Who was Paul Wieczorek?

To many western observers the names bestowed upon Nationale Volksarmee combat units in the German Democratic Republic are but enigmas lost to history. East German military traditions and heritage often centered around figures of cultural significance and particular interest to the 'people's struggle' towards the progression of the communist movement. One of the most famous of the East German military units with a named title is the 40. Fallschirmjägerbatallion which was granted the title of 'Willi Sänger' after the pro-communist resistance fighter who was executed by the Nazis in the latter years of the Second World War. When the Soviet authorities took over administration of the eastern zone of Germany after the cease of hostilities the use of German communists and others sympathetic to the struggle of communism was seen as a way to allow the German people to embrace the struggles of communism and the exploits of their own people.

Paul Wieczorek, was another famous figure of East German military tradition. Paul Wieczorek was born in the largely protestant city of Bromberg in Prussia on 15 July 1885. In 1904, he and his family relocated from Bromberg to Berlin. After completing his schooling, he took up an apprenticeship in metalurgy becoming a metal worker. By 1903, he enlisted in the Kaiserliche Marine or 'Imperial Navy' of the German Empire. He would serve in the Imperial Navy until 1906, serving among other assignments aboard the light cruiser Medusa. Following his brief military service, Wieczorek found employment as a bus driver for the German company Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus AG. It was around this time that he became introduced to the teachings of Karl Marx and communism and become a member of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 'Social Democratic Party of Germany' or SPD.

With the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb nationalist and the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, Wieczorek was reinstated into the Kaiserliche Marine at the rank of Maat or Petty Officer aboard a minesweeper. Now a committed communist, Wieczorek was reprimanded numerous times by his superiors for insubordination and military disobedience. With the emergence of a new form of warfare, and the advances taken in military aviation, Wieczorek volunteered to become an aircraft mechanic in the fledgling Marineflieger of the Imperial German Navy. Following receiving flight training, he was assigned to a military air station located at Tonder near the border with Denmark. Here he was involved in a plane crash and following a period of recovery, he was reassigned to the Marine-Landfliegerabteilung 'Naval Land Flying Service' at  Johannisthal near Berlin. It would be here that he and a friend Fritz Radtke would organize workers of the Johannis Thaler Flugzeugwerke and spread the influence of communist works amongst fellow members of the naval aviation service and military air service.

By November of 1918, Germany was facing internal struggles and with the Kiel Mutiny of naval sailors in the Wilhelmshaven fleet an increasing wave of descent swept over the crews of several battleships of the High Seas Fleet. The Kiel Mutiny would become one of the factors leading to the November Revolution in 1918. Aligning himself with prominent Marxist and anti-militarist Karl Liebknecht, Wieczorek organized other mutineers and mounted an armed insurrection at the base in Johannisthal. On 9 November 1918, pro-communist sailors and naval aviators as well as members of the illegal Spartacus League seized control of the Flugplatz Johannisthal and arrested the base commander and the officers cadre. Following the completion of the seizure of the airbase, Wieczorek and his group began heading in the direction of Berlin to link up with Karl Liebknecht and his fellow group of communist supporters. Along the way to Berlin, the group encountered armed resistance from military forces loyal to Kaiser Wilhelm II particularly in the areas of Lower Schöneweide and Treptow. Many soon sided with the revolutionaries and large quantities of weapons and ammunition were turned over to the revolutionaries.

Records become scarce after this point but it was presumed that Wieczorek and his men participated in a clash and occupation of the Reichsmarineamtes 'Imperial Naval Office' in Berlin. By the evening of the 9th of November, Wieczorek, Radtke and Liebknecht linked up and and along with Heinrich Dorrenbach a fellow socialist revolutionary and an officer in the Imperial German military began drawing up plans for the organization of armed formations in Berlin. By the time of the armistice and cease of First World War hostilities on 11 November 1918, some 600 sailors that had aligned themselves with Wieczorek and Liebknecht were using the Berlin imperial stables as their headquarters and declared the organization of the Volksmarinerat von Groß-Berlin und Vororten 'People's Naval Council of Greater Berlin and Suburbs. They organized themselves into a group they called the Volksmarinedivison 'People's Navy Division' and declared Wieczorek as their Commander.

