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Bundeswehr maneuvers in Lübtheen: exercise despite bird breeding season!
Bundeswehr maneuvers in Lübtheen start on September 10th, 2025. Exercises test suitability for war, criticized by nature conservation associations.
Bundeswehr maneuvers in Lübtheen: exercise despite bird breeding season!
A series of military exercises began on September 10, 2025 in the Lübtheener Heide, a former military training area in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. This series of exercises is carried out by the Panzergrenadiers from Hagenow carried out, which train for a period of three to four days in setting up, taking up and defending positions. The main aim of these exercises is to check the soldiers' fitness for war. The participants are armed, but only use maneuver ammunition.
The soldiers travel from Hagenow in armored personnel carriers, and during the exercises civilians such as drivers, cyclists and hikers are advised to keep their distance from the practicing units. This ensures everyone’s safety. Loud NDR Around 200 soldiers and around 20 armored personnel carriers take part in the exercises.
Exercises in the nature reserve
But not everyone agrees with these exercises. The BUND (Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany) expresses serious concerns about implementation. The exercises take place during the bird breeding season, which is considered problematic. The area, classified as a National Natural Heritage Site and an Important European Bird Sanctuary, is home to protected bird species such as the curlew pipit, the woodlark and the nightjar.
The approval for the military exercises was quickly waved through bureaucratically - without the involvement of nature conservation associations - which raises the suspicion that this was done under pressure from the Bundeswehr and the Federal Forestry Agency. The BUND sharply criticizes this approach and calls for better cooperation between the Bundeswehr, nature conservation authorities and environmental associations in order to avoid future interventions in nature.
The security situation requires military exercises, according to the Bundeswehr's argument, which points to the need to train in unfamiliar terrain before sending troops to Lithuania next year. Nevertheless, the question of environmental protection and the preservation of biodiversity remains the focus of public discussion in this sensitive time.