This is not unique to Germany. This is the case in a lot of western european nations. Denmark ran out of ammunition in 2022 as we had to send soldiers and leopards to Estonia and we promised NATO to have a batallation ready by 2023 with 4000 soldiers and heavy weaponry. This has now been pushed to at least 2024 as we donated all our 19 artillery pieces to Ukraine. Western Europe have been sleeping for decades. Not an excuse though, its rather sad!
TY for Report. We are over armed in America. While Ukraine Conflict has drained Federal Government Armories, most US State National Guards are better provisioned than many Countries. We need to achieve more balance to sustain Peace. Decent Self Defense ability is needed for Peace, finding proper balance is always a Challenge. Switzerland appears to have done well.
@@prosandcons-fl2cc Peace and Freedom generate Prosperity over Long Terms. If you are adequately Armed to have decent Self Defense without being perceived as a threat by your neighbors, everyone tends to be well behaved. My family is well Armed, we enjoy Hunting, fishing and Target Shooting recreationally as do many others. We are not militaristic or Paranoid because we are competent and capable of some self defense so most of the time everyone is Peaceful out of confidence. It's pretty good in most areas except those with strict Firearms Regulations such as the City of Chicago where Law Abiding Citizens have given up their ability to self Defense so Criminals have impunity.
President Trump was laugh at for warning European leaders that buying gas and oil from Putin was dangerous and he was laughed at now look what has happened.
I feel like the first thing to change needs to be civil sentiment towards the Bundeswehr...as long as it is not seen as a respected profession it will be hard to get the personnell needed to build up a first class military. Like "do this job where you may die, earn less than in the private area AND people in your country look down on you - why is noone lining up?"
Here in Netherlands the military was also in a poor state. I remember in 2015 in training soldiers were shouting “bang bang!” Because of a lack of live ammunition…. Spending on defence in peace time is just very unpopular here, even though that is what you SHOULD do, because when war does break out, it will be too late…
Many have echoed that idea throughout history. Most notably the phrase, "Therefore let him who desires peace, prepare for war" - Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
@@bozo5632 Well that would depend on your particular country and the world it is in. I'm sure Netherlands, like everyone else, has someone they keep their eyes on with interest. All nations and their National Strategies operate on some assumption of threats. Holland is a member of NATO so that would lend some insight into who they anticipate as a threat.
@@Bumbley1 I can't even imagine who might threaten the Netherlands. (I also can't imagine the Netherlands doing much about it if it happened.) I'm in the USA. No one has threatened us since... Actually it's never happened. In my decades I have never had more than zero fear of anyone invading or declaring war, ever. And it's not because our military is so strong - we'd still have nothing to fear without it. Actually we'd be even safer, cuz no one would bother nuking us in a big nuclear war.
It is. But the same calculus also makes war a bargain, and frequently invites folly such as Iraq & Afghanistan. One of them was justified with NATO article 5, but both were failures of epic proportions regardless. If your biggest tool is a hammer, then every problem will start to look like a nail. Striking the right balance is something that many countries have historically struggled with.
I was stationed in Germany twice with the US Army. I had the opportunity to train around German troops a couple of times. Both were good experiences, but I did also witness empty training areas and kaserns. Lots of empty barracks. We were looking for the canteen and that's where we found a handful of the German troops hanging out. They ignored us, and we were fine with that. We were used to it. All that talk of cooperation between forces is political fluff. The troops don't particularly like each other, especially German and French forces. Honestly, I never went to Germany as an American soldier (but Belgian national) to "protect" Germany. I went there because that's where my orders sent me, and for bratwurst and beer.
German troops are generally very well trained, french and german troops have had their beef in their "roots", the reason the military is in bad condition is because of no actual conflicts, pacifist movements (i don mind it), not enough manpower and not enough budget, the funniest part is that a broken head/tail light mean that the entire vehicle i basically "trash" in the eyes of the people, there was not enough demand for a large military, but germany does have capabilities, the issue is really just the administration/paperwork, and i thought filing taxes is bad
That's because the US colonized Germany after WW2. The French have already send colonial troops into Germany, which resulted in mass rapes. The US did the same thing after ww2.
No the requirements were too high for the budget. So we ended up only investing in small quantities of systems and drastically reduced spending into others. We have a huge spending deficit compared to France/ GB all because the money did not go into new equipment.
Took a taxi ride to an airport in Germany early this morning. The driver was full-time Bundeswehr but moonlighting at weekends to make ends meet. He told me most of the equipment they have is old and worn-out. People don't seem to realise that rifles and other equipment wear out with use in training and repeated disassembly and reassembly. If you went to work for a plumbing company and they handed you tools that someone else was using for the past 20 years, what kind of condition would you expect them to be in?
@Nikola S. Well then you also know why we use that gear. Our howitzers have a CEP of a couple dozen meters. We WILL kill hundreds of enemies in minutes. Meanwhile the Russian garbage like the D30 has an accuracy rating of 'Nevermind comrade, we target whole city anyway. Probably going to hit it at least 60% of the time'
@@wildschwein9066 False statement. It was the French warmongers who demanded that both 1918-1924 AND 1945-1947. The US was actually anti-French in terms of internal Allied politics in 1918 and to a lesser extent 1945-1946. Thank god for that because if the French had had their way, we would all be forced to speak Russian or French by now.
@Nikola S. Ah yes Sergei, the famous things only you Russians know. The PZH's daily repairs are about as accurate as my execution by the Russian army. Or my 2nd execution. Or those three times you guys killed me in bombings.
This is a hard lesson that the US learned. In wars before and including WW2 the army would be disbanded or reduced to a token force that proved to be a greater challenge to rearm in times of conflict and it was decided it was better to be prepared ahead of time. Although you can easily say they went overboard with that thinking...
After WW2 the US became the world's biggest superpower and it needed to keep projecting that power and influence through its large military and economy.
Yeah to say that the yanks went overboard is truly an UNDERSTATEMENT ..at least you guys have healthcare we DONT...the worst thing that could happen for all this rearmament is the Russians collapsing tomorrow before you can spend real money🤣😂
Korean War was a huge wake up call for the USA. The USA slashed defense funding after WW2 in an effort to save money because they felt that America’s problems could be answered with the A-Bomb. Lots of Americans died in Korea because of this decision.
YES. The US has DEFINITELY gone overboard with that thinking to a massive degree, but you do have a point. The US reeeally needs to decrease its military spending while basically everyone else here in Europe needs to INCREASE. We in Britain have been screaming this to our government FOR OVER A DECADE NOW.
“You can’t truly call yourself “peaceful” unless you’re capable of great violence, if you’re not capable of violence you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.”
The command of Ukraine exaggerates the losses of the occupying Russian troops in order to mislead Western partners, creating the illusion of controlling the situation. This is an illusion of peace for the west, with which the west is satisfied.
Well obviously the context here is much different. EU is now a unified nation so to speak, when one goes to war so do the others and therefore Germany needs to be able to contribute as a whole.
I grew up in Germany with American military parents and my dad would tell me about how working with the Bundeswehr was incredibly difficult because they NEVER had adequate equipment or access to high level training.
@@nomad.099 US servicemembers have access to dozens of technical and combat schools that the Bundeswehr doesn't. For instance almost every single infantry officer has the opportunity to go to Ranger school, even if they don't go to a Ranger unit. Units very often send soldiers to mountain warfare school, airborne school, air assault school, SAPPER school, and many many more. My dad was saying that Bundeswehr soldiers didn't have the same level of opportunity to attend deeper training beyond their specific job.
@Smallfry Yeah, because training is expensive and has no directly measurable effect. It's an easy thing to save money on when your budget is constrained. It it smart to save on training? Obviously not. But they did it anyways.
@@nomad.099 Imagine believing that. making a non measurable statement like that, about a force that with very few exceptions, isnt combat ready or tested, comparing them to the most combat proven and operational military in the world. 🤡
That had nothing to do with EU security and everything to do with Trump wanting to be perceived as a dealmaker. The state of the military has been a point of national debate in all EU post '89. Spending that money on other matters was the _right call_ at the time. Also, let's not forget why everyone turned their armies into expeditionary forces, we did it to fight _US wars_ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trump demanded these deadbeat European countries pay up because they've been stealing from US taxpayers since 1989, as the report said. When a NATO country is attacked, NATO members must respond. Besides the Brits and Poles, all the other NATO countries just kept their troops safe inside bases. Now, what about when Trump told the Germans to reduce their use of Russian oil and they laugh. Who's laughing now?
I did a little training at a Bundeswehr base and overall it was a nice facility but just felt empty. You barely saw any troops or equipment. However, every soldier we met was dedicated and wanted to be there.
I was stationed in Germany twice with the US Army. I had the opportunity to train around German troops a couple of times. Both were good experiences, but I did also witness empty training areas and kaserns. Lots of empty barracks. We were looking for the canteen and that's where we found a handful of the German troops hanging out. They ignored us, and we were fine with that. We were used to it. All that talk of cooperation between forces is political fluff. The troops don't particularly like each other, especially German and French forces. Honestly, I never went to Germany as an American soldier (but Belgian national) to "protect" Germany. I went there because that's where my orders sent me, and for bratwurst and beer.
@@philiproseel3506 No idea where you went, but I have good experiences with international exercices and visits. During my time, there were several visits by french troops, both from the French-German Brigade and their paratroopers. I also met americans, and I've never experienced behavior like you experienced.
@@patta8388 First time was in Goeppingen with the 1st Infantry Division (FWD), second time was near Bitburg. The experience I mentioned was in the German part of Baumholder. The Germans we saw were not very friendly. Naturally, we figured they saw us an occupying force. We didn't hold it against them. Just my personal experiences, although I heard the same from other troops.
@@philiproseel3506 Okay, "occupying force" sounds like this happened a long time ago. My experiences stem from 2006-2008. So things seem to have changed
as Indian I feel for German defense, you cannot be held accountable to what your grand parents did. Having peace means having the ability to retaliate against any foreign or domestic. I am glad India isn't following Germany path
If I see a functional, well-equipped, capable German military again in my lifetime, I will be shocked. I feel for the professional German personnel who are trying to do the best they can with what they have in the face of a public which normally despises them. The current force deserves credit for trying to bolt everything together under those conditions.
The despise is one good reason why I left the military 10 years ago. I will not risk my life for people who willingly sacrifice their personal safety for political correctness.
You'll be surprised how quickly an army can be raised with the proper motivation...if Germany really wanted, it's army could be massive in about 2-3 years
This is exactly why Poland is quickly becoming Europe's strongest military. If Germany can't get over the trauma of the 20th century to build a military back up, then Poland to the East has no choice but to arm itself for armaggedon.
I think Japan did a better job at preserving their army by keeping it down size to only a Defense Force but still have the wiggle room to invest and expand its military in the future if it, so chooses.
Japan is geopolitically in a different position and situation. After WW2 it was already engaged into the US foreign interventions. Geographically as an Island nation, it's obvious to have a strong offensive Navy. Ground and Air forces are especially designed for defense. Japan still relies on the US, it's financially less demanding to mod US weapons with a further domestic peppering. Hosting US troops and bases is a different matter though...
@@reisen1932 It hasn’t Japanese troops don’t involve themselves in any conflicts apart from medical, geopolitical though they can be involved supporting US troops
@@SOCORROGM Germany and many other European country’s birth rates aren’t that much different from Japan’s. Countries such as Spain, Finland, Ukraine and Italy has a lower birth rate than Japan. Plus, Japan’s population is quite big with 120 million people, almost twice the size of UK or France’s population.
Can’t really understand how guilt tripping can destroy the morale of a nation and reduce the greatest military force to an embrassment in less than a century
Prussia was the heart of German militarism. Even that militaristic attitude was built up over the course 3 centuries, it wasn't something that just *happened*! Countries only change attitude drastically if the majority of the population feels threatened. However, I don't think Germany will ever give up its pacifism because it's too embedded into modern-day Germany's culture.
If Trump wins the U.S. presidency in 2024 and decides to withdraw from NATO, Germans may find Russian troops much, much closer to their borders and expecting to annex eastern Germany. Maybe that would change some attitudes, at least among the older folks who lived under the Soviet thumb and can remember the Stasi.
Germany used to be one of the nations with the proudest and most well respected military traditions in the world. Germany's military today is a shadow of it's former self.
As a British guy born not too long after WW 2, I grew up with tales of the war plus endless programmes on the television of the day, perhaps this sparked my interest in military history although I have never been in the British Army or any other army for that matter. I have always looked with deep reverence to the German Army for their amazing professionalism , fighting abilities, courage and resilience. The German Army was the standard that I measured all the other armies by. It is very sad to me that things have come to this. With another war being fought again on European soil in the East my first thought was Germany, should the war spread westwards and involve NATO then I always thought that the very backbone of that organisation was Germany and the German military, after all who has more experience in that theatre of war than Germany. Should it be necessary lets hope that these thoughts are not misplaced.
"who has more experience in that theatre of war than Germany" well they are all long dead with that experience and to be far they didn't actually perform that well. There are only really 3 countries with live experience in multiple theatres , the US,UK and France. Not sure the reverence for the Germany Army, it's was never an army to measures others by.
Came as a shock - Expression used by German government when something that they knew will happen few years in advance and were repeatedly reminded about it multiple times every year, finally happen. (Oxford dictionary 2023.)
I have worked with the German military as part of NATO and have always appreciated their professionalism. Their equipment is superb as well. They just need the government to make their expansion a priority.
There are some units in the U.S. Army that have really bad equipment as well. They're obviously not part of the Rapid Deployment Force, if that's what we still call it. That's also the reason we have "war stock" all over with Brand new stuff waiting to be issued. I also saw what the Germans had when I served in the early 80's. In my experience I saw fine equipment, and better food. Lol
@@scoot4348 1980s was different times. Cold War German Military had a high readiness, post 1990 every NATO nation pretty much gutted their defense budgets. German moreso than others due to Austerity policies and lack of global commitments like the US.
I don't know which German soldiers they dealt with, but as an active soldier in the Bundeswehr in a combat unit, I can tell you that a lot of things were bought in-house and the equipment that we get from work is just a disaster. Hardly any night vision devices, we constantly had to borrow them from other units because we didn't have them, we weren't allowed to use our radio when we were training with NATO partners because their radio was being disrupted. The recruits who come have a completely different picture of soldiers and the military and many don't survive the 3 months of basic training because every fart is too hard for them.
There is sooooo many problems in Germany in its social, economic and political system nowadays. Germany doesn't seems to catch a break, everyday there is some news about its failing state like shortage of workers, engineers, techies, teachers, doctors, medicines, energy and now military. Can't believe Germany is a developed country and 4th largest economy in the world. Some serious reforms are necessary.
In the grand scheme of things, it hasn't been a total disaster. Germany sold hundreds and hundreds of ex-Bundeswehr Leopard 2s to Poland and Finland. Although the Cold War ended, neither of these two front line states let their guard down, while Germany naively disarmed, assuming that it would soon be BFFs with Russia. Common sense prevailed, just not in Germany.
Germany has about 6 million Russian speakers, mainly in the east. Russian-speaker doesn't = Putin supporter, but extreme views, from fascism to populism, supported by Putin's regime, have gained ground in the east. This broad generalization applies to other countries too.
Germany has become too reliant on trade deals with China. Much ‘German’ manufacturing is now outsource. I used to only buy tools made in Germany and now the same brands are stamped made in China…
@@stevemcgowen Some stihl is still made in Germany but having to replace a wheel on a bmw we found out it was made in Mexico, then sent to Germany then finally to the south Pacific.
@@stevemcgowen That was / is china's main goal all along. Make the world dependent on Chinese made goods via the Corporate greed feedback loop and VIOLA!! You can win world domination or a lot of influence without firing a shot because you make all the ammo and the guns sort to speak
Just because you want peace does not mean war will not come knock on your door. Since WW2 most western countries are heavily dependent on US for support. I don't think a single European country is adequately ready to go in to a war by itself. Turkey has a stronger military than 80% of the European nations. Hence why they group together.
japan was heavily forbidden to strengthen military might without USA's monitoring after ww2. but despite that Japan is still able to maintain a quality military defense. maybe Germany could learn a thing or two on how Japan was able to balance economy and military.
Japan is right next to a very large, very belligerent country and was a base of operations for the Korean War and saw massive influxes of troops passing through for Vietnam. This situation has not changed much for them in the last 80 years. Germany's position is different - after '91, all the potentially threatened borders shifted to other countries and those that directly bordered Germany were brought into the European fold. They felt 'safe'. Couple that with a lack of political will to use force as a means of diplomacy and the cult of economics - the idea that all governments are at their core rational actors and would not sacrifice prosperity and commerce for territory gains or non-rational purposes ('national honor', 'prestige', or to gain back those they felt were stolen or lost) that ruled the EU for 20 years (or more) and it's a recipe for a weak and ineffectual military system. Most of the EU has this issue - even France, with their very firm military tradition, wasn't capable of extra-territorial effect (see Libya, Syria). And add to all that the fact the US is nominally there to rescue the EU from any threat ... This is a wake up call. Not every government in the world is rational. Not every government in the world values prosperity the same as those in the EU. And it's a major shock to them.
I've trained with the Japanese ground self defense force, basically their army, and they are a VERY motivated bunch and highly professional. It's the only time I've ever been impressed with another nations military.
yeah, lmao, because japan straight up lies about their military. "no, i promise, thats a heli carrier. the fact that it is also perfectly built to field F35 multirole jets is a complete coincidence."
I suspected this may be a problem when we saw how slow germany was to supply some items. First I thought it might be reserve and maintanance issues but it sounds like supply and logistics in manufacturing/industry could be serious issue as well. If the current crop of politicians cannot raise to these seriously pressing issues then bring in those who can.
Meanwhile Germany is busy deciding wether transgenders in army should wear make up on duty or not. And planning next protest against Qatar to allow LGBTQ in it's army.
From my international politics schooling I remember te important doctrine that the legitimation of an independent nation state is its ability to defend itself. As in Germany, dutch subsequent leadership, apparently not having any clue, negligently broke down its military force out of money saving. I seriously regard this as intended criminal negligence.
this is what stability does; it produces mediocre, um... people in position of leadership: the same narrow minded petty bureaucrats which are agreeable and did good in school, but cant think out of the box (or programming) to save their lives. It's these types that diligently implemented whatever changes the "modern times" needed, be it open borders, common currency, or demilitarization.
Its what the german people wanted. They didnt see the need for a strong army anymore. The politicians cant do anything if the people dont want a large army and would rather spend the money for social benefits.
Europe is such a great ally to the USA, they don’t pay their share of NATO, and they put unfair tariffs on American goods. The EU puts a 10% tariff on American cars while the USA only has 2.5% on EU made cars. Does that sound fair or in good faith to anyone?
I can remember the Bundeswehr, even with conscription, was a machine with machinery to be admired and respected. We could be confident we could rely on the German forces. Our British Forces have likewise been treated with contempt by politicians until suddenly there is a job to be done and they finally discover it is worthwhile funding them. The positive here is that some German politicians have woken up to the value of a strong defence. Better late than never.
Just remember Scaley when you bitching because your government isn't fixing the roads and schools where that money comes from, right! You make seem like we got unlimited supply of money.
@@mandarinandthetenrings2201 Wrong, with the way money is thrown around and some of the blx it's thrown at it's they and maybe you too who needs reminding who's money it is being thrown around.
I’ve lived in Germany for over a dozen years and during that time worked with their military. The population is in denial. A country shouldn’t require a threat on its border to maintain readiness. A simple understanding of the necessity to defend a way of life is generally all it takes. The Germans surrendered their self defense to NATO, and specifically the United States. Unfortunately every other NATO country save the UK did exactly the same thing. Pathetic.
And Poland. They're militarizing at a rate that would be quite alarming in more peaceful circumstances. Well over a thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces are on order from the US and South Korea.
Ask the victims in two world wars. if they would like them to rearm. The German State pledged to remain forever disarmed and not interfere in foreign affairs political or Military.
And France. Whether they are capable are not of fighting alone, they have always had a somewhat begrudging attitude to being NATO allies (and being under the USA/Anglo-sphere, in their eyes). So, they have tried to have some degree of autonomy of thought...if not actual capability. They are probably an equal of the UK armed forces, on paper and funding.
I remember well that we tested Rheinmetall IdZ system. I had extremely expensive technology on my body - a tablet in front of my chest and a data display on my helmet to know who was doing what, when and where. The cocking lever of the "new" MG5 was defective. Since the problem was known, I did not get any practice ammunition. In the simulated firefight I was lying in the bush with a broken weapon without ammunition.... But I had highly complex technology on my body, which rarely worked as it should. During the time I was trained on the MG5, I shot maybe 200 rounds - we simply had no ammunition. The problem is that we compulsively want to have progress, but have hardly any money to finance the most necessary.
For a country that originated the general staff system and once had one of Europe's best militaries, this is so sorrowful to know. This war is clearly kicking their buts into high gear and getting their army back into fighting shape. Let us all hope the Bundeswher can be reformed into the Prussian and Imperial German Armies of old. It is what Germans like Moltke would have wanted. Hopefully, the reforms won't come to fruition too late.
Not so easy to do...They had top militaries because they were in constant war...After WW2 all the upper military staff was dead,imprisoned .out of country or became citizens...That made a hole in the tradition and the way that they made leaders and trained their army...They changed their mentality to recreate all this is not easy and you cant do it with money alone....Maybe you can buy aircrafts,ships or tanks but to train the crews how to use them properly and the leaders to use them needs time and a lot of exersices...If russia pushes past Ucraine they wont have the time to do it....Even USA is not ready to fight a war with an industrialized Nation like Russia or China....
Their procurement process is too bureaucratic and needlessly rigorous. Says a lot when their private arms industry have a much easier time selling weapon systems abroad than pitching it to their own nation's military.
A lack of general staff indicates even deeper problems than a lack of money - Germany pretty much invented the modern concept of high level staff command. They don't have the spares to keep their vehicles and ships running. Politicians like Van de Luyen were more keen to announce a new weapons system than spend money on basic requirements for the troops. It's not surprising that they struggle to recruit people - if you look at just about any military in the World recruitment rises when there is a prospect of going to war - Germany didn't have that until last year, even their peacekeeping is mostly limited to Mali - so not much opportunity for foreign travel even. During the Cold War their armed forces had a sense of purpose - they lost that after the Wall came down. Now they have a basic culture problem - that isn't solved by just throwing money at the military, it's going to take a long time to fix.
@@malcolmrose3361 Agreed on everything BUT the general Staff. "Auftragspolitik" is the Keyword. What is considered "A general's job" in America is broken up into smaller Tasks and distributed onto lower ranking Officers and NCOs who are in turn given the means to request supplies and equipment to do the job. General Staff in German doctrine have the job of Outlining, Mediating, and Managing the Efforts of those that are closer to the fight than they are.
From polling across Europe we can see their biggest problem is -When asked if people in Germany would serve in the military if THEIR country were attacked less than 25% of people said they would serve.
This what happens when your military is just for show. Your forces aren’t tested, the equipment isn’t stressed, the command structure isn’t placed under pressure. What has happened to Germany? I grew up believing that they were the great European power, industrially, economically, and politically. But the last few years have shown them to be indecisive and strategically weakened by their dependence on Russian energy supplies
Germany is still a nation coping way too much with its past sins. The Specter of the Second World War constantly hangs over them and reminds them of that guilt.
I seem to remember lots and lots of European's (No Poland) laughing at America's defense spending budget acting as if peace is everywhere, you just have to be nice enough.
Our alleged gas dependency was never a dependency, as we just proved this winter, right? We just wanted to mind our own business (pun intended) and perhaps work diplomatically for the good of the world. As it turns out, there is some truth to the old German proverb: "The most pious cannot live in peace if the wicked neighbor does not like it." So we need to realign ourselves, like so many other nations. All the clever prophets who warned about Russia couldn't have known that Putin would lose his mind any better than we could, their warnings were based only on resentment (or, in Trump's case: self-interest), and now they claim to have been right. But that's not how it works. Our goodwill in seeing Russia as a partner is not retroactively made wrong by the fact that the offer was turned down. It is a setback, not a mistake.
As an american monoglot, I appreciate the clear subtitles on the german language clips and the narrator's clear english speech. Thanks for aiding my comprehension.
I served my time in the Norwegian army and it was shocking how old and outdated the equipment we used was. Backpacks from them 60's, skiis from the 50's that came in only two sizes, and most of the long ones were brokens since 80% of people were too tall for the short skies, so over time most of the skiis left are short variants that are hopeless to use for soldiers that are 180cm (6 foot) and above. We were given brand new HK416 assault rifles, but we almost never got to use them since we couldn't afford to "waste" ammunition by going to the target range. I think i fired less then 40 rounds(!) in my entire time in service. The clothing was good, the combat west was outdated by modern standards and seemed like it was developed in the 70s with equipment like the magazine pouches tailored for the AG3 (G3) rifle. But that might have changed by now since by that time the HK416 had just been rolled out to Norwegian troops. The training was good in many aspects, winter survival in particular. But it was shocking to see the state of the equipment we had to use, considering our government is very wealthy. I think they do a good job of equipping the soldiers they were sending to Afghanistan though, but the amount of soldiers sent there was just a tiny fraction. My time in the service made me realize (sadly) that for my own sake I would not waste my life trying to defend Northen Norway against Russia in a potential future conflict, unpatriotic as that might seem. My training left me ill prepared for combat, but well prepared for winter camping.
about 20 years ago in some discount shop i remember buying norwegian army winter equipment, yeah great hats and coats (just a bit small) i believe it was from the 70s, much better than the swiss ones i bought (probably from 50-60s)
I served with a small German unit in Iraq a few years ago. Really professional looking guys, but their understanding of rules of engagement and LOAC was... concerning.
Since the end of the Cold War, Europe has mothballed its sense of military preparedness and become overly reliant on American intervention should the necessity arise. In essence, Europe has been a free-rider on American defense spending, which consumes an excessive amount of American tax dollars. To be blunt, Europe needs to start paying its share for self-defense and shouldering greater responsibility for ensuring peace. If that means a return to conscription or an increase in their taxes, then so be it.
very ignorant view of europe in nato, America spends all its money on nato so they can have strong influence, such as using the f35 program to make nato members stay inline and follow its orders. america was better off being isolationist
Germany has the engineering and technology with large funds to upgrade its military easily than most other nations. But of course the upgrades will take time
I can see a lot in this video and I do thank you for a very nice peace. BUT Germany and the rest of Europe was warned not to take a "peace dividend" and later don't become reliant on Russia for gas and oil. I have to add that one of the outcomes of the UA/RU war has been finding DW and other good international sources for news. I want to thank DW for the news and commentary I now receive and hope you keep going.
@DW News, excellent coverage. In the part of the world that I come from, it's very very rare to see Public Broadcast service report on issues unfavorable to the ruling government. Great job and all the best!
During the cold war of the 80's things were better with the threat of them coming through the Fulda gap. Of course we had a much larger presence there as well. Once we downsized we left them a lot of great installations that all they needed to do was take over; good barracks, housing, motor pools/maintenance shops, firing ranges, etc. Trained with them a couple times and they didn't seem that bad, they actually had some good ideas; the Canadians were great, the French just weird all around. I'm sure sucking up east Germany was very costly.
I was stationed in Germany in the 80s, we used to train with these guys and we were always envious of their clothing and equipment, I even have several German Army issued victorinox knives I got there ,carry them to this day, this is a shame to hear
Germany's main focus on it's business economy and it's the best financial state in the EU; it's not a surprise the military isn't in the best shape. Germany economy being take down quietly/silently with this proxy war and only some people in German actually have the will to talk about it. Most are just blindly follow the order of their boss.
Germany and France have built their economies by leaving the military heavy lifting to others like the UK and US,. It is time both began to carry their share of the burden.
The German government has enjoyed diverting the defence budget into more profitable areas for decades which has left a completely broken military. Now its going to take serious investment and decades to put it right. However, I'm still not convinced they even really want to fix it, rather making the right noises on the international platforms until "the problem goes away" then back to business again.
As a Canadian, and former CAF member, I would love to have the equipment the Germans have for our military. Canadians just found out that most of our Leopard 2 fleet are not even combat ready. The 4 we are sending are the only ones we can send. The government refuses to tell the Canadian people just how many Leopards we have that are operational.
@@foxtrotbravo1744 I served in the mid to late 80's. The equipment we had then was old and worn out such as our small arms. Yes some was in good shape and we made do with what we had. We trained to fight a WW3 scenario in which we had no chance of survival, but we were able to train and we did have a capable Mechanized Brigade Group in West Germany. I left the forces because I thought the CAF was a broken down machine. No government in power has ever done our military justice. We are part of NATO and never spend the 2 percent we agreed to. We procure weapons systems that we use well beyond their life and are usually outdated because the procurement process is a decade or more behind, the spend millions on upgrades when that same money could go to buying the equipment we need. We make the recruitment process so long that many people who try to join give up after waiting more than a year, or Canadian's don't want to join because of all the bad press the military gets which is quite unfair. Is it fixable. I do not know. With the current government in power, absolutely not.
Germans are perfectionists. Them saying their military is in a dire state, that's the equivalent to Russia saying they have the greatest army in the world.
Perfectionist's are in Putin's pocket. Germany cant wait to forgive and forget all this, and normalize relations with Putin again. Maybe pay your 3% now, or wouldn't Vlad like that?
No this time it is correct unfortunately 😅🙈 No ammunition, no working equipment, not enough combat boots, not even enough rifles for the current troops, let alone our reservists if we would need them...
what i find funny as a German is that for decades no one wanted an German army. Our Goverment cut their budget again and again while the parts that were supposed to keep working got slowed. Our former defence minister Von derlayen a Person that never spend a day in the military or even took advise from her Advisors let private Companies run the ship without any control at thats just the tip of the ice berg. I am sorry that our Soldiers have to struggle with things like that.
Their procurement procedures need to be updated, and quickly. That kind of structural change has to be started from the top - the legislature & the various ministries involved. They need to actually "want" change, not just pay lip service to it.
"talking" is pretty much the only thing german politicians are good at... well, at least most of them when u consider our foreign ministers accidental declaration of war. In earlier generations ppl who facilitate to scam billions, have a CV made out of lies or cheat at their work are made to resign, in Germany they became the 3 candidates for head of state. That says enough about the quality of those politicians i guess.
Mass production of Leopard 2 A7 and artillery shells and military training will be necessary for the defense of NATO immediately more than we think. Freedom is based on both Human will and Military equipments.
Agreed, but you can forget that that would ever happen. Before that happens Putin has marched all they way to the Atlantic coast while we in Germany are still with busy filling out the paperwork. Our bureaucrats are now meaning there own bureaucracy kingdom. And all of them have to take part in every process to prove that all of those office people are really necessary. Otherwise someone might decide, that they are useless and fire them. So they're of course busy creating forms where every single department has to participate before any process can go into another stage....
Last time the Germans got complacent with their army was back in the 1800s when the French Tricolors hung over Berlin. Stark warning, for those who don’t prepare for war, always have a sharp stick and not use it, then not have one when needed
This reminds me of the sad situation in Canada. Under funded and under appreciates armed forces, shortage of personnel, endless delays in procurement, and so on. It took the bureaucracy 12 years to settle on a new sidearm. The previous one was designed in 1935 - the Browning Hi Power. The biggest difference is that Canadian politicians don't know enough to be concerned, They know that they can hide behind the big eagle.
@@autobahnmensch Some Canadians, myself included feel that we should live up to our NATO obligations, especially since money is no object in other areas.. As it is our dilettante prime minister likes to talk big, but we don't get much respect from our allies.
