Germany Sends Permanent Troops To Another Country For First Time Since WWII
New Delhi:
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Lithuania this week to inaugurate Berlin’s brigade to help protect the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It’s the first permanent foreign troop deployment from Germany since the Second World War.
On his visit on Thursday, May 22, Mr Merz was joined by German defence minister Boris Pistorius. The ceremony officially marked the formation of an armoured brigade.
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Merz said the security of the Baltic allies was also “our security,” CNN reported.
He even called on allies to expand efforts to bolster European defences against Moscow. By strengthening its military, Berlin has signalled to allies to further invest in security, Mr Merz said.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda termed it a “historic day,” since this was the first time a German brigade was based outside its territory on a long-term basis after the 1940s.
German troops in Lithuania
Germany has deployed its troops in Lithuania, which shares the borders with Russia’s Kaliningrad and Belarus, a key Moscow ally.
With its new brigade, it aims for a deeper engagement in the country, where it first started moving troops in 2017. This had been a work in progress for more than a year. It later expanded into an “activation staff,” which included 250 people, during last fall.
The 45 Armored Brigade, the latest heavy combat unit, will have a total strength of around 5,000, including 4,800 German soldiers, along with 200 civilian staff. It is expected to reach its full capacity by 2027.
On Thursday, dozens of military helicopters were seen roaring in the sky over the central cathedral square in Vilnius.
Defence strategy
The German chancellor highlighted the country was “investing massively in its armed forces.”
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz talked about raising its defence spending to the NATO target of 2% of GDP. He even made official a $113 billion special fund to modernise the Bundeswehr.
In January, Lithuania increased its defence spending from a little over 3% to somewhere between 5% and 6% of GDP, beginning 2026.
