Belgian Army - History - Cold War
Of the three services, the Belgian Army was by far the largest recipient of equipment from the US after World War II, taking into inventory the entire spectrum of army material including tanks, personnel carriers, machine guns, rocket launchers, and a variety of armored vehicles. Major FMS purchases by the Belgian Army in the 1970s and 1980s included 96 M108 105MM and 41 M109 155M Howitzers, 290 HAWK tactical missiles, support for the Belgian Army NIKE Hercules squadrons, and over 100 LANCE missiles. In the same period, the Belgian Army was much more involved in commercial purchases from the US, with the two largest purchases having been a $110 million contract for 127 M109A2 SP155MM Howitzers from BMY and a $106 million contract for the procurement of 114,000 roundsof M485A2 155MM ammunition from General Defense Corp.
During the Cold War Belgium maintained an army of approximately 66,000, half of whom were deployed to the FRG as part of the Belgian I Corps, which was comprised of two active divisions, each having three mechanized brigades and supporting units. The remainder of the army comprised the Forces Interior responsible for the defense of the home territory and LOC, and was made up of regular army units which would be augmented in wartime by the local gendarmerie and reserve forces. In addition, the Forces Interior were supplemented by a regiment of para-commandos (equivalent to US Army Rangers) with two airborne infantry and one commando battalion.
By the end of the Cold War the army consisted of two major components: the 1st Belgian Corps, which is assigned to NATO, and the Forces of the Interior, which are responsible for the defense of Belgian territory. The 1st Belgian Corps is deployed operationally, having most of its units in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The deployment of Belgian Army units in West Germany dates hack to 1945, when the Belgian brigades of the newly re-formed army took part in military operations with the British army at the end of World War II. They then remained as occupation forces and part of NATO.
The primary mission of the Belgian forces in West Germany was to defend their assigned sector against attack and, with their allies, to fight in any conflict, conventional or nuclear. The 1st Belgian Corps was composed of two active divisions, each having three mechanized brigades in peacetime and, if necessary, four in war. The corps has a number of supporting units. The brigades include two armored infantry battalions, one antitank battalion, one or two tank battalions, one artillery battalion, an engineer company, and logistical support units.
In the early 1980s the Belgian corps appeard to be the weakest on NATO's Central Front. It contained 25,000 personnel organized into one armored and one mechanized infantry brigade. Since 1976, the size of the peacetime corps stationed in Germany had been reduced by 7,000 personnel, returning one mechanized infantry brigade and one division headquarters to Belgium. Upon mobilization, the Belgians could field a two-division combat force for the corps.
The major item of equipment to be modernized by the Belgians was the armored personnel carrier. To replace more than 1,000 obsolete vehicles (such as the M-75 and AMX-VCI), the Belgians had ordered more than 500 AIFVs; more than 500 Ml 13 armored personnel carriers; and 80 BOX armored personnel carriers. The latter is a fully amphibious vehicle that can mount a turret and can fire the Milan antitank guided missile.
No plans existed for the modernization of the tank fleet or the artillery inventory. The Belgian Army had more than 330 Leopard I tanks in its active units; the reserves maintained 55 M-47 tanks (1950s vintage). The Belgian army primarily relied upon the light 105-millimeter self-propelled artillery for direct support. These howitzers were 20 years old and had a lesser effective range and lower burst radius per projectile than the 155-millimeter howitzers that were standard throughout NATO's armies.
The 1st Belgian Corps had a total strength of 34,000 in peacetime, which can be doubled in case of war. Most of the units were stationed in West Germany, and by the 1980s many of the associated family dependents have lived outside Belgium for more than 25 years. At one time, more than 60,000 Belgians living in West Germany had to be supported by the military. In 1973 two of the active brigades were reassigned to Belgian territory, one to the northern Leopoldsburg area, the other to the southern Bastogne/ Marche-en-Famenne area. This solved some of the immediate social problems but has also increased the distance from assigned operational areas during training or war.
The units of the 1st Belgian Corps participated in a number of annual exercises and maneuvers, and their operational readiness has been continually maintained. Most of the equipment has been renovated or upgraded between 1975 and 1985. Although the Leopard tank was standard in the armored battalions, various smaller armored vehicles were used by the reconnaissance units. The antitank battalion was equipped with various light antitank weapons (LAWs) and antitank missiles, such as the Swingfire, Milan, and the Panzerjager. Honest John tactical missiles were being replaced by Lance missiles in 1984. The German-manufactured Gepard antiaircraft gun system has also been added to the antiaircraft batteries. The Epervier, an unmanned drone of Belgian construction, has been used for battlefield surveillance. The field artillery consisted primarily of United States-built, self-propelled guns. In 1984 Belgium agreed to purchase a number of Canadian-built four-wheel-drive jeeps to replace existing vehicles used by the armored infantry battalions.
The Forces of the Interior had a triple role. In peacetime they had the responsibility of helping the 1st Belgian Corps by running training schools and preparing for the mobilization of reserve forces. In the event of war, they were to defend Belgian territory and protect the allied as well as Belgian lines of communication. They also had a logistic responsibility to the air force and the navy and supply medical assistance to the gendarmerie. The average strength of the Forces of the Interior in 1984 was 35,000, but if the mobilized reserve is included, they would total approximately 195,000.
The Forces of the Interior were made up of army units and in time of war would be supplemented by local gendarmerie and reserve forces. The Regiment of Para-Commandos, an elite, highly trained unit, supplemented the Forces of the Interior with three battalions—two airborne infantry units and one commando unit. (The commando troops are the equivalent of the United States Rangers.) In addition to its mission in the overall defense of Belgium, this regiment furnished an artillery and armored reconnaissance battalion to the NATO mobile forces. The para-commandos were the most battle-experienced of the Belgian armed forces, having fought in Koiwezi province in Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo) as recently as 1978.
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