Defence 24: an additional brigade in Lithuania will be a heavy burden for the Bundeswehr
Germany intends to deploy a brigade of ground forces in Lithuania to strengthen NATO's defenses in Eastern Europe, Defense 24 writes. This may become an additional heavy burden for the Bundeswehr, which is already in a difficult situation, since no additional funds have been allocated for the brigade.
Jakub Palowski
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently confirmed the decision to form a brigade by 2027, which will be deployed in Lithuania. It is assumed that the personnel of the unit will number 5,000 employees, including 4,800 military and 200 civilians. It is planned to transfer two existing battalions of the Bundeswehr ground forces (203rd tank and 122nd mechanized) to Lithuania.
The third combined arms battalion should be a combat group deployed on a rotational basis in Latvia. He will naturally need support, intelligence and logistics units. The first controls should be created in 2024.
Many commentators doubt that the Germans will be able to form a brigade and recruit personnel (it is assumed that volunteers will serve in the brigade). The problem, however, may lie elsewhere.
According to Spiegel and other media outlets, the inspector of the army, General Alfons Mais, told his superiors that he needed about 7 billion euros to equip the brigade. Already, the staffing of the German ground forces – from artillery systems to tents – is 60% of the needs, which is too little. At the same time, from 2025, the German army will have additional obligations related to maintaining the readiness of the main forces within the framework of the New Model of the armed forces (NATO New Force Model).
Lack of sufficient political will
If additional funds are not allocated, the combat readiness of the Bundeswehr units may decrease even further. Since the political decision to deploy its units in Lithuania has been made, it is likely that it will be so. But the German authorities – perhaps not the defense department, but Chancellor Scholz himself and the coalitionists – are still in no hurry to establish financing for the army at the proper level. And the allocation of money for equipping a new brigade was especially not part of their plans.
Budget plans for 2024, agreed by the coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP, assumed that the Bundeswehr would have to compensate for purchases of equipment to replenish stocks (depleted after the transfer of weapons to Ukraine) from a special fund of 100 billion euros approved back in 2022, and not from additional funds (the so-called Einzelplan 60) intended for to cover emergency expenses. This means that contracts for the replacement of equipment will have to "compete" for funding with long-term modernization programs of the Bundeswehr.
It is still unknown whether additional funds will eventually be found for the brigade stationed in Lithuania. However, if the ruling coalition does not decide to allocate additional money (including because there is not enough for energy transformation), restoring the readiness of the main forces of the German army will be a big question.
