9/22/2023 0 Comments Modern german anti-tank weaponsThe Bundeswehr was established in November 1955. In a rare public intervention as Russia invaded, Alfons Mais, the head of the German army, expressed a deep sense of frustration that he had almost no options to bolster Germany’s military presence in eastern Europe to reassure Nato allies, because the Bundeswehr was ‘more or less bare’ in its capabilities. After decades of underfunding, cutbacks, public disinterest and political neglect it is no longer a credible fighting force. Germany’s military reticence would end – as would its strategic diplomatic and economic engagement with Russia.Īt the centre of this historic turning point are Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr. In the Reichstag – that still bears the graffiti of Soviet soldiers that stormed the building in May 1945 – Scholz announced a radical departure, or ‘ Zeitenwende’, from decades of German post-war foreign policy doctrine. He also promised that Germany would send hundreds of Stinger man-portable air-defence systems and Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to aid the country in its fight against Russian aggression. In a historic speech to the German parliament last month, the chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a €100 billion investment fund for the German army and a permanent increase in defence spending to above 2 per cent of GDP.
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