Royal Danish Army
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The Royal Danish Army is the army of Denmark. It is currently equipped with Leopard 1A5 battle tanks, a variety of M113 based personnel carriers (e.g. OPMV command post vehicle, M113/TOW tank destroyer) and Piranha armored cars. Recently the Royal Danish Army is undergoing a thorough modernization of equipment and training methods, including the replacement of the Leopard 1A5 tanks by Leopard 2A5, and M113 personnel carriers with the Swedish CV9030 infantry fighting vehicle.
The Royal Danish Army is committed to a number of UN and NATO peacekeeping operations, especially Bosnia. The Danish Reaction Brigade, drawn mainly drawn from units from Zealand, is assigned to the NATO Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps but falls under the organisational control of 1 (UK) Armoured Division when required.
Denmark is involved in the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.
Denmark lost its first soldier, in Iraq, on August 17, 2003. Preben Pedersen of Nordjylland, a 34-year-old lance corporal with the Jutland Dragoon Regiment, was accidentally killed by friendly troops, in a gunfight with looters in the city of Madinah in southern Iraq, becoming the first non-U.S. or British soldier to die.
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Units of the Royal Danish Army
Cavalry
Infantry
Special Forces
Support Arms
- Kongens Artilleriregiment
- Dronningens Artilleriregiment
- Ingeniørregimentet - Engineers
- Telegrafregimentet - Signals
- Trænregimentet - Logistics
- Militærpolitiet - Military Police
Structure of the Royal Danish Army
The structure of the Royal Danish Army changed in 2001, when all of the remaining infantry regiments were amalgamated together, leaving just four remaining combat regiments, two cavalry and two infantry - the functions of the infantry were spread amongst three of these.
Cavalry
The armoured corps of the Royal Danish Army consists of both armoured and armoured reconnaissance units. There are two separate cavalry regiments, each of which has two armoured battalions and a reconnaissance battalion:
- Armoured Battalions
- I Panserbataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- I Panserbataljon, Jydske Dragonregiment
- III Panserbataljon, Jydske Dragonregiment
- V Panserbataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- Reconnaissance Battalions
- III Opklaringsbataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- V Opklaringsbataljon, Jydske Dragonregiment
Infantry
The infantry corps of the Royal Danish Army is divided into two types, each of which has nine battalions in three separate regiments:
- Armoured Infantry:
- I Panserinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- I Panserinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- II Panserinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- II Panserinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- II Panserinfanteribataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- III Panserinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- IV Panserinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- IV Panserinfanteribataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- V Panserinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- Mechanised Infantry:
- III Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- IV Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- V Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- VI Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- VI Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- VI Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Gardehusarregimentet
- VII Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde
- VII Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Prinsens Livregiment
- VII Motoriseredeinfanteribataljon, Gardehusarregimentet