Episode 1: Deception

Imagine this: It is October 2026. The day has barely begun when
Germany’s federal government is confronted with its gravest
security crisis in decades. In a fictional scenario, Russia is
threatening NATO’s eastern flank while the United States is
reluctant to become involved. To understand how Germany would
respond under these conditions, WELT, together with the German
Wargaming Center at Helmut Schmidt University of the German Armed
Forces in Hamburg, conducted a high-level public wargame. We wanted
to answer three questions: What happens if Russia attacks a NATO
ally? How would Germany respond? And where are the weaknesses in
its political decision-making? Germany is Europe’s largest economy,
NATO’s logistical backbone on the continent and has pledged to
build “the strongest conventional army in Europe”. Its response
would shape the alliance’s reaction. Former senior politicians,
military leaders and security experts spend a day stepping into the
roles of Germany’s federal government and the Kremlin. While
governments and armed forces regularly conduct wargames behind
closed doors, we decided to make ours public. The project sparked a
wide debate in Germany and internationally and is now available in
English. In Episode 1, Germany’s crisis cabinet convenes for the
first time. Faced with mounting chaos, the Blue Team must determine
whether Russian troop movements near Lithuania are merely coercion
— or the beginning of something far more dangerous. Script and
Storytelling: Antonia Beckermann, Carolina Drüten Producer: Marvin
Schwarz If you enjoy the podcast, we’d be grateful if you could
leave a rating or review. If you have questions or feedback, we’d
love to hear from you at wargame@welt.de. The participants of the
wargame: Blue Team (Germany) Chancellor: Peter Tauber Defense
Minister: Roderich Kiesewetter Foreign Minister: Michael Roth
Interior Minister: Irene Mihalic Finance Minister: Jörg Asmussen
Government Spokesperson: Christiane Hoffmann Inspector General of
the Bundeswehr: Eberhard Zorn President, Federal Office of Civil
Protection: Christoph Unger Intelligence Chief: Gerhard Conrad Red
Team (Russia) President: Alexander Gabuev Chief of the General
Staff: Franz-Stefan Gady Foreign Minister: Arndt Freytag von
Loringhoven International roles NATO Secretary General: Oana
Lungescu U.S. Secretary of State: Jeff Rathke President of the
European Commission: David McAllister Prime Minister of Poland:
Bartłomiej Kot Note: With the exception of participants who spoke
English in the original wargame, all English-language quotes are
voiced by fellow journalists. The translations faithfully reflect
the original statements. Imprint:
https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Privacy
Policy:
https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html