How is the German army trying to renew its artillery school?

Just days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to revitalize a German Army that had fallen into disuse since the end of the Cold War.

That plan promised an injection of 100 billion euros, or almost 110 billion dollars, and increased military spending in a seismic change for a country that had developed an almost pacifist spirit since its terrible history in World War II.

But nearly two years later, experts and military officials say the “Zeitenwende” or “change of era” that Scholz promised is barely visible to soldiers who still lack even the most common infrastructure, ammunition and equipment.

Much of the money has not yet materialized or will go toward weapons that soldiers will not receive for years due to procurement delays and the need to restart production lines that have long been idle.

The change has been so slow that some wonder if it will happen, despite the growing threat from Russia and Europe's belief that it has to mount its own defense and not depend on the United States. Doubts have grown as the war in Ukraine drags on, the US Congress has delayed an aid package and support for Ukraine in Germany has shown signs of softening.

Nowhere is the need for rapid change more evident than perhaps at the German Army's artillery school, which is located on a military base in Idar-Oberstein.

The school will have to wait until 2042 for scheduled renovations to be completed, according to the latest plan. He has not yet received the replacements he ordered for the 14 armored howitzers he sent to Ukraine, which he needs before he can expand his own arsenal. Some training must be limited due to lack of ammunition.

85 percent of its buildings require renovation, according to a Parliament report published in February.

Col. Olaf Tuneke, who heads the artillery school, said impatience for real change can be seen in some young soldiers and officers.

“Everyone listens to Zeitenwende and says, 'I got a new helmet and a new backpack, is that it?'” he said. “And of course it's not that. “You can’t build new weapons in a day.”

Still, he is optimistic. In October, he commissioned the Army's first new artillery battalion in more than 30 years.

“I've been a gunner for 30 years — all that time, it's always been downhill, until now,” Tuneke said.

At the height of the Cold War, when Germany had nearly half a million troops on active duty, the Army had 83 artillery battalions. When Russia attacked Ukraine last year, it had four. The newly commissioned unit adds five. Germany now has around 181,000 active duty troops and expects to grow by 22,000 by the end of the decade.

The Zeitenwende has been hampered by what experts say is a cumbersome bureaucracy that Boris Pistorius, Germany's Defense Minister, says he aims to make more efficient.

Before the changes made by the Scholz Government, anyone in the Army who wanted to spend more than a thousand euros on a single order had to do so through a separate civilian procurement office, where requests could persist for years. That threshold has now been raised to 5 thousand euros. But acquisitions remain slow and planning is too bureaucratic.

Some critics say much of the new money has gone to the wrong places. Initially, a significant portion was spent on big-ticket items, such as nearly three dozen F-35 fighter jets and the Arrow 3 missile defense system developed by Israel and the United States.

The amount of weapons and equipment that Germany has delivered to Ukraine has also taken a big dent, and replacement has been slow.

“The Zeitenwende is not happening fast enough,” said Christian Mölling, a defense expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

By: CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE
The New York Times