Two demanding weeks of training in the Munster target practice center lie behind the German and Dutch soldiers of the 414 Tank Battalion in view of their deployment in Lithuania in 2021 with NATO troops of the Enhanced Forward Presence mission.
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According to the motto "Well camouflaged is half the battle", the Red Forces drive into the disposition area with the main weapon system of the 414 tank battalion, the Leopard 2A6MA2 (Picture source: Bundeswehr/Michael Uffmann)
Every two years a combat company of a German tank battalion has to go through a training course in the target practice center. The aim of this company training is to challenge officers and non-commissioned officers as military leaders under all possible aspects of a battle. This includes physical stress and psychological pressure.
For the German soldiers of the 3rd Company and the Dutch soldiers of the 4th Company of the 414 Tank Battalion, this training is the targeted preparation for the Enhanced Forward Presence (EFPE) deployment in Lithuania from the second half of 2021. In two intensive weeks of training, both companies alternately practice attack and delay. Delay is the focus of the training. The point is to give up space, to wear out the opponent in order to gain time for a later counterattack.
For the successful course of the training, supplies and combat troops work hand in hand (Picture source: Bundeswehr/Michael Uffmann)
A training and exercise session in the shooting practice center includes the interaction of tank troops, tank grenadiers and combat supporters such as logisticians, engineers and paramedics because without diesel supply there would be no tank engine working, without pioneers it would not be possible to cross a river, and without paramedics the wounded would not be cared for. The cooperation of all skill profiles requires the company commanders to know exactly the respective combat and procedures of all units involved, to consider requirements and to be able to use them purposefully. In the current training project, the two tank companies are reinforced with grenadiers from the 92nd Panzergrenadier Training Battalion and the 44th Dutch Panzer Infantry Battalion. The 10th EFPE enhanced forward presence rotation will also be contested in this composition. This also creates trust among each other in the course of the training.
The soldiers of the reconnaissance and liaison platoon collect information about the activities of the enemy (Picture source: Bundeswehr/Michael Uffmann)
