These Bundeswehr combat units are going to Lithuania
Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius is pressing ahead with plans for the permanent stationing of a Bundeswehr combat brigade in Lithuania from 2025. As announced by the Federal Ministry of Defense, the combat units for the new Panzerbrigade 42, which will be relocated from Germany to Lithuania, have now been determined. Pistorius assured that the current locations of the affected battalions in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia would be retained due to the relocation of other units there.
In June, Pistorius announced the permanent transfer of up to 4,000 soldiers to the NATO partner country. In October, the minister said that the new Lithuania brigade should be "formally commissioned" by the beginning of 2025. Germany is currently already leading the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) combat group in Rukla, Lithuania, and has almost 800 soldiers on site. Their forces are regularly exchanged.
"The Lithuanian brigade is the lighthouse project of the new era," explained Pistorius with a view to the reorganization of the Bundeswehr in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine. The decisions that have already been made regarding the affected battalions will give their soldiers and staff "clarity and time to adapt to the changes as early as possible".
Specifically, according to the ministry, the 122 Armored Infantry Battalion from Oberviechtach and the 203 Armored Battalion from Augustdorf are to be relocated to Lithuania. The third battalion will initially continue to be part of the NATO combat group in Lithuania, which will continue to rotate. It will also include units from partner countries the Netherlands and Norway.
According to an internal paper from the Ministry of Defense, which was made available to "Der Spiegel", the German combat brigade on NATO's eastern flank is to be set up on a volunteer basis. According to the paper, Pistorius is offering financial bonuses and other privileges in order to convince the soldiers to be permanently stationed in Lithuania. The personnel department is outlining a mix of measures consisting of foreign allowances, regular trips to Germany, local schools and daycare centers as well as career opportunities and a lowering of the retirement age.
Timetable in place
According to the Ministry of Defense, the 215 tank artillery battalion in Augustdorf will be reorganized to maintain the locations in Germany. The artillery battalion 131 from Weiden in Bavaria is to be relocated to Oberviechtach. The reorganization of a light supply company is also being examined there. In Weiden, "the growth of the newly established armored artillery battalion 375 is to be continued" as compensation.
"Despite the establishment of the brigade in Lithuania, we will not only maintain the locations in Germany, but also keep the stationing at the locations at a comparable level in the medium term," explained Pistorius. "This is particularly important to us."
With regard to the further schedule, the Ministry of Defense explained that the relocation of the units will be set out in a so-called deployment directive in December. A preliminary detachment is to move to Lithuania in the second quarter of 2024, with the deployment staff of Panzerbrigade 42 then moving in the last quarter of 2024.
The German Armed Forces, specifically the 122 Armored Infantry Battalion from Oberviechtach and the 203 Armored Battalion from Augustdorf, are being relocated to Lithuania as part of the permanent stationing of a Bundeswehr combat brigade. This decision by Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius is in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine and aims to strengthen NATO's presence on its eastern flank.
Source: www.ntv.de
