Germany and the Netherlands announced jointly in late May that their shared army corps will take command of allied troops in Estonia and Latvia if a conflict with Russia breaks out. The role is due to begin around mid-year.
“With the integration of the German-Netherlands Corps into NATO’s defence plans, both nations are assuming further responsibility for the security of Europe,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said. He added that the corps draws on 16 countries.
A second command zone
Until now, NATO forces across the three Baltic states and northern Poland have answered to one multinational headquarters, the Multi-National Corps Northeast in Szczecin, Poland. It has overseen the whole region since 2017, when it was set up in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The new arrangement adds a second zone. The German-Netherlands Corps, based in Muenster, Germany, will act as the tactical headquarters for Estonia and Latvia. Officials expect the split to let NATO send more troops to the Baltics, the part of the alliance considered most exposed to a Russian attack. One anonymous military official said a second corps would let NATO bring in “mass at speed.”
An army corps typically commands three divisions, which works out to between 40,000 and 60,000 troops. In peacetime it exists mostly as a skeleton command structure with specialist units such as artillery, air defence and medics, so that troops can be moved in quickly when needed. Reuters reported the plan earlier.
Why now
NATO has warned that Moscow could launch a large-scale assault on allied territory as early as 2029 if its armament efforts continue. The Kremlin denies any such intention. Western military officials have also pointed to new Russian barracks in the Leningrad and Moscow military districts, expected to house troops coming back from Ukraine.
European governments are under pressure to spend more on defence, partly because of criticism from US President Donald Trump, who has accused the bloc of not paying its fair share.
The wider posture
The Baltic command change sits on top of a decade of reinforcement. Allies agreed at the 2016 Warsaw Summit to set up an enhanced Forward Presence in the northeast, and by August 2017 four multinational battlegroups were operating in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Today NATO describes nine multinational Forward Land Forces battlegroups from the Arctic to the Black Sea. Contributing nations rotate troops in and out of the host country. After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Allies agreed to scale the battlegroups up to brigade-size units where and when required.
NATO also began Baltic Sentry in January 2025, using frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and naval drones to protect undersea infrastructure. After Russian drones entered Polish airspace and fighter jets entered Estonian airspace in September 2025, the alliance launched Eastern Sentry, with more fighter jets, helicopters, air defence systems and frigates committed along the flank.
Sources
- Strengthening NATO’s eastern flank
- Nato to significantly bolster eastern flank against Russia after Putin’s threats
