Strength of the Bundeswehr since 1959

Since the dark days of the Cold War when thousands of Warsaw Pact tanks were expected to pour through the Fulda Gap, the German armed forces have, unsurprisingly in line with the rest of Europe, downsized considerably. During the 1980s, the Bundeswehr had nearly half a million troops and today, that number has fallen to 179,791. Despite the German military's shrinking size, it is still vitally important to NATO, particularly amid the threat posed by a resurgent Russia.