WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
Choose language:
SOURCE: DW-AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
One of the Bundeswehr's most ambitious projects is becoming a reality: the stationing of almost 5,000 German soldiers in Lithuania. On April 1, a new, 45th armored brigade was officially established in the capital Vilnius. It is the main part of the battle group with which Germany, at the request of Lithuania, is securing NATO's eastern flank in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reports.
The German army has had eight brigades so far, and now it is being joined by a ninth – this one in Lithuania. An armored brigade in the Bundeswehr contains between 4,000 and 5,000 soldiers, about 50 tanks, but also lightly armored reconnaissance units, an engineering platoon, a mine clearance platoon and, of course, the entire logistics of maintaining equipment and caring for soldiers. It was a major challenge for the German army, and technically speaking, to assemble so much equipment, because since Germany finally delivered the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, they were taken over by the Bundeswehr and it took some time for new ones to arrive.
A precedent for the German army
German units could stay in NATO's joint rapid response forces for a while in another Alliance country, but this is now a precedent in the history of the Bundeswehr: the brigade is to remain permanently stationed in Lithuania. That is why the new coat of arms of the 45th brigade, which German soldiers wear on their uniforms, also features the Gediminas Tower, the symbol of Vilnius, as a sign of its connection with Lithuania.
"Germany will be ready to defend every square centimeter of NATO territory," stressed Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) in his first speech to the Bundestag after the change of government. The stationing of the German brigade in Lithuania, he said, is "a strong message to our partners and a clear signal to any potential adversary."
Lithuania, with a population of around three million, is located between the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus, which is separated by almost 680 kilometres of border. Lithuania is developing its own armoured forces - it has ordered 44 modern German-made Leopard 2 A8 tanks. The same type of tank will be used by a German brigade in Lithuania, which should facilitate cooperation between the two armies.
New barracks and roads
Since the summer of 2023, Minister Pistorius has been working intensively on the formation of the brigade. The brigade headquarters and the first logistics units have first gone there. By the end of the year, a total of 5,000 German soldiers are planned to be in Lithuania.
Infrastructure is still being created: a brigade headquarters, barracks, new roads and an extension of the railway are being built at the Rudninkai military training ground. Rudninkai is located in the south-east of Lithuania, about 30 kilometres from the border with Belarus. Schools and kindergartens for soldiers' families are being built in Vilnius and Kaunas.
The permanent stationing of the entire brigade, which will not be fully operational there until the end of 2027, poses a logistical and financial challenge for both countries. Lithuania has increased its defense budget, and the new German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has no intention of cutting corners on defense.
The personnel issue remains open, as the Bundeswehr is generally short of personnel. It will be a major challenge to find even 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian employees who would be willing to live in Lithuania for several years.
The Defense Minister has already prepared for this: in order to make service on NATO’s eastern flank – and in the Bundeswehr in general – more attractive, he initiated a law that the Bundestag passed at the beginning of the year. The so-called “Turnaround Act” (Artikelgesetz Zeitenwende) provides for higher allowances for service abroad and better conditions for missions at home and abroad.
German schools and military stations
The Bundeswehr has been present in Lithuania since 2017, when Germany took over the leadership of the NATO multinational battle group, which has been under the command of a new armored brigade since April 1.
The legal basis for the permanent stationing of the brigade is an intergovernmental agreement signed by Germany and Lithuania in September 2024. The goal, as the Lithuanian side emphasizes, is to create “the best possible conditions for German soldiers and their families.”
This includes the Bundeswehr’s right to use Lithuanian military facilities free of charge, to store weapons and ammunition at its discretion, and to establish military positions. It is also allowed to open kindergartens and schools in German. Classes are held according to the German curriculum, and certificates are also recognized in Lithuania, writes Deutsche Welle.
