Belgian Land Component

Land Component
Composante terre / Landcomponent
Landkomponente
Land Component; Composante terre / Landcomponent; Landkomponente
	A detachment of the 2nd/4th Regiment Mounted Rifles at the 2007 Bastille Day Military Parade.
Active	1830-2002: Army; 2002-present: Land Component
Country	Belgium
Allegiance	Belgium
Size	12.000 military personnel; 2.000 civilian personnel
Commanders
Commander	Major-General Eddy Testelmans

The Land Component (Template:Lang-nl, Template:Lang-fr), formerly the Belgian Land Force, is the land-based branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Eddy Testelmans.

For a detailed history of the Belgian Army from 1830 to post 1945 see Belgian Armed Forces.

Ranks in use by the Belgian Army are listed at Belgian military ranks.

Organisation 1870s

According to the Law of 16 August 1873, the army was to consist of:^{[citation needed]}

Infantry

14 regiments of line infantry (three active battalions, one inactive and one company in each regiment depot)
3 regiments of Jäger (three active battalions, one inactive and one company in each regiment depot)
1 regiment of grenadiers (three active battalions, one inactive and one company in each regiment depot)
1 regiment of Carabinier (four battalions active, 2 inactive and 1 depot company of deposit)
2 companies settled
1 discipline body
1 school of children troop

Note: a battalion (864 men) consists of four companies of 216 men

Cavalry

4 regiments of lancers (4 active squadrons and one reinforcement in each regiment)
2 regiments of guides (ditto)
2 regiments of Chasseur (ditto)

Note: a squadron had approximately 130 horses

Artillery

4 regiments of artillery (10 batteries in each regiment)
3 regiments of fortress artillery or siege artillery (16 batteries, 1 battery and 1 spare battery depot in each regiment)
1 pontoon company
1 company of artificers
1 company of gunsmiths
1 company of artillery workers

Note: A battery has 6 guns

Engineering

1 Engineer Regiment (3 active battalions and one depot battalion)
1 railway company
1 campaign Telegraph company
1 telegraph room company
1 pontoon room company
1 workers company

Train

7 train companies

World War I

See Belgian Army order of battle (1914) A major reorganisation of the army had been authorised by the government in 1912, providing for a total army of 350,000 men by 1926 - 150,000 in the field forces, 130,000 in fortress garrisons and 70,000 reserves and auxiliaries. At the outbreak of war this reorganisation was nowhere near complete and only 117,000 men could be mobilised for the field forces, with the other branches equally deficient.

The Commander-in-Chief was King Albert I, with Lieutenant-General Chevalier de Selliers de Moranville as the Chief of the General Staff.

1st Division (Lieutenant-General Baix) - around Ghent.
2nd Division (Lieutenant-General Dassin) - Antwerp.
3rd Division (Lieutenant-General Leman) - around Liège.
4th Division (Lieutenant-General Michel) - Namur and Charleroi.
5th Division (Lieutenant-General Ruwet) - around Mons.
6th Division (Lieutenant-General Albert Lantonnois van Rode) - Brussels.
Cavalry Division (Lieutenant-General de Witte) - Brussels.

In addition, there were garrisons at Antwerp, Liège and Namur, each placed under the command of the local divisional commander.^[1]

Each division contained three mixed brigades (of two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment), one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment, as well as various support units. Each infantry regiment contained three battalions, with one regiment in each brigade having a machine-gun company of six guns. An artillery regiment had three batteries of four guns.

The nominal strength of a division varied from 25,500 to 32,000 all ranks, with a total strength of eighteen infantry battalions, a cavalry regiment, eighteen machine-guns, and forty-eight guns. Two divisions (the 2nd and 6th) each had an additional artillery regiment, for a total of sixty guns.

The Cavalry Division had two brigades of two regiments each, three horse artillery batteries, and a cyclist battalion, along with support units; it had a total strength of 4,500 all ranks with 12 guns, and was - in effect - little more than a reinforced brigade.

The Belgian Army stubbornly resisted during the early days of the war, with the army - around a tenth the size of the German Army - holding up the German offensive for nearly a month, giving their French and British allies time to strengthen for the Marne counteroffensive later in the year.^{[citation needed]}

World War II

In 1940, the King of Belgium was the commander in chief of the Belgian Army which had 100,000 active duty personnel; its strength could be raised to 550,000 when fully mobilized. The army was composed of seven infantry corps, that were garrisoned at Brussels, Antwerp, and Liege, and two divisions of partially-mechanised cavalry Corps at Brussels and the Ardenne. The Corps were as follows:

I Corps with the 1st, 4th, and 7th Infantry Divisions
II Corps with the 6th, 11th, and 14th Infantry Divisions
III Corps with the 1st Chasseurs Ardennais and the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions
IV Corps with the 9th, 15th, and 18th Infantry Divisions
V Corps with three divisions
VI Corps with three divisions

Each Army Corps had its own headquarters staff, two active and several reserve Infantry Divisions, Corps Artillery Regiment of four battalions of two batteries with 16 artillery pieces per battalion, and a Pioneer regiment.

