QUADRIGA 2024 is the largest exercise by German land forces since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
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Press Release, Berlin, 15 February 2024: [auto-translated] QUADRIGA 2024 is the largest exercise by German land forces since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Of course, in this major NATO exercise, processes and procedures must also fit smoothly in the international context, like cogs in a machine. An essential part of these gears turns on the Streitkräftebasis with its troop units.
The specialists at the armed forces base are literally getting the major NATO exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER rolling. Units of the Bundeswehr and their allies are moving across Europe. Germany is once again taking on a central role in the middle of the continent when the convoys travel on all conceivable modes of transport towards Norway, Poland, Romania and the Baltics. 1,000 personnel from the ABC-Abwehr and Military Police are supporting the QUADRIGA 2024 exercise, which brings together the German portion of STEADFAST DEFENDER. With their special skills, they make a decisive contribution to ensuring that Germany and NATO send a visible signal of deterrence against Russia.
SKB Supports QUADRIGA 2024: The start, for example, is the loading of the material and vehicles of the Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 [Mountain Infantry Brigade 23] from Mittenwald. The large army unit moves it to Norway by ship. This is made possible by the logisticians at the armed forces base, such as the women and men of the port handling company of the logistics battalion 163 RSOM from Delmenhorst. The professionals from the armed forces base also support other exercises related to QUADRIGA 2024. These are logistics associations of the SKB permanently involved throughout the spring with several dozen specialists. In April, around 80 Germans and Hungarian comrades will once again practice transporting goods by road towards an airport that paratroopers use for their SWIFT RESPONSE exercise . Afterwards, an SKB comprising 250 personnel completes the logistics training exercise BRAVE BLUE. In the Baltics it is then a matter of exploring the so-called logistical follow-up supply for two German brigades that are to be part of the new NATO Force Model.
Support Comes From All Areas: In total, QUADRIGA 2024 will bind over 400 people from the Bundeswehr’s logistics command area of responsibility over a period of months. Enablers from the armed forces base are also deployed in many other places. Without the Military Police, for example, no transport or column would be safe. Around 170 Military Police officers are actively practising in connection with QUADRIGA 2024. Another 400 are deployed in real support and traffic management. Their orders will also take them to Poland and Lithuania.
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Bundeswehr QUADRIGA 2024 FACTSHEET
In the future, NATO and Bundeswehr exercises must be geared more to the requirements of national and collective defence. This is why the Bundeswehr will conduct QUADRIGA 2024, a series of large-scale exercises in Germany and abroad that are combined with planned exercises of its allies over a period of five months. Being the German contribution to the large-scale NATO exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER 2024, QUADRIGA 2024 is to show that the Bundeswehr is both determined and capable of making a decisive contribution to the defence of NATO’s eastern flank. Besides alerting and deployment exercises, combined full-strength exercises will provide the opportunity to practise the rapid deployment of own forces to Norway, Lithuania or Romania and gain experience in land forces operations. Over the entire period of time, the Bundeswehr will also provide valuable support and protection to the armed forces of NATO partners whose deployment routes for troops and materiel pass through Germany.
This is a Bundeswehr-wide effort that includes everything from deployment organised by the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command to protective security provided by the Joint Support and Enabling Service and its MPs to transportation provided by the Air Force to the Army forces taking part in the actual exercise. QUADRIGA 2024 will thus also serve as a test to see if the different command and control structures are compatible with each other and all the cogs of the land forces are working together well. Land forces – these are the Army and all the forces in the Bundeswehr that enable the Army to prevail against an equal opponent in combat. QUADRIGA will be the perfect opportunity for them to demonstrate this ability.
QUADRIGA 2024 will be the largest exercise of German land forces since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. More than 12,000 troops will practise the alerting and deployment of national and multinational land forces. Germany thus makes a significant contribution to the deterrence along the eastern flank of the Alliance. The exercise consists of several separate individual exercises. Once all participating forces have been alerted, the Rapid Response Forces Division (RRFD) will be the first to be deployed.
In early 2024, they will train together with 23 Mountain Infantry Brigade in the GRAND NORTH exercise and subsequently practise combat under extreme weather conditions on NATO’s northern flank as part of NORDIC RESPONSE. At the same time, 41 Armoured Infantry Brigade will be certified for future land operations during the exercise ALLIED SPIRIT in Hohenfels.
For 1 Armoured Division, the exercise GRAND CENTER in Central Europe will be the basis for the exercise Dragon, which will take place in Poland in March, and the US-led exercise SABER STRIKE in May. After that, the Division will put the newly introduced army force category medium forces to the test in Lithuania, while the RRFD‘s paratroopers will practice rapid deployment and operations on the south-eastern flank of Europe within the context of the exercises GRAND SOUTH and later on SWIFT RESPONSE.
The highlight and focus of 2024 will be GRAND QUADRIGA, where 10 Armoured Division will practise the deployment and mechanised operations as one single force in Lithuania to make a visible contribution to reassure our Allies.
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