| “ | We want to remain what we are
— Luxembourg motto
|
” |
The Luxembourg Army (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger Arméi) is the national military force of Luxembourg. The army has been a fully volunteer military since 1967. The army is under civilian control, with the Grand Duke as Commander-in-Chief. The Minister for Defence 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.
One of the smallest militaries in Europe, the Luxembourg Army has been an all-volunteer force since 1967, consisting of only 414 personnel as of 2018. Nonetheless, the Luxembourg Army has recently served in peacekeeping and international aid operations as part of an EU or NATO forces in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria.
The Luxembourg Army was founded as a militia of 3000 men in 1817, which was halved in size after Luxembourg lost half its territory in 1839 during the Treaty of London. In 1867, a new militia unit, the Corps des Chasseurs Luxembourgeois was founded, but replaced with the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires 1881 after an end to the militia system. During the Second World War, Luxembourg was invaded by Germany in 1940 with little resistance, however, a number of Luxembourgish soldiers escaped the country and served as part of the British, Free French, or Belgian forces, including the Luxembourg Battery of four artillery guns in the British Army, as well as 80 Luxembourgers serving with the Belgian Independent Brigade, and a number in the French Foreign Legion. After the war, Luxembourgish troops served with the French Army in the French occupation zone of Germany, and a small number of them served in the Korean War alongside the Belgians.
Battle vs. Armed Forces of Malta (by SPARTAN 119)[]
- Malta: 2x vehicles, 10x troops
- Luxembourg: 2x vehicles, 10 troops
A squad of Armed Forces of Malta Troops advanced into an open field with a scattered trees, supported by the .50 caliber machine guns of two Iveco VM-90 light military vehicles. On the other side of the field were a similarly-sized military force centered around two similarly armed Humvees. Neither side was aware an improbable clash of European microstates was about to begin.
From the other side of the field, a soldier of the Luxembourg Army fired an MBT-LAW, the missile impacting one of the VM-90s, sending it up in a ball of flames that also killed one of the Maltese soldiers who was standing too close. At that, both side opened up. The .50 cal on one of the VM-90s perforated one of the Luxembourg Army Humvees, sending it up in flames. The remaining VM-90, however, did not last long after it, being destroyed by the heavy machine gun on the second Humvee. The remaining Maltese soldiers dove for cover in a dry ditch a few meters away as the firefight began. (Malta: 9x troops; Luxembourg: 1x vehicles, 10x troops).
A Luxembourg soldier was struck by fire from a PKM, dropping him to the ground instantly, while two more dove for cover behind the remaining Humvee. Unfortunately for them, a Maltese soldier with an RPG-7 chose that moment to fire the weapon at the Humvee, the rocket striking home and destroying the vehicle and the the two men taking cover behind it. A second later, however, the Maltese RPG gunner was struck by 5.56mm round to the head, killing him instantly. (Malta: 0 vehicles, 8 troops, Luxembourg: 0 vehicles, 7 troops)
Realizing the Luxembourgish troops were pinned down, a Maltese lieutenant gave the order for five men to follow him along the dry ditch, into a narrower side-channel which would give them a flanking position on their adversaries. Meanwhile, the man operating the PKM and one other would provide covering fire.
A stray bullet from from the Luxembourgish FN MAG struck the PKM operator twice, cutting down the Maltese soldier, and forcing the other two into cover. The distraction had lasted long enough- the Maltese troops had made it to the flanks of the Luxembourgish troops and opened fire into the their flanks. A hail of bullets struck first one, then two, then three Luxembourgish troops, causing all three of them to collapse to the ground. (Malta: 7 troops, Luxembourg: 4 troops)
Realizing they had been flanked, four remaining Luxembourgish soldiers got up and ran for the wreckage of one of the destroyed Humvees. While one of them was struck in the back by a burst of three rounds, the rest of them made it to cover, returning fire and hitting two Maltese soldiers in the ditch. (Malta: 5 troops, Luxembourg: 3 troops)
A second later, however, the two Maltese soldiers still in their original position got up, one taking the PKM from their fallen comrade and opening fire. The burst of fire hit the Luxembourgish troops in the sides, killing all of three in short order. (Malta: 5 troops, Luxembourg: 0 troops).
Then, the unexpected happened. An alarm sounded signalling "range clear" and all of the "dead" men got up, while the two vehicles were revealed to be perfectly intact. This entire battle was a "training exercise" with participants from over 20 European nations, the bullets were blanks, and the destruction the result of an overactive imagination of some of the participants. The pitting of the two microstates against each other was no doubt the not so subtle result of the sense of humor of the officers planning the entire exercise.
The newly "revived" Luxembourgish lieutenant got up and walked over to his Maltese counterpart and said, "Guess the beer's on us tonight".
Expert's Opinion[]
TBW