Around 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries have begun a major exercise in Europe’s far north to defend against a hypothetical attack on NATO territory. These include Finland and Sweden, which joined the alliance following the Russian attack on Ukraine, according to the Norwegian military. Around 1,500 men and women from the German armed forces are taking part in the Nordic Response 2024 manoeuvre, including 700 mountain troops, the Bundeswehr in the town of Alta in the far north of Norway said. In this scenario, the soldiers were to launch a counter-attack on Thursday from the Alta area to captu…