US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 US troops stationed in Germany, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The drawdown is to be completed over the next six to 12 months, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
“This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and recognizes the needs and conditions of the theater on the ground,” he said.
What to know about the feud between Trump and Merz?
The announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut the number of US troops in Germany and criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.
Trump attacked Merz over his criticism of the Iran war, saying the German leader “doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” And it is being called “completely ineffective”.
On Friday, Trump also announced an increase in tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union, a move that will hit Germany the hardest.
A senior Pentagon official told Reuters that recent German rhetoric was “inappropriate and unhelpful”.
“The President is reacting appropriately to these adverse comments,” the news agency quoted the official as saying.
How many American soldiers are there in Germany?
The US currently has more troops in Germany than anywhere else in Europe.
According to the US Defense Manpower Data Center, there were more than 36,000 active service members deployed to Germany as of December 2025.
This includes personnel from Ramstein in southwestern Germany, considered America’s largest overseas Air Force base.
Germany has several other major US military facilities, including the headquarters of US European Command and US Africa Command.
After Germany, which is home to five of the seven US troops in Europe, the United Kingdom and Italy have the largest presence of US personnel on the continent.
Edited by: Rana Taha