NATO is rehearsing an emergency in Germany. Soldiers from different countries practice urban warfare.
In a training town with a “glass battlefield” in the Altmark. “Steadfast Defender 2024” is the name of the exercise in which the armed forces of the Bundeswehr and other NATO countries want to demonstrate defense readiness with more than 90,000 soldiers and 6,000 vehicles. The location is used solely for combat in urban terrain, in this case the NATO maneuver “Wettiner Schwert”, and is considered one of the most modern urban training facilities in Europe. No soldier wants to fight in “urban terrain,” says the commander of the Panzergrenadier Brigade 37 “Free State of Saxony’s” brigade, but if it has to happen, “you have to prepare for it,’’ he says. The maneuver began with an advance across the Elbe towards Schnöggersburg.