What began as a large-scale Bundeswehr exercise on Wednesday evening ended with flashing blue lights, panic, and a wounded soldier.
In the quiet Bavarian town of Altenerding (district Erding), police officers accidentally opened live fire on members of the German armed forces after mistaking a training scenario for an actual armed threat.
How the misunderstanding unfolded
Around 6 p.m., residents along Hohenlindener Strasse reported masked individuals carrying weapons near barns and industrial buildings. They had no idea the Feldjäger — the Bundeswehr’s military police — were conducting a planned defence drill called “Marshal Power 2025.”
State police units were immediately dispatched by the local control centre. When they arrived at the scene, they reportedly believed they were confronting a real armed situation. At the same time, the Bundeswehr soldiers thought the newly arrived officers were participants in the same scenario. Within seconds, confusion escalated: the soldiers fired training ammunition, while the police responded with live rounds.
One soldier wounded — helicopter evacuation
A soldier was hit by a grazing shot to the face.
Emergency services, including fire brigades and paramedics, rushed to the scene.
The injured serviceman was airlifted to hospital but, according to official sources, his injuries are not life-threatening. “There is no danger to the public,” police later confirmed.
Traffic in the wider area was restricted as investigators and forensic teams secured the scene.
Did the police know about the exercise?
According to several German media outlets, the Marshal Power 2025 drill had been planned for weeks.
It involved about 500 Bundeswehr soldiers and roughly 300 civilian emergency workers — police, firefighters, and rescue teams — across the Munich region.
The goal: to simulate coordination between military and civil authorities in a national defence scenario.
Yet, it now appears that the local police command in Erding was not informed about the specific location and timing of the operation. Some law-enforcement units elsewhere had been included in the drill — but not the Erding station that responded to residents’ calls. This critical communication gap is now at the centre of the investigation.
“Marshal Power 2025”: one of the largest army drills in years
The Bundeswehr described Marshal Power 2025 as one of its most complex domestic exercises in recent times, focusing on the Verteidigungsfall – Germany’s national defence scenario.
Training took place in both urban and rural settings around Munich to test how military police, local authorities, and emergency services interact under stress.
After Wednesday’s incident, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that all live-fire weapons had been secured and that a joint inquiry with Bavarian police was underway.
Broader questions about coordination and safety
The near-fatal mix-up exposes serious questions about the coordination of civil-military operations on German soil.
Experts note that public-space training brings realism but also risk, particularly if local units are not fully briefed.
Defence analyst Markus Heinz told Welt that “every joint exercise depends on clear chains of command and information. If even one link fails, the result can be catastrophic.”
Public safety unaffected — investigation ongoing
Authorities stressed that residents were never in direct danger. However, the event has renewed debate about transparency and communication when military drills occur near populated areas.
The official investigation is expected to clarify whether procedural mistakes or individual misjudgements led to the shooting.
For now, the Bundeswehr has suspended further field phases of the Marshal Power 2025 exercise in Erding until the findings are complete.
