Hamburg holds largest NATO force transit exercise — Deutsche Welle
In Hamburg, Germany, a three-day exercise, Red Storm Charlie, was held at the end of September 2026, during which the Bundeswehr, police and civilian organizations practiced responding in crisis conditions. Around 1,700 people, including 500 military personnel, took part in the maneuvers. According to Deutsche Welle, these were the largest exercises of this kind at the time.
Deployment of forces through Germany
The scenario envisaged a deterioration of the security situation on NATO’s eastern flank. Alliance troops, whose role in the exercise was played by Bundeswehr personnel, arrived at the Port of Hamburg and were then to move eastward. Their advance under the scenario was complicated by simulated acts of sabotage and demonstrations.
Red Storm Charlie is part of the classified Operationsplan Deutschland, Germany’s operational plan under which the Bundeswehr is preparing for a possible attack by the Russian Federation — the aggressor state — on NATO territory. The document is coordinated with the Alliance’s overall defense planning.
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According to calculations by Bundeswehr officer Marcel Bohnert, who contributed to creating the first version of the plan, in such a scenario approximately 800,000 military personnel and 200,000 vehicles would need to be moved through Germany over six months. The plan covers the accommodation and feeding of troops, their protection and escort along transport routes, as well as movements from east to west, including the evacuation of wounded people and civilians.
Infrastructure and data protection
Aylin Matlé, an expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, described the country’s outdated infrastructure as a vulnerable point. According to her, bridges, roads and transport routes need to be repaired and modernized more quickly, as some date back to the Cold War and are not designed for heavy loads or military equipment.
The plan runs to more than 1,000 pages, and access to its sensitive sections is restricted on a need-to-know basis. Germany’s Ministry of Defense stated that the federal states do not receive the full document. After the Alternative for Germany party became the strongest force in the election in Saxony-Anhalt, security experts expressed concern that sensitive information could reach Moscow if a party representative takes the position of head of the state government.
