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MNCNE - Multinational North-East Corps
Danish-German-Polish Corps

The origins of talks on military cooperation between Denmark, Germany and Poland date back to 1994. Poland was still on the long road to NATO membership, and the creation of a multinational corps was hard to imagine. Nevertheless, 1994 saw talks conducted on the Danish island of Bornholm. The result was the start of cooperation between Danish, Polish and German divisions.

The next step came in 1996, when commanders of the cooperating divisions met in RYgen. The meeting saw the genesis of the idea to move the cooperation between Polish, German and Danish divisions to a higher level, involving improved coordination. A way to bring the military units of the three countries closer together was the creation of the Multinational North-East Corps. The initiative came from Denmark and the official decision to establish the Corps was made in August 1997, a month after Poland had been invited to talks on Poland's membership in NATO.

Just over two years passed between the decision to create an operational liaison at the level of the Multinational Corps, and the creation of the planned formation. The Corps began operations Sept. 18, 1999, reaching full readiness in the fall of 2000. It was stationed in Szczecin.

When the Corps was created, Col. Miroslaw Staniszewski, one of the Polish officers offered a job in the multinational unit, said: "I felt honored when I was offered the job of organizing the staff of the international corps. We are overcoming Yalta." For the Polish Armed Forces, the creation of the Multinational North-East Corps was tangible proof of the improving integration of the Polish armed forces with NATO.

The Corps was made up of three divisions: Denmark's Jutland Mechanized Division from Fredericia (18,000 troops), Germany's 14th Division of Armored Grenadiers from Neubrandenburg (19,000 troops) and Poland's 12th Szczecin Prince Boleslaw the Wrymouth Mechanized Division from Szczecin (12,000 troops).

The organizational structure of the Danish-German-Polish Corps meets NATO standards. In peacetime, the only active body is the Corps's staff, while the divisions constituting the operational-liaison team remain at their stations and are answerable to the national commanders.

The Multinational North-East Corps is assigned to perform tasks resulting from Art. 5 of the Washington Treaty, which provides for collective defense in the event of aggression. The staff is prepared to participate in crisis management and to support peacekeeping missions. Its function can be either to command an entire mission, or part of such a mission, together with the subordinated units of the Corps or units assigned by other countries.

The Corps is also ready to conduct humanitarian actions, and to bring emergency aid during natural disasters in Central Europe. Cooperation as part of the Corps is of enormous significance to the Polish Armed Forces. Polish military men have a chance to train troops, integrating them with NATO.