Bundeswehr packs up
The Bundeswehr's mission ends in 2014. Not only soldiers, but thousands of tons of materials have to be transported back to Germany. It is a huge undertaking.
Logistical challenge
The Bundeswehr has around 4,500 soldiers, 1,700 vehicles and 6,000 ship containers full of equipment in Afghanistan. With the end of the ISAF mandate in 2014, most of it will be transported back to Germany – from machine guns, to cots and 50-ton howitzers.
Trabzon
The Turkish port city Trabzon is one of two hubs for the Bundeswehr's withdrawal. The shipping from the port begins on July 29 on which day over 200 vehicles set off for Germany.
Bit by bit
The Bundeswehr has been in Afghanistan for over 11 years. German troops were mainly stationed in the north of the country. A number of camps have already been closed. Currently, the army is busy closing its camp in the province of Baghlan (see picture).
Deployment after deployment
It is not likely that all German soldiers will have left Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Germany is willing to keep up to 800 troops stationed there.
From the provinces to headquarters
Some of the material used by the Bundeswehr will stay in Afghanistan. Some of it will either be sold or thrown away. Forklifts load material and weapons onto containers, as shown in this picture. Convoys have already started transporting the containers from Kunduz to Camp Marmal near Mazar-i-Sharif, located 180 kilometers away.
Masar-i-Sharif
Afghanistan's fourth-largest city is a further logistical hub. Nearly all the material is flown out from Camp Marmal airbase. Only a few supplies are transported by land - neighboring countries Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are considered unsafe.
Maintenance, disinfection
To make sure no epizootic diseases are transported with the vehicles, they must be fully disinfected. Before that, the material is serviced and cleaned.
Air transport
The Bundeswehr does not own any aeroplanes suitable for transporting heavy vehicles so it rented large Antonov 124 cargo planes from a Ukrainian-Russian consortium. Up to 150 tons of material can be transported in the plane's 37-meter-long loading space.
Straight to Germany
For security reasons, weapons and sensitive equipment are flown straight from Masar-i-Sharif to Germany. Material such as the howitzer 2000 is shown here.
Via Turkey
Other materials such as unarmed vehicles, radio equipment and tents, shown here, are flown 3,000 kilometers away to Trabzon.
By ship
Around 170 people are working on a space of 30,000 squared meters in Trabzon to get the Bundeswehr's material back to Germany. It takes about two weeks for a ship to travel from Turkey through the Mediterranean Sea, up the coast of the Atlantic and through the North Sea to Germany.