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100-557: Originally formed in 1921, it was known as the Wachregiment Berlin and served as a ceremonial guard unit and by the 1939 had grown into a regiment of the combined Wehrmacht German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while

200-627: A Household Division -like service for the President of Zimbabwe . The unit, in their green service uniform and yellow berets, mount the guard of honour on behalf of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces . Past events where the guard of honour was provided by the presidential guard includes Defence Forces Day festivities, Heroes Day, the Independence Day Parade, and the inauguration of Emmerson Mnangagwa . The flag of

300-399: A Rifle Team for 'three volley' salutes. Most, even those within major career paid agencies, are not paid for performing and preparing for the honour guard duty. The Presidential Honour Guard is the joint service military unit mandated to ensure the immediate security of the President of Venezuela and his First Family and for the performance of public duties in the most important places in

400-830: A ceremonial guard unit as well. High Frontier Honor Guard is the official United States Air Force ceremonial unit assigned to Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado , and acts as the de facto official honor guard unit for the United States Space Force . The official honour guard of every branch is located in the National Capital Region , though nearly every military installation will have its own honour guard for local ceremonies and events. The honour guard units in National Capital Region, formed into

500-803: A colour guard detail carrying the PLA flag. In addition to the Beijing battalion, the PLA also operates a number of other honour guard units that, including in the PLA Navy and the PLA Air Force , as well as the People's Armed Police Honour Guard Battalion in Beijing. Other PLA honour guard units based outside Beijing includes the Hong Kong Garrison Honour Guard Battalion , Macau Garrison Honour Guard Battalion, and

600-632: A division protecting the Emperor, his family, and the wide Forbidden City complex. In the Republic of China (known colloquially as Taiwan ), the military honour guard duty is provided by members from the following companies representing the branches of the Republic of China Armed Forces : Each branch maintain their own respective honour guards, all of which follow the American precedent and make up

700-565: A front that included the river Neisse . Before dawn on the morning of 16 April 1945 the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of General Konev started the attack over the river Neisse with a short but massive bombardment by tens of thousands of artillery pieces. Some of the Army Group Centre continued to resist until 11 May 1945, by which time the overwhelming force of the Soviet Armies sent to liberate Czechoslovakia in

800-403: A guard of honour. In some countries, certain units are specially assigned to undertake guard of honour postings or other public duties . Republican guards , royal guards and foot guards frequently have ceremonial duties assigned to them. Guards of honour also serve in the civilian world for fallen police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants and events. Military style salutes and

900-589: A historical company and one artillery battery plus a military band, a fanfare trumpet section and Corps of Drums , is the President of Colombia 's honour guard service regiment under the National Army of Colombia . It is stationed at the Casa de Nariño in Bogota where the changing of the guard ceremony takes place three days per week and carries the traditions of Simon Bolivar's infantry guards company raised in

1000-744: A lack of ceremonial units, the Citizen Force and the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment were often deployed for ceremonial events. Following the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, the guard was disestablished, leaving the defence forces without an official guard of honour until 1995, when the NCG was founded. The Presidential Guard is an elite combat unit of the Zimbabwe National Army , serving as

1100-560: A number of military forces , uniformed paramilitary organizations , and civilian emergency services . The Algerian Republican Guard is a mainly ceremonial military corps of the Algerian Army . Composed of 6,000 troops, it is very similar in its formation style to equivalent units in the French Army . The Republican Guard includes a military band and a cavalry unit, the uniform and traditions of which are based on those of

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1200-798: A part of the Argentine Army , serving as the presidential guard and ceremonial mounted detachments. Two unmounted grenadiers are stationed in front of the Pink House as a symbol of the ceremonial and honour guard. They also provide security to the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, where its founder's remains are buried, and at the Palace of the Argentine National Congress, as well as in the other presidential residences. Raised in 1813, it

1300-543: A short time before Christmas of 1941, this role was fulfilled by Günther Blumentritt ). 1942 opened for Army Group Centre with continuing attacks from Soviet forces around Rzhev. The German Ninth Army was able to repel these attacks and stabilise its front, despite continuing large-scale partisan activity in its rear areas. Meanwhile, the German strategic focus on the Eastern Front shifted to southwestern Russia, with

1400-668: A weekly changing of the guard ceremony outside Aso Villa and stands guard at the Presidential Villa. Aside from that, the guards brigade also mounts the guard of honour for state visits , as well as the Independence Day Military Parade in Abuja . The brigade is the senior unit in the Nigerian Army 's order of battle . The Red Guard of Senegal is a Senegalese Gendarmerie unit that