From its inception on 11 November 1918, things would begin to rapidly deteriorate for the Volksmarinedivison. In a coup of leadership, Paul Wieczorek was shot dead by Korvettenkapitän Friedrich Brettschneider in the Berlin imperial stables they declared their headquarters. Susequently two days later, Brettschneider himself was also found dead.  The November Revolution would ultimately fail when resistance was put down forcefully, however it would lead to the abdication of the throne of Germany, the abolishion of the monarchy and the transition to parliamentary democracy. Liebknecht would not fare any better suffering the same fate that befell many communist revolutionaries in Germany.  On 15 January 1919, Karl Liebknecht was found in his Berlin apartment and arrested being placed under the custody of the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützen-Division 'Guards Cavalry Rifle Division' of the Freikorps were he was interrogated, beaten and finally shot to death.

After the end of the Second World War, Soviet authorities in the eastern sector of Germany installed the pro-communist regime and began advocating the use of German communists amongst the new government to unite the people under their exploits. In 1985, the East German communist party authorized the formation of a naval aviation wing or Marinefliegergeschwader to be operated by the Volksmarine. Organized under the strictest orders of secrecy, the new unit was officially established on 27 November 1987 at Rostock-Laage. The unit was designated Marinefliegergeschwader 28 (MFG-28) and granted the title 'Paul Wieczorek' on 6 October 1989. 

Behind Enemy Lines Part III: Forces françaises à Berlin: Napoleon's Guard of Honor in West Berlin

The French contingent of the occupational forces in West Berlin were known as the Forces françaises à Berlin. The Forces françaises à Berlin were a subordinate detachment of the greater Forces françaises en Allemagne or French Forces in Germany. Like the Americans and the British, the Forces françaises à Berlin arrived in Berlin in July 1945 after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Initially, France was not going to be allocated a portion of Germany nor Berlin to occupy in the post war years however after objections to this plan were made by de facto French leader General Charles De Gaulle, an agreement was made and portions of both the American and British zones of Occupation were taken and designated as French zones of Occupation. With the granting of these areas, a section of Berlin was designated for the French. French military forces would be given the northern portion of the city comprised of two boroughs to administer. The boroughs of West Berlin which would be granted to the French were the boroughs of Reinickendorf and Wedding. The Potsdam Agreement granted the French equal rights and access to West Berlin and thus the Forces françaises à Berlin would maintain a status as counterparts to both the American Berlin Brigade and the British Berlin Infantry Brigade.

Soldiers assigned to West Berlin wore a distinctive shoulder patch much in the manner of their American and British counterparts. The French patch originated in 1949, and depicted the French tricolor flag of blue, white and red flying over a gold circle with an 'N' in the center representing their facilities at the Quartier Napoléon. This is positioned inside the shape of the French zone of Occupation in West Germany with a gold border around the zone with light blue interior and a darker blue exterior with 'BERLIN' in gold over the top of the patch and a gold border framing the entire shoulder insignia.

Initial French troops to arrive in Berlin were members of the 1re armée française '1st French Army' which established their headquarters at the Julius Leber Kaserne in the borough of Wedding. The Julius Leber Kaserne had previously been occupied by elements of the Nazi Wehrmacht utilized by the Luftwaffe's Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. Hermann Göring or 'Hermann Goering Parachute Panzer Division 1.' The 130 building facility was arranged around a central axis and included a sports field, running track and an outdoor pool. Upon French arrival at the facility in August 1945, the area was redesignated as the Quartier Napoléon. The facilities had been heavily damaged during the Battle of Berlin and subsequent occupation by Soviet Red Army forces and underwent significant reconstruction and repairs from 1945 to 1955. Immediately south of the area, the French military constructed the Cite Joffre condominiums to house its troops and their families. Also initially located at the Quartier Napoléon was a detachment of the Armée de l'Air, the French Air Force however, they were repositioned to nearby Tegel Airport, which would become the French's primary point of arrival and departure for forces entering the city.

