Tanks from Wels are rolling again in the Lüneburg Heath: Austrian tank battalion 14 is supporting an exercise project of the German Bundeswehr – also a logistical challenge for the Austrian soldiers. A contingent of 75 soldiers from Wels and Hörsching has been located around 850 kilometers from their home garrisons at the Bergen military training area in Lower Saxony, north of Hanover, for several days.
The aim is to jointly carry out the Bundeswehr’s “Information Training Exercise 2019”, in which the deployment of a battle group with all its weapon systems is presented. Supported by artillery, engineers, combat helicopters and air force fighter aircraft (Eurofighter), main battle tanks and armored infantry demonstrate the delaying of an attack and the subsequent counterattack in all its facets – presented in combat shooting by combined forces.
The German Panzergrenadierbataillon 33 is actively supported by a reduced tank company of Panzerbataillon 14 from Wels, eight Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks driving and firing side by side with the German troops in a realistic combat sequence. Due to the explosive nature of the situation, this has to be practiced with particular precision in order to ensure that everything takes place in live fire. In addition, the deployment of an armored company requires a great deal of logistical support – especially so far away from the home barracks, where supplies and spare parts cannot be accessed quickly. For this reason, the Austrian participants in the exercise not only include tank soldiers, but also a large proportion of supply, transport, repair and medical elements – from tank mechanics to brigade doctors. Support for the tank soldiers is provided by parts of the NT company of Panzerstabsbataillon 4.