The Browning Hi Power is an awesome sidearm, I just bought one. Canada will regret switching to something else, some American special ops are going back to the 1911. My Hi Power is my EDC. What did Canada decide to go with on the sidearm?
@@johnjinglehimmerschmitt9802 They went with an Sig, I think that it was the 320. The reason that they abandoned the Hi Power was claimed to be parts availability. I used to have a Hi Power and do regret selling it.
*Romans:* Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum *Kautilya (India):* Stop plagiarizing content I wrote a thousand years ago FFS! *Gandhi (India):* I will pretend I didn't hear that. *Nehru (India):* Exactly! Who even needs Army and all? I don't want. Take it and go. *China:* Hello there (1962) *Nehru (India):* Err....guys, we need to quadruple our forces like right fcuking now. But let me die first. *Pakistan:* Hello there (1965) *Shastri (India):* You picked the wrong house fool. We just finished our military buildup. *USA and USSR:* Well you can't really be doing that $hit. *China:* Hello there (1967) *Lt Gen Sagat Singh (India):* Hello Back to You Mofos.
I don't think anyone is asking Germany or any country to return to militarism. But we should be able to produce weapons cheaply and effectively to protect ourselves, and be willing to invest in the people of the armed forces. Thank you.
The free world NEEDS strong Germany with STRONG GERMAN MILITARY! To defend our free world, and to protect our freedom, our rights to protest. democracy, election. free speech and so on, we need STRONG GERMAN MILITARY! Also, we need to defend and protect us and our friends who need our help from nuclear bullies and aggressors BY OUR MILITARY deterrence ! So. PLEASE build STRONG GERMAN MILITARY!
After 1989 german army was the biggest in europe. In respond on concerns of our neighbours they reduced it. They had to deconstruct hundreds of those Leopard 2 A4. Some were given away to poland, spain and greece.
Europe has fought documented large scale war's for three thousand years. But lets be fair and only look at the years after 1776 when USA declared their independence. Europe fought war's in Africa, America, China, India, and fought countless war's in Europe, invaded Russia fought in two world war's. Those are the ones i can quickly think of at the top of my head. Now lets have a look at USA. You massacred and displaced the american Natives, tried to invade Canada, you attacked the fallen empire of Spain and invaded Mexico and managed to grab Florida, Philippines and Texas. You reluctantly joined the end of both world war's, You lost the Korean and Vietnamese war's and Invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. But in general Europe has always relied on USA, right.
It's still competent, but there are problems. Mostly with procurement and maintenance (outsourced to private industry these days). The Bundeswehr had active missions in Afghanistan, off the coast of Africa, in Mali, Kosovo and training missions in Iraq. It was and still is capable, but the downsizing and switching from conscription to volunteer army and the lack of political reforms have left a mess in the mentioned areas.
The problem isnt the competence of the Officers and enlisted but simply the extreme budgetcuts that came after the cold war. The leadership told the german DoD about the bad state, lacking founds and other problems but nobody listened.
The state of Germany's military is the result of DECADES of complacency, apathy, neglect, and cultural changes. These trends are unlikely to be reversed unless and until people are slapped across the face with the consequences of not having a capable military - ie losing a war that they needed to win. IF Germany survives that defeat, maybe then we'll see changes - unless and until that happens nothing will change.
I remember trading 2 poncho liners , 1 with a poncho sewn with the liner . For a Germany Soldier sniper sleeping bag that had a zipper midsection that could be unzipped half way and I could put my leg on the ground and maneuver to safer ground .
USA: Russia is a threat. Tells Germany to diversify their energy sector and increase their military spending. Germany: Literally laughs at US President. Lets military become obsolete. Entangles entire energy sector with Russia Russia: Get's aggressive. Threatens all of eastern Europe. Catches Germany completely unprepared. Germany: *surprise Pikachu face*
Also USA: Drags Germany into the Afghansitan shitshow in a revenge war, forcing the german army into a war it was not designed to leading to 20 years of the entire german military budget going into buying weapons to fight terrorism inbcluding changing the entire army doctrine and leaving continental defense with nothing left. except cold war spares. USA when Germany isnt capable of continental defense anymore: suprise pikatchu face
Since when did Ukraine become part of Eastern Europe? Have you confused it with Hungary and Romania? Get out of the territory of the former USSR, neither the Germans nor the Americans have anything to do there.
@@ОнуфрийНечепуренко It is obvious that the Ukranian people do not want to be ruled by Russia. It appears that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland share the same sentiments as Ukranians.
@@here_we_go_again2571 Yes, they do not want to, but they will have to take into account the opinion of Russia, which will not allow the border countries to unite in hostile military alliances. Over the past 100 years, Russia has survived several attacks from Europe, losing tens of millions of people killed in wars, so Russia will not let the West easily create favorable conditions for a quick victorious war, like those that have been waged in recent years in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.
Imagine telling someone just after WW2 ended that in less than 100 years Germany's weak military will be a massive problem for European security.
From what….
The British , French and the U.S. wanted a weak Germany. How'd that work out for them?
@@paultom8905 I would’ve said Russia but now I’m going to say a Russia china alliance
@Seeyou Seemee dude stop. No one forced Russia to invade Ukraine
@Seeyou Seemee Russian lying troll
This is not unique to Germany. This is the case in a lot of western european nations. Denmark ran out of ammunition in 2022 as we had to send soldiers and leopards to Estonia and we promised NATO to have a batallation ready by 2023 with 4000 soldiers and heavy weaponry. This has now been pushed to at least 2024 as we donated all our 19 artillery pieces to Ukraine. Western Europe have been sleeping for decades. Not an excuse though, its rather sad!
TY for Report. We are over armed in America. While Ukraine Conflict has drained Federal Government Armories, most US State National Guards are better provisioned than many Countries. We need to achieve more balance to sustain Peace. Decent Self Defense ability is needed for Peace, finding proper balance is always a Challenge. Switzerland appears to have done well.
@@michaelmcgarrity6987 I agree, if we can alleviate some of the pressure on the US to defend other countries, we may be more free on the world stage
@@prosandcons-fl2cc Peace and Freedom generate Prosperity over Long Terms. If you are adequately Armed to have decent Self Defense without being perceived as a threat by your neighbors, everyone tends to be well behaved.
My family is well Armed, we enjoy Hunting, fishing and Target Shooting recreationally as do many others. We are not militaristic or Paranoid because we are competent and capable of some self defense so most of the time everyone is Peaceful out of confidence. It's pretty good in most areas except those with strict Firearms Regulations such as the City of Chicago where Law Abiding Citizens have given up their ability to self Defense so Criminals have impunity.
President Trump was laugh at for warning European leaders that buying gas and oil from Putin was dangerous and he was laughed at now look what has happened.
At least someone is telling the truth, for a change .
I feel like the first thing to change needs to be civil sentiment towards the Bundeswehr...as long as it is not seen as a respected profession it will be hard to get the personnell needed to build up a first class military. Like "do this job where you may die, earn less than in the private area AND people in your country look down on you - why is noone lining up?"
Here in Netherlands the military was also in a poor state. I remember in 2015 in training soldiers were shouting “bang bang!” Because of a lack of live ammunition…. Spending on defence in peace time is just very unpopular here, even though that is what you SHOULD do, because when war does break out, it will be too late…
Many have echoed that idea throughout history. Most notably the phrase, "Therefore let him who desires peace, prepare for war" - Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
War with who??
@@bozo5632 Well that would depend on your particular country and the world it is in. I'm sure Netherlands, like everyone else, has someone they keep their eyes on with interest. All nations and their National Strategies operate on some assumption of threats. Holland is a member of NATO so that would lend some insight into who they anticipate as a threat.
@@Bumbley1 I can't even imagine who might threaten the Netherlands. (I also can't imagine the Netherlands doing much about it if it happened.)
I'm in the USA. No one has threatened us since... Actually it's never happened. In my decades I have never had more than zero fear of anyone invading or declaring war, ever. And it's not because our military is so strong - we'd still have nothing to fear without it. Actually we'd be even safer, cuz no one would bother nuking us in a big nuclear war.
@@bozo5632 'War with whom?' Start with Russia. Or perhaps China. Or as part of a UN peacekeeping force!
The price of peace is eternal vigilance and preparedness to go to war. A lot of Western counties have forgotten this old saying.
Minus US, France, Finland i guess.
@@karrr1573 Add Poland to that list.
It is. But the same calculus also makes war a bargain, and frequently invites folly such as Iraq & Afghanistan. One of them was justified with NATO article 5, but both were failures of epic proportions regardless. If your biggest tool is a hammer, then every problem will start to look like a nail. Striking the right balance is something that many countries have historically struggled with.
Perhaps too willing to go to war.
@@silvershines Because they are all under Pentagon nutters thumb .
I was stationed in Germany twice with the US Army. I had the opportunity to train around German troops a couple of times. Both were good experiences, but I did also witness empty training areas and kaserns. Lots of empty barracks. We were looking for the canteen and that's where we found a handful of the German troops hanging out. They ignored us, and we were fine with that. We were used to it. All that talk of cooperation between forces is political fluff. The troops don't particularly like each other, especially German and French forces. Honestly, I never went to Germany as an American soldier (but Belgian national) to "protect" Germany. I went there because that's where my orders sent me, and for bratwurst and beer.
German troops are generally very well trained, french and german troops have had their beef in their "roots", the reason the military is in bad condition is because of no actual conflicts, pacifist movements (i don mind it), not enough manpower and not enough budget, the funniest part is that a broken head/tail light mean that the entire vehicle i basically "trash" in the eyes of the people, there was not enough demand for a large military, but germany does have capabilities, the issue is really just the administration/paperwork, and i thought filing taxes is bad
That's because the US colonized Germany after WW2. The French have already send colonial troops into Germany, which resulted in mass rapes. The US did the same thing after ww2.
@@rex7on the u.s colonized germany
@@justinsiemann7190 Being a pacifist is another word for being lazy.
It was not the german military that was the problem but its political processes. (well done DW for making such interesting pieces)
Exactly. The military functioned as it should. It was the politicians that agreed to kill it.
That’s what happen when you have a staunchly pacifist country
Exactly. We know the Germany military isn’t happy about this either.
No the requirements were too high for the budget. So we ended up only investing in small quantities of systems and drastically reduced spending into others. We have a huge spending deficit compared to France/ GB all because the money did not go into new equipment.
Corrupt and spineless political leadership, however the sheeple voted for this.
Took a taxi ride to an airport in Germany early this morning. The driver was full-time Bundeswehr but moonlighting at weekends to make ends meet. He told me most of the equipment they have is old and worn-out. People don't seem to realise that rifles and other equipment wear out with use in training and repeated disassembly and reassembly. If you went to work for a plumbing company and they handed you tools that someone else was using for the past 20 years, what kind of condition would you expect them to be in?
that is some wise words, Im gonna steal that and use that as a explanation next time
@Nikola S.