On 2 November 1947, the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne or  '46th Infantry Regiment' was assigned to the Quartier Napoléon. Prior to arrival in Berlin, the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne had participated in the occupation of the Rhineland following the initial German surrender on 8 May 1945. They would remain in position as the primary combat ready force until 31 December 1954, when French strength would be bolstered by the arrival of the 11e régiment de chasseurs or '11th Chasseurs Regiment'  essentially an armored cavalry regiment which provided armored capabilities to the Berlin garrison. Like the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne, the 11e régiment de chasseurs had previously conducted occupational duties in the Palatinate region until 30 April 1947 when it was intially inactivated. It was reactivated in West Berlin and absorbed elements of two other French formations. Together the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne and the 11e régiment de chasseurs would comprise France's contribution to the defense of West Berlin.

Additional units assigned to the  Quartier Napoléon garrison included engineers, a supply battalion, military police detachment, and security directorate that was responsible for sector security along the French zone's border with the German Democratic Republic. Like their allied counterparts the French maintained their own radio station known as Radio Forces Françaises de Berlin or French Forces in Berlin Radio commonly abbreviated as FFB. The FFB began its initial broadcasts on 8 May 1957 and provided radio broadcasts initially for the French servicemen in West Berlin. In the 1980's it picked up television and began broadcasting television programming for French forces assigned to West Berlin.

 The Tegel Airbase facilities initially did not exist and it wasn't until the Americans launched Operation Vittles and the British launched Operation Plainfare essentially the Berlin Airlift as a response to the Soviet blockade of the city in 1948 that the French began construction of the new air facility. The construction of the airport facilities involved the use of over 19,000 people utilizing 400 trucks and materials taken from the war torn city of Berlin along with asphalt flown into the city by the United States Air Force. On 5 November 1948, a detachment of the l´armée de l´air known as DA 04165 was activated at the new facility when a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport arrived at the base carrying among its dignitaries General William H. Tunner, the chief architect of the Berlin Airlift. The Tegel Facility was designated as 165 Air Base Berlin-Tegel and officially opened for operations on 15 November 1948. Regular operations commence by 1 December 1948, and upon learning of the construction of a facility in the French zone of Occupation, the Soviets demand the withdrawal of French forces from the village of Stolpe. All French forces vacate Stolpe by 18 December 1948.

By the time of its operation, and the height of the Berlin Airlift, the French have become embroiled in the First Indochina War, however they supply several Junkers Ju-52 transports for the effort in 1949. In 1958, the French estalish SEA 02054 an electronic warfare squadron which conducts signal intelligence gathering (SIGNET) operations in West Berlin.  The SEA 02054 unit utilizies antennas at DBLS Foch located in the local vicinity and also two twin parabolic antennas positioned to monitor the area north of Berlin, in the limit of Frohnau beside Oranienburger Chaussee and Jäger Stieg located on the other side of East Germany. SEA 02054  operates in conjunction with the station Schalke positioned in West Germany and with the SEA 03054 and EE 21054 Goslar, detachment of the 11 th Company Transmissions, which were transitioned to the headquarters Berlin from 30 June 1966 to 1 January 1991. The Escadrille Electronics EE (Electronic Warfare Unit) was designated 21,054 with specialized Puma helicopters in 1986.

Elements of the French  ALAT 'Light Army Aviation' arrived at Tegel in 1987 succeeding several previous light aviation entities operating light aircraft for intelligence gathering operations and support operations in support of the French Army units of the Quartier Napoléon.

The French staff will remain in position at Tegel until 31 December 1992,  when at the request of the German government command of the airport is turned over from French control to German control where it is redesignated as Berlin International Airport - Tegel by the German civilian personnel. Up until that point since 1974, the French crew at Tegel had checked more than one million aircraft carrying some 90 million passengers in conditions of maximum security in and out of Tegel.

In 1993, the first part attributed to the Allied Museum in Berlin began construction and a Cessna L19 from the Forces françaises à Berlin was retired from service and turned over to the museum on April 21. The 165 Air Base would be decommissioned along with the 46th and 11th RI Hunters on 14 September 1994.

With the removal of all allied forces from Berlin following the agreement of 1994, the Quartier Napoléon was also closed and the German government took control of the Julius Leber Kaserne on 5 January 1995, and positioned Bundeswehr units in its facilities. The 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne having successfully completed it's mission was inactivated on  14 September 1994. The 11e régiment de chasseurs would follow the previous day being inactivated on 15 September. Both units colors were cased and returned to France having successfully represented France and providing a contingent that stood alongside its British and American counterparts in maintaining the peace and security of West Berlin.