1500-441: Is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, especially funerals. In military weddings, especially those of commissioned officers, a guard, composed usually of service members of the same branch, form the sabre arch . In principle, any military unit could act as

1600-480: Is also tasked to become the Cordon Guard during the arrival ceremony at the airport apron during a state visit and is responsible to act as pallbearers during a state funeral . Their uniform are red full dress uniforms with a white buff belt worn on the upper waist, white trousers with white parade boots and a black shako as the headdress, sometimes a light blue beret is worn for other duties such as during

1700-554: Is based at New Delhi and is of company size, present only during state visits. In January 2015, during Barack Obama 's state visit to India, Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first female officer to lead the guard of honour for a foreign leader. In the Indian Air Force , there is only one unit that serves as an exhibition drill team. This unit, known officially as the Air Warrior Drill Team (AWDT),

1800-641: Is composed of dozens upon dozens of armored brigades, mechanized brigades and divisional artillery, Being the seniormost unit in the armed forces, the Republican Guard Division is the only major military unit allowed in central Cairo besides the troops of intelligence services and Central Security Forces . The Guard of Honour unit in Namibia is the 21 Ceremonial Guard Battalion of the Namibian Defence Force . Falling under

1900-843: Is currently managed and directed by the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior. The President's Bodyguard is the seniormost household cavalry unit in the Indian Army , serving as a guard of honour for the President of India . In India, the Tri-Services Guard of Honour is made up of men or women drawn from three services of the Indian military: the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy. It

2000-634: Is designated as the senior regiment of cavalry in the Army. The Brazilian armed forces and Brazilian Military Police have several units designated as guards of honour, which perform public and ceremonial duties on behalf of the Armed Forces and the military police units. The most important of them is the Brazilian president's honour guard units, all of the Brazilian Army . It is composed of

2100-682: Is responsible for maintaining the security of the President of Senegal . It is similar to the ceremonial elements in the French Republican Guard . The unit's uniform is derived from the French colonial Spahi . The Red Guard is under the direct command of the Security Legion of the Senegalese Mobile Gendarmerie . It is composed of many units that serve ceremonial duties, with the most notable being

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2200-485: Is responsible for providing ceremonial guards for the President of Bangladesh and other high-level dignitaries. The PGR also plays a crucial role in the inauguration of new presidents, where they perform ceremonial duties such as the Guard of Honour during the swearing-in ceremonies and other significant state events along with Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force . Today the duties of honour guards are performed by

2300-912: Is the Yunnan Public Security Force Honour Guard at Hekou Port near the China–Vietnam border , having been covered during a report by New China TV in September 2016. During the time of the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644) the first-ever military honour guard duties in China were undertaken by the Jǐnyīwèi or the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Their successors, the Qing era Imperial Guard , were organized into

2400-594: Is the term in Spanish for colour guards and flag parties. The Presidential Life Guard Dragoons Regiment is the premier ceremonial unit of the Peruvian Army having similar practices to the Cavalry Regiment, French Republican Guard . It is one of two official Household Cavalry and Dragoon Guards regiments in the army which have the affording of ceremonial protection to the President of Peru and to

2500-479: The 1.SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler , 2. SS Division Das Reich and 3.SS Division Totenkopf during these battles. The division's losses as total write-offs at that time amounted to 1 Panzer III, 12 Panzer IV, and 1 Tiger I. After the conquest of Kharkov, the Großdeutschland was again pulled back and refitted. On 19 May 1943, with the addition of armoured personnel carriers and Tigers

2600-799: The 21 Brigade based in Windhoek. It was part of the presidential security detail until removed from this role and put on honour guard duty. The members of the Nigerian Presidential Guard Brigade are elite Nigerian soldiers who guard the residence of the President of the Federal Republic and his or her guests as well as performing ceremonial duties. It is similar to the United States Secret Service in that its members also provide security for visiting heads of state. The brigade performs

2700-798: The Armed Forces Honour Guard ( 中華民國三軍儀隊 ). The National Day Honour Guard Battalion is also made up of personnel of the honour guards companies of the aforementioned branches. Guardsmen employ a M1 Garand rifle during ceremonial activities. The units also perform guard duties and are usually present at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall , Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall , and the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei . Outside Taipei, Taiwanese honour guards are also present at