Well then you also know why we use that gear. Our howitzers have a CEP of a couple dozen meters. We WILL kill hundreds of enemies in minutes.
Meanwhile the Russian garbage like the D30 has an accuracy rating of 'Nevermind comrade, we target whole city anyway. Probably going to hit it at least 60% of the time'
@@wildschwein9066
False statement. It was the French warmongers who demanded that both 1918-1924 AND 1945-1947.
The US was actually anti-French in terms of internal Allied politics in 1918 and to a lesser extent 1945-1946.
Thank god for that because if the French had had their way, we would all be forced to speak Russian or French by now.
Great condition because i have/use 20 year old+ tools. When tools are built well they tend to last long. Got a 50 year old sears hammer still.
@Nikola S.
Ah yes Sergei, the famous things only you Russians know. The PZH's daily repairs are about as accurate as my execution by the Russian army. Or my 2nd execution. Or those three times you guys killed me in bombings.
The British Army is also in a pretty shocking state. Troops are well trained but much of the heavy equipment is obsolete unfortunately.
This is a hard lesson that the US learned. In wars before and including WW2 the army would be disbanded or reduced to a token force that proved to be a greater challenge to rearm in times of conflict and it was decided it was better to be prepared ahead of time. Although you can easily say they went overboard with that thinking...
After WW2 the US became the world's biggest superpower and it needed to keep projecting that power and influence through its large military and economy.
In the 60s the USA military budget was %15 gdp. We reduced it at 3% to 5% now.
Yeah to say that the yanks went overboard is truly an UNDERSTATEMENT ..at least you guys have healthcare we DONT...the worst thing that could happen for all this rearmament is the Russians collapsing tomorrow before you can spend real money🤣😂
Korean War was a huge wake up call for the USA. The USA slashed defense funding after WW2 in an effort to save money because they felt that America’s problems could be answered with the A-Bomb.
Lots of Americans died in Korea because of this decision.
YES. The US has DEFINITELY gone overboard with that thinking to a massive degree, but you do have a point. The US reeeally needs to decrease its military spending while basically everyone else here in Europe needs to INCREASE. We in Britain have been screaming this to our government FOR OVER A DECADE NOW.
“You can’t truly call yourself “peaceful” unless you’re capable of great violence, if you’re not capable of violence you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.”
Si vis pacem para bellum
Harmless Euros are harmless.
They are proficient at whining to get Americans to pay, bleed, and die in their defense.
YES!!!
The command of Ukraine exaggerates the losses of the occupying Russian troops in order to mislead Western partners, creating the illusion of controlling the situation.
This is an illusion of peace for the west, with which the west is satisfied.
Well obviously the context here is much different. EU is now a unified nation so to speak, when one goes to war so do the others and therefore Germany needs to be able to contribute as a whole.
I grew up in Germany with American military parents and my dad would tell me about how working with the Bundeswehr was incredibly difficult because they NEVER had adequate equipment or access to high level training.
Equipment yes definitely. The Bundeswehr has better individual training than the American army
@@nomad.099 US servicemembers have access to dozens of technical and combat schools that the Bundeswehr doesn't. For instance almost every single infantry officer has the opportunity to go to Ranger school, even if they don't go to a Ranger unit. Units very often send soldiers to mountain warfare school, airborne school, air assault school, SAPPER school, and many many more. My dad was saying that Bundeswehr soldiers didn't have the same level of opportunity to attend deeper training beyond their specific job.
@@nomad.099 In Afgnaistan German Soldiers were useless.
@Smallfry Yeah, because training is expensive and has no directly measurable effect. It's an easy thing to save money on when your budget is constrained.
It it smart to save on training? Obviously not. But they did it anyways.
@@nomad.099 Imagine believing that. making a non measurable statement like that, about a force that with very few exceptions, isnt combat ready or tested, comparing them to the most combat proven and operational military in the world. 🤡
I’m no fan of Trump but he did bring up the issue of fellow NATO countries not pulling their weight and investing agreed GDP % into military defence.
Yes exactly !
Yeah, in between cuddling up to Putin and trying to blackmail Ukraine.
That had nothing to do with EU security and everything to do with Trump wanting to be perceived as a dealmaker. The state of the military has been a point of national debate in all EU post '89. Spending that money on other matters was the _right call_ at the time. Also, let's not forget why everyone turned their armies into expeditionary forces, we did it to fight _US wars_ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trump demanded these deadbeat European countries pay up because they've been stealing from US taxpayers since 1989, as the report said. When a NATO country is attacked, NATO members must respond. Besides the Brits and Poles, all the other NATO countries just kept their troops safe inside bases. Now, what about when Trump told the Germans to reduce their use of Russian oil and they laugh. Who's laughing now?
Trump was more bad than good on this point.
I did a little training at a Bundeswehr base and overall it was a nice facility but just felt empty. You barely saw any troops or equipment. However, every soldier we met was dedicated and wanted to be there.
That's because the barracks were build to house full strenght units of a half million strong army. There's a lot less soldiers around nowadays
I was stationed in Germany twice with the US Army. I had the opportunity to train around German troops a couple of times. Both were good experiences, but I did also witness empty training areas and kaserns. Lots of empty barracks. We were looking for the canteen and that's where we found a handful of the German troops hanging out. They ignored us, and we were fine with that. We were used to it. All that talk of cooperation between forces is political fluff. The troops don't particularly like each other, especially German and French forces. Honestly, I never went to Germany as an American soldier (but Belgian national) to "protect" Germany. I went there because that's where my orders sent me, and for bratwurst and beer.
@@philiproseel3506 No idea where you went, but I have good experiences with international exercices and visits. During my time, there were several visits by french troops, both from the French-German Brigade and their paratroopers. I also met americans, and I've never experienced behavior like you experienced.
@@patta8388 First time was in Goeppingen with the 1st Infantry Division (FWD), second time was near Bitburg. The experience I mentioned was in the German part of Baumholder. The Germans we saw were not very friendly. Naturally, we figured they saw us an occupying force. We didn't hold it against them. Just my personal experiences, although I heard the same from other troops.
@@philiproseel3506 Okay, "occupying force" sounds like this happened a long time ago. My experiences stem from 2006-2008. So things seem to have changed
as Indian I feel for German defense, you cannot be held accountable to what your grand parents did. Having peace means having the ability to retaliate against any foreign or domestic. I am glad India isn't following Germany path
If I see a functional, well-equipped, capable German military again in my lifetime, I will be shocked. I feel for the professional German personnel who are trying to do the best they can with what they have in the face of a public which normally despises them. The current force deserves credit for trying to bolt everything together under those conditions.
The despise is one good reason why I left the military 10 years ago. I will not risk my life for people who willingly sacrifice their personal safety for political correctness.
You'll be surprised how quickly an army can be raised with the proper motivation...if Germany really wanted, it's army could be massive in about 2-3 years
I'll expect them to start a world war again.
@@brs4018 🧢
uh huh, they got leopard 2a7, f-35, U212 & 213 silent diesel subs, all those best flashy stuff... sound likes well equipped for me
Same here in the UK. Over the last 40 years our Armed Forces have been reduced every year. The UK is dangerously vulnerable.
from whom? the Irish?
The problem is actually the opposite, wages in the UK are high so joining the military is not an attractive career choice.
Let's bring the colonial army back home.
We have nukes though
UK is not importing it all at Putin, setting up Nord stream evoked the war....
Only the Soccer sponsor, some gas only !
This is exactly why Poland is quickly becoming Europe's strongest military. If Germany can't get over the trauma of the 20th century to build a military back up, then Poland to the East has no choice but to arm itself for armaggedon.
I'm pleased to see Germany take action to improve self sufficient protection ability.
By bowing down to Russia
Don't sweat Michael. While Germans may not be large has use to be trust me you don't want fight the German army they still train well.
So are we in the US. At least those of us not brainwashed by the massive disinformation that has infected our airwaves.
@@mandarinandthetenrings2201 heil
I don't think they have taken any meaningful action to reform their military at all. This vid was only full of excuses.
I think Japan did a better job at preserving their army by keeping it down size to only a Defense Force but still have the wiggle room to invest and expand its military in the future if it, so chooses.
Japan is geopolitically in a different position and situation. After WW2 it was already engaged into the US foreign interventions. Geographically as an Island nation, it's obvious to have a strong offensive Navy. Ground and Air forces are especially designed for defense. Japan still relies on the US, it's financially less demanding to mod US weapons with a further domestic peppering. Hosting US troops and bases is a different matter though...
Japanese Navy were already the fourth largest in the world, before they decided to double their defence spending last year.
@@reisen1932 It hasn’t Japanese troops don’t involve themselves in any conflicts apart from medical, geopolitical though they can be involved supporting US troops
They don't have very many young guys the population is too old
@@SOCORROGM Germany and many other European country’s birth rates aren’t that much different from Japan’s. Countries such as Spain, Finland, Ukraine and Italy has a lower birth rate than Japan. Plus, Japan’s population is quite big with 120 million people, almost twice the size of UK or France’s population.
Can’t really understand how guilt tripping can destroy the morale of a nation and reduce the greatest military force to an embrassment in less than a century
Prussia was the heart of German militarism. Even that militaristic attitude was built up over the course 3 centuries, it wasn't something that just *happened*! Countries only change attitude drastically if the majority of the population feels threatened. However, I don't think Germany will ever give up its pacifism because it's too embedded into modern-day Germany's culture.
That’s why we’ve just gotta hope recent events will finally chance that enough to start a domino effect.
@@danielwhyatt3278 I hope you're right. It wasn't until Russia took Crimea that attitude started changing in Ukraine.
As long as Europeans feel safe under the umbrella of NATO by the strength of the US army, nothing will really change that attitude
If Trump wins the U.S. presidency in 2024 and decides to withdraw from NATO, Germans may find Russian troops much, much closer to their borders and expecting to annex eastern Germany. Maybe that would change some attitudes, at least among the older folks who lived under the Soviet thumb and can remember the Stasi.
Prussia should be restored.
Germany used to be one of the nations with the proudest and most well respected military traditions in the world. Germany's military today is a shadow of it's former self.
WW3 . WOKE
Duh. People die.
Prussia needs to come back
@@Belisarius1648 Or Germany could just reform it’s military.
It’s much easier than changing the whole national identity to something of the past.
Hollywood
As a British guy born not too long after WW 2, I grew up with tales of the war plus endless programmes on the television of the day, perhaps this sparked my interest in military history although I have never been in the British Army or any other army for that matter.
