Germany has announced that it will be sending 1,200 troops to Syria by the end of the year. While not initially engaging in the Syrian civil war, and with the American led coalition battling the Islamic State, Germany believes that they must stand with France. France recently stood with Germany regarding the overwhelming refugee crisis that is sweeping Europe.

German chancellor Angela Merkel promised German military help during recent talks with French president Francois Hollande, according to Newsweek. The German defense minister stated that Germany will support the coalition efforts in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State, but believes it will only be for a short time. Following the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, President Francois Hollande has been reaching out to other nations urging them to join France in the war against the Islamic State.

The Syrian civil war has been raging for more than four years. Syrian president Bashar Assad seeks to retake control of his country and remain in power with the help of the Russian air force. The Russians are backing Assad and his regime and have been carrying out air attacks against Islamic State positions since the end of September.

The Kurds have been fighting against the Islamic State in the region with the help of an American-led coalition that seeks a more political solution to the ongoing violence. The American coalition doesn’t back Assad, and wants to see a broader coalition rule the country. The Islamic State has been working to establish a country of their own by seizing parts of both Syria and Iraq to carve out this new nation state.

The German defense minister stated that German involvement was to help destroy the Islamic State if they had to fight city to city and town to town to do it. The Germans also hope to retake the oil fields that the Islamic State currently controls and uses to finance its operations in the region and around the world.

The German troop deployment will still need the vote of the German Parliament, and it will not have an easy go of it. Germany has been traditionally reluctant to send troops anywhere, even on peace keeping missions, because of its, and the world’s, memories of the militarism of the Nazi regime during the Second World War.