2800-586: The Army , Navy , Air Force , and Indonesian National Police . During this occasion, Honour guardsmen from the Yonwalprotneg unit of Paspampres (wearing Red and White full dress uniform with shako) acts as the principal guard of honour accompanying the Paskibraka escorting the flag of Indonesia . The same format is seen in other parts of the country during the independence day commemoration ceremony with

2900-788: The Cihu Presidential Burial Place , and the Daxi Presidential Burial Place in Taoyuan . Specifically, at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall , the Honour Guard of the ROC Army performs a changing of the guard ceremony daily with four guardsmen changing duties every hour. An honour guard battalion, known as the Republic of China Police Honour Guard ( 中華民國警察儀隊 ), is also maintained by the Republic of China Police . Founded in 1977, it

3000-673: The Combined Honour Guard of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), are provided by the 1st Guard Division of PLA Beijing Garrison in Beijing, under the Central Theater Command and reporting directly to the General Staff. They marched as the first battalion in the military parade of the 35th , 50th , 60th and 70th anniversaries of the People's Republic of China. They are often on parades led by

3100-569: The First Battle of Târgu Frumos . By May 31, 1944, the division had 14 Panzer IV, 90 Panthers, and 40 Tiger I tanks. In early August, the division was transferred to East Prussia from Army Group South Ukraine . Over the next months, Großdeutschland was involved in heavy fighting in both East Prussia, including a counter-attack on Wilkowischken and the Baltic States , suffering high casualties in both men and materiel. The division

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3200-827: The Government Palace in Lima as their foremost duties. Other units, such as the Hussars of Junín and the Peruvian Guard Legion Infantry Battalion , also perform public duties in the capital. The other services of the Peruvian Armed Forces have their own dedicated ceremonial units. They include the Fanning Marine Company (Compañía de Infantería de Marina Capitán de Navío AP Juan Fanning García) of

3300-432: The Governor General's Horse Guards , based in Toronto , make up Canada's Household Division . The Canadian Army also operates a summer public duties detachment known as the Ceremonial Guard , which assumes public duties in Ottawa from late-June to late-August. The Ceremonial Guard is made up of regulars or reservists of the Canadian Army, although its membership is also augmented by members regulars and reservists of

3400-427: The Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot.) (motorized Infantry Division Grossdeutschland) using newly arrived troops from Germany. The division was assigned to XXXXVIII Panzer Corps during the opening phases of Fall Blau , the Wehrmacht's 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. During the combined Soviet winter offensives Operation Uranus and Operation Mars in late November through mid-December,

3500-414: The Joint Service Honor Guard of the National Capital Region and the Department of Defense , an ad hoc unit of battalion size, represent the military as a whole and the United States as a nation, and perform numerous ceremonies on behalf of the President of the United States, the commander-in-chief of the federal Armed Forces, with musical accompaniment by each of the central bands of the Armed Forces based in

3600-489: The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela (NBAF) and public security services. The brigade is commanded by a general or flag officer and includes a Presidential mounted escort of platoon or troop size, all wear the busby when in full dress. Aside from the PHGB, there are two other foot guards battalions in the NBAF, the Caracas Foot Guards Battalion of the Ministry of Defence, and the Brigadier Daniel Florence O'Leary Headquarters and HQ Services Foot Guards Battalion of

3700-496: The National Guard , and report to the Secretariats of National Defence, Security and Civil Protection and the Navy, while these three government secretariats maintain currently (since the 2018 disbandment of the Estado Mayor Presidencial ), through the Presidential Guards Corps of the National Guard, a dedicated joint service guards corps with a division of presidential military police and selected other formations from these select secretariats. Some of their duties include protection of

3800-551: The Peruvian Navy ; and the Airborne Platoon of the 72nd Squadron of the Peruvian Air Force . Each uniformed service branch in the U.S. Armed Forces has its own official honour guard: the Army ( 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ), Marines ( U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial Guard Company ), Navy ( U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard ), Air Force ( U.S. Air Force Honor Guard ), Space Force ( U.S. Space Force Honor Guard ), and Coast Guard ( U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard ). Most state national guard units and state defence forces have

3900-422: The Plaza de la Revolución (the main square in the capital) and the Palace of the Revolution (the workplace of the President of Cuba ). The main purpose of the military unit is the performance of the changing of the guard every half an hour at the José Marti Mausoleum in Santiago de Cuba . Prior to Fidel Castro 's 1959 Cuban Revolution , honour guards were performed by units that resembled honour guard units in

