Yet Mr. Scholz is struggling to say what he meant by his twin promises. His February speech neglected to specify whether he meant he’d spend 2% of GDP plus €100 billion, or whether he’d spend 2% of GDP including the €100 billion. The distinction matters.

Hitting the 2% goal would mean annual defense spending of some €75 billion in the next fiscal year, but Mr. Scholz’s government has submitted a budget accounting for only €50 billion, roughly the same amount as before the “turning point.” The plan seems to be to top up annual spending by including one-quarter of the special procurement budget.

That gimmick has the makings of a big mistake. An immediate problem is that if the regular budget isn’t increased with the procurement drive, the German military might find itself without the resources—especially the manpower—to use and maintain its new equipment.