The Ministry of Defence recently provided updated figures on the number of personnel based in Germany as part of an ongoing reduction in the British military presence there.
Following a 2010 announcement under the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the previous government committed to withdrawing the majority of its forces from Germany by 2020. This decision marked the first time in decades that the British Army would be almost entirely UK-based.
The government’s rationale for the withdrawal focused on the absence of a current operational need for a substantial British military presence in Germany.
The arrangement, they argued, imposed financial and logistical burdens, including costs associated with maintaining forces abroad and disruptions to service personnel and their families. Under the NATO Status of Forces Supplementary Agreement, the UK is also required to pay reinstatement costs to Germany, though the exact figures have not been fully determined.
Historically, British forces have been stationed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. At the time of the SDSR announcement, around 20,000 British service personnel were based in Germany. This number has been gradually reduced, with the vast majority of forces returning to the UK by 2016.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the UK Ministry of Defence personnel stationed in Germany from 2007 to 2024:
| Date | MOD Personnel |
|---|---|
| 01 April 2007 | 30,380 |
| 01 April 2008 | 29,490 |
| 01 April 2009 | 26,550 |
| 01 April 2010 | 26,130 |
| 01 April 2011 | 24,710 |
| 01 April 2012 | 22,790 |
| 01 April 2013 | 20,140 |
| 01 April 2014 | 17,200 |
| 01 April 2015 | 12,870 |
| 01 April 2016 | 7,240 |
| 01 April 2017 | 5,580 |
| 01 April 2018 | 5,240 |
| 01 April 2019 | 4,410 |
| 01 April 2020 | 1,250 |
| 01 April 2021 | 1,130 |
| 01 April 2022 | 1,150 |
| 01 April 2023 | 1,180 |
| 01 April 2024 | 1,200 |
As of 1 July 2024, the remaining 1,230 personnel are distributed across several regions in Germany, as shown below:
| Region | MOD Personnel |
|---|---|
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 410 |
| Bavaria | 70 |
| Elsewhere/Unspecified | 750 |
The “Elsewhere/Unspecified” category includes regions where fewer personnel are stationed, thereby preventing inadvertent disclosures. This category also encompasses Locally Engaged Civilians (LECs) whose exact stationing within Germany is not specified.
The most recent data reflects a continued presence of British forces in Germany, though at a greatly reduced scale compared to previous decades.
Ah! B.A.O.R wherefore art thou?
I believe there is still a sizable war stock in Germany and the retention of some facilities.
With our limited resources my own view is that we don’t need any forces in Germany – we’re never going to have enough to influence the infantry war there. So why don’t we simply limit our European ground forces to Northern Europe? Scandinavia and the Baltic? There, we can make a difference and lessen the risk of being over extended. The date chosen for these figures to be released every year seems unfortunate.
30,000? It was double that during the Cold War.
When the withdrawal happened everyone I spoke to said it was a mistake and that we’d be back on the continent within a few years. But the conservatives wanted to lower the financial burden of the armed forces.
So we are back to having no British Army deployed in Europe outside the UK again, well that has never not ended badly