The Commander and Headquarters initial command element of the Bundeswehr’s 45th ‘Lithuania’ Brigade is deploying to Vilnius.
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Press Release, Vilnius, April 2024: On 8th April the Commander of the 45th ‘Lithuania’ Brigade of the Bundeswehr, Lt Gen Alfons Mais, and the Headquarters initial command element will deploy. The initial command element of the German brigade to be stationed in Lithuania will comprise over 20 service members.
The first soldiers arriving in Lithuania will settle in Vilnius and will be responsible for planning the relocation of the brigade to Lithuania and coordinating the requirements for military infrastructure. By the end of the year, the primary element of the headquarters, which will have grown, will also be responsible for helping with the transfer of German soldiers to serve in Lithuania.
Germany is committed to deploying a heavy brigade in Lithuania with three manoeuvre battalions and all necessary enablers, including combat support and supply units. The brigade will consist of existing and newly formed units; the 203rd Panzer Battalion from North Rhine-Westphalia and the 122nd Panzergrenadier Battalion from Bavaria will be transferred to Lithuania. The enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Lithuania will be transformed into a multinational battalion and become an integral part of the brigade.
It is expected that a total of about five thousand people, German brigade soldiers and civilians, some of them with their families, will move to Lithuania. There will be two locations of service, Rūdninkai and Rukla. Military families will stay in Kaunas and Vilnius and additionally logistic hubs will be created in other areas of Lithuania.
[© Bob Morrison]
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