Brussels, Belgium. NATO will strengthen the defence of its eastern flank with a new structure intended to facilitate the rapid deployment of forces in Latvia and Estonia in the event of war with Russia, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Eastern flank defence
At present, NATO forces in the three Baltic states and northern Poland are under the command of a single multinational headquarters in Szczecin, Poland. The planned change underscores the strategic importance of the Baltics, which have been in focus since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Assigning a second corps to the region would allow NATO to bring in “mass at speed,” according to one military official, addressing the area’s limited strategic depth and vulnerability.
When fully operational, an army corps typically commands three divisions, or 40,000 to 60,000 troops. In peacetime, it normally exists as a skeleton command structure, with specialist functions such as artillery, air defence and medics in place to allow rapid deployment when needed.
German-Netherlands Corps
Germany and the Netherlands, in coordination with NATO, have reached agreement to assign the German-Netherlands Corps, based in Muenster, Germany, to the defence of Latvia and Estonia, the military sources said on Tuesday.
European allies are taking on more responsibility for their own security amid criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who most recently accused European NATO members of lacking support in the Iran war and announced that Washington would withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
The deal cleared the last hurdle, the sources said, referring to a lack of corps troops, which are needed for capabilities including long-range artillery, air defence, engineers and medics.
Together with other partners, Germany and the Netherlands will now build up these forces, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear when the decision would take effect or how many troops would fall under the command of the new headquarters unit in any conflict.
The Dutch defence ministry said the assignment of the corps was “currently being further elaborated” and declined to provide details. The German defence ministry declined to comment, citing ongoing coordination efforts with NATO.