4000-415: The Prague Offensive gave them no option but to surrender or be killed. By 7 May 1945, the day that German Chief-of-Staff General Alfred Jodl was negotiating surrender of all German forces at SHAEF , the German Armed Forces High Command (AFHC) had not heard from Schörner since 2 May 1945. He had reported that he intended to fight his way west and surrender his army group to the Americans. On 8 May 1945,

4100-411: The Royal Canadian Air Force , and the Royal Canadian Navy . Like the foot guards, the Ceremonial Guards also mount the guard of honour for military funerals, and visiting dignitaries while in season. Members of the Ceremonial Guard wear the uniforms of the Canadian foot guards, as they have historically staffed the summer public duties detachment, before membership in the Ceremonial Guard was opened to

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4200-413: The United States , such as The Old Guard . Haitian honour guard duties are performed by the General Security Unit of the National Palace of the Haitian National Police (L'Unité de Sécurité Générale du Palais National, USGPN) which is a major specialized unit of the PNH. It has, since 1997, mainly ensured security at the Palais National and the security of the President of Haiti . The USGPN works with

4300-469: The Vistula and the Baltic States by early August. In terms of casualties this was the greatest German defeat of the entire war. The commander in chief of Army Group Centre as of 28 June 1944 was Walter Model . The commander in chief as of 16 August 1944 was Georg Hans Reinhardt . Discussion of the army group's situation in January 1945 should note that the army groups in the east changed names later that month. The force known as "Army Group Centre" at

4400-405: The Xinjiang Garrison Honour Guard Battalion Police-manned honour guards are also deployed within the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau . This is partly due to the Hong Kong Police Force and the Macau Security Force having a largely ceremonial British and Portuguese tradition respectively. In the case of Hong Kong, the honour guards are reminiscent of those belonging to

4500-441: The national official residences . The ceremonial duties tasked to the Paspampres is the responsibility of a unit within Paspampres known as the " State Protocol Escort Battalion " ( Batalyon Pengawal Protokoler Kenegaraan abbreviated "Yonwalprotneg"), it is a detachment consisting of chosen military policemen selected from the Military Police Corps with a minimum height requirement of 180 centimetres (71 in). This detachment

4600-453: The summary executions of hundreds of Black prisoners of war in French service. These executions were racially motivated, as German troops had been conditioned by Nazi propaganda to see Black people as subhuman. In several instances, Black prisoners of war were separated from White ones and murdered by soldiers of the division, including on 10 June 1940, where 150 Black prisoners were massacred in Erquinvillers . Another mass killing committed by

4700-433: The 1950s, albeit reduced to squadron size, provided the ceremonial security of the President and was modeled on the Prussian horse guards units of the late 19th century. The modern brigade serves as a ceremonial escort to the President of Venezuela at Miraflores Palace and attends all state arrival ceremonies conducted there, as well as providing security for the palace complex. The brigade also provides honour guards (i) at

4800-594: The 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment (1o Regimento de Cavalaria de Guardas – RCG, in Portuguese) – " Independence Dragoons ", the Presidential Guard Battalion (Batalhão da Guarda Presidencial – BGP, in Portuguese) and the Cayenne Battery . All these units fall under the Planalto Military Command . The Brasilia Marine Group of the Brazilian Marine Corps , a component of the Brazilian Navy , provides ceremonial guards of honour as well. The Ministry of Defence maintains its own joint service honour guard. Military public duties in Ottawa , Canada's national capital, are formally

4900-479: The Allied nations and Nazi Germany had differing interpretations of the law. In postwar war crimes trials, reprisal killings were deemed to be illegal, a conclusion enshrined in international law by the United Nations . Structure of the division: Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland Infantry/Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland Guard of honour A guard of honour ( Commonwealth English ), honor guard ( American English ) or ceremonial guard ,

5000-410: The British Household Division. In December 2016, the HKPF received ceremonial training from instructors from the Army School of Ceremonial at the British Army 's Infantry Training Centre . It renders honours to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal . The only notable example of a police honour guard under the Ministry of Public Security on the mainland

5100-408: The Changing of the Guard ceremony or a state funeral. A black uniform with peaked cap also present. During the national ceremony commemorating the independence day of Indonesia conducted at Merdeka Palace on the 17 of August, guards of honour which line-up at the palace yard are part of the armed forces tri-services and police ad hoc Guard of Honour which consists of guardswomen and guardsmen from

