German of the day: Abzug

That means withdrawal.

Trump’s bombshell in response to Merz’s criticism – U.S. to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.

The U.S. is getting serious. According to his department, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany. The withdrawal is expected to be completed within six to twelve months, the department announced on Friday evening (local time).

U.S. President Donald Trump (79) had threatened to withdraw a few days ago. Earlier, Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said that the Iranians would humiliate the U.S. in the negotiations to end the war, which has been ongoing for two months. However, the already strained relationship between the U.S. and most of its other NATO allies had continued to deteriorate in the weeks leading up to that.

What military?

What service?

Young German men refusing military service – Military service remains voluntary in Germany. However, with the Bundeswehr needing more soldiers, conscription could soon return. But an increasing number of young men are choosing to opt out.

Phil Werring is thinking about refusing to serve in the military. He does not want to join the German army, the Bundeswehr.

“They always say it’s about defense,” the student told DW. “But I don’t see the threat situation and therefore I have no interest in completing compulsory service in the army.”

Military service remains voluntary in Germany, but that could soon change. The army needs at least 60,000 additional soldiers in the next few years.

Young Germans are volunteering to fight for their country!

Just joking.

German high school students protest against military service – Tens of thousands of high school students took to the streets of cities all over the country to protest against the reintroduction of military service. Many people believe that conscription is inevitable.

Young people gathered in Berlin’s central Potsdamer Square on Thursday and marched through the German capital to protest against the government’s plans to reintroduce military service. While the police counted around 3,000 participants, organizers claimed there were 6,000 demonstrators in Berlin and 50,000 in more than 130 towns and cities across Germany.

“I don’t think I’ll be dying for my friends, relatives or acquaintances, in the worst-case scenario,” 17-year-old Shmuel Schatz, spokesperson for the School Strike Committee, told DW’s Gasia Ohanes. “Rather, in the end, only for those who are put into the trenches for the interests of large corporations like Rheinmetall, ThyssenKrupp, and others, so they can line their pockets at the expense of war.”

Step 1, Page 1: Have an army.

Step 2, Page 2: No. A real army.

Germany Has Drawn Up a 1,200-page War Plan for a Russian Attack – Germany has quietly produced a 1,200-page Operational Plan for Germany that assumes a large-scale war with Russia and treats time as the key variable.

Drawn up at Julius Leber Barracks, the plan details how up to 800,000 German, U.S. and other NATO troops would flow east via ports, rivers, rail and roads—and how they’d be supplied and protected en route.

Rather than just counting tanks and troops, Berlin is betting on logistics and an “all-of-society” approach, from infrastructure to cyber. With Russian sabotage and probing already mounting, officials see a genuine race against time to be ready.

Germany to finally bow to the United States’ wishes

And become less dependent on the United States.

Germany’s Merz: Europe must become less dependent on United States – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday rejected a blistering attack on European democracies by the Trump administration, which issued a strategy paper last week declaring that the continent faced “civilizational erasure.”

The U.S. National Security Strategy, made public last week, caused shock across Europe, with a broadside that accused European governments of “subversion of democratic processes” and said U.S. policy should include “cultivating resistance” within the European Union.

“I don’t want to be part of this war machine!”

“One that actually works, maybe. But not this one.”

‘I don’t want to be part of this war machine’: Young Germans protest against military service plans – Young people have taken to the streets of Berlin to protest against the German parliament’s decision to introduce voluntary military service to boost national defences after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces.

“The New German War Machine…”

Just lost half its ammunition.

After World War II, Germany embraced pacifism as a form of atonement. Now the country is arming itself again…

Thousands of rounds of German army ammunition stolen from lorry – A shipment of German ammunition has been stolen from a delivery lorry in the eastern town of Burg, the country’s defence ministry has said.

Speaking to Germany’s DPA news agency, officials did not specify how much was taken. However, other reports cited a defence spokesperson as saying it was close to 20,000 rounds.

Snipers in the subway?

Germans copying amerikanische Verhältnisse (American conditions, the American situation) again or what? Sheesh.

Snipers in the metro: German military conducts urban warfare drills in Berlin – German military forces began a five-day urban warfare training exercise in Berlin, focusing on rapid deployment and protection of critical infrastructure in a landmark event.

German military forces began five days of urban warfare training in Berlin, practising emergency deployment scenarios across the capital as Europe’s security landscape shifts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Bundeswehr’s guard battalion launched the “Bollwerk Bärlin III” exercise on Sunday at multiple locations including Jungfernheide underground station, the Ruhleben police training ground and a former chemical plant site in Rüdersdorf.