French Units in West Berlin

French Combat Units assigned to Quartier Napoléon in West Berlin:

11e régiment de chasseurs '11th Cavalry Regiment'

46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne '46th Infantry Regiment'

110e compagnie du génie '110th Engineer Company'

Centre d'entraînement commando (CEC no 10) 'Commando Training Center'

French Support Units assigned to Quartier Napoléon in West Berlin:

11e compagnie de transmission '11th Signals Company'

Gendarmerie Berlin 'Berlin Police'

Hôpital Louis-Pasteur 'Louis-Pasteur Hospital'

Base aérienne 165 Berlin Tegel 'Airbase 165 Berlin Tegel'

Groupement de soutien 'Support Group'

Quartier général 'Headquarters'

Direction des transport et de la circulation de Berlin 'Directorate of Transport and Traffic in Berlin'

État-Major 'Command Staff'

Détachement de l'Aviation légère de l'armée de terre (DETALAT) 'Detachment of the Light Army Aviation'

Behind Enemy Lines Part II: The Berlin Infantry Brigade: Britain's Lions in West Berlin

Initially British troops stationed in western Berlin were known as the British Troops Berlin from November of 1946, which administered to the occupational duties in the British designated zone of occupied Berlin. The first British unit to arrive in Berlin was the 7th Armoured Division, the notorious 'Desert Rats' which had garnered a reputation for ferocity in fighting the German Afrika Korps led by Erwin Rommel in North Africa. The unit would remain known as British Troops Berlin until all British occupational forces in West Berlin were redesignated as Area Troops Berlin in February of 1949. This formation would stand until October 1953, when it was reorganized into a force known as the Berlin Infantry Brigade Group. Under the reorganization, the force would maintain a strength of 3,100 soldiers assigned to one of three infantry battalions, an armored squadron and respective support units. Unlike its American counterpart, the British Berlin Brigade rotated entire units in and out of West Berlin for a specified period of time rather than rotating individual personnel in and out of the units assigned to the British zone of occupation in West Berlin. With the division of Berlin, the British would receive the central section of West Berlin, a sector comprised of four boroughs to occupy in the post war era. The four neighborhoods under British control was comprised of the boroughs of Charlottenburg, Tiergarten, Wilmersdorf and Spandau.

Being positioned in the exclave of West Berlin, deep within the heart of the German Democratic Republic the Berlin Infantry Brigade was organized separate of the British Army of the Rhine forces positioned in the Federal Republic of Germany. Rotations into West Berlin varied by unit; the single armored squadron was deployed to West Berlin after being detached from an armored regiment which was already in West Germany assigned to I British Corps. Infantry battalions were rotated in and out of West Berlin every two years. The only permanent units in West Berlin were comprised of  7 Flight, Army Air Corps, which was based at RAF Gatow, the Royal Air Force station which had served as the Third Reich Luftwaffe's staff and technical college known as the Luftkriegsschule 2 'Air Warfare School 2' under the previous regime. 7 Flight provided the Berlin Infantry Brigade with aviation support assets. Other units permanently assigned to West Berlin included the 62 Transport and Movements Squadron Royal Corps of Transport, 14 Field Workshop Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 504 Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC) (Overseas Deployment Training 'ODT'), 131 DID Royal Army Service Corps, Det No 2 Independent Petrol Station Platoon Royal Army Service Corps, 31st Quartering and Barracks Office Royal Army Service Corps,121 & 122 Barracks Stores, 38 (Berlin) Field Squadron Royal Engineers, 229 Signals Squadron and 3 Squadron 13 Signals Regiment Royal Signals, 3 Intelligence and Security Coy Intelligence Corps, 247 Provost Coy Royal Military Police, 248 German Security Unit and the British Military Hospital (BMH) Berlin.

The British Forces Post Office which maintained a branch in West Berlin designated the British sector with the postal code BFPO 45.

