According to foreign media reports, the German Army claimed that it would need to recruit additional 100,000 soldiers to meet the capacity goals set by NATO and prepare for possible Russian military actions.
The disclosure of this news comes as NATO warns that open conflict with Moscow may occur in the next five years and the full conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, which has attracted widespread attention from the international community.
At present, there are about 62,000 active-duty soldiers in the German Federal Defense Army and 37,000 non-active-duty soldiers.
It is reported that German Army Chief of Staff Alphons Meiss clarified the timetable for expansion in his letter in September: by 2029, the army will need to add at least 45,000 soldiers; by 2035, another 45,000 soldiers.
Mays mentioned in the letter that "according to preliminary rough estimates", in order to achieve NATO's adjusted capacity goals, Germany needs a total of 460,000 military personnel, including 260,000 active troops.
For this report, the German Ministry of Defense refused to comment to the media on the grounds that it involved confidential content, and also stated that it was unable to verify the relevant statements.
Since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, European countries have changed the disarmament trend in decades after the Cold War, and began to increase defense spending and expand the size of their troops.
After years of insufficient military expenditure, Germany also began to restore military capabilities after the outbreak of the Ukrainian War.
The process accelerated further with the promotion of the Chancellor of Finance Friedrich Mertz, who proposed the establishment of a new fund of €500 billion for strengthening infrastructure construction and defense preparations.
In addition, in order to strengthen the defensive power in NATO's eastern flank, Germany has permanently deployed a brigade in Lithuania.
Lithuania borders Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave, and is close to Moscow's allies. This deployment is of great strategic significance.
Recently, the Trump administration has expressed its intention to reduce the US military presence in Europe. In addition, Poland shot down Russian drones in its airspace earlier this week, and Warsaw said this was a deliberate attack, which made the security situation in Europe more urgent, and Germany's military expansion plan has been given more realistic urgency.
