German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the roll call of Panzerbrigade 45, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda (2nd R) and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (R) sitting behind him | Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
By Michael Fischer, Carsten Hoffman and Alexander Welscher in Riga
Vilnius: The German military entered what Chancellor Friedrich Merz described as a “new era” on Thursday, with the activation of its first large unit stationed permanently in another country.
Merz and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda both attended the roll-call ceremony for the new armoured brigade in the centre of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
The deployment came in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as part of efforts to strengthen the eastern flank of the NATO military alliance.
About 800 German troops were on parade on Cathedral Square in Vilnius. The brigade receive its colours, and a Lithuanian and German flash, or badge.
Merz said at the ceremony that “Lithuania has asked for support – and Germany stands ready.”
“Anyone who challenges NATO must know that we are prepared,” said Merz. “Anyone who threatens an ally must know that the entire alliance will jointly defend every inch of NATO territory.”
“This gathering is a sign of our solidarity and our friendship, for which I’m all the more grateful in view of the suffering that National Socialist [Nazi] Germany brought to this country.”
For the German army, this was “a step into a new era,” Merz said. “Never before have we permanently stationed a large military unit abroad.”
Nausėda described it as a “historic moment” for both countries. “It is also a landmark event for the security architecture of NATO and the whole of Europe.”
“My country is ready to play its part. Next year we will reach 5% of GDP for defence,” he said, signing up to the higher spending target demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who also attended the roll-call ceremony, said that “deterrence and defence are Germany’s top priorities.”
“We cannot and will not look away. Without security there is no freedom, without security there is no sovereignty,” he said.
‘Indispensable’ military presence
The brigade named “Lithuania” is to be fully operational by 2027. The aim is for a permanent presence of up to 5,000 troops, with their headquarters to be at Rūdninkai near the Belarusian border. The barracks have yet to be built, and an exercise ground is also planned.
Temporary accommodation for the brigade is to be in barracks near Vilnius.
Addressing the German troops directly during the roll-call ceremony, Merz said: “Your job is not easy … it requires discipline and it involves risks. But it is indispensable.”
The reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank with German troops would help defend the military alliance against “any aggression,” Merz told reporters earlier alongside Nausėda.
“The security situation here in the Baltic States remains very tense,” said Merz.
StratPost Inputs
Panzerbrigade 45 or the German 45 Armoured Brigade, activated as a permanent formation in Lithuania on Thursday, includes the 203 Tank Battalion, 122 Mechanised Infantry Battalion and a multinational Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup consisting of personnel from NATO allies. A second formation stationed in Germany, the 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade, has been designated Multinational Brigade LITHUANIA (MN Bde LTU), available for deployment to Lithuania in the event of a crisis.
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