercise to practice multinational operations in an expeditionary environment. In deploying more than 6,000 soldiers and 2,500 vehicles by land, air and sea from Central Europe to Norway, the Corps clearly illustrated the progress made during the NATO Response Force standby period and made a real contribution towards the continual development of the NATO Response Force Full Operational Capability.
The Corps was also the on-call High Readiness Force for NATO contingency operations in 2008. In 2009, the Corps deployed to Afghanistan providing the core staff of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the ISAF Joint Command. The Corps also provided national troop contributions, most notably a 40 man contingent to Regional Command South.
Currently, apart from its Staff Support Battalion and Command Information Systems Battalion, the Corps does not have assigned units any longer. Following a (NATO) Force Generation Process, the Corps will get multinational units assigned to create a tailor made organisation capable of meeting the given tasks.
Read more about this topic: I. German/Dutch Corps
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