Talk:Royal Danish Army

Napoleonic Wars?
This is an article about the regular Danish army, not Denmark as a nation. A user inserted Napoleonic Wars (1807-14) in the infobox. Which battles did the regular Danish army fought in 1807-14? --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 15:29, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
 * No answers - Then I'm restoring the article to a more correct version. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 17:55, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

It doesn't matter which battles they fought in. Denmark was part of the war on the french side after the British forced our hands, this is pretty common knowledge that every person with common historical knowledge of the period knows. The Danish army and navy were active in the gunboat wars, as well the defense of Norway when the swedes invaded in 1809 and in the War of the Sixth Coalition during the Napoleonic wars. The whole point of listing wars is about what wars they participated in. wis 22:21, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Royal Danish Army
In January this article was moved from "Royal Danish Army" to "Danish Army" without any explanation or discussion. I hereby reinstall the old name, which concur with the official naming. Royal Danish Army (RDA). --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 15:22, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

I did the moving. The Danish army does not have the royal prefix. It is only the Danish Airforce and Navy who has the prefix. It is the same as in other European countries with Monarchies. This goes back to the history of the fleet and ships being owned by the King and not the country. The danish army is not a royal army and it is not branded as such in the Denmark either. Individual units in the Danish army was given the prefix Royal, such as the royal foot life guards and the royal horse life guards. No other units were given this prefix and the army as a whole was never given this. wis 22:21, 13 March 2011 (UTC)


 * The official web page states Royal Danish Army Badges and insignia of the Royal Danish Army (RDA) 2000. The army's library also concurs with that. The Dutch army is royal Koninklijke Landmacht/Ministerie van Defensie, the Norwegian is royal The Royal Norwegian Army, so other European countries with monarchies also got royal armies. Unless you've got a source, I'll suggest that you stop messing around. Because the "royal" is omitted from time to time, it doesn't mean that it isn't royal. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 00:28, 14 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I believe user:wis is correct. The Danish Army has not a "Royal" prefix in its official name. To my knowledge only the Navy is Royal in Denmark (Kongelige danske marine), but today not even the navy continues to use the Royal prefix: i.e. Søværnet 9850 hits, Marinen 61 hits, "Kongelige danske marine" 5 hits and "Kongelige marine" also only 5 hits on the homepage of the Danish Military. As for the Army and Air Force they do not have the royal (Kongelige) prefix in Danish. (however the Air Force uses the Royal in English (a good example). Also Nato only uses Danish Army and not once uses Royal Danish Army, while using "Royal Netherlands Army". And if I am not mistaken also the Norwegian Army has no Royal prefix anymore, with the exception of the Air Force and this also only in English. noclador (talk) 08:47, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I just emailed the Danish Military and asked them to let us know the correct English name for all three branches. When (and if) I get an answer I will post it here. I also sent the mail to the Norwegian Military. noclador (talk) 09:16, 14 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Danish is a rather informal language; the services are called H&aelig;ren (literally 'the army'), S&oslash;v&aelig;rnet ('the sea guard/defence/..') and Flyvev&aring;bnet ('the flying force/arm') Forsvaret in Danish. The prefix 'kongelige' is seldom used in Danish and this discussion is about the English name(s).
 * The British Army isn't 'Royal Army', on ground of the king's army's defeat in the English civil war. But that doesn't exclude other European countries in having royal armies. Wis (aka 85.235.22.79) excluded all royal armies, even the Italian Regio Esercito and the Royal Prussian Army.
 * Nice initiative Noclador. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 14:33, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Necessary evil can you link to any danish or english research or historical source that says the danish army is royal? The Royal prefix is something given to institutions by the royal family. Also the royal prussian army was the personal army of the Kings in and of Prussia, that is why it was royal. The prefix royal isn't something you can just flaunt about without having it been given you to by the royal family. http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hæren_(Norge) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Army http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_army http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveriges_armé http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_army None of these are Royal armies. Also the British army isn't royal. But you have units in the army that have been given the prefix Queen's or King's or Royal. It is something that is earned. Just like with the "Den Kongelige Livgarde til hest og fods", "Dronningens Artilleriregiment". The danish navy is royal because it was the private ownership of the King. wis 16:56, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Sofar the sources saying Danish army outweighs the use of Royal danish army. wis 17:01, 14 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Why should I bother digging up additional sources indicating that the Danish army is called Royal Danish Army?? If you read my contributions here, you'll find a 'Royal Danish Army' (RDA) link from the official web page, a 'Royal Norwegian Army' link at their official web page etc. Again; "Because the "royal" is omitted from time to time, it doesn't mean that it isn't royal." The number of 'Danish Army' versus 'Royal Danish Army' hits on Google is nothing but a survey in indolence.
 * It's fine that you finally realize that the Prussian army was royal, instead of deleting it.
 * Your presentation of Wiki articles as proof is useless, since Wikipedia is a tertiary source. However if you insist in using Wikipedia, Sveriges armé states "äldre benämning Kungliga armén" ('earlier name royal army'), which contradicts your deletion at da.wiki. Furthermore the Danish air force paints "ROYAL DANISH AIR FORCE" on its planes, but still the Danish wiki article is called da:Flyvevåbnet and not "Kongelige Danske Flyvevåben". The Danish non-royal name doesn't preclude an English name with 'Royal' in it.
 * Why do you repeat that the British Army isn't 'Royal Army', we already know that it's a special case.
 * Noclador has asked the Danish military, can't you wait? --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 17:28, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