Each infantry divisions had a divisional staff along with three infantry regiments, each of 3,000 men. Each regiment had 108 light machine guns, 52 heavy machine guns, nine heavy mortars or infantry gun howitzers, plus six antitank guns.

Within the Free Belgian Forces that were formed in Great Britain during the occupation of Belgium between 1940–45, there was a land force formation, the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade. An additional three divisions were raised and trained in Northern Ireland, but the war ended before they could see action. However, they joined the initial Belgian occupation force in Germany, I Belgian Corps, whose headquarters moved to Luedenscheid in October 1946.^[2] Of the 75,000 troops that found themselves in Germany on 8 May 1945, the vast majority had been recruited after the liberation of Belgium.^[3]

Cold War

During the Cold War, Belgium provided the I Belgian Corps (HQ Haelen Kaserne, Junkersdorf, Lindenthal (Cologne)), consisting of the 1st Infantry Division in Liège and 16th Mechanised Division in Neheim-Hüsten, to NATO's Northern Army Group for the defence of West Germany.^[4] There were also two reserve brigades (10th Mechanised Brigade, Limbourg, and the 12th Motorised Brigade, Liège), slightly bigger than the four active brigades, which were intended as reinforcements for the two divisions. Interior forces comprised the Para-Commando Regiment in Heverlee, three national defence light infantry battalions (5th Chasseurs Ardennais, 3rd Carabiniers-cyclistes, and 4th Carabiniers-cyclistes), four engineer battalions and nine provincial regiments with two to five light infantry battalions each. (Isby and Kamps, 1985, 64, 72)

After the end of the Cold War, forces were reduced. Initial planning in 1991 called for a Belgian-led corps with 2 or 4 Belgian brigades, a German brigade, and possibly a U.S. brigade.^[5] However, by 1992 this plan was looking unlikely and in 1993 a single Belgian division with two brigades became part of the Eurocorps.^[6]

Structure

Medium Brigade

Light Brigade

class=notpageimage|

Belgian Army - brigade locations

The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: command, combat, support, services and training.

The command capacity groups the following levels of command: COMOPSLAND (Operational Command of the Land Component), Medium Brigade at Leopoldsburg (formed from the 1st Mechanised Brigade in 2011) and Light Brigade (formerly the 7th Mechanised Brigade) at Marche-en-Famenne.

The combat capacity comprises the main fighting units of the Land Component. It consists of two Para-Commando battalions, the Special Forces Group and five infantry battalions. The support capacity comprises one reconnaissance battalion, a civilian-military cooperation and operational communication battalion, one artillery battalion and two engineer battalions.

The service capacity comprises three communication and information systems (CIS) groups, three logistics battalions, the Military Police Group and the Military Detachment at the Palace of the Nation, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (known as DOVO in Dutch and SEDEE in French, the Movement Control Group and the training centres and camps.

The training capacity comprises four departments: the Training Department Infantry at Arlon, the Training Department Armour-Cavalry at Leopoldsburg, the Training Department Artillery at Brasschaat and the Training Department Engineers at Namur.

Some of the regiments in the Land Component, such as the Regiment 12th of the Line Prince Leopold - 13th of the Line, have names consisting of multiple elements. This is the result of a series of amalgamations which took place over the years. The Regiment 12th of the Line Prince Leopold - 13th of the Line was created in 1993 as a result of the merger of the 12th Regiment of the Line Prince Leopold and the 13th Regiment of the Line.

Equipment

Firearms

Belgian soldiers with FN FNC assault rifles.

Weapon	Caliber	Origin	Notes
Pistols
Browning GP	9×19mm	Belgium	Standard issue firearm, being phased out in favour of the FN Five-seven.
FN Five-seven	5.7×28 mm	Belgium	Formerly issued to pilots and SFG members, now entering service as the standard issue sidearm.
Submachine Guns
FN Uzi	9×19mm	Israel Belgium	Made under license by FN Herstal, used as a personal defence weapon specials forces, navy and medical personnel.
FN P90	5.7×28 mm	Belgium	Personal defence weapon used by selected troops, including special forces.
Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Carbines
FN FNC	5.56×45mm	Belgium	Service rifle, To be replaced with SCAR-L.
FN F2000	5.56×45mm	Belgium	Used by special forces, and elsewhere in limited quantities to serve alongside the FN FNC.
FN SCAR-L	5.56×45mm	Belgium	4500 SCAR-L ordered to replace the FNC as the new standard service rifle between 2015-2017.
FN SCAR-H	7.62×51mm	Belgium	63 SCAR-H CQC ordered for special forces combat divers.
Sniper Rifles
FN SCAR-H PR	7.62×51mm	Belgium	287 SCAR-H PR rifles on order to replace the AW between 2015 - 2017
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare	7.62×51mm	United Kingdom	Will be replaced by a combination of SCAR-H PR, AXMC and M107A1.
Accuracy International AX338	.338 LM	United Kingdom
Barrett M107A1	12.7×99mm	United States	59 delivered by the end of 2014
Machine Guns
FN Minimi	5.56×45mm	Belgium	Light machine gun
FN MAG	7.62×51mm	Belgium	General-purpose machine gun
M2HB	12.7×99 mm	United States	Heavy Machine Gun
Shotguns
Remington 870	12-gauge	United States	In service since 2008^[7]
Grenade Launchers
GL-1	40×46mm	Belgium	Used by regular infantry and paratroopers mounted under FN F2000 rifles on a squad based level.
FN40GL	40×46mm	Belgium	Used by special forces mounted under FN SCAR rifles
Anti-tank Missile Launchers
MILAN	115 mm	France	Will be replaced by Spike ATGM in the near future.
Spike-MR	152 mm	Israel	66 new anti-tank missile systems are currently being deliverd to replace the army's older MILAN ATGM. ^[8]
Anti-tank Rocket Launchers
M72 LAW	66 mm	United States	Will be replaced by panzerfaust 3 as the short range anti-tank weapon on a squad based level.
Panzerfaust 3	110 mm	Germany	111 short range anti-tank weapons are to be purchased in the near future.^[8]
Anti-air Missile Launchers
MISTRAL		France	Infrared surface-to-air missile. 30 in service^[9]
Artillery
120 RT Mortar	120 mm	France	About 30 in use^[9]
M1 Mortar	81 mm	United States	About 42 in use^[9]
M19 Mortar	60 mm	United States	About 60 used by the ParaCommando regiment for light fire support.^[9]
LG1 Mark II Howitzer	105 mm	France	About 24 in use^[9]
Grenades
Mecar M72 HE grenade	NA	Belgium	Fragmentation hand grenade
Mecar M93BG grenade	NA	Belgium	Rifle grenade for the FN FNC
M18 grenade	NA	United States	Smoke hand grenade
Mines
M6A2 Mine	NA	United States	Anti-tank mine
Miscellaneous
HAFLA^{[citation needed]}	NA	Germany	Single-shot, disposable incendiary weapon

Vehicles

The Belgian Army is currently undergoing a major re-equipment programme for most of its vehicles. The aim is to phase out all tracked vehicles in favour of wheeled vehicles. As of 2010, the tank units were to be disbanded or amalgamated with the Armored Infantry (2 Inf Coy and 1 Tk Sqn per Bn). 40 Leopard 1 tanks were still waiting to be sold; the rest were transferred to Lebanon. As of 2013, only some M113 variants (Radar, recovery, command postn and driving school vehicles) and Leopard variants (Recovery, AVLB, Pionier, driving tanks) will remain in service.

The Leopard 1A5 tank was retired on 10 September 2014. 56 of the tanks will be sold, about 24 will stay as historic monuments or serve as a museum pieces; the rest will be phased out or used for target practice.^[10]^[11]

Name	Origin	Type	Number	Notes
Armoured vehicles
Piranha IIIC	Switzerland	Armoured fighting vehicle	242	7 variants: 99 FUS armored personnel carriers 32 DF30: Fire support version equipped with MK44 Bushmaster II in an ORCWS-30 40 DF90: Fire support version equipped with a 90 mm cannon 24 CP serving as a mobile command post 12 Ambulance versions 17 Recovery versions 18 Engineering variants providing Mobility, Countermobility and Protection^[12]
Pandur I	Austria	Armoured personnel carrier	59^[12]	45 Reconnaissance variants, 10 Ambulance variants and 4 Maintenance variants.
ATF Dingo 2 MPPV	Germany	Infantry mobility vehicle	218^[12]	156 FUS variants for troop transport 52 Command Post (CP) 10 Ambulance variants
Unarmoured vehicles
Iveco LMV	Italy	Light utility vehicle	620^[13]	Replacing the Volkswagen Iltis, 180 with optional removable ballistic protection kits
Volkswagen Iltis	Germany	Light utility vehicle	2150^[14]	Being phased out
M-Gator	United States	Light utility vehicle		For medical evacuation
Iveco M250	Italy	Medium Heavy Truck	400	350 with optional removable ballistic protection kits