Bundeswehr
History
The Bundeswehr, or Federal Defence, is the unified armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The Bundeswehr was established in the wake of World War II with the passing of the "Law on the Creation of a Provisional Army" on November 12, 1955. The Bundeswehr was initially limited to 370,000 personnel, in accordance with the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany.
Structure
The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part (armed forces or "Streitkräfte") and a civil part with the armed forces administration (Wehrverwaltung). The military part of the federal defense force consists of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
German Army
The German Army (Heer) is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr together with the Marine (German Navy) and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force).
The German Navy (Deutsche Marine) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified Bundeswehr (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the Bundesmarine from 1956 to 1995, when Deutsche Marine became the official name.
German Air Force
The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. With a strength of 27,620 personnel (December 2020), it is the third largest air force within the European Union, after the Italian Air Force and French Air Force.
Joint Support Service
The Joint Support Service (Streitkräftebasis) is one of the three leadership pillars of the German Bundeswehr, alongside the Army (Heer) and the Navy (Marine). It is responsible for providing support services to the German Armed Forces.
Joint Medical Service
The Joint Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitätsdienst) is a part of the Bundeswehr, responsible for medical services and the training of medical personnel for the German military.
Cyber and Information Domain Service
The Cyber and Information Domain Service (Kommando Cyber- und Informationsraum) is the newest branch of the German Bundeswehr. It was created to centralize the defense against cyber attacks and manage IT infrastructure.