Important: situation 15 October 2008
War starts from Europe. The European military landscape has undergone profound changes during the last 10-15 years. Europe hosts a large military intervention machinery. The bombs are not falling in Europe. They are falling several thousands of km away in Iraq and Afghanistan. But still war is waged from Europe. Europe serves as a launch pad for military interventions worldwide. The frameworks differ: NATO, EU, US coalition of the willing, UN. The targets also vary: Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chad, etc. But the departure points don’t: military bases and civilian airports and harbours in Europe.
About every European lives in the neighbourhood of a military base from which soldiers deploy to one of the ongoing wars or near military or civil infrastructure which makes these wars possible. War starts from around the corner. Even if most people are not aware of it, Europe is at war.
Here we present a snapshot overview of military units sent to one of the war zones, of headquarters from where these wars are led and of the logistical infrastructure which makes these wars possible.
It is a snapshot, because the deployed troops rotate regularly and other units get involved. The whole of the intervention machinery is by consequence even larger than what is presented here. This overview is also far from complete, as most countries do not make information on deployed units available. With this snapshot we want to make visible Europe's new intervention posture.
This map presents the places from which military units are deployed to the war zones, from where these operations are led and the logistical infrastructure involved.
Belgium has 420 military in Afghanistan, 335 in Libanon, 197 in Kosovo and 57 in Chaad.
The Belgian soldiers come from the following units:
Belgium also contributes the frigate Leopold I for the maritime INUFIL-mission in Lebanon.
415 Czech soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan. The czech Republic has a PRT in Logar, it runs a field hospital Kabul Airport and supports the Dutch in Deh Rawod in Uruzgan and the UK in Helmand. Some of the participating units are the 31st CBRN Brigade from Liberec and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Czech military police.
In Kosovo 435 Czech soldiers are deployed, mostly of the 132nd Combined Artillery Battalion (13th Artillery Brigade) from Jince. They are part of the Multinational Task Force CENTRE (MTF-C) with Finland as lead nation.
In Iraq the Czech Republic still deploys 17 soldiers: 2 teams of instructors in the maintenance of T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry vehicles in Al Taji and 3 military with the NATO Training Mission Headquarters in Baghdad.
Denmark participated in the US coalition of the willing in Iraq, but has reduced its contribution to 4 helicopters with personnel. Denmark has 600 military in Afghanistan and 300 in Kosovo.
These military come from:
Afghanistan:
French troops are deployed in RC-C / Kabul, RC-C / Surobi, RC-East / Kapisa, RC-South / Kandahar and in the future as well in RC-South / Uruzgan
Kabul: 1400 French soldiers are deployed in this area.
Regional Command Capital (RC-C) is led by a French general since August (rotating command between Turkey, Italy, France). 75 French military are working in this headquarter.
France is also responsible for the northern and eastern sector of the capital area. The French battalion (BATFRA) counts about 800 military, mostly belonging to the 3e Brigade Mécanisée. Among them a tactical HQ of the 3e Brigade Mécanisée (Limoges), a reconnaissance unit of the 1er-11e Régiment de Cuirassiers (1e-11e RC) (Carpiagne), units from the 126e Régiment d'Infanterie (Brives-la-Gaillarde) and the 31e Régiment du Génie (Castelsarrasin).
An extra support battalion (BCS: bataillon de commandement et de soutien) of 500 military is responsible for the logistical and medical support for French troops in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan.
Also a helicopter-unit with 3 EC 725 Caracal-helicopters of the airforce and 2 Gazelle “Viviane”-helicopters of the Army are present.
Kapisa (RC-E): 600 French military are deployed here (GTIA: groupement tactique interarmes). De GTIA contains mostly troops of the 8e RPIMa (8e régiment de parachutistes d'infanterie de marine) from Castres. It has armoured cars of the 1e REC (1er régiment étranger de cavalerie) from Orange, an engineer unit of the 17e RGP (17e régiment du génie parachutiste) from Montauban and a artillery unit of the 35e RAP (35e Régiment d'Artillerie parachutiste) from Tarbes.
