For several weeks now, the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) have been paying visits to mayors and district administrators to prepare the various municipalities for the growing possibility of war on German soil. This emerges from investigations by nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom CORRECTIV. According to this inquiry, numerous towns and districts have in recent weeks been visited by high-ranking Bundeswehr officers to hold classified talks aimed at preparing the municipalities for the expansion of their “war capability.”
The talks between the Bundeswehr and local authorities focused on identifying critical infrastructure—such as key junctions, bridges or emergency wells—and presenting “homeland security concepts” to “intercept saboteurs” or prevent attacks. The restoration of civil defence facilities and bunkers was also discussed. The planning is to be completed by autumn of this year so that implementation of the security measures can begin in spring 2026. In many municipalities, secret political committees are already meeting to coordinate the planned emergency measures.
The Bundeswehr itself confirmed that it had long been holding “numerous talks, particularly with representatives of the federal states.” These are part of “Operation Plan Germany” (OPLAN DEU), whose aim, according to the Bundeswehr, is to prepare German infrastructure as effectively as possible for the event of war on German territory or in Eastern Europe. The plan was drawn up in response to the Ukraine war and is intended to secure NATO’s eastern flank. In reality, it is about active preparation for war against the nuclear power Russia.
OPLAN DEU is a classified document of around 1,000 pages, developed in 2023 by the Bundeswehr’s Territorial Command. It sets out how the military and civil authorities are to cooperate in the event of war. In effect, it is an operational war plan, describing how military and civilian elements must be coordinated and which infrastructure is required to establish and maintain war capability.
Although the operations plan is secret, a presentation that the Bundeswehr delivered in February to the Bavarian County Association provides some insights. It describes the current situation as a “hybrid phase between peace and war.” In the event of war, Germany would be both a “force provider, transit and host nation” as well as a logistical hub for allied NATO forces.
Accordingly, the task of the municipalities is to contribute to the mobilisation of allied forces. They must make provisions for the “immediate deploying of marching units”—that is, ensure that roads and bridges are passable for tanks and that troops can be supplied both medically and logistically. The presentation also notes routes and assembly points for internally displaced persons as well as the evacuation of injured and killed soldiers.
Another Bundeswehr booklet describes “the ability, in the event of a deterioration in the security situation, to deploy very rapidly large contingents of NATO troops to the alliance’s eastern flank” as a central pillar of “conventional deterrence.” Germany’s essential task consisted in “acting as a hub … to ensure at national level the mobilisation and supply of allied and its own armed forces.” NATO planning assumes the continuous logistical and medical supply of several hundred thousand soldiers.
In addition to municipalities, business and infrastructure are also to be comprehensively oriented towards war logistics. The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), which organises public transport and freight companies, recently sent a survey to its members. It asked: “1. whether you already have practical experience with military transport today; 2. whether you plan to participate in military transport in the future.” On this basis, the VDV aims to “further develop its position on military mobility in a targeted manner.” National rail operator Deutsche Bahn is already playing a central role in the preparations for war, transporting tanks and heavy weapons towards Ukraine.
The business sector is also to be more strongly integrated into war preparations. For example, the Bavarian Association for Security in Industry (BVSW) reports that companies are to be prepared to release militarily fit employees for wartime service. Firms must also prepare to provide essential products for defence without interruption. The Bundeswehr is authorised to requisition stockpiles, machinery, vehicles, goods and products if it deems this necessary. Even land may be expropriated, for example for the construction of fortifications.
In February, the Bundeswehr’s Federal Office for Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Services (BAIUDBw) commissioned the arms corporation Rheinmetall to the tune of €260 million to set up and operate “rest and assembly areas” along potential march routes. This is the first contract awarded under OPLAN DEU to an industrial partner. Deutsche Telekom has also stated that it is in close exchange with the authorities and has already rehearsed joint scenarios.
The scale of this development must not be underestimated: Germany is comprehensively preparing for war with Russia. Roads, bridges, railways, production sites and entire municipalities are to be subordinated to war preparations. Germany is to be put in a position to relocate and supply hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the eastern front at very short notice. The parallels to the massive rearmament before the Second World War are unmistakable, when virtually every aspect of public life was likewise subordinated to militarism.
As then, this is not about “defence.” The Russian invasion of Ukraine is indeed reactionary, but the war was provoked and prepared by Germany and other NATO powers, which supported the 2014 coup in Kiev, rearmed the Ukrainian regime and expanded NATO to Russia’s borders. Germany is once again pursuing the geopolitical aims it did in two world wars: to assume the leading role in Europe, exploit Ukraine and weaken and ultimately subjugate Russia.
As then, the megalomaniacal plans of German imperialism require the establishment of a dictatorship at home and the complete militarisation of society. Tellingly, in its OPLAN presentation, the Bundeswehr names the “mindset of the population” as one of the greatest challenges, since the vast majority of people support neither the war course nor the massive rearmament program. To stop the ruling class’s war plans, however, this opposition must be consciously organised: what is required is the building of a socialist anti-war movement in the working class.