I have always looked with deep reverence to the German Army for their amazing professionalism , fighting abilities, courage and resilience. The German Army was the standard that I measured all the other armies by. It is very sad to me that things have come to this.
With another war being fought again on European soil in the East my first thought was Germany, should the war spread westwards and involve NATO then I always thought that the very backbone of that organisation was Germany and the German military, after all who has more experience in that theatre of war than Germany. Should it be necessary lets hope that these thoughts are not misplaced.
they were misplaced, nato is wet toilet-paper-tiger status
"who has more experience in that theatre of war than Germany" well they are all long dead with that experience and to be far they didn't actually perform that well. There are only really 3 countries with live experience in multiple theatres , the US,UK and France. Not sure the reverence for the Germany Army, it's was never an army to measures others by.
Came as a shock - Expression used by German government when something that they knew will happen few years in advance and were repeatedly reminded about it multiple times every year, finally happen. (Oxford dictionary 2023.)
I have worked with the German military as part of NATO and have always appreciated their professionalism. Their equipment is superb as well. They just need the government to make their expansion a priority.
To do what? Advance American interests on the Eurasian continent where they will murder billions of people. Yeah that’s just a great idea
that will not clone recruits
There are some units in the U.S. Army that have really bad equipment as well. They're obviously not part of the Rapid Deployment Force, if that's what we still call it. That's also the reason we have "war stock" all over with Brand new stuff waiting to be issued.
I also saw what the Germans had when I served in the early 80's. In my experience I saw fine equipment, and better food. Lol
@@scoot4348 1980s was different times. Cold War German Military had a high readiness, post 1990 every NATO nation pretty much gutted their defense budgets. German moreso than others due to Austerity policies and lack of global commitments like the US.
I don't know which German soldiers they dealt with, but as an active soldier in the Bundeswehr in a combat unit, I can tell you that a lot of things were bought in-house and the equipment that we get from work is just a disaster.
Hardly any night vision devices, we constantly had to borrow them from other units because we didn't have them, we weren't allowed to use our radio when we were training with NATO partners because their radio was being disrupted.
The recruits who come have a completely different picture of soldiers and the military and many don't survive the 3 months of basic training because every fart is too hard for them.
There is sooooo many problems in Germany in its social, economic and political system nowadays. Germany doesn't seems to catch a break, everyday there is some news about its failing state like shortage of workers, engineers, techies, teachers, doctors, medicines, energy and now military. Can't believe Germany is a developed country and 4th largest economy in the world. Some serious reforms are necessary.
Yes! Just a few years ago 90% of the tanks were deadlined. It’s as if a former Stasi member had been in charge of the government.
He is.
In the grand scheme of things, it hasn't been a total disaster. Germany sold hundreds and hundreds of ex-Bundeswehr Leopard 2s to Poland and Finland. Although the Cold War ended, neither of these two front line states let their guard down, while Germany naively disarmed, assuming that it would soon be BFFs with Russia. Common sense prevailed, just not in Germany.
She was.
Germany has about 6 million Russian speakers, mainly in the east. Russian-speaker doesn't = Putin supporter, but extreme views, from fascism to populism, supported by Putin's regime, have gained ground in the east. This broad generalization applies to other countries too.
communist party ain't Stasi.
Wow if only Germany had a robust manufacturing base coupled with cutting edge R&D... 😐 Just think what Deutchland could accomplish...
Europe manufacuring is sitting in China, if ww3 would break Europe woudl be f**ked. Not factories to produce weapons.
Germany has become too reliant on trade deals with China. Much ‘German’ manufacturing is now outsource. I used to only buy tools made in Germany and now the same brands are stamped made in China…
@@stevemcgowen Some stihl is still made in Germany but having to replace a wheel on a bmw we found out it was made in Mexico, then sent to Germany then finally to the south Pacific.
@@stevemcgowen That was / is china's main goal all along. Make the world dependent on Chinese made goods via the Corporate greed feedback loop and VIOLA!! You can win world domination or a lot of influence without firing a shot because you make all the ammo and the guns sort to speak
@@stevemcgowen as to have so many other nations.
In Germany, as in Japan, it's way past time to stop using WWII as an excuse to be weak.
Japan has its priorities straight, more or less.
Great coverage of this important problem. Side note: this was really well produced, top editing, writing, and delivery. Hats to the crew!
Just because you want peace does not mean war will not come knock on your door. Since WW2 most western countries are heavily dependent on US for support. I don't think a single European country is adequately ready to go in to a war by itself. Turkey has a stronger military than 80% of the European nations. Hence why they group together.
War with who? Turkey? Turkey is going to invade Europe?
Turkey is full of Turkish people doing Turkish things !!!
that's what makes Turkey so Turkish...it's Turkey!!!
Um the UK? has gone to war by itself on multiple occasions, same can be said about France
France and GB are always ready for a small war
France, UK, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland beg to differ.
japan was heavily forbidden to strengthen military might without USA's monitoring after ww2. but despite that Japan is still able to maintain a quality military defense. maybe Germany could learn a thing or two on how Japan was able to balance economy and military.
Japan is right next to a very large, very belligerent country and was a base of operations for the Korean War and saw massive influxes of troops passing through for Vietnam. This situation has not changed much for them in the last 80 years. Germany's position is different - after '91, all the potentially threatened borders shifted to other countries and those that directly bordered Germany were brought into the European fold. They felt 'safe'.
Couple that with a lack of political will to use force as a means of diplomacy and the cult of economics - the idea that all governments are at their core rational actors and would not sacrifice prosperity and commerce for territory gains or non-rational purposes ('national honor', 'prestige', or to gain back those they felt were stolen or lost) that ruled the EU for 20 years (or more) and it's a recipe for a weak and ineffectual military system. Most of the EU has this issue - even France, with their very firm military tradition, wasn't capable of extra-territorial effect (see Libya, Syria).
And add to all that the fact the US is nominally there to rescue the EU from any threat ...
This is a wake up call. Not every government in the world is rational. Not every government in the world values prosperity the same as those in the EU. And it's a major shock to them.
I've trained with the Japanese ground self defense force, basically their army, and they are a VERY motivated bunch and highly professional. It's the only time I've ever been impressed with another nations military.
yeah, lmao, because japan straight up lies about their military.
"no, i promise, thats a heli carrier. the fact that it is also perfectly built to field F35 multirole jets is a complete coincidence."
@@justanaverageguy912 Who says they're lying? they're pretty open about it...
germany was also split in half while japan was taken over russia had east germany for quite a while
I suspected this may be a problem when we saw how slow germany was to supply some items. First I thought it might be reserve and maintanance issues but it sounds like supply and logistics in manufacturing/industry could be serious issue as well. If the current crop of politicians cannot raise to these seriously pressing issues then bring in those who can.
Meanwhile Germany is busy deciding wether transgenders in army should wear make up on duty or not. And planning next protest against Qatar to allow LGBTQ in it's army.
From my international politics schooling I remember te important doctrine that the legitimation of an independent nation state is its ability to defend itself. As in Germany, dutch subsequent leadership, apparently not having any clue, negligently broke down its military force out of money saving. I seriously regard this as intended criminal negligence.
Or treachery .
this is what stability does; it produces mediocre, um... people in position of leadership: the same narrow minded petty bureaucrats which are agreeable and did good in school, but cant think out of the box (or programming) to save their lives.
It's these types that diligently implemented whatever changes the "modern times" needed, be it open borders, common currency, or demilitarization.
@kevinallies1014 that'd be Hungary, actually. And Poland. Both in terms of currency and military.
Its what the german people wanted. They didnt see the need for a strong army anymore. The politicians cant do anything if the people dont want a large army and would rather spend the money for social benefits.
Europe is such a great ally to the USA, they don’t pay their share of NATO, and they put unfair tariffs on American goods. The EU puts a 10% tariff on American cars while the USA only has 2.5% on EU made cars. Does that sound fair or in good faith to anyone?
I hope Germany will grow their balls back and end bureaucracy
thats Impossible just like its Impossible for Germany to befor germans and not pay out tax money to every motherfker
I can remember the Bundeswehr, even with conscription, was a machine with machinery to be admired and respected. We could be confident we could rely on the German forces. Our British Forces have likewise been treated with contempt by politicians until suddenly there is a job to be done and they finally discover it is worthwhile funding them.
The positive here is that some German politicians have woken up to the value of a strong defence. Better late than never.
Sometimes late is the same as never, it becomes "too late."
Just remember Scaley when you bitching because your government isn't fixing the roads and schools where that money comes from, right! You make seem like we got unlimited supply of money.
@@mandarinandthetenrings2201 Wrong, with the way money is thrown around and some of the blx it's thrown at it's they and maybe you too who needs reminding who's money it is being thrown around.
@@Scaleyback317 Just remember you still have sacrifice nothing is free!
The UK is also been made aware their military is not an elite fighting force. Which worries the US.
I’ve lived in Germany for over a dozen years and during that time worked with their military. The population is in denial. A country shouldn’t require a threat on its border to maintain readiness. A simple understanding of the necessity to defend a way of life is generally all it takes. The Germans surrendered their self defense to NATO, and specifically the United States. Unfortunately every other NATO country save the UK did exactly the same thing. Pathetic.
And Poland. They're militarizing at a rate that would be quite alarming in more peaceful circumstances. Well over a thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces are on order from the US and South Korea.
Ask the victims in two world wars. if they would like them to rearm. The German State pledged to remain forever disarmed and not interfere in foreign affairs political or Military.
@@darren253 A.) Those victims are almost all long gone and B.) the Germans armed themselves just fine during the Cold War
And France. Whether they are capable are not of fighting alone, they have always had a somewhat begrudging attitude to being NATO allies (and being under the USA/Anglo-sphere, in their eyes). So, they have tried to have some degree of autonomy of thought...if not actual capability. They are probably an equal of the UK armed forces, on paper and funding.
I'm sorry but UK also did the same thing. None of the EU countries expected a war inside of europe ever again.
Germany is fortunate to be surrounded by ally countries and have them as buffers from such country as Russia.
The same could be said for most Western countries. Many of those Western countries have Germany as buffers.
Russia is lucky that Germany is in a dormant state.
Praise Ukraine and pray for salvation!
Germany is lucky they don't have to do mass suicide again 😂
Who historically invaded Germany? On the other hand Germany/Prussia neigbours were under constant treat of being invaded by Germany
I remember well that we tested Rheinmetall IdZ system. I had extremely expensive technology on my body - a tablet in front of my chest and a data display on my helmet to know who was doing what, when and where.
The cocking lever of the "new" MG5 was defective. Since the problem was known, I did not get any practice ammunition. In the simulated firefight I was lying in the bush with a broken weapon without ammunition.... But I had highly complex technology on my body, which rarely worked as it should.
