Additional forces deploy to Lithuania

Vehicles are prepared and moved up, powerful self-propelled howitzers are loaded onto heavy equipment transporters, transport boxes are packed and soldiers say goodbye to their families. “We are reliable”, says Federal Minister of Defence, Christine Lambrecht, during her troop visit in Munster. The Army is deploying up to 250 additional servicemembers to Lithuania. The soldiers are preparing to deploy directly to Lithuania.

Owing to the current security situation and based on a request from the Lithuanian government, the German Federal Government has decided to deploy reinforcements to Lithuania for NATO’s German-led Enhanced Forward Presence battle group. In total, that amounts to around 350 soldiers, approximately 250 of whom are Army personnel. There is a broad spectrum of capability profiles represented, including artillery, reconnaissance, CBRNchemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defence, engineers, military police, logistic and medical forces. The troops will travel 1,600 kilometres from Germany to the employment area in Lithuania.

Notice to move

The reinforcement forces were given explicit notice to move on 9 February, which means they were ordered to get ready for deployment. They would have soon deployed to Lithuania for two weeks for a routine semi-annual certification exercise anyway. Soldiers at garrisons in Lüneburg, Nienburg/Weser, Munster, Augustdorf, Höxter, Viereck, Neubrandenburg, Havelberg and Hagenow are preparing for the movement to Lithuania. For them, this mission just means that the schedule has been moved up. Their training and equipment are perfectly tailored to them and to their mission, except that they are now needed earlier and will be available to the acknowledged mission in Lithuania for longer.

The highly mobile Army

Tracked vehicles, heavy all-terrain trucks as well as technical equipment and supplies such as ammunition, supplementary items and food are being prepared for transport. From the battalions, small detachments are moved to prepared staging areas. As an official in charge of movement organisation explains, small convoy serials from the battalions will be combined to form larger columns that will then continue their road movement to Poland. In these staging areas, he adds, additional fuel or food will also be provided to the columns.

On the way to Lithuania

Approximately 1,600 kilometres lie ahead of the soldiers. A large part of these reinforcements, i.e. about 100 vehicles, some with trailers, some without, will reach Lithuania by road movement in a column formation. Heavy tracked vehicles will be moved with heavy equipment transporters and some soldiers will fly to Lithuania from Wunstorf Air Base. In this way, the Army contributes to a moderate reinforcement of the NATO Alliance in the Baltics, while de-escalation remains an option at all times.

by René Hinz