I am currently serving in the danish army, in all my years i have never seen any danish sources calling the danish army the royal danish army. You say "Why should I bother digging up additional sources indicating that the Danish army is called Royal Danish Army, but you demand we dig up sources? Why is there no mention of "Den kongelige danske hær" under the danish page of the danish army?. That is because you can not find any. http://www.google.dk/search?hl=en&client=opera&hs=qpX&rls=en&channel=suggest&q=den+kongelige+danske+h%C3%A6r&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq= . There are no danish sources calling the danish army for the royal danish army. Because the danish army as a whole has never been given the honour of adding royal to it. Adding Royal to it is a honour. wis 19:18, 14 March 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.235.22.79 (talk)


 * It's always strange to communicate with a Dane in English, but never mind. As you, I've never heard the Danish army referred to as "den kongelige hær" in Danish, just as I've never heard the Danish air force referred to as "det kongelige flyvevåben" either. Nevertheless the Danish air force has painted "ROYAL DANISH AIR FORCE" on its planes. I doubt that the pilots have done it without the permission from the top. It's a fact that the Danish army, navy and air force aren't using 'kongelig' (royal) in their Danish names, but that doesn't preclude the word 'Royal' in their English names. E.g. the Danish Kirkeministeriet is called "Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs" - and not "Ministry of Church Affairs", so English names of Danish authorities aren't always translated logically.
 * The reason why I don't need additional sources is that the official webpage of Danish Defence uses the terms Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy and Royal Danish Air Force, compared to the Danish non-royal names H&aelig;ren, S&oslash;v&aelig;rnet and Flyvev&aring;bnet.
 * @Noclador: Sailors got ribbons in their caps bearing the ship's name, and before the Danish junior ratings are attached to a ship, they got "KGL. MARINE" (royal navy/marine) written on the ribbon. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 23:59, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Guys, stop discussing and lets wait a week to see if the Danish and Norwegian authorities answer. The Norwegians already acknowledged to have gotten my mail and have "forwarded to the department concerned." noclador (talk) 00:11, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Norway's answer
FYI: I just got the answer from the Defence Staff Norway:

''Good day. The correct names are:''
 * “Norwegian Army”
 * “Royal Norwegian Navy”
 * “Royal Norwegian Air Force”''

no answer from Denmark yet. I will put this info into the Norwegian Military articles and wait for an answer from Denmark. noclador (talk) 13:29, 15 March 2011 (UTC)


 * And still they use The Royal Norwegian Army on their web page. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 16:34, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I wonder when the Norwegian army lost its regality, in WWII it was 'Royal' File:NorwegianNavyMemorial.jpg --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 21:21, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Denmark's answer
I just got the answer from the Presseofficer, Public Affairs Office, Defence Command Denmark... and it is not very helpful:

Dear Sir, Thank you very much for your interest in the Danish Armed Forces. The link beneath will give access to facts and figures about the Danish Armed Forces. http://forsvaret.dk/FKO/eng/Documents/Fakta%20om%20Forsvaret_UK.pdf Best regards