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5200-412: The Courts Martial...The presiding judge, SS- Sturmbannführer Rudolf Hoffmann sentenced 36 of those arrested to death. On April 21, 1941, four of the civilians were the first to be shot...On the following day, eighteen victims were hanged in a cemetery and fourteen more were shot at the cemetery wall by an execution squad of the Wehrmacht's Großdeutschland regiment. Part of the photographic presentation for

5300-399: The German forces. In the spring of 1944, the Soviet High Command started concentrating forces along the front line in central Russia for a summer offensive against Army Group Centre. The Red Army also carried out a deception campaign to convince the Wehrmacht that the main Soviet summer offensive would be launched further south, against Army Group North Ukraine . The German High Command

5400-421: The Guards of honour tasked from local territorial military or police units in provinces , cities, and regencies throughout the country with the regional heads as the guest of honour inspecting the ceremony. These regional guards of honour wear the assigned peaked caps or berets of their branch or service arm, as well as the shako. Army Group Center Army Group Centre ( German : Heeresgruppe Mitte )

5500-458: The Mexican flag in Zocalo , and the raising and lowering of it, as well as providing ceremonial guards at National Palace or Campo Marte during state visits to Mexico. There are also those selected from other organizations, such as historic societies, schools, sports centers, celebrities, etc., but these are for national holiday events within the country. Escolta de la bandera or Escolta de guerra or Escolta de honores or simply La escolta

5600-406: The Presidential Guard of Zimbabwe consists of a beige background, with three equal horizontal stripes of red, green and red, and the centre having a shield which contains a white wreath beneath a bird, over which are two brown rifles in saltire. The brigade is based currently at Dzivarasekwa Barracks in Harare and is led by Brigadier Anselem Sanyatwe. The Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers serves as

5700-410: The Presidential Security Unit (Unité de sécurité présidentielle, USP) to protect the president, as well as intervene when a crime takes place and or assist police officers in their duties, outside of the USGPN's ceremonial ones. Funeral honours, state visits, and military parades are some of the many ceremonies that the USGPN takes in. The Jamaica Regiment is primarily responsible for public duties in

5800-407: The Reflecting Pool of the National Mall . Other ceremonial military units also include the Royal Guards of Hawaii of the Air National Guard and the High Frontier Honor Guard at Peterson Air Force Base . The organized militia for the Connecticut State Militia also maintains a ceremonial guard unit, the Governor's Foot Guard . Many local, state, national and federal public safety agencies in

5900-446: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Carabobo Field, Carabobo commemorating the memory of national heroes and the fallen of the Battle of Carabobo of 1821, (ii) at the Montana Barracks in Caracas in memory of the late Hugo Chávez ; and (iii) at the National Pantheon in Caracas in memory of Bolívar and other national heroes buried there. The brigade also performs public duties functions as required. Brigade personnel come from all branches of

6000-479: The United States maintain Honour Guards, Pipes & Drums and Buglers, including fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, and search and rescue agencies, who typically use adaptations of military honour guards, and honour those who die in the line of duty (LODD-Line of Duty Death), off-duty but still on the job, and retirees, as well as participating in support of other agencies, and parades. Some Law Enforcement agencies are able to maintain

6100-408: The Venezuelan Army Headquarters. Both foot guard battalions are also tasked with forming guards of honour and public duties. These two battalions wear berets instead of combat helmets when in full dress, when in historical dress the shako is worn. The Guard of Honour in Bangladesh is primarily conducted by the President Guard Regiment , which is a special unit of the Bangladesh Army . This elite unit

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6200-420: The army group boundary for the later being the Pripyat River . Bitter fighting in the Battle of Smolensk as well as the Lötzen decision delayed the German advance for two months. The advance of Army Group Centre was further delayed as Hitler ordered a postponement of the offensive against Moscow in order to conquer Ukraine first. The commander in chief as of 19 December 1941 was Günther von Kluge (for

6300-440: The book includes a photo where the Großdeutschland cuff title on the officer is clearly visible. The subject of Grossdeutschland's complicity in many subsequent war crimes in Russia and Ukraine, was the subject of the book by Omer Bartov The Eastern Front, 1941–45, German Troops, and the Barbarization of Warfare (1986, ISBN   0-312-22486-9 ). Under existing international law at the time, reprisals were permitted though

