72-CW-1213 NVA QUEUING AT THE FIELD KITCHEN

The Nationale Volksarmee, or the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR for short), were formally established in 1952, but were actually established in 1956. From 1962, they were based on the conscription of men aged 18 to 60 who were serving 18 months of compulsory military service. At its peak (1987), it numbered approximately 175,000 people. The main type of the East German armed forces were the land forces, which numbered up to 108,000 men and were divided into 6 divisions: two armored and four mechanized infantry. As you can easily guess, the East German army used equipment primarily of Soviet origin, such as the T-54, T-55 or T-72 tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, but also BTR-60 or BTR-70. The personal equipment of the soldiers, especially small arms, was of Soviet construction. Interestingly, the Nationale Volksarmee uniforms were modeled on the Wehrmacht uniforms from World War II. Going further, it can be added that at the time of the establishment of these armed forces, a large number of senior officers also served in the Wehrmacht. The main military action in which the GDR army took part was the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968 as part of Operation Danube. The Nationale Volksarmee was dissolved in 1990 after the reunification of the two German states.