During the Cold War, the United States permanently maintained in Europe nearly 300.000 men, including 250.000 for Federal Germany alone. But in order to cope with the 50 or so armored divisions available to the Warsaw Pact, NATO critically needed forces from the new continent. The particularly short response times to an offensive, and the risks of seeing naval convoys crossing the Atlantic attacked by Soviet submarines and long-range bombers, quickly led the Pentagon to opt for the pre-positioning of a large stock of heavy equipment in Germany, equipment that could be used by personnel transported by air over the Atlantic. In total, 10 American and Canadian divisions, including 3 armored divisions, belonging to the US III Corps, to the V Corps and to the VII Corps could thus be deployed in 72 hours and reinforce the American units already present in the Fulda gap, alongside of their European allies.
At the height of the Cold War, an exercise was held every year to maintain skills and evaluate the procedures of this strategy, Exercise Reforger, for Reinforcement Germany. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dislocation of the Warsaw Pact followed by that of the Soviet Union, it quickly lost interest, and the last exercise took place in 1993. Naturally, once the exercise was canceled, the materials pre-positioned in Germany were repatriated, or destroyed in accordance with disarmament agreements in Europe. As for the American forces present in Germany, they were gradually reduced to 35.000 personnel.
The rest of this article is for subscribers only
The Classic subscriptions provide access to
all articles without advertising, starting at € 1,99.
Newsletter subscription
Register for the Meta-Defense Newsletter to receive the
latest fashion articles daily or weekly