VILNIUS – Germany has opened its first permanent foreign military presence in Lithuania since World War II, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling it “the beginning of a new era.”
At the foot of Gediminas Hill, overlooking Vilnius's old town, where military bands played and hundreds of soldiers stood in formation, the message was clear: Berlin was back in the Baltics – and it was here to stay.
“We are taking the defense of NATO's eastern flank into our own hands,” Merz said at his inauguration on Thursday alongside Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
“This day is the beginning of a new era,” Merz added, calling the deployment a joint commitment by Berlin and Vilnius to defend European freedom from any aggressor.
Amid growing doubts about the reliability of US security guarantees under Donald Trump, Merz's visit is a strategic gesture aimed at reassuring NATO's frontline states and demonstrating Berlin's willingness to take a more active role in the alliance.
It also came as Merz vowed to make Germany's army the strongest in Europe. The deployment in Lithuania will be the first large-scale test of the German army, said Vilnius expert Ruslanas Irzykevicius.
Here come the Germans
The 5,000-strong Litaujeni Brigade is headquartered in Rudninkai, just 30 km south of Vilnius, with support elements stationed in Rokantiškės and Nemenčine.
Euractiv sources said that up to 10,000 German troops and their families could eventually be stationed in Lithuania.
The brigade is expected to reach full operational capability by 2027, putting it in the vulnerable Suwalki Gap, a narrow corridor between Kaliningrad and Belarus that is seen as a key point in any potential conflict between NATO and Russia.
Germany's deployment reflects the commitments of France, the United Kingdom and Canada, which lead NATO battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania respectively.
German soldiers from the Lithuanian Brigade, Vilnius, May 22, 2025. Photo by Charles Shumsky.
In the weeks leading up to the opening, passers-by could not help but notice the growing number of soldiers in uniforms emblazoned with the German coat of arms.
The deployment of troops is also changing the face of Vilnius: projects to build schools and housing in German are already being implemented, and negotiations are underway to open a German-language radio station in the country.
Military-industrial turn
Germany's advance into the Baltics coincides with the deepening of industrial ties between Berlin and Vilnius.
German defense giant Rheinmetall, a key supplier of Leopard tanks and artillery shells, is expanding its presence in Eastern Europe, opening new factories in Lithuania, Romania and Hungary. A major plant for the production of 155mm artillery shells is already under development in Lithuania’s Radviliskis district.
Lithuania, in turn, is relying on German equipment and technology – from Leopard 2 tanks to Boxer armored vehicles.
Panzerhaubitze 2000 – German 155mm self-propelled howitzer, part of a public display on the occasion of the opening of the German 45th Armored Brigade.
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