As of: March 28, 2024, 4:52 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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NATO is preparing for a possible attack by Vladimir Putin's Russia. The Bundeswehr would have to fully trust Deutsche Bahn.
Cham/Berlin - The Bundeswehr recently showed Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin's regime what it has to offer in terms of weapons systems and capabilities during the NATO exercise “Grand North 24” in Norway to deter Russia.
Deterrence against Vladimir Putin's Russia: NATO holds major maneuvers
Moscow's imperialism in the Ukraine war serves as a warning example, while the eastern allies of the defense alliance between the Baltics and Poland fear for their state sovereignty and independence. For this reason, “Grand Quadriga 24” (May 15th to 30th) will be an integral part of the major NATO exercise “Steadfast Defender 24”, which brings together all of the alliance's sub-exercises between the beginning of March and the end of May.
The Bundeswehr plays a crucial role in this. Because: It would defend the Suwalki Corridor (see map below) together with Polish and Lithuanian NATO troops if the Russian army tried to cut off the Baltics right here, between the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea and Belarus. But that's not all: If Putin actually attacks NATO here, a lot would depend on Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Bundeswehr Leopard 2 tanks are transported by rail through Thuringia. (Archive photo) © IMAGO / Karina Hessland
Bundeswehr's Leopard 2 tank: too heavy for the Luftwaffe's A400M
After all, the German Air Force's Airbus A400M can transport vehicles weighing up to 37 tons. But the Leopard 2A6 and 2A7 each weigh just over 62 tons. As
ZDF
reports, the Bundeswehr has therefore concluded a so-called framework freight contract with DB Cargo for 100 million euros over two years. Specifically: The DB company provides the German army, i.e. the land forces, with 300 wagons and locomotives each year for more than 1,300 military transports. The wagons and locomotives are therefore permanently blocked for the Bundeswehr.
But that's not all: as
ZDF
writes on its website, the railway has committed to keeping two cross-border military transports per day and direction free for the Bundeswehr. Lithuania could use all possible support in the event of a Russian attack. Not just because the Baltic state is quite small with around 2.8 million inhabitants. The Lithuanian army is also manageably large with around 14,500 soldiers and does not have a single battle tank.
Located between NATO states on the Baltic Sea: the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Finland is now also part of the defense alliance. © dpa/Graphic: A. Brühl, Editor: J. Schneider
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With Leopard 2 tanks: Bundeswehr would have to defend Lithuania for NATO
Instead, the basic armored vehicle equipment consists of 88 German-made GTK Boxer wheeled tanks and just over 200 old M113 personnel carriers on tracks, which, however, have proven to be very vulnerable in Ukraine due to their steep sides and weak armor and armament. According to the
Global Firepower Index (GFP)
, as of March 28, out of 21 Lithuanian self-propelled howitzers, only 14 were operational. The tracked howitzer, produced in cooperation by the Munich tank builder Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the Rhineland arms company Rheinmetall, forms the core of the Lithuanian artillery.
The Panzerbrigade 12 “Oberpfalz” (PzBrig 12) from the 10th Bundeswehr Panzer Division with around 4,500 soldiers from Cham in eastern Bavaria is significantly involved in “Quadriga 24”. The associated tank battalions 104 and 363 are equipped with Leopard 2 main battle tanks, the Panzergrenadier battalions 112 and 122 with “Mardern” and/or Puma infantry fighting vehicles. They bring the foot soldiers into battle, while the main battle tanks fight directly against enemy tanks. And that's exactly what the Bundeswehr soldiers in the Baltics are supposed to train.
Grand Quadriga 24: The Bundeswehr will move large parts of its 12th Armored Brigade by rail via Poland to Lithuania. © Bundeswehr
Worries about Vladimir Putin: NATO is preparing between Poland and the Baltics
A Bundeswehr battalion usually has 46 tanks. The Panzerbrigade 12 would not have included an estimated 92 “Leopards” as well as as many armored personnel carriers, engineer and recovery vehicles as the “Biber” bridge-laying vehicle. All of these vehicles must be moved via Poland to the Baltics by mid-May, according to a map published on the Bundeswehr website. And under simulated conditions.
According to ZDF,
the framework freight contract between DB Cargo and the German armed forces contains
a clause about a so-called “express surcharge”. If this clause comes into force, military transport in German rail traffic would have priority over passenger traffic. The “express surcharge” was secured because last year Germany was the lead nation of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), known as NATO’s spearhead, with the Panzergrenadier Brigade 37 from Frankenberg (Saxony). The clause also has an uneasy topicality in view of the Russian threat against the Baltics.
(pm)