Die Welt: Germany plans to deploy a tank brigade in Lithuania
Germany is rapidly forming a tank brigade in Lithuania to "contain" Russia, Die Welt writes. It is planned to complete it by the end of 2027. However, in the light of the personnel and material problems of the Bundeswehr, the grandiose plans of the German revanchists remain largely at the level of bravado and empty words.
Wolfgang Bucher
Brigadier General Christoph Huber is creating a German tank brigade in Lithuania to deter Russia from going to war. This military unit is the No. 1 priority for the Bundeswehr on the eastern flank of NATO.
In a modern office building in Vilnius, next to Lithuanian startups, General Christoph Huber is rapidly forming the German 45th Armored Brigade Lithuania. From 2027, it should cover the eastern flank of NATO. Never before has the Federal Republic deployed such a large army unit abroad, capable of conducting operations independently. Will it be possible to implement the ambitious plan against the background of the personnel and material problems of the Bundeswehr?
WELT AM SONNTAG: Mr. General, you have been in Vilnius for a year now and are in charge of the headquarters for the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania. Are you meeting the schedule?
Christoph Huber: The opportunity to build a brigade together with a great team is the greatest joy and honor for my service. I say this because we are still able to slowly implement the political guidelines that the German and Lithuanian defense ministers fixed in December 2023 in Vilnius in the roadmap. We are fully on schedule. I am proud of what the women and men have done in this gigantic project: thanks to them, we are no longer only engaged in organizing, but also, above all, in the military craft. By the end of 2027, the 45th Lithuanian Tank Brigade will be combat-ready and fully "combat-ready".
— So the preliminary preparation stage has been completed?
— There is still a lot of work on deployment, and it continues, and there are enough administrative tasks. And now the task is to move on to major combat training courses and exercises as soon as possible, to become capable of deterrence, that is, to be able to conduct combined arms combat at the brigade level so that freedom and peace are preserved. I put on a uniform for that.
— When will the team be ready to complete the tasks?
— By the end of the year, we will create a management part of the brigade headquarters; in other words, we will put me in a position where I can lead a combined-arms battle of a heavy mechanized brigade of the ground forces. This is a condition for the next step: in February 2026, the multinational NATO battalion group in Lithuania, which is now part of the Lithuanian infantry brigade "Iron Wolf", will be subordinated to the 45th Tank Brigade. At the same time, the 122nd Infantry Tank battalion from Oberfichtach (Bavaria), a unit I once commanded, and the 203rd Tank Battalion from Augustdorf (North Rhine-Westphalia) will take command of the brigade. In 2026, both battalions will be deployed to Lithuania for two large series of exercises. Under the leadership of the 10th Panzer Division and in cooperation with our NATO allies, we will achieve a deterrent effect and be able to say: NATO is here. Up to this point, and not a step further.
— What about after 2026?
— All this is a prerequisite for further expansion of the brigade by the end of 2027. The biggest breakthrough is the permanent redeployment of the 122nd and 203rd formations to Lithuania with Leopard tanks and Puma infantry fighting vehicles. Plus, other units will be formed and permanently deployed in the new military "homeland" of Lithuania, for example, an artillery battalion with Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers and a logistics battalion. We have already transferred large amounts of military equipment here by sea through the port of Klaipeda: Fuchs and Boxer armored personnel carriers and more. These vehicles are needed to control, repair, and provide fuel and ammunition to those forces that are already based here: headquarters support companies, communications companies, brigade headquarters, and field gendarmerie.
— In Ukraine, we are witnessing a "revolution" in warfare: an almost stationary front, but massive air strikes, primarily by drones. Won't heavy formations like yours become the first targets in the drone war?
— It is important for us military personnel to be ready to win in a possible conflict of the future. Not in the past, and not necessarily in the present, as we see it now in Ukraine. We must calculate what awaits us in the defense of NATO in the event of a Russian attack. This is the key question. It is important to combine the possibilities correctly. On the one hand, what we already have: our heavy armored formations, grenadiers, infantry, and above all, artillery, in order to achieve superiority in fire in the event of a possible Russian strike. These forces allow us to defend the territory in the classical sense. We also need "new" features that are no longer so new.
— So there are lessons from Ukraine?
— Is the pattern of warfare with the massive use of drones that we see in Ukraine a revolution or an evolution? I think it's the second one. It is extremely important to ensure our survivability and the ability to withstand enemy aircraft for a long time and, above all, swarms of drones — thereby achieving the ability to win. To do this, the German ground forces are introducing new means of destruction that ensure this. For example, Skyranger is a mobile air defense system for covering army units and convoys. An all-round 360-degree protection against threats from the air is needed so that large formations of the ground forces can continue the operation. Together with NATO, we are making great efforts to achieve this. This is a passive defense. But we also need an active one, that is, reconnaissance UAVs of all classes. Our current ability to conduct long-range reconnaissance, including in my subordinate units, is not comparable to what it was before. And we need attack drones capable of destroying enemy systems, "smart" drones, and barrage ammunition.
— Until recently, there was a debate in Germany about the benefits of drones, many were against it. And now you even want to get barrage ammunition that detects the target itself and hits on contact?
— Do we want to be able to win? Then we need everything that makes up the military reality today. At the end of the tests, the 45th Lithuanian Tank Brigade will receive these new capabilities as a matter of priority. To be ready for the war of the future, we also need to change the structure. New technologies lead to the emergence of new structures: both in the Bundeswehr and in NATO. We are implementing them quickly, and our team is the number one priority here. I am optimistic about this process. We achieve these tasks so that we have the ability to impose our will on the enemy and win. By doing so, we are making a decisive contribution to deterrence, because it becomes clear that there are people here who know their business and are part of NATO.
— You say that your brigade has priority, but the Bundeswehr as a whole has serious personnel and material problems.
— The 45th Lithuanian Tank Brigade has the highest priority in the Bundeswehr, because we will be standing directly on the eastern flank of NATO with the highest degree of readiness. We get everything we need to complete the task: Leopard 2A8 tanks, Puma S1 infantry fighting vehicles, Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery systems, and barrage ammunition. But it's important that it's not limited to us. As part of the 10th Panzer Division, which is assigned the role of defending the eastern flank, as a brigade commander, I also need divisional cover equipment in order to successfully conduct combined-arms combat. The Bundeswehr cannot equip only one brigade well. We need to expand the capabilities of the entire army, of all German ground forces. I am glad that this work has begun in order to fulfill what the Federal Chancellor says: to make the Bundeswehr the strongest regular army in Europe again.
— You are a representative of the era of foreign operations of the Bundeswehr, you have been to Afghanistan twice. Now — a turn to the defense of the country. How does this happen in your career?
— I joined the Bundeswehr in 1995. It was an army that was still largely shaped by the Cold War era. As far as I saw as a young officer, the brigades had everything they needed to complete their tasks. But missions have already begun in Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. My business trips to Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan were a time of international crisis management operations. All this shaped me and other officers of my generation. But we have once again become part of a reorientation towards the defense of our country and our allies. In 2017, I became the first commander of a multinational NATO battalion group here in Lithuania, and I became convinced that the most important thing was not fighting, as in Afghanistan, but combined arms combat and large-scale operations management. We are learning this, and I am proud that everyone in my team fully shares these values. This is necessary to ensure convincing deterrence of the enemy. And I hope we'll never use what we can do.