Trainers for the Afghan military:
35 French instructors are training officers in Kabul (operation Epidote) and 20 French together with 20 US instructors are training Afghan Special Forces. France provides 6 OMLT (Operational Mentor and Liaison Team), which give training and support in units of the Afghan Army. In total 225 military of the following units:
Air support:
3 Mirage 2000D (home base: escadrons 2.3 Champagne et 3.3 Ardennes -Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey) and 3 Rafale F2-fighter planes (home base: Escadron de chasse 1/7 Provence -Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson) are deployed in Kandahar, together with 170 military. Before they were stationed in Dushanbe in Tadjikistan.
Still 2 C160-transport planes and 175 French military are based in Dushanbe. A French KC-135 tanker plane is operating out of Manas (Kyrgyzstan).
This air support is strenghtened when the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle is present in the north of the Indiane Ocean.
Enduring Freedom - Horn of Afrika:
France has permanently 2 ships present and a Atlantique 2-plane in Djibouti.
BiH (EUFOR): 97 military (HQ, liaison, observation, support)
Kosovo: 2000 Franse military
France commands MNTF-N. The headquarter is provided by the 7ème brigade blindée from Besançon. The French battalion belongs mostly to the 152ème régiment d'infanterie from Colmar and comes out of the 8e régiment d’artillerie (Commercy), the 19e régiment du génie (Besançon), the 1e régiment d’hélicoptères de combat (Phalsbourg), the 53e régiment de transmissions (Luneville), the 1e (Metz-Woippy) and 6e régiment du matériel (Phalsbourg), the 121e régiment du train (Linas-Montlhery), de 1e groupe logistique du commissariat de l’armée de terre (Bretigny sur Orge), the 601e régiment de circulation routière (Arras) and the 1e-2e régiment de chasseurs (Thierville sur Meuse).
200 gendarmes are also deployed.
Ivory Coast: operation Licorne - 1800 military
Ground troops mainly belong to the 9e Brigade légère blindée de marine in Nantes. They come out of the 2e Régiment d'infanterie de marine (Mans), 1er Régiment d'infanterie de marine (Angoulême), Régiment d'infanterie - chars de marine (Poitiers), 6e Régiment du génie (Angers) and the 9e Compagnie de commandement et de transmission de marine (Nantes).
These units are supported by a helicopter-unit (3e Régiment d’hélicoptères de combat - Etain) and for transport 2 C 160-planes (home base Lomé, but now based in Abidjan).
Sometimes extra support is provided out of a marine ship of the operation Corymbe in the Gulf of Guinea with an operational reserve on board, at the moment coming out of the French unit in Cap Vert, Senegal.
Lebanon: 1900 military
UNIFIL HQ Naqoura / HQ eastern sector At Tiri: 100
land component GTIA (Groupement tactique interarmées): 1300
maritime component TF 448: 400, with the frigates Latouche-Tréville and Primauguet
GTIA: these troops mostly belong to the 7e brigade blindée in Besançon. they come out of the 1e-2e régiment de chasseurs (Thierville sur Meuse), the 35e régiment d'infanterie (Belfort), the 152e régiment d'infanterie (Colmar), the 19e régiment du génie (Besançon), the 53e régiment de transmissions (Lunéville), the 54e régiment d’artillerie (Hyères), the 1e régiment d’artillerie (Belfort), the 8e régiment d'artillerie (Commercy), the 121e régiment du train (Linas-Montlhery), the 2e régiment du matériel (Rennes).
Central-African Republic: since 2002 a French unit of 220 soldiers is present in Boali. Since early 2007 this is strengthened with extra troops from Djibouti and augmented to 420 military.
Chad: since 1986 French troops are present in the country for operation Epervier.
Thos operation has at the moment 1100 military, 6 Mirage F1-fighter planes, 3 C-160 transport planes and one tanker plane C-135, 3 Puma-helicopters. These troops are stationed in Camp Kosseï in N’Djamena and in Camp Croci in Abéché.
