The Luxembourg Armed Forces (; ) are the national military force of Luxembourg. The army has been a fully volunteer military since 1967. As of 2024, it has 1,197 personnel.
The army is under civilian control, with the grand duke as commander-in-chief. The minister for defence, currently Yuriko Backes, oversees army operations. The professional head of the army is the Chief of Defence, who answers to the minister and holds the rank of general. The current office holder is General Steve Thull.
Luxembourg has provided military personnel for UN, NATO and EU peacekeeping missions since 1992. It has been a member of Eurocorps since 1994.
History
Militia (1817–1841) On 8 January 1817, William I, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, published a constitutional law governing the organization of a militia, the main provisions of which were to remain in force until the militia was abolished in 1881. The law fixed the militia's strength at 3,000 men. Until 1840, Luxembourg's militiamen served in units of the Royal Netherlands Army. Enlisted men served for five years: the first year consisted of active service, but during each of the subsequent four years of service they were mobilised only three times per year.
Federal Contingent (1841–1867) In 1839, William I became a party to the Treaty of London by which the Grand-Duchy lost its western, francophone territories to the Belgian province of Luxembourg. Due to the country's population having been halved, with the loss of 160,000 inhabitants, the militia lost half its strength. Under the terms of the treaty, Luxembourg and the newly formed Duchy of Limburg, both members of the German Confederation, were together required to provide a federal contingent consisting of a light infantry battalion garrisoned in Echternach, a cavalry squadron in Diekirch, and an artillery detachment in Ettelbruck. In 1846, the cavalry and artillery units were disbanded and the Luxembourg contingent was separated from that of Limburg. The Luxembourg contingent now consisted of two light infantry battalions, one in Echternach and the second in Diekirch; two reserve companies; and a depot company.
In 1866, the Austro-Prussian War resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation. Luxembourg was declared neutral in perpetuity by the 1867 Treaty of London, and in accordance, its fortress was demolished in the following years. In 1867, the Prussian garrison left the fortress, and the two battalions of Luxembourg light infantry entered the city of Luxembourg that September.
A new military organization was established in 1867, consisting of two battalions, known as the , having a total strength of 1,568 officers and men. In 1868, the contingent came to consist of one light infantry battalion of four companies, with a strength of 500 men. On 16 February 1881, the light infantry battalion was disbanded with the abolition of the militia-based system.
Gendarmes and Volunteers Corps
On 16 February 1881, the (Corps of Gendarmes and Volunteers) was established. It was composed of two companies, a company of gendarmes and one of volunteers. In 1939, a corps of auxiliary volunteers was established and attached to the company of volunteers. Following the occupation of Luxembourg by Germany in May 1940, recruitment for the company of volunteers continued until 4 December 1940, when they were moved to Weimar, Germany, to be trained as German police.Gérald Arboit. The Gendarmerie of Luxembourg. Jonas Campion; Laurent López; Guillaume Payen. European Police Forces and Law Enforcement in the First World War, Springer International Pub- lishing, pp.141 - 155, 2019, 9783030261016. 10.1007/978-3-030-26102-3_10 . hal-04090652>
In November 1918 Luxembourg faced two small communist rebellions in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette. Both were quickly suppressed by police. In December 1918 a group of soldiers attempted a mutiny in the Luxembourg City barracks.
On 9 January 1919, a group of socialist and liberal deputies, tabled a motion to make Luxembourg a republic. A crowd gathered at the barracks of the Corps of Volunteers, close to the Chamber. Then Émile Servais, a left-wing politician, walked out the Chamber, addressed the crowd and demanded a republic. The crowd then rushed the Chamber and the deputies called in the Corps of Volunteers but the soldiers refused the orders to disperse the crowd. Part of the deputies then fled the Chamber. The remaining deputies, mainly left-wing, formed the Committee of Public Safety with Servais as its leader. The committee had no public support and the French Army under the command of General de La Tour soon quelled the turmoil.
Luxembourg Battery
In 1944 during World War II, the Luxembourg Government, while exiled in London, made agreements for a group of seventy Luxembourg volunteers to be assigned to the Artillery Group of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, commonly known as Brigade Piron, Jean-Baptiste Piron being the chief of this unit. This contingent was named the Luxembourg Battery. Initially, it was built up and trained by two Belgian officers. Later, from August 1944, these were joined by Luxembourg officers, who had received training in Britain.
Several Luxembourg NCOs and half of the country's troops had fought in North Africa in the French Foreign Legion. The rest were people who had escaped from Luxembourg, and young men evading forcible conscription into the Wehrmacht by fleeing to Britain. The Luxembourg unit landed in Normandy on 6 August 1944—at approximately the same time as the Dutch Princess Irene Brigade and the French 2nd Armoured Division ("") commanded by General Leclerc—two months after the D-Day landings.
The Luxembourg Battery was equipped with four Ordnance QF 25 pounder howitzers, which were named after the four daughters of Grand Duchess Charlotte: Princesses Elisabeth, Marie Adelaide, Marie Gabriele and Alix.
