The 1. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division was raised 30 April 1956 from Mechanisierte Volkspolizeibereitschaft Potsdam as 1. Mechanisierte Division. It was the first fully operational unit of the NVA and took part in the May Day parade of 1956.
It was redesignated 1. Motorisierte-Schützen-Division 20 December 1956.

Commanders

Oberst Erich Jäckel (30 Apr 1956 - 13 May 1957)
Oberstleutnant Horst Stechbarth (15 May 1957 - 30 May 1959)
Oberst Helmut Klebsch (1 June 1959- 15 Oct 1959)
Oberst Leopold Gotthilf (15 Oct 1959 - 31 Aug 1963)
Oberstleutnant Walter Krysmann (1 Nov 1963 - 31 Oct 1966)
Oberst Horst Skerra (1 Nov 1966 - 31 Aug 1969)
Obest Klaus Winter (1 Sep 1969 - 31 Aug 1974)
Oberst Horst Zander (1 Sep 1974 - 31 Oct 1978)
Oberst Siegfried Zabelt (1 Nov 1978 - 31 Oct 1983)
Oberst Hans-Georg Löffler (1 Nov 1983 - 30 Sep 1986)
Oberst Rolf Bogdanow (1 Oct 1986 - 31 May 1988)
Oberst Peter Priemer (1 June 1988 - 2 Oct 1990)

Headquarters

Potsdam-Eiche

Order of battle (1987)

Mot.-Schützenregiment 1 Hans Beimler
Mot.-Schützenregiment 2 Arthur Ladwig
Mot.-Schützenregiment 3 Paul Hegenbarth
Panzerregiment 1 Friedrich Wolf
Artillerieregiment 1 Rudolf Gypner
Führungsbatterie Chef Raketen/Artillerie 1
Flak- Raketene Regiment 1 Anton Fischer
Führungsbatterie Chef Truppenluftabwehr 1
Raketenabteilung 1 Rudi Arndt
Geschosswerferabteilung 1 Hermann Rentzsch
Aufklärungsbatallion 1 Dr. Richard Sorge
Pionierbatallion 1 Willi Becker
Panzerjägerabteilung 1
Nachrichtenbatallion 1 Bodo Uhse
Batallion Materielle Sicherstellung 1 Georg Handke
Instandsetzungsbatallion 1 Otto Schliwinski
Batallion Chemische Abwehr 1 Herbert Kittelmann
Sanitätsbatallion 1
Ersatzregiment 1

Manpower Strength: 14,476 (wartime), 10,520 (peacetime), 10,530 (actual).
Actual Equipment Strength: 4 Luna M (FROG-7) transporter-erector rocket launchers, 214 T-55 tanks, 112 BMP tracked infantry combat vehicles, 279 armored personnel carriers, 162 artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers.

The first regiment of the Nationale Volksarmee receives its banner from Generaloberst Willi Stoph 30 April 1956

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Soldiers from the first regiment of the Nationale Volksarmee 30 April 1956

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Sources used

Klaus Froh & Rüdiger Wenzke - Die Generale und Admirale der NVA
Dale R. Herspring - Requiem for an Army: the demise of the East German military
Wilfried Kopenhagen - Die Landstreitkräfte der NVA

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -