5 reasons that answer... Why is the German army considered weak?

Highlights: Germany knows that it is in danger as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its army suffers from fundamental problems that affect its effectiveness. Opinion polls indicate that only 35% of Germans trust their army. The main decisions are not taken by the Ministry of Defense, but by the German Parliament, especially with regard to the budget, methods of spending it, and the field of deployment of forces. Germany is one of the largest arms exporters in the world, but the development of German companies' sales has not reflected positively on the German army.

Germany knows that it is in danger as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its army suffers from fundamental problems that affect its effectiveness. This is what the country has recently become aware of, but solving them takes a long time due to the policy of the past decades.

Opinion polls indicate that only 35% of Germans trust their army (Getty)

Berlin -

An unlicensed drone can fly over German military installations and take whatever photos and videos it wants, which may be used for espionage purposes, but the German army does not find realistic solutions to solve this problem, due to the overlap of jurisdictions between it and the police, according to This was confirmed by a recent report by the German Channel 2 (CDF).

This is a simple aspect of the challenges that the German army suffers from, the news of which has become numerous over the past years, a number of which overshadowed the Munich Security Conference, which ended on Sunday, February 18, 2024, but a large part of them is due to the view of the Germans and the German state towards their army after World War II. Then German foreign policy, which for decades followed an appeasement foreign policy.

A spokeswoman for the German army in Cologne told Al Jazeera Net that defending her country and its partners in NATO is at the core of the army's tasks, pointing out that after the end of the Cold War and the reunification of the country, Germany moved towards "bearing more responsibility for international security outside NATO territory." NATO, including crisis management in countries such as Iraq, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan.

But the army has returned to “focusing on national defense and defending alliances since 2014 with Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and later with Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine,” the spokeswoman confirms, pointing out that there is currently great interest in operations with NATO and in restoring the operational readiness of the German army.

What distinguishes the German Army is that the main decisions are not taken by the Ministry of Defense, but by the German Parliament, especially with regard to the budget, methods of spending it, and the field of deployment of forces. A parliamentary committee for defense affairs also exercises oversight over the army, but this peculiarity also contributed to problems that the army is aware of, and the following are 5 of them. These challenges:

Popular but old gear

Although Germany is one of the largest arms exporters in the world, as it is in fifth place with a 4.2% share of global exports between 2018 and 2022, according to the SIPRI Institute, the development of German companies’ sales has not reflected positively on the German army, which suffers from a major problem with a lack of equipment. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated a while ago that these loopholes will not be completely closed before 2030.

The minister stressed that the Ukraine war increased the German army’s armament loopholes, given that a number of weapons exported to Ukraine came from army stores, but the problem of obsolescence of equipment is not new in Germany. In 2018, local media published secret documents confirming that many of the mechanisms The military does not work.

The documents stated that soldiers do not receive sufficient mobile housing units, or even protective vests in the required number, due to the incompatibility of purchases with needs. At the time, the Army Commissioner in the German Parliament, Hans Peter Bartels, criticized this problem, and said that it was “unacceptable for the shortage to reach equipment.” Personality of soldiers.

German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht listens to explanations about the Mills anti-tank system (French)

Defense ministers who have nothing to do with the army

Contrary to what happens in other countries, the Minister of Defense in Germany is essentially a political position, subject to an agreement within the government, and is often affiliated with the Chancellor’s party, and the minister is not required to have military experience. For example, the current President of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen, was Minister. Defense between 2013 and 2019, even though her previous work was in the field of medicine, and she was also Minister of Family Affairs and then Minister of Labor.

Although Ursula's period witnessed great criticism of her, especially after the outbreak of what was considered a scandal regarding the use of advisors from outside the ministry, the German government chose as her successor a woman unknown in the world of political positions, namely Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, simply because she was elected at the time as the successor to former Chancellor Angela Merkel in Christian party.

Then came Christina Lambrecht during the era of Olaf Schulz, who resigned after a series of scandals that demonstrated her limited knowledge in the military field, especially her decision to support Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian war with only military helmets!

Although the current minister, Boris Pistorius, does not have a strong career in the army, he at least had previously performed compulsory service for several months, specialized in cybersecurity issues, and was Minister of the Interior in the state of Lower Saxony, and Schulz entrusted him with the most difficult task in the history of the German army since... Reunification, which is the modernization of the army, which is being evaluated positively so far according to local opinion polls.

German soldiers with the "Puma" personnel carrier that was misused in 2017 exercises with NATO (Getty)

Weak experiences

At the end of 2022, a letter from an army official, published by “Der Spiegel” magazine, revealed that “Puma” armored personnel carriers faced serious technical problems during exercises with NATO, to the point that it was not possible to use any of them, and the Minister of Defense at the time tried Lambrecht placed the responsibility on the arms companies, but she admitted in a report she submitted to Parliament that the problem was the “lack of necessary experience” to operate the carriers, including incorrectly installing the weapons.

In another letter in 2017 from an army sergeant major, published by the newspaper "Die Welt", she indicated that there were problems in training soldiers, to the point that they simulated the pipe of an armored vehicle with a broomstick during an exercise with NATO in Norway, which led to great ridicule.

The killing of German soldiers in Afghanistan in 2010 also confirmed the existence of a major deficiency in providing sufficient training equipment, as confirmed by an army spokesman at the time. In 2010, the Bild newspaper also published internal military reports stating that training on hand weapons was not compatible with standards. Requirements in a country like Afghanistan.

Fluctuating popular confidence

Events at a military training center in the town of Fullendorf in the south of the country in 2017 revealed an unhealthy atmosphere inside some army centers, such as complaints of bullying, sexual coercion, humiliation, and abuse of human dignity during medical examinations. The Ministry of Defense acknowledged what happened, describing it as “disgusting events,” and confirmed In a report to Parliament there were "serious deficiencies in the leadership, training and supervision of soldiers".

According to an opinion poll conducted by public channels ARD, only 35% of German respondents have either high or very high confidence in the army, and 85% have no confidence in arming the army, but another study by the Center for Military History and Social Sciences indicates The German Army, which is affiliated with the German Army, indicated that Germans’ confidence in their army rose from 76% in 2019 to 83% in 2022, and that only 55% feel an emotional connection with the army, and 77% believe that the army is important to Germany.

A report by the German radio "Deutschlandfunk" points to historical reasons, including: the refusal to conscription due to the Nazi past, then the spread of German movements rejecting armaments during the Cold War, as well as the role of the reunification of Germany in 1990 in reducing the causes of tension and creating a unified army that does not have clear enemies, after the dismantling of Germany. East German army.

German Chancellor Schulz entrusted current Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (right) with the task of modernizing the army (Getty)

Poor recruitment

Germany currently has 260,000 members in the army, but only 181,000 wear military uniforms, and the rest are distributed in civilian jobs, according to official figures. About 64,000 belong to the ground forces, 30,000 to the air forces, and 17,000 to the naval forces, compared to 2022. There is a decline in the number of soldiers by 1,500 individuals, while Germany wants to reach 200,000 soldiers by the year 2030.

Germany abolished compulsory conscription in 2011, and encouraged voluntary service instead, which led to a clear decline in the number of army personnel. Although the current Minister of Defense supports the restoration of compulsory conscription, there is great political and human rights opposition, for reasons related to freedom of choice, in addition to what the market is suffering from. Work in Germany suffers from a staggering shortage of cadres, and this will be further affected if conscription returns.

The German army spokeswoman says that when the armies of East and West Germany merged the day after reunification, the "2+4" agreement (the final settlement treaty) stipulated a maximum of 370,000 soldiers, then a reduction in the defense budget. All of these factors contributed to reducing the number of soldiers, pointing out that this shift is partly due to the decline in political and social interest in security and defense policies, including the army.

Germany is witnessing a discussion about the possibility of filling the shortfall in army numbers by compensating with foreigners, as the law currently allows foreigners inside and outside Germany to join voluntary service, and the Ministry of Defense announced programs to encourage them to come, but the current discussion concerns seeking their help in combat missions permanently, and not just support. Related to natural disasters and health emergencies.

The spokeswoman explains that army law still requires soldiers to obtain German citizenship. However, the Ministry of Defense can allow exceptions in individual cases whenever there is an urgent need to do so, highlighting that there are currently 4 soldiers in the army who are not German.

Germany allowed women to join the army in 2001, and today they constitute 12% of soldiers (Getty)

Is the solution to raise the budget?

Berlin did not attach much importance to the defense budget, and the German parties were divided regarding armaments. Indeed, some parties such as the Social Democratic Party (the current Chancellor's party) demanded that funds be directed to other sectors.

But the Russian war on Ukraine changed the plan, and the day after the outbreak of war, Olaf Schulz announced the establishment of a special fund to modernize the army worth 100 billion euros, but the Ministry of Defense said at the time that the number was insufficient due to the great challenges facing the army.

This year, Germany approved 2% of its budget for defense affairs, which is happening for the first time since 1992, in response to NATO’s request, which stresses the need for each country’s internal military spending to reach at least this number.

Source: Al Jazeera