Germany Sets up Military Division Dedicated to Territorial Defence

German army servicemen participate in the Quadriga 2024 military exercise in Pabrade, Lithuania May 29, 2024.
13:21 JST, January 12, 2025
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German military will establish a new division tasked exclusively with territorial defense, the army said on Saturday, bringing all existing reserve units under direct army command.
The reorganization will take effect in April and raise the number of German divisions – units of some 20,000 troops – to four without increasing the total number of around 180,000 soldiers in the German forces.
“The territorial defense will be put under army command from April 1, 2025,” an army spokesperson said, confirming a report by German news agency dpa.
The Western military alliance NATO is at its highest alert stage since the Cold War, with its more pessimistic officials, including German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, saying that an attack by Russia on its borders could happen within four years.
The German move will streamline command structures in territorial defense at a time when what Berlin describes as acts of Russian sabotage against the country’s critical infrastructure have reached a new high. Russia denies the accusations.
So far, Berlin has three divisions that NATO can call upon in case of a conflict, whose main job will be defending the alliance by confronting an adversary right at the front lines.
The fourth division will be tasked with Germany’s defense at home, including the protection of infrastructure such as ports, railways and supply and deployment routes.
Germany is gearing up for its role as major logistics hub in any conflict with Moscow, with tens of thousands of reinforcement troops from other NATO allies expected to be deployed east through Germany after arriving at its North Sea ports.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Executives at Japan’s Fuji TV and Parent Firm Resign over a Sex Scandal Linked to a Former Star
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Logs Worst Day in 4 Months on US Tariff Worries; Automakers Slump (UPDATE 2)
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Falls over 1% as Chip-Related Shares Track Nasdaq Lower (UPDATE 1)
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Ends Lower as Strong Yen Hurts Appetite (Update 1)
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock down Nearly 1% as Tech Shares Stumble (UPDATE 1)
JN ACCESS RANKING