Europäische Armeen können zwei Millionen Soldaten aufstellen

With a collective strength of more than two million soldiers, should European allies worry about a US troop pull-out?

A drawdown of US troops and assets from the continent was long anticipated but turned into a crisis last month when [President Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?srsltid=AfmBOoqIMoPqsckP_YN53GosC1sKvZrcqHz81-ewnx1UFEX4wxBU3R1b&ico=in-line_link) threatened to [withdraw 5,000 troops](http://bbc.com/news/articles/c0729d374mxo) from Germany – after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US had been humiliated in the [Iran war](https://inews.co.uk/topic/iran?srsltid=AfmBOorAJ_hXRz26fgV4gIXJcQGBJNZZbawXG869qLDV_xhgcc-4ceTA&ico=in-line_link).

The threat induced panic as [Nato officials](https://inews.co.uk/topic/nato?srsltid=AfmBOoorBQVZ1tnxLzPwyZuiMzyC6-F3p8JL8RaYcDTd2HzxOhLAoFV8&ico=in-line_link) tried to downplay the impact on force projection and yet raised a broader question: Can Europe manage its own security if the Americans leave?

A look at the numerical strength of European armies compared to their chief adversary [Russia](https://inews.co.uk/topic/russia?srsltid=AfmBOookVdAOwCqvAucruUTKoNi_JV-36xATnHpE-f-pssoyoJpgbEH4&ico=in-line_link) reveals the problem isn’t a dearth of foot soldiers.

According to the [Military Balance report](https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/) released by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the 23 EU members of Nato have 1.29 million active troops.

France contributes more than 200,000 personnel, followed by Germany with nearly 180,000 and Italy with more than 160,000. The UK adds another 150,000.

Russia has around 1.3 million active personnel, which roughly matches the allies’ active-duty strength. But it has 2 million soldiers in reserve compared to 900,000 in EU countries.

The bloc could potentially call on Ukraine – Europe’s second-largest army with hundreds of thousands of war-hardened troops. Although not a Nato member, Ukraine is a friendly nation, a leading candidate to join the EU, and the continent’s front line against Russia.

But European countries do not primarily need the US because they lack soldiers, but for a slew of other reasons – such as a lack of readiness, capability gaps, and the absence of an alternative military command structure.

In order to respond quickly, effectively, and at scale when under attack, the alliance has devised the Nato Force Model – a plan that lists the inventory of troops and equipment that must be made available at short notice if a member country is targeted.

Under a three-tier approach, the plan envisages deployment of 100,000 war-ready troops within the first ten days of a war – these would include national troops “in-place” and allied troops nearby. For example, in Estonia it would be primarily Estonians but also contingents from the nearby Tapa base, inlcuding troops from the UK, France and Denmark.

In the second tier, at least 200,000 troops should be deployed between ten days and a month. This force would would include heavily armed infantry and armored military units. Within six months, more than 500,000 troops should be ready for action.

The plan relies heavily on Washington. Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told me: “Roughly half of the troops listed in the Nato force model are expected to be Americans.”

Trump’s threats to withdraw troops and disengage over time have caused concern whether the allies can rely on the US to deploy troops for these rapid response teams. Fewer American soldiers could weaken European allies who are already lagging in preparation.

“Training was high-intensity warfare was not a priority” for European countries so far, added Loss.

As Americans are often better trained and equipped than their European counterparts, their absence could diminish the mission’s effectiveness. “It depends on specific units, but on average American troops have higher training levels, more ammunition, and better logistics,” said Loss.

The actual number of trained soldiers among the Europeans is “classified,” he said, “but they are estimated to be eight or nine brigades, that’s under 50,000 soldiers.” By contrast, Russia amassed nearly 150,000 troops when it invaded Ukraine in 2022 and is expected to have a larger force for any attacks on a Nato member.

That’s a ton of drone operators with a billion drones, hypothetically. War has surely changed.

„should European allies worry“

Arguably yes as the Ukraine/Russia situation has shown there is no ability for European countries to actually deploy said troops collectively otherwise there war would have ended already. Instead they’re all waiting for Russia to come knocking as they undoubtedly will after Ukraine is finished