Germany creates plan for troop deployment in case of Russian attack
In the event of a Russian attack on NATO through Germany to the east, it will be necessary to transfer up to 800 thousand soldiers and equipment, DW reports.
The Bundeswehr, together with its NATO allies, is developing a plan to deploy troops to Eastern Europe in the event of a possible military conflict between the alliance and Russia within the framework of Operational Plan Germany (OPLAN DEU), Der Spiegel wrote on Friday, July 12.
If Russia attacks NATO's eastern flank, it will be necessary to transport up to 800,000 alliance soldiers and more than 200,000 units of various equipment through Germany within three to six months. The key route for the military column from west to east will be the A2 motorway, which runs from Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia to the Berlin ring road.
The Bundeswehr , the state authorities and the federal government continue to work on this secret plan, writes Der Spiegel. In particular, the issue of route security, its bottlenecks and alternatives, the capabilities of the civilian infrastructure to receive and service such a large amount of equipment and people are being worked out. Der Spiegel names the Hohenwarte bridge across the Elbe north of Magdeburg, which is almost 1,200 meters long, as a "bottleneck". In the event of sabotage or a missile attack on it, the A2 will be completely paralyzed.
"In these scenarios, soldiers will need to be cared for and housed during their transport, and their equipment will require energy and infrastructure," Ralph Tiesler, president of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK), told the publication.
In June, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned in the Bundestag that Germany must be prepared to defend itself against a Russian attack by 2029. "We cannot neglect our defense. Putin's war economy is working to prepare for the next conflict. By 2029, we must be ready to defend ourselves and take deterrence measures to prevent the worst," Pistorius said. To achieve this, the minister identified three main problems: "Equipment, personnel and finances."
In particular, the minister stressed the need to increase the defense budget and mentioned the reform of conscription in the form of a partial return to universal military service.
The operational plan for the defense of Germany - a strategic document of several hundred pages in case of threats to the country's security - was started to be developed in March 2023 against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine . In fact, this is the first comprehensive plan to ensure the security of the FRG from military attacks in the last thirty years, that is, since the Cold War.
