armed forces
Deterrence on the eastern flank: German advance command in Lithuania
Boris Pistorius says goodbye to the Lithuanian Brigade’s advance command at the military part of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
The Bundeswehr has relocated the first soldiers of the future Lithuania Brigade to the eastern NATO country. Up to 5,000 German soldiers should be permanently ready for combat in the country by the end of 2027.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) spoke of a significant step for the defense capability of the alliance and an important day for the Bundeswehr when the 21-man and woman-strong incident command was farewelled. For the first time, such a combat unit will be stationed outside of Germany. The incident team was welcomed in Vilnius by the newly appointed Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas at the end of March.
Kasciunas said the deployment was “very important” for Lithuania. “This is proof of German reliability,” he said, assuring that the Lithuanian government wanted to do everything it could to build the necessary infrastructure on time. 85 percent of Lithuanian society supported the project. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte is coordinating an interagency group to implement the project. Nobody should get the idea that they could test the assistance obligations in NATO.
According to the timetable, the brigade should be operational by 2027
In response to the changed security situation in Europe and Russia’s aggressive behavior, the federal government agreed to relocate a combat unit to Lithuania that was ready for combat and capable of acting independently. According to the timetable, the brigade should be operational by 2027. A permanent presence of around 4,800 soldiers and around 200 civilian Bundeswehr members who can bring their families with them is planned. This serves as a role model for the region, said Kasciunas.
The incident command consists of specialists from various areas such as logistics, IT or infrastructure. These include three civilian employees from the Bundeswehr Social Service and the Bundeswehr Administration. The force is led by Colonel André Hastenrath. “We received a great welcome,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the task.”
Soldiers were initially accommodated in the hotel
The soldiers are initially accommodated in the hotel. Hastenrath doesn’t expect any problems finding accommodation: “At the moment it won’t be a challenge for us to look for something on the Lithuanian housing market.”
The incident command is expected to grow to a staff of around 150 men and women by the fourth quarter of 2024. The army brigade is reorganized in Lithuania with the name Panzerbrigade 45. After the official commissioning in 2025, the additional forces should begin to be deployed that year, provided the required infrastructure is available in Lithuania.
In Germany, the Bundestag’s defense commissioner, Eva Högl (SPD), called for the Bundeswehr’s overall equipment not to be neglected. “Of course, this creates huge holes at first, because the equipment for our soldiers and the large equipment are not yet available,” said Högl in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. The brigade must be equipped with everything it needs to make it attractive.
Pistorius signed a policy document for the deployment in Vilnius in December and spoke of a “historic moment”. The brigade’s main deployment location will be the Rudninkai military training area, not far from the border with Belarus. According to Lithuanian information, around 80 percent of the soldiers are based there. The remainder will be stationed in Rukla in central Lithuania, which recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its accession to NATO.
How will Lithuania progress with infrastructure?
We will be watching with interest to see whether and how the Lithuanians are making progress with the creation of the promised infrastructure. This includes military areas and barracks as well as apartments and houses. The soldiers and their families will live in Vilnius and Kaunas, where a school and a kindergarten are to be built. How many family members could go to Lithuania is currently unclear. The Lithuanian government had pushed for the deployment. A special commission had already been set up to prepare it. Since the end of March, a deputy minister in the Ministry of Defense has also been responsible for hosting the brigade.
Lithuania borders Russia’s ally Belarus and Russia’s Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. A narrow land corridor runs between the two countries from Lithuania west to Poland – NATO’s so-called Suwalki Gap, over which fighting could break out in the event of an attack. For the Lithuanians, Germany’s deployment of troops is a desired reassurance of NATO’s obligation to provide assistance. Creating the conditions for the Bundeswehr brigade will cost Lithuania around 800 million euros over the next few years. Kasciunas mentioned this sum on Lithuanian radio on Monday.
In a joint press conference, the German and Lithuanian officers were asked whether the German soldiers would move out to the side of the Lithuanians from the first moment on day X – i.e. in the event of an attack – and would also be prepared to give their lives for the defense to use. The German army inspector, General Alfons Mais, said that the question of whether the brigade would fulfill its mission did not arise for him. Mais said: “Soldiers of the army are fulfilling their mission. Exclamation point.”