Retired Colonel: The Bundeswehr only has artillery ammunition for two days

Since the 1990s we have made savings in armaments, if you add everything up it would be 500 billion euros.
The 100 billion euros that are now to come for the Bundeswehr have so far been on a list that is currently being reduced. It would not be nearly enough to replenish the missing stocks. So far, the armaments industry has only had orders from abroad, which reacted early and ordered more. Germany would not do that so far, which he finds very frightening. Regarding Klingbeil’s demand that the industry must increase its capacities, Thiele says: “These admonitions to the industry are actually cheap.” Because you can’t keep production processes and personnel available if the Bundeswehr doesn’t order.
Bundeswehr had no urgency
Germany has lost the sense of urgency. That is also one of the most important assessment criteria for troops of the “Sense of Urgengy” in NATO. The attack on Ukraine should have been an urgent warning signal. “I would like to say almost gross negligence that we have not ordered anything so far,” said Thiele. He compares the ordering process in the defense industry with that of the Covid vaccines. Trump wanted to order at the time and Germany still waited.
The problem with this is that important supplies are no longer coming from China, other nations have ordered at an early stage. We would get something in 2-3 years at the earliest. “Actually, we are currently running a disarmament program with the Bundeswehr.” According to Thiele, there is a particular lack of artillery. The last German artillery ammunition factory had its order 19 years ago. Because there were no more orders, they have now closed. At that time, 9,000 rounds of ammunition had been ordered. In the case of defense, we would get by with this for a maximum of two days – even with low firing rates – it would probably be more minutes. Therefore, we could neither give anything to Ukraine nor defend ourselves. Belgians and Dutch couldn’t save us. One expects it from Germany as the economically strongest nation, the core performance.
When it comes to rocket technologies, the training requirements are very high. With the Patriot system, as the Ukrainians are demanding, around 100 people are needed to operate the missiles and training is also required. IRIS-T, which has already been delivered, can only be operated by a few people. So IRIS-T is better than the Patriot system, which is the predecessor, in terms of both design and precision. We would be making ourselves a participant in the war if we sent the Patriot system and personnel. Polish politicians are currently trying to get Germany into trouble in order to persuade us to engage more directly. In NATO, tough battles would take place between the individual states. It is the individual states that dictate what they want to give and what not, not NATO itself.
Retired Colonel Ralph Thiele assesses the situation in Ukraine
On the current situation: Ukraine has already lost more than 100,000 soldiers, whether through death or injuries. They are currently attracting men around the age of 45 to fill in the gaps. Putin currently has 120,000 men in training, and mobilization is continuing. The armed forces also suffer from the attacks on the infrastructure, because they also need electricity for transport or to treat the injured. “Over the timeline, we will have a problem keeping the soldiers motivated, equipped, and successful against the Russians.” To assess the situation in southern Ukraine, Thiele says: “I’m counting on the roller.” It’s not about clever concepts, you just overwhelm the other with mass.
He expects that Putin is preparing for it. He wants to surprise Ukraine.