Germany ‘misses almost everything’ needed for rearmament, ex-general says

• Germany, like other Western countries, is rushing to help Ukraine against Russia.
• It highlights the “neglected state and outdated focus” of the German army, the former general said.
• Before Berlin can help Kiev or defend NATO, it needs to renew its military.

Before Germany can arm Ukraine, it must rearm itself.

This is a warning from a former German general who argues that Germany must rebuild its sorely neglected army – this will take years.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Germany’s attempt to supply Kiev with arms “highlighted the neglected state and the outdated focus of the German army,” writes Erich Wadd in a recent essay for the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. There is

In the first years after the Cold War, the reunited German armed forces (consisting of the West German Bundeswehr and part of the East German National Volkssalmy) consisted of a large, well-trained and well-equipped army. was.

In 1990, the force had nearly 500,000 personnel. Today, the German army has only 183,000 men, falling short of its recruitment target. In 2018, half of the jet fighters and none of her six submarines were rated combat-ready. In 2022, German commanders complained that the Puma infantry fighting vehicle was plagued with deficiencies.

Spare Leopard 2 tanks and other armored vehicles in good mechanical condition were difficult to find and send to Ukraine. Many of the tanks Germany sent were sourced from the Wehrmacht’s own stocks, which reduced the strength of the tanks.

Vado, former military policy adviser to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, wrote that “there are logistical weaknesses in the shortage of armored and mechanized forces, shortages of ammunition and supply depot stockpiles that have been severely curtailed over the years.” ing. “Many facilities, including the barracks, are in poor condition.”

The problem is that Germany is juggling multiple commitments. It is under pressure to deliver weapons to Ukraine and fulfill its commitments to NATO and Europe’s defense while meeting all of its own defense requirements.

Like other Western nations, post-Cold War cuts and the end of conscription robbed the federal military of funds, equipment and personnel. Germany’s defense spending in 2020 is just 1.4% of her GDP, well below his 2% target that NATO members have pledged to meet her by 2024.

“All previous military reforms in Germany were not aimed at making the Bundeswehr better in terms of national and allied defense, but at making it smaller and cheaper,” wrote Vad. ing.

In addition, German defense policy focused for years on raking in personnel and equipment to sustain the thousands of troops that were part of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

“Ordnance procurement focused more on armored transport vehicles than on tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,” Vado writes.

Germany now finds itself having to switch from low-intensity counterinsurgency warfare to high-intensity mechanized warfare. The United States suffers from the same predicament. The Pentagon has belatedly realized that it is unprepared for conventional warfare against powers like China and Russia after two decades of quelling the insurgency.

After being criticized for its slow response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Berlin is trying to fix its flaws. This, on top of his €100bn increase in 2022, says it could take him five years to reach his 2% target.

As the United States has discovered, strengthening the nation’s defense industrial base is a major challenge.

For example, increasing production of artillery shells will take years. In the United States, only a handful of factories make that ammunition, but unlike many of the European countries in NATO, the United States has been able to act unilaterally.

France has been calling for a pan-European defense for years, but coordinating Germany’s defense procurement with other EU member states is difficult.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is trying to revitalize defense production, but there are “many bureaucratic obstacles, including directives on EU-wide tender procedures, the awarding and acceptance of contracts, and final approval of materials produced. It continues to hinder his efforts.” Vado writes.

Europe’s total defense spending is much larger than Russia’s. “Nevertheless, no one in the military sector takes Europeans seriously,” argued Vad, noting that “in the defense sector,” due to duplicate production and certification, lack of synergy, and “general egoism,” We lament the EU’s waste of ‘huge sums’.

Nonetheless, “Germany cannot go it alone,” wrote Vad, and that other European NATO members should also boost their defense capabilities, and the United States, while shifting its focus to the Pacific, will continue to make efforts in Europe. He added that it “remains essential” to the defense. “Without the United States, Europe cannot be a strategic balance of powers like China or Russia, or even a NATO partner like Turkey.”

Vad also believes that “military strength alone cannot make Europe safe now or in the long term.” Ultimately, Europeans must work together to find a political solution to the Ukraine war.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master’s degree in political science.follow him twitter and LinkedIn.