For the first time since the end of World War II, a battalion of combat-ready German soldiers were deployed on French soil—not in an act of war, but rather in an act of cooperation.

The 291st battalion of the German infantry and part of the French-German Brigade was welcomed last Friday at a military base in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France. The flag of the 291st Battalion was passed on by the chief of the German army, Lt.Gen. Werner Freers, during a ceremony held at the Josephine Pavilion of the Orangerie nearby Strasbourg, according to a press release.

The French-German brigade was initiated in 1987 by French President Francois Mitterand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The special mobile unit is used for European defense and has been deployed on international missions. The more than 5,000 soldiers have been stationed in Germany since the brigade started operations in 1989.

The brigade has also been the spearhead of Eurocorps, an EU military force, since 1993. “From Bosnia to Kosovo to the Congo and Afghanistan, the French and Germans are fighting side by side in multinational operations led by NATO or the European Union since the mid-90s,” said Gen. Martin Klotz, commander of the 2nd armored brigade co-located at Illkirch-Graffenstaden and military governor of Strasbourg.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke of the “deepening relationship” and friendship with its former German foe, during the 2009 Munich Security Conference. The friendship “isn’t demonstrated by France putting soldiers in Germany, but by France being honored to have German soldiers on the territory of the French Republic,” Sarkozy said, and the first soldiers arrived in April.

Sarkozy attributed the military hospitality as a symbol of good intentions between the neighboring countries. “It is yet another sign of the depth of our relations and the will to permanently establish the friendship between the German and the French people,” he said, during a press conference on Friday at a German-French Minister Council held in Freiburg, Germany.

“The fact that we now, after what Germany has caused by Nazism and World War II, at the beginning of the 21st century can say ‘German soldiers are welcome in France’ is a great gesture,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a press conference with Sarkozy.

French Minister of Defense Alain Juppe said allowing the German battalion in France is a sign of cooperation between the two countries. “France and Germany have managed to overcome their rivalries to build a serene relationship and a common destiny... to build together a future of peace on our continent,” Juppe said during the flag ceremony in Strasbourg, according to the communiqué of the French Ministry of Defense.

The location of the discussions also carries its own significance. Numerous disputes and wars between France and Germany took place in the area of Alsace Lorraine throughout history. Both countries took claim over the area that is rich with iron ore and coal.
The 291st battalion is equipped with the most “advanced personal equipment and weapons” and is preparing for deployment to Afghanistan and Kosovo in 2011.

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