Germany Will Host Huge NATO Exercise in September

Large-scale Bundeswehr (German army) exercises will take place in Hamburg, Germany, later this year, beginning Sept. 25, to prepare for a potential Russian attack, the German news outlet Bild reported.

Military personnel, convoys of cargo vehicles, mobile hospitals and helicopters will be stationed in the city.

Within the framework of the “Red Storm Bravo” maneuvers, military personnel, columns of cargo vehicles, and mobile hospitals will be stationed in the city. Helicopters will also be involved.

This will be the second such training exercise, the first having taken place in 2024.

The scenario envisages an attack from Russia, according to Bild. NATO troops must be quickly transferred from Western Europe to the eastern flank: the Baltic States and Poland.

The publication points out that in this sense, Hamburg, which has a strategic port, performs an important function as a logistics hub. According to some reports, a total of 800,000 people may be involved in the exercises.

Cpt. Kurt Leonards of the Bundeswehr is quoted as saying that what distinguishes the current situation from the Cold War is that then Germany was considered a potential war zone, today it acts as a rear area for the deployment of NATO forces

The Bild report comes after a Friday article by Sweden’s Expressen newspaper saying allies were notified that the US would no longer take part in the planning of NATO military exercises in Europe after 2025.

Other Topics of Interest

Ukraine Regained Battlefield Initiative but Needs More Aid to Keep It – Fedorov

Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov warned that Kyiv has only a limited window to capitalize on those gains before Russia adapts.

However, Stars and Stripes, a US military publication, reports that NATO said – “in response to recent media reports that the US was preparing to withdraw from such drills” – that NATO continues to prepare for military exercises involving the US this year and beyond.”

“The threat is real. We’re already seeing attacks on our infrastructure,” Leonards says, citing spying, a fire at a steel plant and a planned assassination attempt on a Rheinmetall manager.