On Saturday, the German army, the Bundeswehr, demonstrated that it would identify a new primary unit of ground forces committed to securing important infrastructure and amenities from the country’s internal army.

As part of the new structure, the homeland defense forces will be placed under the army’s command from April.

The move anticipates Germany’s existing army divisions being deployed to NATO’s external borders under NATO command as a deterrent or to defend against external aggression.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last year ordered a reorganization of the Bundeswehr to its defense capabilities with a unified operational command.

His status quo corresponds to the decree of Osnabrück, whose objective is to make the German fight in a position for the war opposed to Russia in the gentle of the invasion of Ukraine.

At the time, the minister referred to the changed situation and the need to survive militarily in a defensive war.

While Germany already has sets of defense of the country, sometimes they are not active and are composed of reservists, under the commandments of the individual states of Germany.  

The latter resolution would make them semi-active, under the command of the army. The department will have to be composed of active infantrymen and reservists.

The decree, the fourth regulation to restructure Bundeswehr in its history, means that “national defense and alliance have once returned the objective” due to the greatest considerations regarding Russian aggression. It supplies “the formal basis of a leadership organization in a position for war. “

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Military planners expect the unit to be formed in mid-March and to number some 6,000 personnel by the summer before being expanded further.

The Bundeswehr recently has more than 260,000 people, adding civilian personnel. This includes the army, navy, and Air Force, as well as medical and other services.

Currently, the Army includes 3 divisions, the addition of a fourth primary unit committed to the defence of the birthplace marks a significant improvement in the Bundeswehr’s capabilities.

While the move was initially put on ice after the collapse of the coalition government in November, preparations are continuing.

Germany’s CDU/CSU conservative alliance, currently leading the polls ahead of a February 23 parliamentary election, says it wants to go further than the model already put forward by the center-left-led outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The Bundeswehr says the homeland defense division will be charged with the protection of ports, railway facilities and freight shipment points, as well as pipelines.

It will also guard roads for troop deployment, bridges, transport hubs and digital infrastructure, the military said.

Such capabilities are seen as particularly crucial should the rest of Germany’s army be deployed to countries on the eastern flank of NATO, such as Poland or the Baltic states.

The division will also safeguard Germany’s role as an operational base and hub for NATO. As such, it will be tasked with defending both national and alliance property in times of crisis or conflict.

It can also be used to provide administrative assistance due to primary accidents, terrorist attacks or long -term pandemics.

An army spokesman on Saturday said the division would “lead its own and, if necessary, other troops as part of national territorial defense, in the event of assistance, in civil-military cooperation and in the implementation of joint Bundeswehr tasks in the area.” 

RC / LO (DPA, AFP)