The British maintained their forces in five barracks across its sector of the city, primarily in the borough of Spandau. The five British facilities were known as Alexander Barracks, Smuts Barracks, Brooke Barracks, Wavell Barracks and Montgomery Barracks. Three of the barracks were positioned in close proximity to the Spandau Prison where British troops along with elements of the other western Allies and the Soviets rotated standing guard over Rudolf Hess. Montgomery Barracks was positioned in close proximity to the border with East Berlin, and maintained a single infantry battalion. Brooke and Wavell Barracks both maintained single infantry battalions, while Smuts Barracks maintained the armored squadron assigned to West Berlin. Alexander Barracks was primarily an administrative and logistics facility. Units rotated in and out of West Berlin from across the United Kingdom including units from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Many soldiers assigned to West Berlin had combat experience having come to West Berlin from operational service during Operation Banner in Northern Ireland.

Initially the first incarnations of the British garrison, the British Troops Berlin and Area Troops Berlin would maintain its headquarters in a facility at the Fehrbelliner Platz in the borough of Wilmersdorf. Upon redesignation as the Berlin Infantry Brigade Group, the headquarters was relocated to a facilitiy located adjacent to the Olympic Stadium in the district of Charlottenburg. It would remain at this location until the dissolution of the Berlin Infantry Brigade in 1994.

Soldiers assigned to the Berlin Infantry Brigade wore a distinctive insignia. The unit's shoulder sleeve insignia was comprised of a red circle over a black background with the word 'BERLIN' in red on a black background arched across the top of the circular insignia. Although initially not assigned to British Army of the Rhine, by the 1980s it was considered a secondary component of BAOR after the I British Corps contingent which was positioned in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, West Germany.

 The British maintained a large training facility in the Grunewald borough of West Berlin, where they would often train alongside soldiers of the American Berlin Brigade. The Grunewald complex was comprised of several training facilities including the American urban warfare training center known as Parks Range or more affectionately as "Doughboy City" as well as the British urban warfare training center known as Ruhleben Fighting City or 'RFC'. Further military training was conducted across the Grunewald borough along the shores of the Havel River, and along the Schildhorn peninsula. Other training areas included the Schildhornweg, Am Postfenn, around the Teufelssee or 'Devil's Lake', Saubuchtweg, Grunewaldturm area, Havelchausee which ran adjacent to the Havel River, and all the way down to the Avus. For woodland combat exercises, British forces utilized the wooded areas of Spandau, Gatow, Kladow, Tegel and Jungfernheide. Their primary range area was also located at Ruhleben however it was adjacent to the RFC compound. Later on in the Berlin Infantry Brigade's stay in West Berlin, additional live fire exercises were conducted in Gatow.

As a response to the British maintaining their firing rains in such close proximity to the border with East Berlin, the Soviets maintained a large armored vehicle training facility on the East German side of the Berlin Wall opposite of the British ranges.

The armored squadron assigned to Smuts Barracks was primarily tasked with armored reconnaissance and conducting mounted security patrols along the length of the Berlin Wall which spanned the British sector.

For ceremonial events, the British often utilized the Maifeld 'May Field' as a parade ground which was located across from the Olympic Stadium known as the Olympiastadion. The Maifeld was used annually to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday for reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II every 21 April. Formations of British troops and military vehicles would conduct a parade and review in honor of the Queens Birthday and would render honors such as honor salutes fired by tank mounted cannons and infantry rifles utilizing blank ammunition. Various members of the royal family would attend the celebrations including Queen Elizabeth II herself, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Princess Anne and the Queen Mother. West Berliners were encouraged to attend these events alongside their British counterparts and partake in the festivities. Another largely popular event was the yearly 'Grand Tattoo' which was a large military show hosted by the Corps of Army Music. The Grand Tattoo was usually held at the Deutschlandhalle near famous Funkturm Berlin radio tower. The Deutschlandhalle is famously known for the 19 February 1938  indoor flight of German test pilot Hanna Reitsch in her Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopter, the first such flight of its kind.