... what now? the linked pdf. only speaks about the Royal Danish Air Force, but never of the Royal Danish Army or the Royal Danish Navy. Does anyone of you wish to write the Pressofficer and ask him a second time? noclador (talk) 14:06, 15 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, it’s up-to-date, has 25 pages and is translated from Danish. The translators of the army and navy pages are less successful with "arms and equipment of the the army" and "arms and equipment of the the navy" with double 'the', and "autical miles", while the air force translator got the "arms and equipment of the air force" correct.
 * The PR-department must be very busy since they gave you that answer - "read our f****** web page!". But there is a 'Royal Danish Army (RDA)' at their web page. Maybe they don't use it everyday, just as the British 'Royal Air Force' is translated to something like britiske luftvåben (British air force) or engelske flyvevåben, and not the literal kongelige luftvåben in Danish. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 17:51, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * yes, I felt the wonderful politeness in the PR-departments answer too... therefore I am not going to write them anymore. If anyone of you wishes to write them, let me know and I will email you the contact details of the Press Officer in charge. noclador (talk) 19:27, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Gents, I've just talked to an colleague, who knows a whole lot more about Danish military formations and their names than me. The official Danish names are available on the internet as Cirkulære om forsvarets inddeling mv. - however it's not quite updated and their English names are not! The Royal prefix was removed from the Army somewhere between 2001 and 2004 (-ish), though certain subordinate units (like the Royal Life Guards and the Royal Danish Army Army Academy - yes there shall be to times 'Army' apparently) have retained the prefix. The English names should be: --Heb (talk) 10:46, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Danish Defence
 * Defence Command Denmark
 * Danish Army
 * Army Operational Command
 * Royal Danish Navy
 * Admiral Danish Fleet
 * Royal Danish Air Force
 * Tactical Air Command
 * Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation
 * Danish Defence Personnel Agency
 * Danish Defence Estates & Infrastructure Organisation (until very recently: Defence Construction and Establishment Service)
 * Danish Defence Health Service
 * Royal Danish Defence College
 * Danish Home Guard
 * Danish Defence Intelligence Service
 * Military Prosecution Service (may also be referred to as the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in some situations)
 * Danish Maritime Safety Administration
 * Hi Heb, I got a problem in getting the official English names at the "Cirkulære om forsvarets inddeling mv." web page. Where do I click?
 * It doesn't surprise me if they removed the 'Royal' suffix in 200X, they have always been good at focusing on the important issues like renaming konstabelelev to marineelev, the design of the insignia, supplying desert armies with snow ploughs.. instead of the trivial issues like getting the UAVs and other vehicles to work, exploiting the countertrade deals, etc.
 * Soon this debate might be academic, since some politicians wants to merge the three independent services into a unified armed force of Denmark, like Belgium and Canada. --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 15:59, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry - I was a bit unclear on that. What I meant was that "Cirkulære om forsvarets inddeling mv." doesn't include an list of official English names. And neither does such a list exist within the Danish Defence. The list I have given is compiled by a person at some point, but is not from an official document, directive or other writing. The removing of the 'Royal' prefix could by the way have happened (though I haven't been able to confirm this from a second source) just prior to the deployment to Afghanistan in 2002 in order to be more aligned with British and German military contributions. --Heb (talk) 08:37, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
 * At forsvaret.dk there are some official English names:


 * Defence Command Denmark - Forsvarskommandoen.
 * Army Operational Command - Hærens Operative Kommando
 * Admiral Danish Fleet - Søværnets Operative Kommando
 * Island Commander Greenland - Grønlands Kommando
 * Island Commander Faeroes - Færøernes Kommando
 * Tactical Air Command - Flyvertaktisk Kommando
 * Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation - Forsvarets Materieltjeneste
 * Danish Defence Personnel Agency - Forsvarets Personeltjeneste
 * Danish Defence Media Center - Forsvarets Mediecenter
 * Danish Defence Estates & Infrastructure Organisation - Forsvarets Bygnings- og Etablissementstjeneste
 * Royal Defence Academy - Forsvarsakademiet
 * Danish Defence Health Service - Forsvarets Sundhedstjeneste
 * The reason for removing the 'royal' prefix doesn't make sense; did the Queen forbade any of her Majesty's forces to fight in Afghanistan?? Please elaborate! --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 16:33, 25 May 2011 (UTC)
 * As I've been informed (still haven't had a second confirmation on the exact time and reason) it was a matter of personnel security rather than the Queens will/wishes. --Heb (talk) 07:11, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Where is the "LMG M/62", a.k.a. MG3 7.62 mm??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinmetall_MG_3

I don't understand why the MG3 7.62 mm - in Denmark named LMG M/62 - isn't mentioned under "General issued weapons and related equipment". Wouldn't want to mess with the page myself, it just seems odd! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hr.thein (talk • contribs) 22:22, 5 June 2011 (UTC)