When the last Germany forces were driven out of Luxembourger on January 28, 1945, the country was under the temporary occupation of the United States Army. The Lëtzebuerger Arméi, (Luxembourg Army) disbanded by the Germans in 1940 and serving abroad with the Free Belgian Forces during exile in WWII, was reestablished in March 1945. This force, dubbed the Compagnie de la Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was mustered at the Holy Spirit barracks in the capitol of Luxembourg City. By July 1945 a force of some 2100 men had been formed in two battalions, arguably the largest Luxembourger army to date. Within months they deployed two companies to the French occupation zone in Germany at Bitburg and Saarburg. Twice occupied by German troops in a twenty year period, now Luxembourg troops repaid the favor. In 1949 Luxembourg became a charter member of the NATO and remains one today. The Luxembourg occupation troops remained in Germany until 1955, withdrawing after ten years. Overall in the twentieth century Luxembourg occupied Germany in the Cold War longer than Germany occupied Luxembourg in both World War One and Two combined
In its first overseas deployment the Lëtzebuerger Arméi sent some 87 volunteers in two different contingents as part of the Belgian Battalion to the Korean War (1950-53). Two servicemen were killed and another 17 wounded on this deployment and a monument exists to these men in Dong Du Chong, South Korea. At the end of this period the Duchy, utilizing conscription, fielded an entire brigade sized (three infantry battalions plus artillery and armor) formation known as the Tactical Regimental Group (GTR). When fully mobilized the Lëtzebuerger Arméi was to flush out to just over 10,400 men. This proved unrealistic and by 1963 had been paired down to a single battalion attached to the US 8th Infantry Division in West Germany on a NATO mission. In 1967 conscription was ended and the army reduced to some 800 volunteers. These men continued drilling in preparation for the cold war to turn hot and participated in several annual NATO REFORGER exercises to ensure readiness. During this time the men of the Army (Luxembourg did not accept women in the military until 1987) wore standard US Army olive drab uniforms but carried Belgian made FN FAL rifles.
When the Cold War ended in 1989 the Lëtzebuerger Arméi was halved to about 450 professional soldiers. The officers from the Luxembourg army are trained at the St Cyr military academy and the Ecole Militaire Interarmes (EMIA) in France. The current uniform is the US pattern woodland BDU's and their personnel are armed with the Austrian Steyr Aug rifle and Belgian Hi Power pistol. While no longer training to fight the Soviets or the Germans, they have been active in peacekeeping over the past two decades. They have participated in dozens of NATO SFOR, KFOR, and IFOR missions to the former Yugoslavia, as well as providing humanitarian relief in Albania and Iraq. It currently participates in the NATO ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
Sources
Ministère de la Défence de Luxembourg - Lëtzebuerger Arméi
National Military Museum of the Duchy of Luxumbourg.
Reid, Andrew Luxembourg: A History from the Celts to the Present Day. AutherHouse UK 2005
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
