Originally Posted by
henra
Indeed!
The German Army was crippled from more than 4000 Leopards (of which more than 2000 Leo 2) to <250 within a few years. I can also only imagine that there was an agreement with Russia during re- unification to disarm to such an extent. There were reductions in other areas as well but not nearly to that extent.
I'm not sure, but you seem to be implying some kind of secret agreement there. Hugely unlikely in my view, but the break-up of the USSR and German re-unification meant Soviet forces moved back 700 km and so a surprise attack with tanks crossing the IGB at an hour's notice just wasn't there any more, and so a massive tank force to combat that was no longer necessary Like all European politicians , Kohl took the opportunity to cut defence budgets and sold off the large tank army. I don't recall to what extent Kohl believed in Ostpolitik as it applied to the USSR, but he certainly wanted better relations with the DDR prior to this upheaval.