Paratrooper Battalion 261 (Bundeswehr)

Paratrooper Battalion 261

Insignia of the Paratrooper Battalion 261
Active September 1956 – 31 March 2015
Country Germany
Branch German Army
Type Airborne infantry
Size About 1,000 troops
Part of Airborne Brigade 26, Special Operations Division
Garrison/HQ Lebach, Germany
Motto(s) Wie Pech und Schwefel
(lit. Like Pitch and Sulfur, German idiom with a similar meaning as "thick as thieves")
Anniversaries September 3
Engagements

Somalian Civil War
Bosnian Civil War
Kosovo War
Afghanistan War

Commanders
Current
commander		 Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Blank

The Paratrooper Battalion 261 (Fallschirmjägerbataillon 261) was one of the three combat battalions of the German Army's Airborne Brigade 26, which was a part of the Special Operations Division. Paratrooper[1] Battalion 261 was fully airmobile and could act both as air assault infantry or be dropped by parachute into the area of operations.

History

A detachment from Paratrooper Battalion 261 marching at the international military parade on Bastille Day 2007

The battalion was activated as Airborne Infantry Battalion 9 (Luftlandejägerbataillon 9) on September 3, 1956, being the first combat battalion of the now defunct Airborne Brigade 25. Since 1961, the headquarters of the battalion have been hosted in Lebach.[2] The arsenal of the battalion was attacked and robbed in 1969. Four of the sentries were killed in cold blood. The unit temporarily belonged to the multiliteral AMF(L) Brigade. It has taken part in overseas operations since 1993 when large parts of the battalion deployed to Somalia. Since then, Paratrooper Battalion 261 has taken part in numerous operations all over the globe and spent much time in northern Afghanistan battling the resurgent Taliban insurgency.[3] In 2007, thirty troops received the great honour of an invitation to the French Bastille Day parade.

Following a restructuring of the German armed forces, the battalion was disbanded on 31 March 2015 and merged into the newly raised Paratrooper Regiment 26.[4][5]

Structure

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leapfest 30". www.strikehold.net. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Lebach — Historic Market And Hiking In Saarland". www.mygermancity.com. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "German Paratrooper Battalion 261 in Afghanistan". www.onesixthwarriors.com. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Geschichte" (in German). German Army. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Der Heimat ein letzter Gruß" (in German). German Army. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.

Coordinates: 49°24′19″N 6°54′32″E / 49.40528°N 6.90889°E / 49.40528; 6.90889

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