EUFOR Tsjaad/CAR: On 15 March 2008 EUFOR Chad started. France contributes 2100 extra soldiers and 8 helicopters. The operation is led from the headquarter Mont Valérien in Parijs by the Irish general Nash. In Chad the operation is led by the French general Ganascia.
Foreign bases:
Cap Vert, Senegal: 1200 military, 1 C160, 1 ATL2
Djibouti: 2900 military, 10 Mirages, 1 C160, 10 helicopters
Gabon: 980 military, 2 C160 and a helicopter unit in Douala, Cameroon. This is augmented with extra reserve units with 4 C-130's and extra helicopters for the operations in Chad and Ivory Coast.
La Réunion: an island in the Indian Ocean and one of the French overseas departements. It houses 2 frigates and also the two ships active in Enduring Freedom have their home base in La Réunion.
A new base is opened in the Persian Gulf: Al Dafhra in the United Arabic Emirates. It will become Base aérienne n° 104. At the moment 3 Mirages from base n° 102 in Dijon and a KC-135 tanker plane are already stationed here.
Germany has 3550 military in Afghanistan, by end 2008 this deployment raises to 4500. In Kosovo 2250 German military are deployed and the MNTF South (Multi-National Task Force South) is under German command. In Lebanon it deploys two ships.
German units in operation:
The US still has a large military presence in Germany, which it uses for its wars in Iraq en Afghanistan. In Germany 3 Brigade Combat Teams and a whole range of support units are based. At the moment in operation:
Hungary has 240 military in Afghanistan. It leads a PRT in POL-E KHOMRI, Baghlan, where mostly soldiers from the 5th Bocskai István Infantry Brigade (Debrecen) are deployed. At the moment it is also lead nation of Kabul International Airport (KAIA).
In Kosovo it has 317 military.
Ierland contributes 411 military for EUFOR Chad, mostly coming from the 98th Infantry Battalion (Kilkenny, Cork, Clonmel and Limerick). The past contingent came from the 97th. Ireland provides the commander for the EUFOR operation, general Pat Nash, who leads the operation from the OHQ in Mont Valérien, France.
In Kosovo Ireland has 285 military.
In Afghanistan Italy has 2350 military:
Kabul RC-C: 9° Reggimento Alpini - Borgo San Dalmazzo
Herat: RC-W / PRT
3 C 130J at Al Bateen - UAE
The US also has in Italy a large military presence. In Vicenza it has 1 Brigade Combat Team: the 173rd Airborne Brigade, deployed to Afghanistan at the moment.
The US 6th fleet has its home base in Gaeta and important support bases in Naples and Sigonella (Sicily). This fleet plays an important supporting role in both the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan through its aircraft carrier. The bases are hubs in the logistical lifelines for these operations.
Afghanistan: Lithuania leads the PRT CHAGHCHARAN in the province Ghowr and has 80 military present. In Kosovo it has 34 military.
The Netherlands have 1650 military in Afghanistan:
- Tarin Kowt: 1000 Dutch + 700 Australian military
HQ Taskforce / PRT / Engineer unit / 2 infantry units / 4 AH-64D Apache-helicopters
- Deh Rawod:300 Dutch military
PRT / Logistic unit / Infantry unit
The troops are coming from the following units and places:
- 45 Pantserinfanteriebataljon (Ermelo)
The Netherlands have 92 military in Bosnia.
In Tsjaad it has 60 military. The first 2×4 months they come from the Korps Mariniers (Doorn). The last 4 moths this will be a reconnaissance unit of the Army (Landmacht). During a rotation 1 C-130 is stationed in N'Djamena.
Norway has the following troops in Afghanistan:
Poland has 1130 military in Afghanistan, coming from the following units:
In Chad Poland has 400 soldiers, coming from the 11th Cavalry Armoured Division, a military police unit from Żagań, engineer troops from Brzeg and 3 Mi-17 helicopters with personnel of the 25th Air Cavalry Division from Tomaszow Mazowiecki.
