The German army had tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition stolen

On December 2, the German Ministry of Defense announced that it had opened a large-scale investigation into the theft of ammunition intended for barracks in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, describing this as a very serious loss.

“This type of ammunition absolutely must not fall into the wrong hands,” the Ministry of Defense spokesman said, emphasizing that the military is working closely with the police to find the culprit.

The incident happened on the night of November 24, when the contract truck driver parked in an unprotected area and stayed at a nearby hotel. On the morning of November 25, when the vehicle arrived at the barracks, the receiving unit discovered that many boxes of ammunition had disappeared.

Local media said about 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen, including 10,000 live rounds for handguns and 9,900 training rounds for rifles. A number of smoke grenades were also listed as lost goods.

The initial investigation focused on the driver’s decision to stop the vehicle overnight. Some sources in the German military said that this was not a random theft, but that the perpetrator may have followed the car and waited for an opportunity when the driver left the vehicle.

According to contract regulations between the military and transport units, contractors must ensure the safety of goods and usually arrange two drivers to monitor the vehicle at every stop. However, the driver in the incident apparently did not contact the military’s security support line for cases where a safe stop is needed.

Germany is stepping up its military capacity after years of underinvestment. The German government has just proposed a plan to increase the number of soldiers to 260,000 people, with a roadmap until 2035.

The state of Saxony-Anhalt has recently recorded many small-scale ammunition losses. In August, Bernburg police reported losing 90 bullets, while forces in Eisleben lost 180 bullets a few weeks earlier. German officials have not commented on the connection between these cases and the theft of military ammunition trucks.