6400-415: The capital of Kingston on behalf of the Jamaica Defence Force . The regiment's first battalion usually mounts the guard of honour at national ceremonies, serving as a foot guard to the Governor-General of Jamaica . Members of the regiment also provide sentries at the National Heroes Park . The Honour Guard in Mexico consists of members selected from the Mexican Navy , Mexican Army , Air Force and/or

6500-468: The capital. Since World War II, The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) has served as the official Army honour guard and escort to the President, and it also provides security for Washington, D.C., in time of national emergency or civil disturbance. Arlington National Cemetery 's Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded by members of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Regiment. Since 2007, a Joint-Service Drill Competition has been held every April in front of

6600-407: The country. The most distant antecedents of the Presidential Honour Guard go back to the Hussars Troop of Simon Bolivar, of the Venezuelan War of Independence and of the larger Spanish American wars of independence, raised in June 1815 and part of a more bigger guards brigade targeted for the immediate security of the Liberator, and the early 20th century 1st Cavalry Regiment "Ambrosio Plaza" that until

6700-443: The deceased is to be buried elsewhere or cremated. Catholic chivalric orders , such as the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , provide guards of honour for deceased knights and high-ranking officers during funerals. The practice of providing a guard of honour as a mark of respect also occurs in sports, especially throughout the Commonwealth of Nations . Guards of honour have been mounted by

6800-399: The defence of Slovakia and Bohemia-Moravia as well as sections of the German heartland. Between January and February 1945, Army Group Centre sustained 140,000 casualties, including 15,000 dead, 77,000 wounded (not counting non-evacuees), and 48,000 missing. The last Soviet campaign of the war in the European theater, which led to the fall of Berlin and the end of the war in Europe with

6900-541: The division fought near Rzhev , where it was rendered combat ineffective. By November 18, 1942, the division only had 7 Panzer II , 1 Panzer III , 19 Panzer IV , and 3 Sd.Kfz. 265 Panzerbefehlswagen operational. In January–February 1943, Großdeutschland and XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, along with the II SS Panzer Corps took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov . The division had 5 Panzer II, 20 Panzer III, 85 Panzer IV, 9 Tiger I, 2 Panzerbefehlswagen, and 26 Flammpanzer III available at that time. The division fought alongside

7000-412: The division retained its status as a Panzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to divisional status , and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland . The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was activated on 14 June 1939. The regiment saw action in France in 1940 , and took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It

7100-423: The division was engaged in heavy fighting in the battles around Pillau . Eight hundred men of the division were evacuated on ferries via the Baltic Sea and surrendered to British forces in Schleswig-Holstein on May 9. The rest were either killed or captured during the fighting in Pillau or surrendered to Soviet forces on May 9 on the Vistula spit. During the battle of France, soldiers of the division perpetrated

7200-568: The division was redesignated Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland (Armored Infantry Division Grossdeutschland), though, in reality, it now had more armored vehicles than most full-strength panzer divisions . The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps , part of Fourth Panzer Army , and took part in the Battle of Kursk . During the buildup period, a regiment of two battalions were equipped with

7300-621: The division was the Chasselay massacre , where on 19 and 20 June hundreds of Black prisoners of war were murdered in Chasselay, Rhône . The book German Army and Genocide mentions the following incident, from the invasion of Yugoslavia : When one German soldier was shot and one seriously wounded in Pancevo , Wehrmacht soldiers and the Waffen SS rounded up about 100 civilians at random...the town commander, Lt. Col. Fritz Bandelow conducted

7400-658: The entire Canadian Armed Forces in the 21st century. The Ceremonial Guard is considered an ad hoc detachment, as its members are drawn from various units of the armed forces, and does not constitute a permanent unit in the Canadian Forces' order of battle . Beside the Canadian foot guards and the Ceremonial Guards, units with regularly scheduled guard mountings include the Royal 22nd Regiment , which mounts

7500-713: The famous Berber cavalry, the Numidian cavalry , the French cavalry, and the Arab cavalry, as well as infantry. The Egyptian Republican Guard is a division level unit in the Egyptian Army which is the seniormost unit in the Egyptian Armed Forces that has the responsibility of defending the President of Egypt, as well as major presidential and national institutions. It is a type of guard regiment that

7600-442: The first Army Group Centre was renamed "Army Group North". The second iteration of Army Group Centre was formed by the redesignation of Army Group A as the replacement for the first Army Group Centre. The army group was officially created by Adolf Hitler when he issued Führer Directive 21 on 18 December 1940, ordering German forces to prepare for an attack on Soviet Russia in 1941. The first commanding officer of Army Group Centre

