Germany’s Bundeswehr hopes that the brigade, which will be deployed in Lithuania, will be made up of volunteers, says Major General Ruprecht von Butler, commander of the German 10th Armoured Division.
A total of around 5,000 German troops will be deployed to Lithuania over the next few years. The core of the brigade will consist of the 203rd Tank Battalion from North Rhine-Westphalia and the 122nd Armoured Infantry Battalion from Bavaria.
“We will deploy troops to Lithuania on orders when needed. We have the capability to do that, but I don’t think it will be necessary because we have so many volunteers,” von Butler told BNS.
“The deployment of the new brigade in Lithuania will lead to a big movement of people, not only from Germany to Lithuania but also within Germany,” he said.
As part of the transformation of its army, Germany plans to have one of NATO’s most advanced divisions by 2025. It would be based on the division led by von Butler, and the brigade deployed in Lithuania would also be part of this newly formed unit.
For the time being, von Butler is in charge of one of the main units that will make up the brigade in Lithuania, the 122nd Armoured Infantry Battalion. The general noted that he had already discussed the future deployment in Lithuania with its soldiers.
“More than 50 percent of the battalion said ‘OK, we will come to Lithuania’. The other 50 percent will come from other German battalions. So, we have a lot of volunteers, a lot of people. Many soldiers really want to be here to demonstrate the alliance’s willingness to defend our home countries,” he said.
Last September, the German publication Der Spiegel reported that a survey showed that only about a fifth of Bundeswehr soldiers would volunteer to go to Lithuania. According to t von Butler, this figure is theoretical and “green”.
“On the other hand, there are 60,000 soldiers in the army. So, if we take a fifth, we have 12,000 who would volunteer to go to Lithuania, and we need 5,000 for the brigade. So, we would have enough troops even in that case,” he said.
No number of relatives
According to the German-Lithuanian brigade plan, the main deployment will take place between 2025 and 2026. The brigade is planned to reach full operational capability in 2027.
The German-led NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battle group will also be integrated into the brigade.
“It is very important that Germany will provide a full brigade – we will come with all the equipment and personnel. It will be a full brigade, 100 percent manned and equipped,” von Butler said.
The German soldiers will serve in Rūdninkai and Rukla, some of them will live in Vilnius and Kaunas, and additional logistic points will be created in other parts of Lithuania.
Due to the long rotation period, some troops are expected to arrive with their families. Von Butler said he could not yet give a number of relatives who would be coming with the troops.
“We are currently going through the procedures for that. [...] If I were to give a number now, it would be wrong. Now we have to talk to the soldiers and find out how many of them would like to come with their families,” he explained.
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