As of: February 8, 2024, 11:28 a.m
By: Stefan Krieger
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The Bundeswehr is taking part in the major exercise Quadriga 2024 with more than 12,000 soldiers.
The focus is on defending NATO's eastern flank.
Berlin – The German Army is taking part in the NATO
military
exercise Quadriga 2024
in the centre.
The maneuver extends over a period of five months and is Germany's contribution to the major NATO exercise Steadfast Defender.
Quadriga is intended to show “that the Bundeswehr is determined and capable of making a decisive contribution to the defense of NATO’s eastern flank,” as the Bundeswehr said in a statement.
For the German land forces, Quadriga is the largest maneuver since the start of the Ukraine war: As part of the NATO exercise Steadfast Defender, the Bundeswehr is practicing alerting, relocation to NATO's external borders and even combat with more than 12,000 soldiers.
Quadriga 2024 “an important step towards war capability” for the Bundeswehr
Before the start of the major exercise, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, reaffirmed Germany's special responsibility in NATO.
“Germany is the backbone of Europe’s defense,” Breuer told the
German Press Agency
.
“Exercise Quadriga is an important step towards war capability with the aim of deterring an adversary.”
Bundeswehr vehicles on the way to the “Quadriga 2024” exercise © Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
Quadriga is the largest exercise by German land forces since the start of the Ukraine War.
The soldiers involved train alerting, deployment to NATO's external borders in the northeast and southeast, and combat.
A total of around 90,000 soldiers are to be mobilized in the alliance.
The Bundeswehr is to use Quadriga to simulate the defense of NATO's eastern flank in 2024
The large-scale maneuver essentially consists of four sub-exercises: Grand Center (mid-February to the end of February 2024), Grand North (mid-February to mid-March 2024), Grand South (end of April to the end of May 2024) and Grand Quadriga (May 2024) .
The name also refers to the Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which symbolizes freedom, unity and strength.
The focus of the year is on the “Grand Quadriga” exercise in April and May: “The 10th Panzer Division moves soldiers with combat vehicles to Lithuania in various ways and shows their fighting skills in a battle there,” writes the Bundeswehr.
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“For the first time in an exercise, we are combining the defense of NATO’s eastern flank with Germany’s role as a linchpin for the defense of Europe,” said Breuer – Germany’s highest-ranking soldier – about the series of exercises.
“Relocating troops is core military business.
Every move has to be right.
Only what is practiced works in an emergency!” In the coming years, the Bundeswehr will carry out more and more large-scale exercises with the Allies in Germany.
Former US General Ben Hodges recently pointed out significant deficits in the alliance's ability to quickly deploy large numbers of troops at a Bundeswehr symposium on the new German defense plan.
There are not enough trains for military transport, said Hodges, former commander of US forces in Europe.
“Today there is capacity to transport one and a half armored brigades, I believe.
In total.
That’s all,” Hodges said.
“And all of our plans require moving eight, nine or ten armored brigades in Europe at the same time.”
(skr/dpa)