7700-823: The guard from late June to Labour Day (the first Monday of September) at the Citadelle of Quebec in Quebec City , a military installation and secondary residence of the King and Governor General. As the unit is based in Quebec City, it rarely mounts the guard of honour for foreign dignitaries. Guards of honour are also formed by civilian police, and fire services, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police . These civilian honour guards are typically mounted for funerals, and local ceremonies, with

7800-821: The honour guard battalion, which an infantry unit, and the mounted squadron. The guard of honour unit in South Africa was the State Presidents Guard (Staatspresidentseenheid) until 1990. The unit has since been replaced by the National Ceremonial Guard in the South African National Defence Force . Permanent honour guards in the country had not existed prior to the Staatspresidentseenheid's founding in 1967. In compensation for

7900-650: The honour guard units typically made up of 30 to 60 members. Some, like the York Regional Police , operate a mounted honour guard unit. Fire and rescue ceremonial units such as the Toronto Fire Services Honour Guard and the Calgary Firefighters Honour Guard are unique in that they are armed with a ceremonial axe . The 37th Infantry Presidential Guard Battalion , composed of five companies,

8000-658: The launching of Operation Blue in June. This operation, aimed at the oilfields in the southwestern Caucasus , involved Army Group South alone, with the other German army groups giving up troops and equipment for the offensive. Despite the focus on the south, Army Group Centre continued to see fierce fighting throughout the year. While the Soviet attacks in early 1942 had not driven the Germans back, they had resulted in several Red Army units being trapped behind German lines. Eliminating

8100-961: The midst of the Spanish American wars of independence in 1815. The Ceremonial Unit of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces provided honours for the Communist Party of Cuba , the Government of Cuba , and the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces . It is a sort of mix between Russian and German ceremonial formations, with the unit notably adopting the German-born goosestep . Its ceremonial duties are usually performed at government buildings and notable areas in Havana , with

8200-635: The national palaces ( Merdeka Palace or Bogor Palace ) with the President of Indonesia and the visiting dignitary present to inspect the guards. The Paspampres is part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) tasked with protective security duties for the head of state and state-protocol duties (ceremonial). As a military tri-services special joint service command, the ceremonial duties of Paspampres are to conduct public duties during state function occasions including to provide quarter guard and guard mounting duties for

8300-463: The new Panther tanks , which were plagued by technical problems, suffering from engine fires and mechanical breakdowns before reaching the battlefield. The division has 4 Panzer II , 23 Panzer III , 68 Panzer IV , 15 Tiger I , 8 command tanks, and 14 Flammpanzer III available. By 7 July, the division had only 80 of its 300 tanks still fit for combat. After the Kursk offensive was canceled, the division

8400-551: The pockets took until July, the same month in which the Soviets made another attempt to break through the army group's front; the attempt failed, but the front line was pushed back closer to Rzhev. The largest Soviet operation in the army group's sector that year, Operation Mars , took place in November. It was launched concurrently with Operation Uranus , the counteroffensive against the German assault on Stalingrad . The operation

8500-542: The presentation of colors are given at funerals for firefighters, law enforcement personnel and other civil servants. Certain religious bodies, especially churches of the Anglican Communion and the Methodist movement , have the tradition of an honour guard at the funeral of an ordained elder, in which all other ordained elders present "guard the line" between the door of the church and the grave, or hearse if

8600-642: The responsibility of two regiments of foot guards : the Canadian Grenadier Guards and the Governor General's Foot Guards . One of their main tasks is the provision of sentries at ceremonial and other official state functions organized by the Government of Canada. Their tasks include mounting the guard of honour at military funerals and other events attended by visiting dignitaries. The two regiments of foot guards, together with

8700-882: The start of the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive on 12 January 1945 was renamed "Army Group North" less than two weeks after the offensive commenced. At the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive, the Soviet forces facing Army Group Centre outnumbered the Germans on average by 2:1 in troops, 3:1 in artillery, and 5.5:1 in tanks and self-propelled artillery. The Soviet superiority in troop strength grows to almost 3:1 if 200,000 Volkssturm militia are not included in German personnel strength totals. On 25 January 1945, Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became Army Group Courland , Army Group Centre became Army Group North, and Army Group A became Army Group Centre. Army Group Centre fought in

