Monday, November 17
The Bundeswehr’s 1,000-strong Guard Battalion will carry out urban warfare training in and around the Jungfernheide U-Bahn station this week as part of the exercise Bollwerk Bärlin III. Drills will run between 01:00 and 04:00 on three consecutive nights from Monday to Friday.
The unit, which is responsible for protecting federal government buildings in a crisis, will practise moving through underground facilities and securing key transport routes. Snipers may be deployed around the station during the exercise, though no live ammunition will be used.
Training will also take place at the police “Fighting City” complex in Ruhleben, where troops will rehearse securing government sites, and at the former Rüdersdorf chemical works in Brandenburg, where they will conduct building-search and infrastructure-defence scenarios.
The Bundeswehr said practising under realistic conditions is essential to maintaining readiness, particularly as national and alliance defence has regained prominence since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Based at Julius-Leber barracks in Wedding, the Guard Battalion is the Bundeswehr’s only combat unit stationed in a major German city. While best known for ceremonial duties, it is tasked with securing federal institutions during periods of heightened tension.