For aviation support, the British Army stationed elements of the Army Air Corps at RAF Gatow. RAF Gatow was the primary airfield utilized by Royal Air Force transports bringing in supplies from West Germany during Operation Plainfare, the British codename for the Berlin Airlift. Following the Airlift, most offensive aircraft from the Royal Air Force were withdrawn and mostly transports and light aircraft were stationed at the facility apart from British Army aviation elements. A military formation known as the RAF Gatow Station Flight operated two  De Havilland Chipmunk T10 light aircraft in reconnaissance roles in cooperation with the The British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany more commonly known as BRIXMIS. Intelligence flights were carried out beginning in 1956 under the codename Operation Shooner and later Operation Nylon, where the RAF aircraft would fly over the airspace of both West and East Berlin, as well as the air corridors to and from West Germany into West Berlin. These flights were legally guaranteed to the British under the Potsdam Agreement and they were often conducted to carry out covert photographic reconnaissance flights over East German territory.

A Royal Corps of Signals signals unit designated as 26SU was also assigned to RAF Gatow and on the Teufelsberg, a 260 foot artificial hill north of the Teufelssee which was made of the heaped rubble of Berlin following the Battle of Berlin in 1945 in the Grunewald borough. 26SU would serve as a specialized Signals Intelligence unit operated by the Royal Air Force on behalf of Government Communications Headquarters or GCHQ Cheltenham tasked with monitoring Warsaw Pact and Soviet military communications and activities over and around the German Democratic Republic and neighboring People's Republic of Poland. RAF Gatow was the site of a defection on 15 July 1987 when a young East German named Thomas Krüger flew a Zlin Z-42M light aircraft to RAF Gatow from Schönhagen near Trebbin, East Berlin.

Like the Americans who operated a branch of the American Forces Network in Berlin, the British maintained a branch of their British Forces Broadcasting Service 'BFBS' and they maintained their own facilities similar to the Americans to maintain their garrisons and the families of soldiers.

In December of 1963, the Berlin Infantry Brigade Group became simply the Berlin Infantry Brigade and would remain as this designation until April of 1977 when it became the Berlin Field Force and then from January 1981 it was redesignated as the Berlin Infantry Brigade. Despite its various incarnations it was always referred to as the Berlin Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Berlin Infantry Brigade was reduced to two standing infantry battalions in 1992 and it was further reduced to a single infantry battalion in 1993.

The last British infantry battalion to be stationed Berlin following reunification would be the 1st Battalion of The Queens Lancashire Regiment being assigned to Wavell Barracks from 1992 until the Berlin Infantry Brigade was disbanded in September of 1994. The disbanding of the Berlin Infantry Brigade was marked by a final parade through the former British sector which was attended by Prince Charles. With this, the British Berlin Infantry Brigade like the other members of the western Allies marched into history having stood vigilant watch over West Berlin through some of the most tense points in world history. Peace reigned and the Cold War was over, a victory for democracy worldwide.

British Army Units assigned to the Berlin Infantry Brigade

Montgomery Barracks - Sakrowerstraße, Kladow (A suburb of Spandau)

Worcestershire Regiment – February 1948

Gordon Highlanders Regiment – May 1949

Black Watch Regiment – September 1950

East Yorkshire Regiment – November 1951

Royal Scots Fusiliers Regiment – July 1953

Grenadier Guards Regiment – March 1954

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Regiment – March 1955

Royal Welsh Fusiliers – July 1956

Royal Scots Regiment – February 1958

1/2 East Anglian Regiment – February 1960

Durham Light Infantry Regiment – July 1961

Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire – June 1963

1/1 Green Jackets Regiment (Royal Green Jackets) – April 1965

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment (2nd Light Infantry) – April 1967

