Thread by @noclador

Combat brigade reductions of #NATO nations 1989 vs. 2025:

🇺🇸 -52×
🇩🇪 -40×
🇫🇷 -27×
🇸🇪 -25×
🇬🇧 -24×
🇮🇹 -17×
🇳🇴 -13×
🇪🇸 -11×
🇳🇱 -9×
🇩🇰 -5×
🇧🇪 -5×
🇨🇦 -1×

A detailed break down follows, and also details about the former Warsaw Pact members: 🇧🇬🇨🇿🇸🇰🇭🇺🇵🇱🇷🇴
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🇺🇸 USA 1989: 110× brigades
• Army: 55× (34× Armor/Mech., 14× Infantry, 4× Airborne, 3× Air Assault)
• National Guard: 52× (30× Armor/Mech., 22× Infantry)
• Reserve: 3× (1× Mech., 2× Infantry)

Of the Army brigades 17× were based in Europe, 3× in South Korea, 1× in Panama.
2/28

🇺🇸 USA 2025: 58× brigades (-52× vs. 1989)
• Army: 31× (11× Armor/Mech., 6× Stryker, 6× Infantry, 5× Airborne, 3× Air Assault)
• National Guard: 27× (5× Armor/Mech., 2× Stryker, 20× Infantry)

The reduction of US Armor/Mech. brigades is staggering: from 65× to just 16×.
3/28

🇩🇪 Germany 1989: 48× brigades
• Army: 38× brigades (17× Panzer, 17× Mech., 1× Infantry, 3× Airborne)
• Reserve: 10× brigades (10× Mech.)

🇩🇪 Germany 2025: 8× brigades (-40× vs. 1989)
• Army: 8× brigades (2× Panzer, 2× Mech., 2× Infantry, 1× Airborne, 1× Panzer forming)
4/28

After reunification in 1990 Germany added 6× mechanized brigades in Eastern Germany.

So the reduction in forces is even more pronounced if we include these 6× East German brigades: a reduction from 54× brigades to 8× brigades.
5/28

🇫🇷 France in 1989 fielded understrength divisions, which had the approximate strength of 1.5× to 2.5× NATO brigades.

This results in a force of approximately 29× brigades (25× Armor/Mech., 2× Infantry, 2× Airborne). Additionally France fielded 7× infantry reserve brigades.
6/28

🇫🇷 France nowadays fields overstrength brigades, which have the approximate strength 1.5× NATO brigades.

This results in a force of approximately 9× brigades (3× Armor/Mech., 4.5× Infantry, 1.5× Airborne).

Overall France went from 36× active & reserve brigades to 9×.
7/28

🇸🇪 Sweden 1989: 29× brigades, all of which would activate during wartime:
• Army: 29× brigades (6× Armor/Mech., 18× Infantry, 5× Arctic)

🇸🇪 Sweden 2025: 4× brigades (-25× vs. 1989)
• Army: 4× brigades (2× Armored, 1× Armored forming, 1× Infantry forming)
8/28

🇬🇧 UK 1989: 29× brigades
• Army: 18× brigades (8× Armoured, 8× Infantry, 1× Airborne, 1× Air Assault)
• Reserve: 11× brigades (11× Infantry)

🇬🇧 UK 2025: 5× brigades (-24× vs. 1989)
• Army: 5× brigades (2× Armoured, 2× Infantry, 1× Airborne)
9/28

🇮🇹 Italy 1989: 27× brigades
• Army: 24× brigades (4× Armored, 10× Mech., 9× Infantry, 1× Airborne)
• Reserve: 3× brigades (1× Mech., 2× Infantry)

🇮🇹 Italy 2025: 10× brigades (-17× vs. 1989)
• Army: 10× brigades (1× Armored, 2× Mech., 6× Infantry, 1× Airborne)
10/28

🇳🇴 Norway 1989: 15× brigades
• Army: 1× brigade (1× Mechanized)
• Reserve: 14× brigades (2× Mechanized, 12× Infantry)

🇳🇴 Norway 2025: 2× brigades (-13× vs. 1989)
• Army: 2× brigades (1× Mechanized, 1× Mechanized forming)
11/28

🇪🇸 Spain 1989: 21× brigades
• Army: 21× brigades (1× Armored, 6× Mech., 10× Infantry, 1× Airborne, 1× Air Assault, 2× Territorial)

🇪🇸 Spain 2025: 10× brigades (-11× vs. 1989)
• Army: 10× brigades (4× Armor/Mech., 3× Infantry, 1× Airborne, 2× Territorial)
12/28

🇳🇱 Netherlands 1989: 12× brigades
• Army: 6× brigades (2× Armored, 2× Mechanized)
• Reserve: 6× brigades (1× Armored, 2× Mechanized, 3× Infantry)

🇳🇱 Netherlands 2025: 3× brigades (-9× vs. 1989)
• Army: 3× brigades (1× Mechanized, 1× Infantry, 1× Air Assault)
13/28

🇩🇰 Denmark 1989: 6× brigades
• Army: 5× brigades (5× Mechanized; +4× mechanized battlegroups each of which at about half a brigade strength)
• Reserve: 1× brigade (1× Infantry)

