Army could call halt on German withdrawal
The Army is considering halting its withdrawal from Germany to allow troops to deploy to Estonia quickly in the event of hostilities with Russia, the head of the Army has said. Gen Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the General Staff, said in a speech that the threat meant commanders could retain bases that were due to be abandoned by the end of the decade. He also warned that Russia could initiate hostilities “sooner than we expect”.
THE Army is looking at halting its withdrawal from Germany and instead leaving a forward mounting base to allow troops to head quickly to Eastern Europe in event of hostilities with Russia, the head of the Army has said.
Gen Sir Nick Carter, the Chief of the General Staff, said the threat from Russia meant commanders were now “actively considering” retaining bases that troops are due to leave by the end of this decade.
The disclosure came as he delivered a speech at the Royal United Services Institute on the threats posed by Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture. Showing a Russian military propaganda video, he said Russia was developing an “eye-watering quantity of capability” as part of its defence modernisation. He also warned that Russia could initiate hostilities “sooner than we expect”, but they would be deliberately difficult to spot.
He claimed Britain’s ability to preempt or respond to the threats “will be eroded if we don’t match up to them now”. “They represent a clear and present danger. They are not thousands of miles away, they are now on Europe’s doorstep,” he added.
Sir Nick delivered the speech as Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, faces months of negotiations with the Treasury for money to stave off cuts to the Armed Forces. Sir Nick said Russia’s emphasis on hybrid warfare meant hostile action would be difficult to identify. “The character of warfare is making it much harder for us to recognise true intentions and distinguish between what is peace and what is war. We cannot afford to sit back,” he said.
He added that credible deterrence could only be underpinned by genuine forces and commitment “that earns the respect of potential opponents”.
Sir Nick said that to deter Russia in Eastern Europe, Britain and its Nato allies had to improve their speed of recognising what was going on, speed of deciding what to do and speed of assembling forces if needed.
Making the case for the new Army armoured strike brigades which commanders fear could be delayed or cut
‘Russia represents a clear danger. They are not thousands of miles away, they are on Europe’s doorstep’
without extra funding, he said troops would need to be able to rapidly deploy by road or rail. He underlined the growing threat from missiles and said Russia had increased its stocks 30 fold. He said it was “important I think to stress the importance for a forward mounting base and therefore we are actively examining the retention of our infrastructure in Germany”. Such a move would mark a partial U-turn to the 2010 costcutting defence review which decided to withdraw all troops and close bases in Germany by the end of this decade. Sir Nick said the Army is looking at retaining Ayrshire Barracks in Mönchengladbach and a base at Sennelager.
Sir Nick’s warning came as Ciaran Martin, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said a major cyber attack on the UK that might cripple vital infrastructure was a matter of “when, not if ”.