Germany's Secret 'Operations Plan' Eyes Russia Threat

Germany's Defense Ministry has confirmed it is developing emergency plans to move "hundreds of thousands" of NATO troops across its territory in the event of a war with Russia, in response to media reports that preparations are intensifying amid the West's simmering indirect conflict with Moscow.

A spokesperson for the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command in Berlin confirmed to Newsweek on Tuesday that the secret "Operations Plan Germany" (OPLAN DEU) is "continually being worked on under the responsibility of the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command and is constantly updated."

The comment followed a report by Der Spiegel last week suggesting Berlin is preparing to move some 800,000 NATO troops and 200,000 vehicles across its territory if the contest with Russia devolves into a full-scale war.

"The ability to quickly relocate large NATO troop contingents to the alliance's eastern flank in the event of a deterioration in the security situation is the central pillar of conventional deterrence," a command spokesperson said.

"Germany's essential task is to guarantee the planned deployment and supply of allied and German forces, especially through host nation support as a whole-of-government task with Germany as a central hub. In NATO's plans, several hundred thousand soldiers must be provided with consistent logistical and medical care."

Der Spiegel reported that German and NATO planners are considering how to spread the mammoth force across the country's arterial routes, with special attention being given to the 300-mile-long A2 highway running from the western city of Oberhausen to the outskirts of Berlin in the east of the country, close to the Polish border.

That route—and its several key bridges—is expected to be a key target for Russian strikes in the event of war, the newspaper said.

"The planning takes into account not just one motorway as an axis of movement through Germany, but also many motorways and federal highways," the Berlin Command spokesperson explained. "An example of such a west-east axis is the central A2 motorway."

"To this end, the OPLAN DEU specifies requirements for the Bundeswehr and requirements to be met by other state and civilian entities in defense as a whole-of-government and whole-of-society task. For military security reasons, we cannot go into any details here and therefore cannot confirm the figures listed in the article."

"It is realistic that opposing actors could take measures to inhibit or slow down NATO troop movements. Exactly what risks the corresponding infrastructure could be exposed to and where and what would have to be done in this case is part of our ongoing threat analyses and the ongoing exchange process with the civilian side."

An OPLAN DEU briefing document provided to Newsweek by the Defense Ministry said that Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine "has shaken the European security architecture to the core and forced Germany to redesign its defense capability and ability to honor its Alliance obligations."

German officials have been among those warning that the threat of a direct NATO clash with Russia is now a serious and realistic concern, as the alliance deepens its backing for Kyiv and Moscow shows no sign of easing its aggression against its neighbor.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has repeatedly threatened military action—and even nuclear strikes—against NATO states related to their support for Ukraine. Russian officials have framed their full-scale invasion as a preemptive strike against NATO, and have openly declared that the country is now at war with the U.S.-led "collective West."

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