During the time I was trained on the MG5, I shot maybe 200 rounds - we simply had no ammunition. The problem is that we compulsively want to have progress, but have hardly any money to finance the most necessary.
For a country that originated the general staff system and once had one of Europe's best militaries, this is so sorrowful to know. This war is clearly kicking their buts into high gear and getting their army back into fighting shape. Let us all hope the Bundeswher can be reformed into the Prussian and Imperial German Armies of old. It is what Germans like Moltke would have wanted. Hopefully, the reforms won't come to fruition too late.
Will never happen.
Only problem is they're not gonna have future soldiers for it.
Hopefully not
learn from them yes, be like them god no
we must not repeat 1806 nd 1914
It’s the Germany America and Britain wanted. Enjoy!!!
Not so easy to do...They had top militaries because they were in constant war...After WW2 all the upper military staff was dead,imprisoned .out of country or became citizens...That made a hole in the tradition and the way that they made leaders and trained their army...They changed their mentality to recreate all this is not easy and you cant do it with money alone....Maybe you can buy aircrafts,ships or tanks but to train the crews how to use them properly and the leaders to use them needs time and a lot of exersices...If russia pushes past Ucraine they wont have the time to do it....Even USA is not ready to fight a war with an industrialized Nation like Russia or China....
Their soldiers are amazing, and their equipment is impressive (i.e. MG3, leopard 2A4). They just don't have enough funds.
Their procurement process is too bureaucratic and needlessly rigorous. Says a lot when their private arms industry have a much easier time selling weapon systems abroad than pitching it to their own nation's military.
A lack of general staff indicates even deeper problems than a lack of money - Germany pretty much invented the modern concept of high level staff command. They don't have the spares to keep their vehicles and ships running. Politicians like Van de Luyen were more keen to announce a new weapons system than spend money on basic requirements for the troops. It's not surprising that they struggle to recruit people - if you look at just about any military in the World recruitment rises when there is a prospect of going to war - Germany didn't have that until last year, even their peacekeeping is mostly limited to Mali - so not much opportunity for foreign travel even. During the Cold War their armed forces had a sense of purpose - they lost that after the Wall came down. Now they have a basic culture problem - that isn't solved by just throwing money at the military, it's going to take a long time to fix.
both are on their way out if not out
I do not believe you fin one A4 in active service in the BW
@@malcolmrose3361 Agreed on everything BUT the general Staff. "Auftragspolitik" is the Keyword. What is considered "A general's job" in America is broken up into smaller Tasks and distributed onto lower ranking Officers and NCOs who are in turn given the means to request supplies and equipment to do the job. General Staff in German doctrine have the job of Outlining, Mediating, and Managing the Efforts of those that are closer to the fight than they are.
From polling across Europe we can see their biggest problem is -When asked if people in Germany would serve in the military if THEIR country were attacked less than 25% of people said they would serve.
Peace is not cheap, you need the military to stay in touch
Finally a DW analysis that counts. 👍
I thought it was Von DeLeyen's amazing management of the German military that got her the job in the EU
This what happens when your military is just for show. Your forces aren’t tested, the equipment isn’t stressed, the command structure isn’t placed under pressure. What has happened to Germany? I grew up believing that they were the great European power, industrially, economically, and politically. But the last few years have shown them to be indecisive and strategically weakened by their dependence on Russian energy supplies
Germany is still a nation coping way too much with its past sins. The Specter of the Second World War constantly hangs over them and reminds them of that guilt.
whats the alternative? invading middle east?
I seem to remember lots and lots of European's (No Poland) laughing at America's defense spending budget acting as if peace is everywhere, you just have to be nice enough.
Our alleged gas dependency was never a dependency, as we just proved this winter, right? We just wanted to mind our own business (pun intended) and perhaps work diplomatically for the good of the world. As it turns out, there is some truth to the old German proverb: "The most pious cannot live in peace if the wicked neighbor does not like it." So we need to realign ourselves, like so many other nations. All the clever prophets who warned about Russia couldn't have known that Putin would lose his mind any better than we could, their warnings were based only on resentment (or, in Trump's case: self-interest), and now they claim to have been right. But that's not how it works. Our goodwill in seeing Russia as a partner is not retroactively made wrong by the fact that the offer was turned down. It is a setback, not a mistake.
The US managed to last 2 decades against the Taliban. The "just for show" German military would not probably last a year.
As an american monoglot, I appreciate the clear subtitles on the german language clips and the narrator's clear english speech. Thanks for aiding my comprehension.
You would be a monoglot
U can just say American, that already says a lot about language comprehension
@@re1v3r Try writing that in English, cretin.
I served my time in the Norwegian army and it was shocking how old and outdated the equipment we used was. Backpacks from them 60's, skiis from the 50's that came in only two sizes, and most of the long ones were brokens since 80% of people were too tall for the short skies, so over time most of the skiis left are short variants that are hopeless to use for soldiers that are 180cm (6 foot) and above.
We were given brand new HK416 assault rifles, but we almost never got to use them since we couldn't afford to "waste" ammunition by going to the target range. I think i fired less then 40 rounds(!) in my entire time in service.
The clothing was good, the combat west was outdated by modern standards and seemed like it was developed in the 70s with equipment like the magazine pouches tailored for the AG3 (G3) rifle. But that might have changed by now since by that time the HK416 had just been rolled out to Norwegian troops.
The training was good in many aspects, winter survival in particular. But it was shocking to see the state of the equipment we had to use, considering our government is very wealthy. I think they do a good job of equipping the soldiers they were sending to Afghanistan though, but the amount of soldiers sent there was just a tiny fraction. My time in the service made me realize (sadly) that for my own sake I would not waste my life trying to defend Northen Norway against Russia in a potential future conflict, unpatriotic as that might seem. My training left me ill prepared for combat, but well prepared for winter camping.
Interesting story
about 20 years ago in some discount shop i remember buying norwegian army winter equipment, yeah great hats and coats (just a bit small) i believe it was from the 70s, much better than the swiss ones i bought (probably from 50-60s)
@Fight authority maybe it was mistaken for an avant-garde depressed statement of some kind :P
A great and informative piece. The problem clearly explained. Well done, DW.
„ Es kann der Frömmste nicht in Frieden leben, wenn es dem bösen Nachbarn nicht gefällt. “ ― Friedrich Schiller
It's the pious that are causing the wars ? Name a war ?
"The pious cannot live in peace, if their neigbours do not like it."
@@acceptablecasualty5319 Thanks
I served with a small German unit in Iraq a few years ago.
Really professional looking guys, but their understanding of rules of engagement and LOAC was... concerning.
Since the end of the Cold War, Europe has mothballed its sense of military preparedness and become overly reliant on American intervention should the necessity arise. In essence, Europe has been a free-rider on American defense spending, which consumes an excessive amount of American tax dollars. To be blunt, Europe needs to start paying its share for self-defense and shouldering greater responsibility for ensuring peace. If that means a return to conscription or an increase in their taxes, then so be it.
And cut back on social welfare.
The RAF has been dependent on the Americans since & during WWII
Trump did exactly that and everybody to the left of libertarians lost their minds and went ballistic (again).
@@Zombie1Boy THIS!
very ignorant view of europe in nato, America spends all its money on nato so they can have strong influence, such as using the f35 program to make nato members stay inline and follow its orders. america was better off being isolationist
Germany has the engineering and technology with large funds to upgrade its military easily than most other nations. But of course the upgrades will take time
If Germany wasn't the purse strings of the EU it would of upgraded long ago.
Germany is very bureaucratic.
They can't change fast.
They are not the Germany they once was.
remember berlin is like tokyo after ww2 and become success on tech and science…
And a will to do so, which seems to be the problem. These alarm bells have been doing off for about a decade, and Germany is just now hearing it.
It's procurement processes are a disaster.
Didn't Merkle and Ursla VD do a fantastic job for Germany 🙄.
I can see a lot in this video and I do thank you for a very nice peace. BUT Germany and the rest of Europe was warned not to take a "peace dividend" and later don't become reliant on Russia for gas and oil.
I have to add that one of the outcomes of the UA/RU war has been finding DW and other good international sources for news. I want to thank DW for the news and commentary I now receive and hope you keep going.
@DW News, excellent coverage. In the part of the world that I come from, it's very very rare to see Public Broadcast service report on issues unfavorable to the ruling government.
Great job and all the best!
This rubbish video is only promoting wars which is against the humanity.
During the cold war of the 80's things were better with the threat of them coming through the Fulda gap. Of course we had a much larger presence there as well. Once we downsized we left them a lot of great installations that all they needed to do was take over; good barracks, housing, motor pools/maintenance shops, firing ranges, etc. Trained with them a couple times and they didn't seem that bad, they actually had some good ideas; the Canadians were great, the French just weird all around. I'm sure sucking up east Germany was very costly.
"Three days" is the answer, if your question was how long germany would´ve held if the 1st cold war had become hot.
I was stationed in Germany in the 80s, we used to train with these guys and we were always envious of their clothing and equipment, I even have several German Army issued victorinox knives I got there ,carry them to this day, this is a shame to hear
Germany's main focus on it's business economy and it's the best financial state in the EU; it's not a surprise the military isn't in the best shape. Germany economy being take down quietly/silently with this proxy war and only some people in German actually have the will to talk about it. Most are just blindly follow the order of their boss.
Botski reported.
Sounds just like the RAF in the 1980's! Storeman had the best kit!
At least they got the best damn military band in the land.
100 million won’t get you much! Japan has a bigger,better equiped, better trained army,and they will spend 320 million!
Germany and France have built their economies by leaving the military heavy lifting to others like the UK and US,. It is time both began to carry their share of the burden.
The German government has enjoyed diverting the defence budget into more profitable areas for decades which has left a completely broken military. Now its going to take serious investment and decades to put it right. However, I'm still not convinced they even really want to fix it, rather making the right noises on the international platforms until "the problem goes away" then back to business again.
As a Canadian, and former CAF member, I would love to have the equipment the Germans have for our military. Canadians just found out that most of our Leopard 2 fleet are not even combat ready. The 4 we are sending are the only ones we can send. The government refuses to tell the Canadian people just how many Leopards we have that are operational.
The situation is Canada is beyond repair.
@@foxtrotbravo1744 I served in the mid to late 80's. The equipment we had then was old and worn out such as our small arms. Yes some was in good shape and we made do with what we had. We trained to fight a WW3 scenario in which we had no chance of survival, but we were able to train and we did have a capable Mechanized Brigade Group in West Germany.
I left the forces because I thought the CAF was a broken down machine.
