'French base' for German troops

LOL'French base' for German troops


German soldiers have worked with French troops for years


German troops will be stationed in France for the first time since World War II, under plans reportedly being drawn up by both countries.
A battalion is likely to be based in Alsace-Lorraine - a region France and Germany have fought over in the past.
A French defence ministry spokesman said Paris had agreed to the proposal made by Germany earlier this year, according to the AFP news agency.
It is thought some 500 soldiers could be posted somewhere in eastern France.
The German magazine Der Spiegel says the border town of Colmar is the likely location, but the French media has reported Strasbourg, Metz or Bitche as possible bases.
The soldiers would be part of the Franco-German brigade set up in 1989, which is already about 5,000 troops strong.
Nearly half of those are French servicemen based in south-west Germany.
Symbol of unity
According to Der Spiegel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed sending the battalion after Paris said it planned to withdraw some of its troops from Germany, as part of a wide-ranging programme of defence cuts.
She reportedly said it would be a "shame" to dismantle a key symbol of Franco-German unity and a potential building block in a wider European defence and security policy. Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, but was reclaimed by France after World War I. It was seized by Nazi Germany in 1940, but reverted to France upon Germany's defeat in 1945.


BBC NEWS | Europe | 'French base' for German troops

 

I was going to ask why? but Angela Merkel answered my question. I don't know whether to say "Whoopie-or toot-a-loo" about it.

 

Hitler wanted Germany to rule Europe. I think German supremacy will eventually come about as Germans already provide leadership for most of Europe.

 

Actually, Germany is a mess economically.

 

I think the bureaucrats in Brussels are the REAL Power in Europe...I mean, dictating how much curvature a banana must have to be marketed in the EU?

Hitler would have been SO green with envy!:lol::lol::lol:

 

German expansion here we come, about time too.

Heil Hitler

v.R

 

LOL. But I thought the EU was supposed to be the symbol of unity. Is there really a use for the Franco-German brigade ?

 

I read a book Cauldron written by Larry Bond a few years ago. I know it's fiction but Bond gave that unit and other units similar to it a job in that book.

 

That is precisely the problem-there is no EU unity. Just as NATO is much more relevant than the UN, the Franco-German Alliance will eventually make Europe follow suit.

I don't know if I told this story here before, but I had a friend who was in Army Armor in the early 1960's. As the US was switching out the M-48's for the M-60 tanks, my friend's unit, on the Franco German border, had to deliver a HUGE amount of M-60's to Germany. When they returned to their base the French soldiers asked how the delivery went. An American soldier joked:"Funny thing, first thing the German's did was put a map of Paris in the tank turret."

The smiles disappeared from the faces of the French soldiers, a few had the color run out of their faces and one grew weak in the knees.

 

It is a sign of friendship towards to countries with Taboos of each other. Just as the dismantling of the Siegfried line. As a sign of faith towards Germany the French should do the same to Maginot.

 

I know that it is. I was asking if there really is a use for the Franco-German Brigade now with the EU around.

 

. The Franco German Brigade is a symbol of friendship and an embryo of what the future EU army could be. It is an example of cooporation that the Eu cannot set up yet. France has had bases in Germany with this brigade for decades (Currently, the FGB is stationed at Müllheim, Donaueschingen, Immendingen, Sigmaringen, Meßstetten, Stetten am kalten Markt and Villingen-Schwenningen ) , why should Germany not be invited in Alsace? The reason they get together is so that they can train together .

Those who say it is because Germany wants to rule Europe should read a book.



This brigade was even invited on Bastille day to Parade , as equals, with the regular troops.

The Brigade was set up in 1987 following a summit between President Mitterrand of France and Chancellor Kohl of Germany. The Brigade became operational on October 2, 1989 under the command of General Jean-Pierre Sengeisen.

Franco-German Brigade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

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http://www.nato.int/pictures/review/9702/b6000003.jpg

 

Is this a joke?