Western Union Defence Organization

Western Union Defence Organization (WUDO)
Active	28 September 1948 – 20 December 1951
Allegiance	Western Union (WU)
Size	Multi-lateral Military Command
Garrison/HQ	Fontainebleau, France
Engagements	Cold War (1947–1953)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, British Army

The Western Union Defence Organization (WUDO) was the defence arm of the Western Union, the precursor to the Western European Union (WEU). The WUDO was also a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and its headquarters, personnel, and plans provided the nucleus for NATO's military command structure. Following the standing up of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the WUDO was disestablished after three years of existence.

The Treaty of Brussels was signed on 17 March 1948 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and was an expansion to the preceding year's defence pledge, the Dunkirk Treaty signed between Britain and France. The Treaty of Brussels contained a mutual defence clause as set forth in Article IV:

Article V set forth the obligations of Brussels Pact members to cooperate with the United Nations Security Council to maintain international peace and security, and Article VI set forth the obligations of Brussels Pact members to not enter any third-party treaties that conflicted with the Treaty of Brussels. Beginning in April, the parties to the Brussels Pact decided to create a military agency under the name of the Western Union Defence Organization. The WUDO was formally established on September 27–28, 1948.

WUDO consisted of a Western Union (WU) Defence Committee at the Prime Ministerial level, and a WU Combined Chiefs of Staff committee, comprising the national military chiefs of staff, which would direct the operational organization.Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, British Army, was the WUDO's senior officer as Chairman of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee which was created on 5 October 1948. Other nominated members of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee included:

The overall command structure was patterned after the wartime Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), which included a joint planning staff. The WU Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee included observers from the United States. This American liaison mission was initially led by Major General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, U.S. Army, and subsequently by Major General A. Franklin Kibler, USA.

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