Even after three years of record-breaking defense budgets, Germany’s Bundeswehr is still struggling to meet the demands of modern warfare.
Military historian Sönke Neitzel has reignited debate about the efficiency of the country’s armed forces in a striking critique published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He questions whether billions of euros have truly strengthened Germany’s military capabilities.
Bureaucracy Stifles Combat Readiness
Neitzel paints a picture of an army weighed down by bureaucracy rather than focused on operational effectiveness.
Procurement issues, particularly with drones and advanced military equipment, have stalled progress and highlighted systemic inefficiencies.
Endless meetings, slow decision-making, and risk aversion have turned the Bundeswehr into what he calls a “dysfunctional organization.”
Too Many Officers, Not Enough Soldiers
One of the historian’s key concerns is the Bundeswehr’s personnel structure.
Out of 180,000 service members, fewer than half are assigned to combat units.
Nearly one in four is an officer, creating a “massive imbalance” between leadership and frontline forces.
Many of these officers have spent years in administrative roles rather than gaining hands-on combat experience, weakening the army’s effectiveness.
Neitzel argues that decades of peace have shifted the military culture.
Success is now measured by smooth procedures rather than battlefield readiness, discouraging responsibility and punishing risk-taking.
The result is a bloated bureaucracy that hampers operational capability.
Calls for Deep Reform
Neitzel is urging Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to implement serious reforms.
Speeches about “new times” are not enough, he insists — the Bundeswehr needs tangible action to overhaul its structure and culture.
Concrete Steps to Modernize the Army
Among his proposals, Neitzel calls for eliminating redundant administrative roles and reducing the proportion of officers and bureaucrats to no more than 30% of the total force.
Out of the current 90,000 staff in management, a third could be cut.
Combat units also need to evolve, with fewer traditional infantry and more specialists trained in modern technologies like drones.
“Germany’s military must align with the realities of contemporary warfare,” Neitzel concludes, emphasizing that efficiency and adaptability are key if the Bundeswehr is to become a credible and modern fighting force.