In Kosovo Poland has 285 military, mostly of the 3rd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment (Koszalin) and the 13th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment (Elbląg). This contingent is stationed in the US base Camp Bondsteel.
Afghanistan: 1 C-130 (homebase: airbase 6 near Montijo) with 40 ground personnel / logistics / force protection = 70 total Kosovo: 253 military Lebanon: frigate Vasco Da Gama
In Afghanistan 725 Romanian military are present, in Kosovo 150.
400 Spanish military are deployed to Afghanistan, mostly in Herat and in the PRT Qala e Now. They come from:
In Manas, Kyrgyzstan 2 Spanish C-130 are stationed for air transport.
Kosovo: 572 military, from the following units:
Lebanon: 1100 military, mostly (727) of the Brigada de Caballería “Castillejos” II (Zaragoza), together with the Agrupación de Apoyo Logístico 41 from Zaragoza and soldiers from other units.
Chad: UMAAD Madrid (Medical Air Support Unit) 2 C-295 planes - 35 Wing (Madrid-Getafe Air Base) + 70 people
At the moment 8330 UK troops are deployed to Afghanistan. Aside of 1 battalion in Kabul the ground troops are based in Helmand and the air support in Kandahar.
These troops come from the following units and places:
The air support at Kandahar consists of:
ground troops:
At the moment 4000 UK troops are deployed to Basra, Iraq. They come from the following units:
A lot of these UK troops have their home base in Germany (indicated with D).
These military operations not just consist of military on the ground, but are led from headquarters in Europe. The following list contains only the international headquarters. Extra to this each participating country has its own national headquarter, from where it runs the logistical support for its own troops.
Mont Valérien: Operational HQ for EU-operations. Now leading EUFOR Chad
Lille: the Quartier général du corps de réaction rapide - France (QG CRR-FR). This HQ is in de running to be certified by SHAPE as the 7th High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters.
Strasbourg: Eurocorps: HQ set up by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain. It is distinct from the NATO or EU-structures but can be used by both for operations. It is certified by SHAPE as one of the 6 High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters, which rotate to lead ISAF in Afghanistan.
headquarter Potsdam Einsatzführungskommando (Henning-von-Tresckow-Kaserne in Geltow): leads all German military operations and functions as HQ for EU operations (EUFOR Congo)
NATO:
The US has its own headquarter for its troops in Europe: EUCOM Stuttgart. This plays an important role in the support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It commands the component headquarters, like the HQ of the Airforce in Europe, USAFE Ramstein, and of the Army in Europe, USAREUR in Heidelberg.
NATO:
Rome: Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze di Centocelle: this HQ leads all Italian operations, but is also available as operational HQ for EU-operations.
NATO: JFC HQ Brunssum leads ISAF, NATO's operation in Afghanistan, as operational HQ.
NAVO: Joint HQ Lisbon. A more limited operational HQ, focussed on maritime operations.
NAVO: CC-Land HQ Madrid: works under command of JFC HQ Naples. Rapid Deployable Spanish Corps Headquarters - Valencia: one of the 6 High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters, sent in turn to Afghanistan to take the command of ISAF .
Northwood: HQ leading all UK operations, but hosts as well the NATO maritime component HQ CC-Mar HQ Northwood, commanded by JFC HQ Brunssum.
One of the major changes from a static defence army to an intervention force is the build up of transport capacity to project forces to the war zone and to sustain them. Most European states have their own transport capacity but most have great shortages. These shortages are solved by providing each other with their excess capacity, by pooling capacities or by renting them on the commercial market. For the explanation of multinational cooperation projects (ARK, SALIS, C-17-project, MCCE) see the lead countries.
