National People’s Army

National People's Army
Nationale Volksarmee (NVA)
Insignia of the National People's Army
Flag of the National People's Army
Motto	Für den Schutz der Arbeiter-und-Bauern-Macht (For the protection of the workers' and peasants' power)
Founded	1 March 1956
Disbanded	2 October 1990
Service branches	Land Forces People's Navy Air Forces
Headquarters	Strausberg, East Berlin
Leadership
Head of State	See list Wilhelm Pieck Walter Ulbricht Willi Stoph Erich Honecker Egon Krenz Manfred Gerlach Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
Minister of Defence	See list Willi Stoph Heinz Hoffmann Heinz Kessler Theodor Hoffmann Rainer Eppelmann
Army General	See list Willi Stoph Heinz Hoffmann Erich Mielke Friedrich Dickel Heinz Kessler
Manpower
Reaching military age annually	175,300 (1987)

The National People’s Army (NPA) (German: Nationale Volksarmee – NVA) was the name used for the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic. The majority of NATO officers rated the East German Army the best in the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Army included, although it numbered only 120,000 men. This reputation was based on discipline, thoroughness of training, and quality officer leadership. East German officers were identified while they were still in high school and strongly encouraged to pursue a military career.

The NVA was first established in 1956 and disbanded in 1990; it did not see any significant combat. It participated in the invasion with the Soviet Armed Forces against the Czechoslovak interim government during the Prague Spring of 1968, but without seeing combat. However, there were frequent reports of East German advisors working with communist African governments during the Cold War.

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) established the National People's Army on 1 March 1956 (six months after the formation of the West German Bundeswehr) from the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (Barracked People's Police). This formation culminated years of preparation during which former Wehrmacht officers and communist veterans of the Spanish Civil War helped organize and train paramilitary units of the People's Police. Though the NVA featured a German appearance – including uniforms and ceremonies patterned after older German military traditions – its doctrine and structure showed the strong influence of the Soviet Armed Forces.

During its first year, about 27 percent of the NVA's officer corps had formerly served in the Wehrmacht. Of the 82 highest command positions, ex-Wehrmacht officers held 61; however, very few of them had served in high ranks. The military knowledge and combat experience of these veterans were indispensable in the NVA's early years, although by the 1960s most of these World War II veterans had retired. (The West German Bundeswehr similarly relied on Wehrmacht veterans, who initially comprised the majority of its commissioned ranks.)