Germany is stepping up preparations for a possible war, urging cities to strengthen civil defence while massively expanding its military. Behind the push lies the fear of Russian aggression\u2014and the ambition to build Europe\u2019s strongest army.<\/p>\n
German Cities Are Making War Scenarios<\/strong><\/p>\n The armed forces (Bundeswehr) is urging cities and municipalities to prepare for a potential war on German soil, reported the domestic outlet Correctiv<\/a> on 18 August 2025. The paper reports that in recent weeks, high-ranking Bundeswehr officers have visited several regional administrations across Germany. The purpose of these confidential meetings was to convince local governments to strengthen their wartime preparedness. The ultimate goal is to ensure that Germany\u2019s infrastructure is ready for the possibility of war, both domestically and in Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n The Bundeswehr confirmed the report when approached by Correctiv. \u2018Talks have been ongoing for some time, particularly with representatives of the federal states,\u2019 a spokesperson for the Bundeswehr\u2019s Operational Command said. These discussions were held within the framework of the Operationsplan Deutschland (Germany Operational Plan).<\/p>\n The plan, which was presented to the German District Association in February, aims to<\/a> prepare the country\u2019s logistical systems for war scenarios\u2014whether on German territory or in Eastern Europe. According to the document, the goal is to establish a credible deterrent that could prevent an attack on Germany and avoid the outbreak of war. Based on a presentation published on the Bundeswehr\u2019s official website, the plan is a direct response to Russia\u2019s aggression against Ukraine and is intended to strengthen the defence of NATO\u2019s eastern flank. The Bundeswehr emphasized that the talks with district leaders and mayors are part of what is known as OPLAN DEU. The objective is to align the Bundeswehr\u2019s central military elements for national and alliance defence with the necessary civilian support tasks.<\/p>\n \u2018The plan is a direct response to Russia\u2019s aggression against Ukraine\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In times of crisis or conflict, the aim is to act in a targeted manner and within constitutional boundaries, following political decision-making. Several mayors and district leaders gave detailed accounts to the newspaper of what these consultations involved: identifying vital facilities such as key intersections, bridges, or emergency wells. Defence concepts must be drawn up to protect these sites from sabotage or attacks.<\/p>\n Additionally, underground cellar connections in city centres, which were once sealed off, should be reopened so that survivors of bombings can be rescued from collapsed buildings. As one district leader put it: \u2018We must be prepared for everything.\u2019<\/p>\n Germany Rearms<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides preparing the civilian sphere for a potential conflict, the capital also ramps up military acquisitions and is seeking to transform its military into the most capable force in Europe. Just days after Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared<\/a> a Zeitenwende\u2014a historic turning point\u2014in the Bundestag, pledging greater support for Ukraine and a significant strengthening of Germany\u2019s armed forces. To achieve these goals, his government created a \u20ac100 billion special military fund to be spent over five years.<\/p>\n Yet, despite ambitious plans and ongoing modernization efforts, the proclaimed turning point fell short of delivering the sweeping, immediate changes the German defence sector urgently needed. While Germany\u2019s allocated budget surpassed 2 per cent of GDP last year, this was possible only thanks to the extra resources provided by the special \u20ac100 billion fund. That amount, however, is soon to run dry\u2014and inflation has already eroded part of its value. Critics also argue that modernization has been too slow and too narrow in scope, especially compared with Poland\u2019s rapid military build-up during the same period. Moreover, Germany must replace<\/a> the large number of weapons it has sent to Ukraine, as some of its own stocks\u2014particularly in air defence and artillery\u2014have actually shrunk in recent years.<\/p>\n \u2018How far will Germany go into debt to rearm without dismantling its welfare model?\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Friedrich Merz, Germany\u2019s newly appointed chancellor, now seeks to change this trajectory. He has announced a \u20ac500 billion military build-up, aiming to create Europe\u2019s most powerful ground force. A crucial step toward this was amending the constitution to suspend the so-called \u2018debt brake\u2019, allowing the government to finance the military buildup through borrowing at the expense of fiscal stability. The question remains: How far will Germany go into debt to rearm without dismantling its welfare model?<\/p>\n In July, the cabinet approved draft legislation to accelerate weapons acquisition, enabling faster purchases by easing bureaucratic hurdles and raising the threshold for high-value contracts. The bill explicitly identifies Russia<\/a> as \u2018the most immediate threat to peace and security\u2019 and stresses the need to meet NATO\u2019s defence goals. Germany is preparing a wave of multi-billion-euro procurement<\/a> orders, including the purchase of 20 new Eurofighter jets, up to 3,000 Boxer armoured vehicles, and as many as 3,500 Patria infantry fighting vehicles. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius reportedly told lawmakers behind closed doors that the government\u2019s top priority is to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe\u2019s strongest conventional force.<\/p>\n Related articles: <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Germany is stepping up preparations for a possible war, urging cities to strengthen civil defence while massively expanding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,1824],"class_list":{"0":"post-359856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-germany"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115062052472349479","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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