Due to its colonial past the Belgian airforce still has a large amount of C-130-planes (10), together with 2 Airbus A310-planes. Airlift happens from Melsbroek with these planes or with rented Antonov An-124 through the SALIS-project. Intermediate stops on the way to Afghanistan happen in Turkey, UAE, Dushanbe (Tadjikistan), Manas (Kyrgyzstan), … on bases of European countries or the US. F-16 transports make use of a KC 135-tanker plane from one of the NATO-partners (US, Netherlands, …)
Sealift departs from Antwerp and Zeebrugge. Roro-transport happens with the MCCE (and ARK) and perhaps also commercial. Container transport is rented commercially.
In the areas of operation commercial freight traffic is often used: Pakistan (Karachi)-Afghanistan, Cameroon (also by train)-Chad.
Also the US is a busy user of the Belgian logistical assets, for the transport of military material from its bases in Germany to the war zones. This material comes by barge along the Rhine to Belgium or by rail through Möntzen to be shipped in the port of Antwerp.
fuel: the port of Antwerp is one of the main import points of aircraft fuel through the military CEPS-pipeline network. This network runs from Western-Europe to the former Iron Curtain borderline and supplies about all airports, military and civil.
airlift: the Czech Republic bought 2 AIRBUS A-319 Corporate Jetliner, which use Praha Kbely as homebase. Czech also participates in the SALIS-project. Before that it bought transport capacity from other states, mainly the US.
sealift: the Czech Republic has a cooperation agreement with Greece.
For the Balkan operations most transport goes by train or road transport.
airlift: Aalborg: 4 C-130's
sealift:
Denmark is lead nation of the ARK-project, together with Germany. It leases RoRo-ships for military sealift. These ships are also available for other NATO/EU-countries and when not in use they are rented on the commercial market.
Ships: TOR ANGLIA, TOR FUTURA, ARK FORWARDER, TOR DANIA
Coordination: Århus
Logistic units:
1er régiment du train parachutiste: base aérienne 101 de Francazal in Toulouse
516e Régiment du Train (516e RT) from TOUL / 517e Régiment du Train (517e RT) from LA MARTINERIE: is responsible for land transport of heavy material.
airlift:
sealift:
ports: La Rochelle, Le Havre et Toulon
military units: 519e Régiment du Train (519e RT) from LA ROCHELLE
France has 3 RoRo-ships: MV Paimpolaise, MV Eclipse and MV Eider.
airlift German military:
Trollenhagen is the main depart airport, except for material like helicopters which are put on planes at their home airbase.
Afghanistan: with An-124 and Iljuschin Il-76 directly to Mazar-e-Sharif or by Termez (Uzbekistan). From Termez flights go to Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz and Feyzabad.
Kosovo: directly with Airbus A310 and Transall C-160D
Libanon: with own planes from Limassol on Cyprus.
Leipzig: civilian airport hosting the SALIS-project. this project is a cooperation to lease 6 An124-planes of the Russian-Ukrainian company Ruslan, of which 2 permanently are based in Leipzig. The 4 other are based in Kiev (Ukraïne) and Ulyanovsk (Russia). Participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey and Sweden.
DHL also has its main hub in Leipzig and works a lot for the German Army.
airlift US:
Ramstein is an important logistical hub for the US Army.
Spangdahlem is the point of departure of all US soldiers in Germany to a conflict zone.
The airport of Leipzig is also used a lot by the US as intermediate stop for troop transport between the US and the conflict zones.
The base of Geilenkirchen host aside of the NATO AWACS-planes also some US KC-135 tanker planes.
sealift Germany:
The logistical center of the Bundeswehr will be concentrated in Wilhelmshaven. Now it hosts already the maritime and the ground transport departements. The Army and Airforce departements are at the moment still based in Bad Neuenahr and Koln.
RoRo-transport happens with the ARK-project, other sealift with commercial transport.
sealift US:
Most military material is transported by barge or train to Antwerp, Rotterdam or Bremerhaven, where it is shipped to the conflict zones.
airlift: 59e “Szentgyörgyi Dezső” Harcászati Repülőbázis (59th Tactical Plane Base) based at Kecskemét AFB: 5 An-26
NATO promoted a cooperation project for the collective purchase of 3 C-17-planes. These will be stationed in the airport of Papa in Hungary. Participating countries are Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, US and Sweden.
