news

source: china national defense news·china military news

construction of germany's first overseas military base begins

■liu cheng

in late august, lithuania held a groundbreaking ceremony for the german military base at the rudninkai training ground near the belarusian border. the nato military committee, the german ministry of defense and the lithuanian ministry of defense all expressed their support for this. foreign media said that the construction and opening of the base will have far-reaching impacts. germany can use this to achieve permanent overseas garrisons, get rid of the so-called historical burden of world war ii, and accelerate the development of its export-oriented military.

key progress of the lighthouse project

this garrison plan, known as the "lighthouse project", was finalized by the defense ministers of germany and lithuania at the end of 2023. subsequently, the two sides held consultations on the size of the garrison, the site selection of the camps and the deployment process. in the first half of this year, the two countries agreed to establish two camps in rudninkai and rukla near vilnius and kaunas, two major cities in lithuania. the two cities are located in eastern and central lithuania, with convenient railway transportation. kaunas is also a hub city for the future underground comprehensive transportation of the three baltic countries. foreign media said that it took only more than half a year from the negotiations to the official launch of the project, reflecting the important position of the above-mentioned bases in the defense cooperation between the two countries.

the first batch of german troops stationed in lithuania is named "lithuanian brigade", with a total of 5,000 people, including 4,800 combat personnel and 200 civilian personnel. the brigade has three combat battalions, namely the 122nd armored infantry battalion, the 203rd tank battalion and a multinational mixed battalion, and is expected to have full combat capabilities by the end of 2027. among them, the multinational mixed battalion will be formed on the basis of the nato rapid reaction battle group led by germany before, with about 1,700 people, of which 1,000 are german soldiers, and the rest are from the czech, dutch, norwegian and belgian armies.

all three combat battalions will be stationed in the rudninkai base under construction, with a normal scale of 4,000 people. rukla will serve as the location of the brigade-level command structure and will have a training center that meets nato's common standards. in addition to meeting the training and assessment needs of the german garrison, it will also be open to lithuania and other nato garrisons.

it is worth mentioning that the german 203rd tank battalion is currently in an idle state, and its old leopard 2 main battle tanks have been delivered to the eastern european battlefield. the battalion will be equipped with leopard 2a7v main battle tanks from 2025, and will be stationed in rudninkai base, lithuania after being fully staffed before 2026. the 122nd armored infantry battalion is basically fully staffed, and its vanguard troops, together with more than 20 people in the command structure, will become the first batch of personnel to be stationed. the multinational mixed battalion adopts a two-line management model: germany is responsible for daily management and military training, and the nato military committee will take over command in wartime or emergencies.

the cost of building the rudninkai military facility is expected to exceed 1 billion euros (about 1.1 billion u.s. dollars), which will be mainly borne by the lithuanian government, and germany will be responsible for investing in the facilities around the base. from 2025, the base will enter a "construction and use" state, and the german bundeswehr will gradually complete the adjustment and deployment of its forces. in 2027, germany's first permanent overseas military base will be fully operational.

german army reform "node event"

german defense minister pistorius said that the construction and opening of the military base in lithuania is an important defense event under germany's "era turning point" political declaration. this will be the first permanent military base built by germany overseas since joining nato in 1955. it is also an important measure of germany's largest military reform, marking that germany's outward-looking military development policy is accelerating.

the german ministry of defense also announced that it will form a 2,500-strong european rapid reaction force in accordance with the eu's "strategic compass" action plan, with the first stop being poland, and will continue to expand the force before 2025. by then, germany's military reach will extend directly from poland to the baltic sea to the eastern wing of europe. in terms of timing, this overseas garrison plan is in line with germany's large-scale military reform, especially in terms of the recruitment process and the speed of equipment installation.

the structure of the "lithuanian brigade" also meets the transformation requirements of the german bundeswehr, that is, taking into account both heavy firepower and tactical mobility. according to reports, germany is piloting the creation of the 41st armored brigade in china, and its main structure is basically the same as the "lithuanian brigade". foreign media said that in parallel with the construction of overseas military bases, germany will adjust and reform the bundeswehr, including reshaping the command system, expanding the number of troops, and accelerating the research, construction and procurement of equipment.

for the use of brigade-level troops, germany and lithuania plan to adopt a rapid support model, that is, the german domestic garrison can simplify the entry procedures according to the needs of the battlefield and quickly deploy to the rukla training ground in central lithuania, and then use rudninkai as the frontier fulcrum to deploy troops and carry out defensive operations. according to reports, as germany follows the united states closely, its overseas base construction and troop use also follow the us military model, trying to become nato's "leader" in europe through outward-oriented armament construction.

according to the plan, the three combat battalions of the "lithuanian brigade" will defend the eastern wing of europe on behalf of nato in wartime or crisis situations, which also echoes germany's new "national security strategy" and its first defense guidelines. it can be seen that germany is arming itself under the framework of nato. the increase in military expenditure brought about by the upgrade of armaments has made its defense budget reach nato standards for the first time and has continued to stabilize at a high level. the outside world believes that this is germany's practical action to show its european and american allies the direction of the reform of the national defense force.

intensifying nato's eastward expansion

as a major participant and defeated country in both world wars, germany's launch of its first overseas military base and its garrison plan has aroused concerns among some european countries. some french media accused the scholz government of "abandoning pacifism". some lithuanian people also held protests, accusing their government of forgetting the tragedy of the eastern european battlefield during world war ii. in their view, allowing german troops to enter is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house.

nato is undoubtedly a supporter and instigator of germany's overseas deployment of troops. according to reports, the official opening time of the two camps in rudninkai and rukla is roughly the same as the military bases planned by nato in romania and finland, and the geographical location connects the polar region, the baltic sea, the eastern wing of europe and the southern hinterland. the german military base in lithuania will run through western europe and eastern europe, which is essentially to build a "through train" for nato's troop transportation from the depths to the frontiers of eastern europe, which may further aggravate nato's eastward expansion and the risk of regional conflicts.

(produced by china national defense news and china military news)