The United States maintains a vast network of military bases across Europe. DW provides a detailed breakdown of these sites, their purposes, and the number of troops stationed there.
American military personnel are a common sight across the continent, from Germany to the Azores, Romania, northern Norway, Sicily, and beyond. Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has threatened to reduce troop numbers, particularly in Germany.
After World War II, the Western bloc led by the US and the Soviet Union divided Europe. NATO was founded in 1949, and the US began permanently stationing troops in Europe as a deterrent against the Warsaw Pact. At its peak in the late 1950s, some 475,000 US military personnel were stationed in Europe.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, troop numbers were gradually reduced to tens of thousands. However, after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the drawdown was partially reversed.
The largest US troop presence is in Germany, with over 36,400 active-duty personnel. EUCOM and AFRICOM are headquartered in Stuttgart, while USAFE-AFAFRICA is based at Ramstein Air Base. Landstuhl hosts the largest US military hospital outside America. An estimated 100 nuclear weapons are stored at Büchel Air Base.
Italy hosts the second-largest contingent (12,700 troops), followed by the United Kingdom (10,200). Naples is home to the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa headquarters. US European bases are used for global operations, including airstrikes on Iran earlier this year.
Europe's strategic importance lies in its geography: deploying troops to the Middle East from Europe is faster than from the US. Ramstein also hosts a drone signal relay station.
Rotating units on NATO's eastern flank play a key role in deterring Russia. In 2016, NATO established four battlegroups. In May, the Pentagon canceled a deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland, but Trump later announced an additional 5,000 soldiers would be sent.
Trump also threatened to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, though observers doubt this will happen. Washington has also scrapped a prior agreement to station medium-range missiles in Germany by 2026.
Source: www.dw.com