8800-643: The surrender of all German forces to the Allies. The three Soviet Fronts involved in the campaign had altogether 2.5 million men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery pieces and mortars , 3,255 truck -mounted Katyusha rocket launchers (nicknamed "Stalin Organs" by the Germans), and 95,383 motor vehicles. The campaign started with the battle of Oder-Neisse . Army Group Centre commanded by Ferdinand Schörner (the commander in chief as of 17 January 1945) had

8900-478: Was Field Marshal Fedor von Bock , who would lead it until he was relieved on 18 December 1941 after the failure of the Battle of Moscow and was replaced by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge . Günther von Kluge would remain the army group's commander until he was injured in October 1943 and replaced by Field Marshal Ernst Busch , who would then be replaced by Field Marshal Walter Model in June 1944. When Model

9000-401: Was almost completely destroyed by the attack. It is estimated that over 450,000 Germans were killed, wounded, or captured, notably the 57,000 soldiers captured east of Minsk , who were paraded through Moscow on 17 July on Stalin's orders as proof of the immense success of the Soviet offensive. The Soviet forces raced forward, liberating Minsk and the rest of Belorussia by mid-July, and reaching

9100-431: Was attached to Panzer Group 2 in the opening phases of Barbarossa , and was nearly destroyed in the Battle of Moscow in late 1941. On the last day of February 1942, the remnants of the regiment absorbed two battalions of reinforcements that arrived from Neuruppin and the regiment was reconstituted. It later moved to Orel , and on 1 April 1942 the former Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was reinforced and expanded into

9200-495: Was fooled and armored units were moved south out of Army Group Centre. The Soviet offensive, code-named Operation Bagration , was launched on 22 June 1944, the third anniversary of Germany's own invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. 185 Red Army divisions, comprising 2.3 million soldiers and 4,000 tanks and assault guns, smashed into the German positions on a 200km-wide front. The 850,000-strong Army Group Centre

9300-707: Was founded in 2004 and serves as the guard of honour of the IAF. The term "guard of honour" in Indonesian is Pasukan Kehormatan which take their modern form in deputized formations of the former Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and the Royal Netherlands Navy. In Indonesia , the unit institutionally tasked to act as the Guard of Honour during a state visit is the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres) which takes place at

9400-491: Was launched to forestall any possible Soviet spring offensives, by evacuating the Rzhev Salient to shorten the frontline. The commander in chief as of 12 October 1943 was Ernst Busch . The following major anti-partisan operations were conducted in the rear of Army Group Centre, alongside many smaller operations: Increasing coordination of the partisan activity resulted in the conducting of Operation Concert against

9500-624: Was nearly destroyed during the battles in the Memel bridgehead. In November 1944, while the division and several attached units were redesignated as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland . By March 1945, the Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland had been reduced to around 4,000 men after the Battle of Memel. It had only 1 StuG III, 1 Panzer IV, 5 Panthers, and 6 Tiger I tanks by March 15, 1945. By 25 April 1945,

9600-500: Was repulsed with very heavy Soviet losses, although it did have the effect of pinning down German units that could have been sent to the fighting around Stalingrad. Following the disaster of Stalingrad and poor results of the Voronezh defensive operations, the army high command expected another attack on Army Group Centre in early 1943. However, Hitler had decided to strike first. Before this strike could be launched, Operation Büffel

9700-618: Was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II . The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa , Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, as one of the three German Army formations assigned to the invasion. After Army Group North was trapped in the Courland Pocket in mid-1944, it was renamed to Army Group Courland and

9800-481: Was to defeat the Soviet armies in Belarus and occupy Smolensk. To accomplish this, the army group planned for a rapid advance using Blitzkrieg operational methods for which purpose it commanded two panzer groups rather than one. A quick and decisive victory over the Soviet Union was expected by mid-November. The Army Group's other operational missions were to support the army groups on its northern and southern flanks,

9900-543: Was transferred back to Army Group Center and resumed its role as a mobile reserve. The Tiger I tank company was expanded to a battalion, becoming the III. Battalion of the Panzer Regiment. Großdeutschland saw heavy fighting around Karachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzer Corps in late August. For the rest of 1943, Großdeutschland retreated across Ukraine , and in 1944 into Romania, where it took part in

10000-571: Was transferred to the Western Front in August 1944, he was replaced by Ferdinand Schörner , who would command the army group until his desertion in May 1945 after Germany surrendered to the Allies. On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany and its Axis allies launched their surprise offensive into the Soviet Union. Their armies, totaling over three million men, were to advance in three geographical directions. Army Group Centre's initial strategic goal

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