In early 1996, for the first time since World War II, German infantrymen in combat uniform entered the territory of a European country. The Germans did not come to Bosnia and Herzegovina as UN peacekeepers or peacekeepers, but as NATO members. UN-led Implementation Force (IFOR).
In 1992, the former Yugoslav republic was plunged into the bloodiest war on European soil since 1945, led by the country’s Serbian ethnic minority, with the troops of Serbian autocrat Slobodan Milosevic. In December 1995, the warring parties, neighboring countries, and the Heads of State and Government of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany signed the Dayton Peace Agreement.
NATO shaped IFOR, which was succeeded by the Stabilization Force (SFOR), to achieve a ceasefire and stabilize peace in this small southeastern European state.
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Germany participated, but the Bundeswehr was only partially prepared for the project in the mountainous country. German Army infantrymen had not been trained for “out-of-zone” operations. not to pass.
During the Cold War, the Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), which joined NATO in 1955, was primarily guilty of protecting against possible attack through the Warsaw Pact countries, which were in the Soviet zone of influence and included the German Democratic Socialist Republic (East Germany).
There were half a million Soviets stationed in East Germany. And the GDR’s National People’s Army (NVA) had more than 150,000 more.
Every year, NATO organized attack scenarios and trainings that took place on flat terrain in northern Germany, usually with tanks.
The idea that large Leopard tanks and Bundeswehr equipment would be protected opposed to such an attack from the east until unfettered air sovereignty was established with the help of NATO’s largest member, the United States.
From 1958 to 1972, the strength of the West German Army increased from 249,000 to 493,000 men.
Until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of infantrymen was around 480,000 men. When the Bundeswehr became part of the National People’s Army, with the main aim of gradually abolishing its structures, their numbers increased again.
About twenty years later, there were about 200,000 infantrymen left in the Bundeswehr. In 2023, it had 181,000 members, according to the German Ministry of Defense.
Only a small proportion of them are trained to be deployed in combat as part of NATO missions.
The Bundeswehr’s role in NATO was further renewed after the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, prompting the United States to invoke the alliance’s usual defense clause, and Germany complied with treaty obligations. The German military component of the U. S. -led coalition that invaded Afghanistan to push back the Taliban.
For a long time, the Bundeswehr focused on educational equipment that could be transported quickly, even to Afghanistan. Until the Zeitenwfinishe, or “turning point”, a term coined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a speech to the German parliament a few days later. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (many armies were prepared for such turmoil) has extended ground attacks in Europe, three decades after the end of the Cold War.
During the Cold War and in the years that followed, the United States played a leading role in NATO. No other country has invested as much in the military as this nuclear power, which still has more than 100,000 workers stationed in Europe.
But the U. S. ion could be lost if Donald Trump becomes president of the United States again. Trump has threatened NATO partners who don’t spend enough money on Russia’s defense. He even said he would inspire Moscow to do “whatever it wants” when NATO alliance members fail to meet their defense spending targets.
Will Germany play a leading role in NATO in the future?The Bundeswehr will have to become “the guarantor of traditional defence in Europe”, Chancellor Scholz said in a government in June 2023. But it still lacks the personnel, apparatus and capacity to do so. then.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has since said that the Bundeswehr will have to be “ready for war. “Some analysts expect that Russia, which has transitioned to a war economy, could launch an attack on NATO territory in less than five years.
After three decades of “off-site” operations, the Bundeswehr has enough ammunition to protect itself for a few days from such an attack.
The idea now is to improve NATO to such an extent that it can have a strong deterrent effect against Russia attacking NATO territory. Just like the four decades of the Cold War.
This article has been translated from German. It was first published in April 2024 and updated on the occasion of NATO’s 75th anniversary in July 2024.
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