No government in power has ever done our military justice. We are part of NATO and never spend the 2 percent we agreed to. We procure weapons systems that we use well beyond their life and are usually outdated because the procurement process is a decade or more behind, the spend millions on upgrades when that same money could go to buying the equipment we need.
We make the recruitment process so long that many people who try to join give up after waiting more than a year, or Canadian's don't want to join because of all the bad press the military gets which is quite unfair.
Is it fixable. I do not know. With the current government in power, absolutely not.
@@mafmaf6417 I agree. The Somalia incident may have been the beginning of the end. (I was in the infantry reserves in the late 70's - early 80's.)
Don't worry. Trudeau has the PLA training in Canada.
Getting rid of Trudeau and the Leftist loons would help to restore Canada.
The Western Europian nation needs to have their own very good military and not relying on USA
remember when we had a President who told Germany that they needed to spend more money on their defense ... and the Germans just laughed?
Germany is run by a bunch of women.
He also warned them about depending on Russia for gas and oil. Who's laughing now?
Germans are perfectionists. Them saying their military is in a dire state, that's the equivalent to Russia saying they have the greatest army in the world.
Perfectionists are slow at getting things done.
Perfectionist's are in Putin's pocket. Germany cant wait to forgive and forget all this, and normalize relations with Putin again. Maybe pay your 3% now, or wouldn't Vlad like that?
No this time it is correct unfortunately 😅🙈
No ammunition, no working equipment, not enough combat boots, not even enough rifles for the current troops, let alone our reservists if we would need them...
what i find funny as a German is that for decades no one wanted an German army. Our Goverment cut their budget again and again while the parts that were supposed to keep working got slowed. Our former defence minister Von derlayen a Person that never spend a day in the military or even took advise from her Advisors let private Companies run the ship without any control at thats just the tip of the ice berg. I am sorry that our Soldiers have to struggle with things like that.
Just as Japan deserves to defend itself militarily, so does Germany.
Their procurement procedures need to be updated, and quickly. That kind of structural change has to be started from the top - the legislature & the various ministries involved. They need to actually "want" change, not just pay lip service to it.
"talking" is pretty much the only thing german politicians are good at... well, at least most of them when u consider our foreign ministers accidental declaration of war. In earlier generations ppl who facilitate to scam billions, have a CV made out of lies or cheat at their work are made to resign, in Germany they became the 3 candidates for head of state. That says enough about the quality of those politicians i guess.
I would love to know how much money and resources were wasted by Ursula and friends on management consultants.
So, in other words, Germany got caught with their proverbial pants down.
Mass production of Leopard 2 A7 and artillery shells and military training will be necessary for the defense of NATO immediately more than we think. Freedom is based on both Human will and Military equipments.
Agreed, but you can forget that that would ever happen.
Before that happens Putin has marched all they way to the Atlantic coast while we in Germany are still with busy filling out the paperwork.
Our bureaucrats are now meaning there own bureaucracy kingdom. And all of them have to take part in every process to prove that all of those office people are really necessary. Otherwise someone might decide, that they are useless and fire them. So they're of course busy creating forms where every single department has to participate before any process can go into another stage....
“Defense of NATO”. Hope US has lots of expensive energy to keep German industry going to manufacture these weapons of mass destruction.
Last time the Germans got complacent with their army was back in the 1800s when the French Tricolors hung over Berlin. Stark warning, for those who don’t prepare for war, always have a sharp stick and not use it, then not have one when needed
This reminds me of the sad situation in Canada. Under funded and under appreciates armed forces, shortage of personnel, endless delays in procurement, and so on. It took the bureaucracy 12 years to settle on a new sidearm. The previous one was designed in 1935 - the Browning Hi Power. The biggest difference is that Canadian politicians don't know enough to be concerned, They know that they can hide behind the big eagle.
Who's gonna invade Canada? 😂
@@autobahnmensch Some Canadians, myself included feel that we should live up to our NATO obligations, especially since money is no object in other areas.. As it is our dilettante prime minister likes to talk big, but we don't get much respect from our allies.
The Browning Hi Power is an awesome sidearm, I just bought one. Canada will regret switching to something else, some American special ops are going back to the 1911. My Hi Power is my EDC. What did Canada decide to go with on the sidearm?
@@johnjinglehimmerschmitt9802 They went with an Sig, I think that it was the 320. The reason that they abandoned the Hi Power was claimed to be parts availability. I used to have a Hi Power and do regret selling it.
The Russians are close enough to invade Canada, but I couldn't imagine them doing so before hitting Alaska
The Romans knew: si vis pacem, para bellum. Yet we let our military strength atrophy in times of peace.
*Romans:* Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum
*Kautilya (India):* Stop plagiarizing content I wrote a thousand years ago FFS!
*Gandhi (India):* I will pretend I didn't hear that.
*Nehru (India):* Exactly! Who even needs Army and all? I don't want. Take it and go.
*China:* Hello there (1962)
*Nehru (India):* Err....guys, we need to quadruple our forces like right fcuking now. But let me die first.
*Pakistan:* Hello there (1965)
*Shastri (India):* You picked the wrong house fool. We just finished our military buildup.
*USA and USSR:* Well you can't really be doing that $hit.
*China:* Hello there (1967)
*Lt Gen Sagat Singh (India):* Hello Back to You Mofos.
Do this for the UK please.
Well Done !
I don't think anyone is asking Germany or any country to return to militarism. But we should be able to produce weapons cheaply and effectively to protect ourselves, and be willing to invest in the people of the armed forces. Thank you.
We have America to do that for us
@@Elatenl maybe not cheaply. But at least it should be done efficiently for what you are purchasing.
The free world NEEDS strong Germany with STRONG GERMAN MILITARY!
To defend our free world, and to protect our freedom, our rights to protest. democracy, election. free speech and so on, we need STRONG GERMAN MILITARY!
Also, we need to defend and protect us and our friends who need our help from nuclear bullies and aggressors BY OUR MILITARY deterrence !
So. PLEASE build STRONG GERMAN MILITARY!
After 1989 german army was the biggest in europe. In respond on concerns of our neighbours they reduced it. They had to deconstruct hundreds of those Leopard 2 A4.
Some were given away to poland, spain and greece.
@@kurousagi8155 german weapons and produced efficiently didn't go well
They need a new leader with new ideas and a great speaker and a Nationalist that loves his country
Using the Luftwaffe Museum in Berlin as the background for her report is very clever.
It's a machine gun.
I didn’t know Germany was allowed to have a military after what they did in WW2.
I salute the head officer in the German army. Politicians underfund the military, then they ask them to do the impossible!
Europe in general, has always relied on The USA to step in and be there militarily. Hey Europe, time to get with it and prepare (like 30 years ago!!).
Europe has fought documented large scale war's for three thousand years. But lets be fair and only look at the years after 1776 when USA declared their independence. Europe fought war's in Africa, America, China, India, and fought countless war's in Europe, invaded Russia fought in two world war's. Those are the ones i can quickly think of at the top of my head. Now lets have a look at USA. You massacred and displaced the american Natives, tried to invade Canada, you attacked the fallen empire of Spain and invaded Mexico and managed to grab Florida, Philippines and Texas. You reluctantly joined the end of both world war's, You lost the Korean and Vietnamese war's and Invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. But in general Europe has always relied on USA, right.
@@skar2675 Replace "War" with "Plunder" in your comment and it still sounds right. Must be talking about European colonialist pigs.
I was stationed in Germany 77-80. The German army was damn competent back then.
It's still competent, but there are problems. Mostly with procurement and maintenance (outsourced to private industry these days). The Bundeswehr had active missions in Afghanistan, off the coast of Africa, in Mali, Kosovo and training missions in Iraq. It was and still is capable, but the downsizing and switching from conscription to volunteer army and the lack of political reforms have left a mess in the mentioned areas.
The problem isnt the competence of the Officers and enlisted but simply the extreme budgetcuts that came after the cold war. The leadership told the german DoD about the bad state, lacking founds and other problems but nobody listened.
Pacifism / feminism in the military. Only ends one way.
funny this is almost exactly what I hear about the British Army, nice to hear it's happening somewhere else too
you brits at least have an army and have nukes to scare russia unless Germany if the russians feel a bit nostaligic they are in berlin in 5 minutes
@@laisphinto6372 The army does not scare the soviets! The RN have a nuclear deterrent but they are mentally unbalanced.
Very informative - thank you. Where was this filmed please? Presumably a museum?
German is pure NATO (No Action Talk Only)
lmao that's funny
The state of Germany's military is the result of DECADES of complacency, apathy, neglect, and cultural changes. These trends are unlikely to be reversed unless and until people are slapped across the face with the consequences of not having a capable military - ie losing a war that they needed to win. IF Germany survives that defeat, maybe then we'll see changes - unless and until that happens nothing will change.
I remember trading 2 poncho liners , 1 with a poncho sewn with the liner . For a Germany Soldier sniper sleeping bag that had a zipper midsection that could be unzipped half way and I could put my leg on the ground and maneuver to safer ground .
Germany will reorganise, deliver and resolve. They walk the walk and talk the talk.
Es ist besser, ein Krieger in einem Garten zu sein, als ein Gärtner in einem Krieg. Schwach zu sein wird Konflikte nicht verhindern.
Lot's of people are warriors and don't even know about it. A german soldier will always be a good soldier.
Decades of neglecting the military is having and effect. Start with the helmet. I recommend the Pickelhaube. It looks really good!
USA: Russia is a threat. Tells Germany to diversify their energy sector and increase their military spending.
Germany: Literally laughs at US President. Lets military become obsolete. Entangles entire energy sector with Russia
Russia: Get's aggressive. Threatens all of eastern Europe. Catches Germany completely unprepared.
Germany: *surprise Pikachu face*
Also USA: Drags Germany into the Afghansitan shitshow in a revenge war, forcing the german army into a war it was not designed to leading to 20 years of the entire german military budget going into buying weapons to fight terrorism inbcluding changing the entire army doctrine and leaving continental defense with nothing left. except cold war spares.
USA when Germany isnt capable of continental defense anymore: suprise pikatchu face
Since when did Ukraine become part of Eastern Europe? Have you confused it with Hungary and Romania? Get out of the territory of the former USSR, neither the Germans nor the Americans have anything to do there.
@@ОнуфрийНечепуренко
It is obvious that the
Ukranian people do
not want to be ruled
by Russia. It appears
that Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and Poland
share the same
sentiments as Ukranians.
@@here_we_go_again2571 Yes, they do not want to, but they will have to take into account the opinion of Russia, which will not allow the border countries to unite in hostile military alliances. Over the past 100 years, Russia has survived several attacks from Europe, losing tens of millions of people killed in wars, so Russia will not let the West easily create favorable conditions for a quick victorious war, like those that have been waged in recent years in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.