Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
And they're supposed to be the biggest and baddest army in central Europe. This article reinforces my postulation that if Russia really wanted to seize the Baltic States, they couldn't be stopped (short of the nuclear option). And the Luftwaffe and German Navy are in arrears too.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...broken-in-port
http://warisboring.com/germanys-air-...ing-to-pieces/
And the U.S. (with heavy military commitments in Central Asia and the Middle East) and its other European allies could stop a determined Russian attack on the Baltics? Sad to say, I don't think so. |
Practically all European NATO members and the neutrals are is in this shape, and few European NATO countries will spend their quota on defence or did so during the height of the Cold War. Most European governments spend a minimal amount on their armed forces whose function they believe is for defending their own territory only. Keeping their voting citizens happy through spending on education, heath care and social welfare is more important. NATO memberships seems to be a hindrance to them and basically they rely on the US to take care of their security problems, and certainly for any pro-active military operations.
The Germans are probably the worst culprits given their relative economic strength. Their armed forces seem to only exist to give employment to low skilled youths and large contracts to German and European defence companies. Even the British and French who do take their defence priorities seriously are effected by this mindset and are also strained by the cost of maintaining their nuclear forces. Commanders in the British Armed forces are currently looking for an extra 20 billion pound sterling a year to keep their forces effective, and I doubt they will get it.
If the Russians ever decided to move against the Baltics there would be very little NATO could do to stop it as even the US doesn't have enough forces in Europe anymore. Putin and co would just have a good laugh at any European country who threatened to attack them.