Ireland uses commercial transport for its own army:
EUFOR Chad: soldiers went with a commercial charter to N'Djamena. Their material (3700 ton, more than 100 vehicles) first by ship to Cameroon, then by rail and over the road to Chad. Also a An-124 leased from Antonov Airlines was used.
VS: Shannon airport (near Limerick) is an important intermediate stop for US military transports. It is the most western airport of Europe. More than a million US soldiers have already past through Shannon airport since January 2003.
airlift: C-130's with intermediate stop in Al Bateen - VAE
Italy does not use the existing pooling-structures. It rents commercial passengers- and cargo planes, aside of its 22 C-130's, C-27J's and 4 767-tankers. Also sealift is leased.
US
airlift: 173rd Airborne Brigade: the military airforce base Aviano is the point of departure.
sealift: Camp Darby (between Livorno and Pisa) is material and munition-storage place, with the port of Livorno as shipping point.
Strategic transport is purchased commercially or obtained through the armed forces of allies. Points of departure are the airport of Siauliai, the port of Klaipeda and the Sestokai railway terminal.
Dutch military:
- airlift:
Eindhoven is generally the point of embarkment. Use is made of self-owned Airbus or C-130, or of leased An124 aircraft.
Helicopters depart straight from their homebase in Gilze-Rijen and are transported by An124
- sealift: Vlissingen, Rotterdam
multinational units:
Eindhoven airbase houses the Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE). This is a logistical coordination centre. The participating countries share their unused transport capacities and their needs for air, see or land transport. Participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and US. This coordination is not a part of the NATO or EU structures, but can be used for operations by both international organisations.
Eindhoven also houses the Strategic Air Lift Coordination Cell (SALCC). This is the military organisation dealing with the SALIS-contract. It is co-located with the MCCE, but is a separate organisation.
US: uses Dutch logistical infrastructure
- port of Rotterdam (European Container Terminal/Delta Terminal on the Maasvlakte )
- river transport from Mannheim (D)
- train transport from Germany by Railion (Dutch rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn)
- 838th Transportation Battalion. This unit is subordinated to the 598th US Army Transportation Terminal Group from the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), a European US logistical HQ (all based in Capelle aan den IJssel near Rotterdam).
airlift: Norway supports its troops in Afghanistan by airlift to Kabul, making use of the SALIS-project.
sealift: Norway has longterm contracts with Norwegian shipping companies for a guaranteed access to RoRo-ships. Extra capacity delivered by these contracts is offered through the MCCE is Noorwegen to other countries.
For other sea transport Norway makes use of commercial charters.
airlift:
13th Airlift Squadron 8th Air Base Kraków: 9 CASA C-295 (+7 ordered), 5 An-26, 10 PZL M-28 Bryza (+5 ordered)
14th Airlift Squadron - 33rd Air Base Powidz: C-130 (only operational end 2008 - 5 ordered)
sealift: by commercial charters or rented from other countries. The US delivered almost all sealift for Polish troops to Iraq, but is also delivering a lot of sea transport to Pakistan for the Afghanistan-war. Port of departure is always Szczecin.
US: the military base of Lajes on the Azores is an important refueling stop for both ships and aircraft.
Airlift: 90th Airlift Base in Bucharest.
airlift: self-owned C-130 and 9 C-295, departing from Getafe and stop in Manas (Kyrgyzstan).
sealift: MCCE + commercial
US: the base of Rota (near Cadiz) is an important logistical hub for the US Navy and Airforce.
- airlift:
Strategic air transport is done with Tristar and VC10-planes from RAF Brize Norton, both with passengers as cargo.
Shorter distances are made with C-130 Hercules planes from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
The UK has bought 6 C-17 Globemaster III-planes to have a heavy strategic air capacity.
- sealift happens from Portsmouth. The UK has 6 RoRo-ships of its own.