Heer will not survive in high-intensity combat

According to a media report, the Bundeswehr cannot fulfill its NATO commitments. The inspector of the army Alfons Mais makes a drastic judgment.

Bundeswehr soldiers in an exercise.Janine Schmitz/photothek/imago

According to a media report, the Bundeswehr cannot fulfill its NATO commitments and alliance obligations. The operational readiness of the division promised by Germany from 2025 can only be restored “to a limited extent”, reports the Bild newspaper (Tuesday edition), citing a letter from the Inspector of the Army, Alfons Mais, to the Bundeswehr Inspector General. According to the letter, even the concentration of the entire army stocks could not enable full equipment.

According to the report, the operational readiness of the second division, which the Bundeswehr wants to provide from 2027, is also “unrealistic”. The division will “not be sufficiently equipped with large equipment in 2027,” the Bild newspaper quoted the inspector as saying.

Bundeswehr has too few weapons, but mold: “You can’t actually live there”

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Inspector General makes devastating verdict on Bundeswehr

Accordingly, there is even a risk that the entire army’s operational readiness will continue to decline. Without countermeasures, “the army will not be able to sustain itself in high-intensity combat and will only be able to fulfill its obligations to NATO to a limited extent,” Mais is quoted as saying.

The Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl (SPD), said when she presented her 2022 annual report in mid-March: “The Bundeswehr has too little of everything.”