Germany Deploys Troops to Lithuania in First Permanent Mission Since World War II

The new deployment is part of an effort by Berlin to secure NATO’s eastern flank and show that Europe can take on a greater responsibility for its own defense.

Members of the German Bundeswehr's 371st Armoured Infantry Battalion stand in camouflage with sniper rifles during a media event at the battalion's base in Marienberg, Germany on March 10, 2015. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Germany is deploying troops to Lithuania as part of a wider effort to enhance NATO readiness and assume an increased leadership role within the alliance.

The new deployment is Berlin’s first permanent foreign military mission since World War II, although it has engaged in non-permanent overseas missions, including in support of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement that the deployment marked a historic turning point for the NATO alliance and Germany’s role in it.

“With this combat-ready brigade, we are taking on leadership responsibility within the alliance here at NATO’s eastern flank,” he said.

The new brigade has been in the planning stages since 2023 and is designed to deter further Russian aggression in the region while also transferring some defense responsibilities from the United States to Europe.

The brigade in Lithuania will consist of about 5,000 personnel and 2,000 vehicles. The three units involved include a mechanized battalion, a tank battalion, and additional combat and support elements that will team up with a multinational battlegroup.

That battlegroup is one of NATO’s Enhanced Presence Groups, which have deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland since 2017 in an ongoing response to Russian-backed operations against Ukraine.

The new unit will also be supported by a German armored infantry brigade, which will serve in a reserve capacity, standing ready to deploy to Lithuania in the event of a crisis.

The new German unit is expected to reach full operational capability in 2027.

Lithuania and the other nations on NATO’s eastern flank are post-Soviet states, and their history with Russian communist oppression has long led local leadership to consider the possibility that Moscow could mark them for conquest next.

To that end, the nations on NATO’s easternmost flank are investing record amounts in defense to deter such an outcome.

In the 10 years following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Lithuania has increased its defense spending from less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to nearly 3 percent, and the nation plans to grow that number further to between 5 percent and 6 percent of GDP by 2030.

Lithuania, in particular, finds itself in a difficult geopolitical situation, with borders along the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as well as Moscow’s close ally Belarus, which houses some of Moscow’s nuclear weapons.

Leadership in Vilnius has therefore sought to encourage increased NATO missions to its territory in addition to beefing up its own defense spending and has funded the infrastructure for new German military training areas, including firing ranges and barracks.

The new German deployment also comes as Berlin seeks to assure Washington that NATO’s European powers are ready and able to take on an increased role in the alliance’s leadership and security.

NATO leadership announced last year that a new military command would be established in Germany and led by a three-star NATO officer from a European nation.

That command is now responsible for the training and equipping of some Ukrainian troops, as well as for preparing Ukraine for the possibility of integrating with NATO in the future.

At present, Ukraine has not been formally considered for NATO membership.

The embattled eastern European nation cannot join the alliance for a number of reasons at present, including the fact that it does not maintain territorial integrity and does not have the unanimous backing of all 32 NATO members.