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How Germany is preparing to become NATO's center for war against Russia

2025-11-29 18:32:18Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Illustrative photo

Natasha Caragnano – La Repubblica

It's called "Oplan Deu," and it's Germany's secret plan for a potential conflict with Russia. About ten senior German officers gathered two and a half years ago at a military compound in Berlin to work on the document.

The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 ended decades of stability in Europe, prompting a rapid process of rearmament. As Chancellor Friedrich Merz summed up, “the threats are real” and, although “we are not at war, we are no longer living in peacetime.”

But the fate of a potential conflict will not only depend on the number of troops and weapons. It will also be determined by the success of a gigantic logistical operation, the heart of the “Operativplan Deutschland”, Oplan Deu, a 1,200-page classified document drafted behind the walls of the Julius Leber military complex in Berlin.

The German plan

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the draft describes in detail how 800,000 German, American and other NATO troops would move eastward toward the front line. The plan maps out the ports, rivers, railways and roads they would use, as well as how they would be supplied and protected along the way.

"Regardless of the possible point of departure," says Tim Stuchtey, director of the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security, considering that the Alps constitute a natural barrier, any NATO move against Russia would have to pass through Germany.

This would require a mobilization of the entire society, a “blurring of the line between civilian and military,” which the WSJ describes as a return to the Cold War mentality, but updated with new threats. And this time hampered by problems that did not exist before, depreciated infrastructure, inadequate legislation, and a smaller army.

As for the timing, there is no certainty. German officials recently said that Russia could be ready to attack NATO countries as early as 2029. But frequent incidents of espionage, sabotage and interference in European airspace, many of them attributed to Moscow, suggest that preparations could come sooner. Meanwhile, a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, which the United States is pushing for, would free up Russia's time and resources to prepare an offensive against NATO members.

First tests

"The goal is to prevent war by showing the enemy that an attack of theirs will fail," explains a senior German officer, one of the original drafters of the plan.

The scale of this change was demonstrated this fall when Rheinmetall set up an overnight camp for 500 soldiers in the East German countryside: dormitories, 48 ??showers, five fuel stations, a field kitchen, surveillance drones and armed guards. It was built in 14 days and dismantled in seven.

The operation also highlighted problems. The terrain could not support all the vehicles and consisted of separate parcels, which forced Rheinmetall to transport soldiers constantly.

A previous test revealed the need for a new traffic light at a specific point to avoid traffic jams when military convoys passed. All these lessons are being continuously integrated into the Oplan and its annexes. Other obstacles stem from procurement rules, privacy laws, and other regulations created in a more peaceful era.

Implementing the plan requires a "reprogramming of mentalities," uprooting almost a generation of habits.

Infrastructure problems

Another obstacle is infrastructure. During the Cold War, so-called dual-use infrastructure was the norm in Germany: highways, bridges, railway stations and ports designed to also serve the military. With the end of the Cold War, these standards disappeared, and tunnels and bridges built after the 1990s proved too narrow or fragile for military vehicles. In 2009, Berlin lifted the obligation to mark roads that could support the weight of military vehicles.

Even old infrastructure is not always usable. Estimates say that 20% of motorways and over a quarter of road bridges require repairs due to chronic underfunding. North Sea and Baltic ports need investments of 15 billion euros.

All of these restrictions would make it difficult for the army to move in the event of war. For this very reason, the points of military movement are among Oplan's best-kept secrets.

Germany's return to the logic of war

According to the WSJ, the effort to make Germany war-ready again began a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a 100 billion euro fund for rearmament and spoke of the Zeitenwende, an "epochal turn."

That same year, the Bundeswehr created the Territorial Command, which would lead all operations within the country, and gave its commander, General André Bodemann, a veteran of the wars in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the task of drafting the Oplan. By March of last year, after consultations with ministries, agencies and local authorities, the first draft was completed.

Then came the implementation phase. While the new Merz government promoted a €500 billion spending plan for defense and the restoration of military service, the Bundeswehr worked quietly, notifying hospitals, police, and emergency agencies, signing agreements with states and highway managers, and marking transit routes for military convoys.


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