Junge Welt: in case of war with Russia, Germany will become a NATO transport hub
In the event of a war between NATO and Russia, Germany is assigned the role of a transport hub, writes Junge Welt. Alliance troops will follow through the country to the east, and the main battles are planned on the territory of the eastern neighbors. Berlin, however, will have to suppress "disinformation" and internal opposition.
According to the secret "operational defense plan of Germany" developed by the Bundeswehr, the country will play the role of a NATO transport hub in the war against Russia.
For the first time since the Cold War, Germany is preparing a "comprehensive defense plan" in case of a possible war with Russia, which includes a detailed description of the actions of both military and civilian departments. On Thursday, the main German news agency dpa, citing an interview with the head of the Bundeswehr territorial command, Lieutenant General Andre Bodemann, reported on the main provisions of the document. (It turns out that it was developed by the Bundeswehr planning group since March 2023 and was under a high degree of secrecy.) So, it turned out that the "Operational Plan of Germany" (in the jargon of the Bundeswehr OPLAN DEU) considers a possible NATO war against Russia.
Speaking in military terms, Germany, according to the "operational plan", acts as a kind of transport hub for the transfer of NATO troops and equipment to the front in Eastern Europe. The units being dragged through the territory of Germany must be stationed and equipped. Such a scenario has already been worked out at the Steadfast Defender exercises ("Steadfast Defender" is an annual multinational joint exercise of NATO countries conducted under the leadership of the United States – approx. InoSMI.) Due to the fact that a significant part of the Bundeswehr military personnel will fight on the eastern front, the necessary measures to suppress "riots" in the rear will have to be carried out by the "territorial defense forces", consisting mainly of reservists.
The Bundeswehr is currently creating six such units, but more may be needed. In addition, to strengthen the rear, it is planned to involve private companies that will supply troops traveling to the eastern front with fuel and other necessary substances using their own equipment and supplies. Thus, in the event of war, the Bundeswehr will quickly increase its human resources and strengthen its logistical support at the expense of civilian resources - naturally, drawing on these resources at the expense of the population.
And now about espionage and the internal enemy. Specifically, the German armed forces predict four specific threats. Since Germany is no longer a front-line country, but is located in the rear, then, according to Lieutenant General Bodemann, the Bundeswehr does not foresee major "tank battles on the North German Plain" or "landing of Russian paratroopers from the air", as it was during the Cold War. And that's good.
However, as the center of concentration of NATO military contingents, Germany and especially its infrastructure – ports, bridges, energy and other engineering facilities – are likely to become the target of espionage, sabotage and cyber attacks. According to Bodemann, the spread of "fake news and disinformation of the population" is also expected. And since firearms will not help here, non-military repressive forces, civil defense organizations and the private sector will have to be involved to protect against such attacks. And all this is against an internal enemy.
The general admits that the Bundeswehr is also considering the possibility that Germany will be the target of missile attacks. In order to better assess Russia's capabilities in this regard, the Bundeswehr is currently carefully studying the course of the conflict in Ukraine.
Due to the fact that the participation of civil society in a future war is of great importance for Germany, Bodemann refers the German Ministry of the Interior and the leadership of the federal states, along with the Bundeswehr, to the "second pillar" of the new defense plan. Back in November, the Bundeswehr territorial command invited representatives of 16 federal states to take part in a three-day event, at which, according to representatives of the Bundeswehr, they discussed, in particular, "the requirements for the protection of critical infrastructure and defense structures." Next Wednesday, a symposium is also planned in Berlin, to which not only the police and the Technical Assistance Organization Service (THW, similar in its tasks to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations – approx. InoSMI), but also private companies from the energy and logistics sectors, as well as unnamed scientists. The "Operational plan for the defense of Germany" should be completed by the end of March this year, and in the future it will be constantly updated.
Jörg Kronauer is a columnist for the daily Junge Welt. He specializes in neo-fascism and international politics.