🇩🇰 Denmark 2025: 1× brigade (-5× vs. 1989)
• Army: 1× brigade (1× Mechanized)
14/28

🇧🇪 Belgium 1989: 6× brigades
• Army: 4× brigades (1× Armored, 3× Mechanized; +1× airborne regiment of about half a brigade strength)
• Reserve: 2× brigades (2× Mechanized)

🇧🇪 Belgium 2025: 1× brigade (-5× vs. 1989)
• Army: 1× brigade (1× Infantry; 1× airborne regiment)
15/28

🇨🇦 Canada 1989: 4× brigades
• Army: 4× brigades (3× Mechanized; +1× airborne)
• Reserve: Canada fielded 84 grossly understrength "regiments", which it pretended it could form quickly into combat brigades in case of war (17× Cavalry, 52× Infantry, 15× Artillery)
16/28

🇨🇦 Canada 2025: 3× brigades (-1× vs. 1989)
• Army: 3× brigades (3× Mech.)
• Reserve: Canada still fields 84 grossly understrength/under-equipped "regiments", which it pretends it could form into combat brigades in case of war (18× Cavalry, 50× Infantry, 16× Artillery)
17/28

As for NATO members 🇦🇱 Albania, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇵🇹 Portugal, and 🇹🇷 Turkey: data about their armies' organization in 1989 is too scant to draw conclusions.

As for NATO members 🇮🇸 Iceland and 🇱🇺 Luxembourg: the former has no military, and the latter's military in minuscle.
18/28

As for NATO member 🇫🇮 Finland: data about its army's wartime organization in 1989, as well as in 2025, is unavailable.

As for NATO members 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇲🇪 Montenegro, 🇲🇰 Macedonia, and 🇸🇮 Slovenia: as nations occupied by Serbia they did not possess an army in 1989.
19/28

As for NATO members 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇱🇻 Latvia, and🇱🇹 Lithuania: as nations occupied by russia they did not possess an army in 1989.

20/28

Warsaw Pact nations had a much higher percentage of their population under arms, when compared to NATO armies, as the Soviets focused on mass over quality.

Therefore all former Warsaw Pact nations reduced their armies much more than Cold War era NATO members.
21/28

Warsaw Pact armies were organized into divisions, which had the approximate strength of 2× NATO brigades.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria 1989:
• Army: 6× Motor Rifle divisions, 5× Tank brigades
• Reserve: 2× Motor Rifle divisions

🇧🇬 Bulgaria 2025:
• Army: 2× brigades (2× Mechanized)
22/28

🇨🇿 Czechia and 🇸🇰 Slovakia 1989:
• Army: 5× Tank divisions, 5× Motor Rifle divisions
• Reserve: 2× Tank divisions, 3× Motor Rifle divisions

🇨🇿 Czechia and 🇸🇰 Slovakia 2025:
• 🇨🇿 Army: 2× brigades (1× Mech., 1× Infantry)
• 🇸🇰 Army: 2× brigades (1× Mech., 1× Infantry)
23/28

In 1987 the Hungarian People's Army disbanded its divisions and formed brigades:

🇭🇺 Hungary 1989:
• Army: 17× brigades (5× Tank, 12× Motor Rifle; some of these were reserve formations)

🇭🇺 Hungary 2025:
• Army: 2× brigades (1× Mech., 1× Infantry)
24/28

🇵🇱 Poland 1989:
• Army: 13× divisions (5× Armored, 8× Mech.) 2× brigades (1× Airborne, 1× Coastal Defense)

🇵🇱 Poland 2025:
• Army: 17× brigades (4× Armored, 5× Mechanized, 3× Infantry, 1× Coastal Defense; +4× forming: 1× Armored, +2× Mechanized, and +1× Infantry)
25/28

🇵🇱 Poland also fields 1× Airborne and 1× Air Assault brigade, which both are at about half the strength of a regular brigade; and, unlike its Western allies, Poland is equipping all its brigades with vast quantities of modern equipment.
26/30

🇷🇴 Romania 1989:
• Army: 10× divisions (2× Armored, 8× Motor Rifle, some of these were reserve formations) 5× brigades (1× Tank, 4× Infantry)

🇷🇴 Romania 2025:
• Army: 7× brigades (1× Armored, 2× Mechanized, 4× Infantry
27/30

Summary:
• Eastern NATO members slashed their armies because the Soviets had forced upon them ridiculously oversized armies.
• Western NATO members slashed their militaries because Western politicians wanted to spend defense budgets on social services.
28/30

But peace is over. It is time to grow all armies and base credible forces on NATO's Eastern flank.

European politicians have been wasting time: three years after russia attacked Ukraine only Germany (+1), Norway (+1), (Sweden (+2), and Poland (+4) have grown their armies.
29/30

Everyone else is endangering the peace, freedom, and prosperity of our continent.

Canada and Denmark are now experiencing what happens when nations sits on a heap of money, while refusing to spend even the bare minimum their defense.

Europe must spend 3.5% on defense NOW.
30/30