Post-liberation Following liberation in September 1944, conscription was introduced in Luxembourg for the first time in November 1944. In 1945, the (Grand Ducal Guard Corps) garrisoned in the Saint-Esprit barracks in Luxembourg City and the 1st and 2nd infantry battalions were established, one in Walferdange and the other in Dudelange. The Luxembourg Armed Forces took charge of part of the French occupation zone in Germany, the 2nd Battalion occupying part of the Bitburg district and a detachment from the 1st Battalion part of the Saarburg district. The 2nd Battalion remained in Bitburg until 1955. The strength of the army rose to 2,150 men. Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Brussels in March 1948, and the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949.
Setting up an army after the war proved more difficult than predicted. To a certain extent, the authorities could rely on escaped German conscripts and Luxembourgers who had joined Allied armies; however, they had to find a way to train officers. Initially, British military advisers came to Luxembourg, where training was carried out by British officers and NCOs. But officer training, in the long term, would have to be done in military schools abroad. Belgium and France were both interested in helping and offered solutions. In the end, the government opted for a compromise solution, by sending some officer cadets to the in France and others to the Royal Military Academy in Belgium. This eventually led to disunity within the Luxembourg officer corps due to differences in training and promotion.
In 1951, the Grand Ducal Guard relocated to Walferdange and integrated with the . The Guard had special units for reconnaissance, radiac reconnaissance, and anti-air warfare. From 1955, it was organised into a headquarters company, a garrison platoon, a reconnaissance company and two training companies. In 1959, the was disbanded and the Grand Ducal Guard was integrated into the (Territorial Command). The force was reduced to a single company, a corporals' training school, and a weapons platoon. In 1960, the Grand Ducal Guard was again reorganised into four platoons, temporarily grouped into intervention and reinforcement detachments. In 1964, the Grand Ducal Guard was organized into a HQ, three platoons, a reinforcement platoon, and the NCO school. On 28 February 1966, the Grand Ducal Guard was officially disbanded.
Korean War
In 1950, seventeen countries, including Luxembourg, decided to send armed forces to assist the Republic of Korea. The Luxembourg contingent was incorporated into the Belgian United Nations Command or the Korean Volunteer Corps. The Belgo-Luxembourgish battalion arrived in Korea in 1951, and was attached to the US 3rd Infantry Division. Two Luxembourger soldiers were killed and 17 were wounded in the war. The Belgo-Luxembourg battalion was disbanded in 1955.
Groupement Tactique Régimentaire and Home Command In 1954, the (GTR) (Regimental Tactical Group) was established as Luxembourg's contribution to NATO. It consisted of three infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and support, medical, transport, signals, engineering, heavy mortar, reconnaissance, and headquarters companies. By 1954, its overall strength had risen to 5,200 men. The GTR was disbanded in 1959.
In addition to the GTR, the Army also included the Territorial Command, composed of headquarters, military police, movement and transportation companies, a static guard battalion, and a mobile battalion. By 1954, it numbered some 2,500 men. At the same date, some 2.45 percent of the country's population was serving in the military.
1st Artillery Battalion In 1961, the 1st Artillery Battalion was placed at NATO's disposal. The battalion was organised into three batteries, each with six field howitzers (British 25 pounder guns converted to 105 mm caliber) from the former GTR artillery battalion, an HQ battery, and a service battery. In 1963, the battalion was attached to the US 8th Infantry Division. In 1966, the Grand Ducal Guard was disbanded and its tasks were transferred to and performed by the 1st Artillery Battalion until it too was disbanded, in 1967.
1st Infantry Battalion Compulsory military service was abolished in 1967 by which time some 34,700 men had served at some point in the Luxembourg Army. As part of a major reorganisation of the military, the 1st Infantry Battalion was established, consisting of a headquarters and services unit, two motorized infantry companies, and a reconnaissance company with two reconnaissance (recce) platoons and an anti-tank platoon. From 1968 onwards, it formed a part of NATO's ACE Mobile Force (Land) (AMF(L)). In 1985, a reinforced company—consisting of an AMF Company with two recce platoons and an anti-tank platoon, a forward air-control team, a national support element for logistics, and a medical support element—replaced the battalion. In 2002 the AMF(L) was dissolved.
Recent international operations Luxembourg started financially supporting international peacekeeping missions in 1991, citing the Persian Gulf War, Rwanda and in Albania. Luxembourg has been deploying military personnel for peacekeeping missions since 1992.
Luxembourg has contributed troops to the UNPROFOR from April 1992 to August 1993, deploying in total 40 military personnel in a Belgian battalion. In 1996 Luxembourg contributed to IFOR missions in former Yugoslavia in a multinational transport company. This was followed by a small contingent in the NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, completing 9 personnel rotations. The Luxembourg Armed Forces were integrated into the Multinational Beluga Force under Belgian command.
Luxembourg has contributed over 18 years in NATO KFOR, totalling 1200 military personnel. Luxembourg deployed a reconnaissance platoon first from 2000 to 2006 under Belgian command and from 2007 to 2011 under a French detachment. From 2011 to 2017 Luxembourg was subordinated to the headquarters in Pristina, collaborating with an Austrian reconnaissance company.