Germany Strengthens Domestic Defence with New Army Division Amid Potential Russian Threat

The German Armed Forces will create a new division dedicated exclusively to territorial defence and transfer all existing reserve units under direct army command, the German Army said on Saturday, DW reports.

The reorganisation will take effect in April and will increase the number of German divisions.

‘Territorial defence will be transferred to the army command from 1 April 2025,’ an army spokesman said.

Earlier, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that a Russian attack on NATO's borders could happen within four years. 

So this move by Germany optimises its territorial defence command structures at a time when what Berlin describes as acts of Russian sabotage against the country's critical infrastructure have reached a new high. 

So far, Berlin has three divisions that NATO can deploy in the event of a conflict, whose main job will be to defend the alliance, confronting the enemy right on the front line.

The fourth division will be tasked with Germany's internal defence, including the protection of infrastructure such as ports, railways and supply and deployment routes.

Germany is preparing to serve as a major logistics hub in any conflict with Russia, and tens of thousands of reinforcement troops from other NATO allies are expected to deploy eastward through Germany after arriving at its North Sea ports.