Royal Danish Army

Royal Danish Army
Hæren
Coat of arms of the army
Founded	17 November 1614 (402 years, 4 months)
Country	Kingdom of Denmark
Allegiance	Margrethe II  Denmark  Faroe Islands  Greenland
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	Active: 12,500 Reserve: 63,000 809 tracked and 257 wheeled armoured vehicles
Part of	Danish Defence Command
Engagements	Thirty Years' War (1625–1629) Torstenson War (1643–1645) Second Nordic War (1657–1660) Scanian War (1675–1679) Great Nordic War (1700 & 1709–1720) Napoleonic Wars (1807–1814) First Schleswig War (1848–1851) Second Schleswig War (1864) German invasion of Denmark (1940) Operation Bøllebank (1994) War in Kosovo (1998–1999) War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) Iraq War (2003–2007)
Website	Official Website Official Facebook Official YouTube
Commanders
Chief of Defence	General Bjørn Bisserup
Chief of Army Staff	Major-General H.C. Mathiasen
Sergeant Major of the Army	Henning Bæk
Notable commanders	Christian IV Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Frederick IV Carl af Hessen-Kassel Frederik af Hessen-Kassel Frederick VI
Insignia
War flag

The Royal Danish Army (Danish: Hæren) is the ground-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion defence, and instead focusing on out of area operations by, among other initiatives, reducing the size of the conscripted and reserve components and increasing the active (standing army) component, changing from 60% support structure and 40% operational capability, to 60% combat operational capability and 40% support structure. When fully implemented, the Danish Army will be capable of deploying 1,500 troops permanently on three different continents continuously, or 5,000 troops for a shorter period of time, in international operations without any need for extraordinary measures such as parliamentary approval of a war funding bill.

Founded in 1614, in the wake of the Kalmar War, the Royal Danish Army was originally designed to prevent conflicts and war, maintain Denmark's sovereignty and protect her interest. With time, these goals have developed into also encompassing the need to protect freedom and peaceful development in the world with respect for human rights.

The Danish King remained commander in chief throughout the Early Modern period, in the Thirty Years' War, the Dano-Swedish War (1657–58) and the Scanian War (1675–1679), the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the Theatre War of 1789/9 and the Napoleonic Wars. In 1815, however, as a result of continued evolution and division of command, four general commands were created with the King as the supreme authority: Zealand and adjacent islands, Funen Langeland, Jutland and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. At the same time, the need for maintenance of the army in peacetime became pertinent, and the Army Operational Command was established.