During the "Cold War," West Germany had Heimatschutz, or "reserve battalions," which were primarily tasked with functions of territorial defense units.
Germany essentially aims to return to the practice of Heimatschutz battalions, having announced a plan to establish a territorial defense division within the Bundeswehr, consisting of six regiments. However, in the process of implementing this intention, the German military will face several challenges, particularly regarding the availability of armaments, which means achieving combat readiness for this territorial defense division will take at least a few years, as noted by Hartpunkt.
As the publication's authors clarify, the establishment of a territorial defense division within the Bundeswehr can primarily be seen as an administrative measure, as it essentially involves uniting existing reserve units, which are currently assigned to various regional commands, "under one wing."
It is anticipated that the division, made up of six regiments, will be created by 2026, and that the Bundeswehr will take on functions related to territorial defense starting from April 1, 2025, as part of the corresponding administrative role.
However, how this territorial defense division will be equipped remains an open question at this time, as the Bundeswehr currently lacks "surplus" resources and weaponry. In addition to providing defense assistance to Ukraine, Germany is also focused on forming the 45th Tank Brigade, which is meant to protect Lithuania, resulting in a situation where there is essentially no "excess" heavy equipment available for the territorial defense division.
Next, everything hinges on personnel issues, which manifest in two areas in this context. The first is quite expected – to staff six regiments and create a division based on them, qualified sergeants and officers must be sourced, and this is in light of the fact that the Bundeswehr's ground forces number only 62,000 personnel. Thus, it is likely that the Germans will need to separately train individuals for the formation of their territorial defense division.
The second aspect appears truly unusual and is expressed as follows – typically, active citizens who may also be participants in volunteer fire brigades or environmental protection organizations enlist in the Bundeswehr's reserve units. Such "diversity" creates organizational challenges even in peacetime, and it is difficult to predict how this issue might "flare up," for example, during mobilization efforts.
Therefore, the Bundeswehr seeks to achieve a result where the future fighters of the territorial defense division will be engaged solely in tasks related to service within the territorial defense, effectively embodying the principle of "unity of command" in practice.