Transport & logistics
Disquiet on the eastern front
Since the end of Soviet rule in 1991, the countries on Europe’s eastern fringe have looked to Nato for training, weapons and logistical support. That’s especially true in recent years, as Putin’s Russia has begun fl exing its military muscles with worrying frequency. How does that change the dynamics within Nato, and what do countries on the frontline have planned in the event of a Russian attack? Andrea Valentino hears from experts across Eastern Europe to understand Nato’s importance to the security of Poland and the Baltics, how logistical cooperation is increasing in the face of Moscow’s aggression, and whether a distracted US will always be there to save the day.
they knew they couldn’t face the awesome power of the Wehrmacht and the SS, and then the Red Army, out in the field in a proper battle. They had seen what panzers and stukas could do to even the bravest of soldiers, like at the Battle of the Bzura, near Łód, where ferocious German bombing had swept away the lives of 20,000 Poles in September 1939. Instead, the soldiers fled to their woods and wild places, and began one of the bitterest irregular campaigns of the 20th century. By the time it was over, 13,000 so-called ‘Forest Brothers’ had died in Lithuania alone. In Poland, one officer fought the Nazis and then the Soviets for 24 years – over half his life – before finally being killed by communist militiamen in 1963.
W
hen last the invaders came, the fighting people of Eastern Europe hid away. That’s not to say they did nothing – it’s just that
The Europe of today, of course, has been transformed immeasurably since those terrible years of Nazi and Soviet occupation. Rather than ambushing patrols and sabotaging railways, the militaries of Poland and the Baltics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – stand proud, safe in the knowledge that their weapons and armour can keep them safe. Poland, for instance, now has over 1,000 tanks as its disposal, among them the latest German-built Leopard 2PL models from a factory in Düsseldorf. Lithuania, for its part, recently put in an order for 200 Oshkosh L-ATV armoured cars direct from the manufacturer in Wisconsin, US. And then there’s the funding. The three Baltic states, countries with a collective population smaller than London, are receiving $169m in foreign military aid from the US alone in 2021. To put that into perspective, the entire military budget of Estonia in 2019 was only $760m.
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
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Latvian National Armed Forces
Latvian National Armed Forces
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