British troops could be used as part of a plan to send as many as 800,000 German, United States and other NATO troops east toward the front line in the event of a conflict against Russia. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not ruled out the deployment of UK personnel if Germany rolls out its 1,200 page classified strategy, put together by at Julius Leber Barracks, located south east of the former Berlin-Tegel Airport.
The Express understands that the British government will not comment on Germany’s national plans, nor matters of operational security. The Government does however remain committed to NATO as set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), outlined by Sir Keir Starmer in July. The document stated that the Government must “be able to achieve a sustainable and effective transition to war if necessary”. It added: “The UK should prioritise its ability to contribute to NATO plans (including for defending the UK), which should be at the heart of capability development and force design.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is rearming Germany (Image: Getty)
“The UK must play a leading role in developing Alliance plans, standards, and verification.”
It added that the MoD should build on the 2024 Trinity House Agreement with Germany “as the basis for increasingly close co-operation: developing shared outlook, cutting-edge capabilities, burden-sharing arrangements, and industrial capacity and growth”.
In addition, the plan mentioned the E3 – a format for diplomatic cooperation between France, Germany, and the UK – as well as the E5 – a format for diplomatic cooperation between France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK.
Operation Plan Germany has mapped the ports, rivers, railways and roads that would be utilised for the transportation of troops in the event of war, as well as how soldiers would be supplied and protected during the journey.
The UK leads the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) – a defence and security coalition that comprises nine other members: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
Germany’s defence chief fears an attack from Russia on Europe as early as 2029 (Image: Getty)
The British Army leads a NATO Forward Holding Base in Sennelager, Germany.
It hosts UK tanks, equipment and logistics elements, as well as “providing a facility to integrate and train with NATO allies to practise pour shared commitment to the alliance’s collective security and defence”, the British Army says on its website.
Britain has also deployed soldiers to Estonia, Poland, Romania, Gibraltar and Cyprus.
UK personnel have been involved in exercises in Finland.
