Germany’s new tank brigade was officially launched into service on May 22 in Lithuania, where it will be stationed permanently.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is travelling to Vilnius to attend an inauguration parade of the 45th Armoured Brigade.
The ceremony will see 600 German soldiers line up on the city’s central Cathedral Square and includes a military equipment display and joint concert by German and Lithuanian army bands.
Merz will be welcomed by Lithuania’s foreign minister Kestutis Budrys, and will then head to the Presidential Palace for talks with President Gitanas Nauseda.
The ceremony marks an important milestone in Germany’s first permanent deployment of troops on foreign soil since the Second World War.
In December 2023, Germany and Lithuania signed a plan to station 4,800 German soldiers, 200 civilian workers, and more than 150 armoured vehicles (including 44 Leopard 2A6 tanks) in the Baltic country.
The deployment was agreed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and is intended to bolster defences on NATO’s Eastern flank.
“The Eastern flank has now moved to the East, and it’s the duty of Germany to protect it,” German defence minister Pistorius said after signing the agreement in 2023.
The brigade, Germany’s eight armoured brigade in total, will reach its full strength in 2027. The first German soldiers, responsible for planning the relocation, arrived in Lithuania in April 2024.
The Lithuanian defence ministry said the build-up was progressing as planned.
“The 45th German Brigade reached full headquarters capability on April 1, 2025. There are 500 German Brigade military personnel stationed in Lithuania at the moment, while the full warfighting capability of 5,000 military and civilian personnel, required equipment, gear and stocks will be reached in 2027,” the ministry wrote in a press release.
The German army will also take part in numerous exercises in Lithuania in 2025, including “Griffin Lighting” exercise in May 2025 and “Grand Eagle II” exercise in September.
Lithuanians are reportedly happy about the German troop commitment. According to a recent survey, 85 per cent of the country’s citizens agree with the deployment of the German armoured brigade.
A similar percentage also believes the presence of NATO allies in the country will deter any hostile military action.