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Regiment – April 1969

Queens Regiment – July 1970

Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters Regiment – July 1972

Parachute Regiment – August 1974

Green Howards Regiment – August 1976

2 Royal Anglian Regiment – August 1978

Kings Own Royal Border Regiment – January 1981

3 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – March 1983

Royal Highland Fusiliers – March 1985

Black Watch Regiment – March 1987

Royal Welsh Fusiliers – July 1989

Royal Welsh Fusiliers – July 1992

Brooks Barracks - Wilhelmstraße, Spandau

2 Royal Scots Fusiliers – February 1948

2 Queens Royal Regiment – February 1949

Royal Fusiliers Regiment – December 1949

Kings Liverpool Regiment – February 1951

Welsh Guards Regiment – June 1952

Royal Irish Fusiliers – July 1953

Royal Lincolnshire Regiment – June 1954

Cheshire Regiment – May 1955

South Lancashire Regiment – January 1957

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Regiment – January 1958

Kings Own Scottish Borderers Regiment – February 1959

Welsh Regiment – April 1961

Somerset & Cornwall Light Infantry Regiment – October 1963

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Regiment – October 1965

Gloucestershire Regiment – October 1967

2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – October 1969

Duke of Edinburgh Royal Regiment – July 1971

Kings Own Scottish Borderers Regiment – May 1973

Royal Regiment of Wales – May 1975

2 Parachute Regiment – May 1977

Royal Irish Rangers Regiment – June 1979

2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – April 1981

Prince of Wales Own Royal Regiment – June 1983

Devon & Dorset Regiment – April 1985

Kings Own Scottish Borderers Regiment – February 1987

1 Light Infantry Regiment – January 1989

Gordon Highlanders – June 1991

Gordon Highlanders – August 1993

Wavell Barracks - Wilhelmstraße, Spandau

Royal Norfolk Regiment – January 1948

Royal Welsh Fusiliers – May 1949

Manchester Regiment – September 1950

Durham Light Infantry – April 1951

Royal Scots Regiment – May 1952

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment – July 1953

Manchester Regiment – September 1954

Black Watch Regiment – January 1956

Border Regiment – December 1957

York & Lancaster Regiment – July 1959

Kings Royal Rifle Corps (2 Green Jackets) – December 1960

Kings Regiment – July 1962

East Anglian Regiment (3 Royal Anglian) – July 1964

Queens Own Highlanders Regiment – August 1966

Staffordshire Regiment – September 1968

Cheshire Regiment – November 1970

Coldstream Guards Regiment – December 1972

3 Royal Green Jackets – January 1975

Welsh Guards Regiment – January 1977

Grenadier Guards Regiment – July 1979

2 Royal Irish Rangers Regiment – December 1981

Royal Hampshire Regiment – December 1983

Gloucestershire Regiment – February 1986

Kings Regiment – February 1988

Irish Guards Regiment – January 1990

Queens Lancashire Regiment – March 1992

Queens Lancashire Regiment – August 1994

Smuts Barracks - Wilhelmstraße, Spandau

11th Hussars Regiment & 8th Hussars Regiment – July 1945 - October 1945

11th Hussars Regiment & 1st Royal Tank Regiment – October 1945 - February 1946

1st Squadron, Life Guards Regiment – July 1946 – September 1946

1st Squadron, 13/18th Hussars Regiment – November 1946 – February 1947

1st Squadron, Inns of Court Yeomanry Regiment – February 1947 – May 1947

1st Squadron, Royal Horse Guards Regiment – May 1947 – January 1948

1st Squadron, 11th Hussars Regiment – February 1948

A Squadron, Royal Dragoons Regiment – May 1949

A Squadron, Royal Horse Guards Regiment – March 1950

1st Squadron, 3rd Hussars Regiment – February 1951

1st Independent Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment – February 1952

2nd Independent Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment – July 1953

B Squadron, 14/20th Hussars Regiment – February 1958

1st Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment – November 1960

1st Independent Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment – November 1964

1st Squadron, Queens Own Hussars Regiment – February 1965

1st Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment – July 1968

1st Squadron, 9/12th Lancers Regiment – December 1969

1st Squadron, Queens Dragoon Guards Regiment – December 1970

A Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment – December 1972

B Squadron, 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards Regiment – December 1974

B Squadron, 1st Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Regiment – December 1976

D Squadron, 1st Royal Hussars Regiment – April 1979

D Squadron, 4/7th Dragoon Guards Regiment – February 1981

D Squadron, 1st Queens Own Hussars Regiment – April 1983

B Squadron, 14/20th Hussars Regiment – May 1985

D Squadron, 14/20th Hussars Regiment – December 1987

C Squadron, 14/20th Hussars Regiment – September 1988

C Squadron, 14/20th Hussars Regiment – September 1991

Alexander Barracks - Hohenzollernring, Spandau

Behind Enemy Lines Part I: The Berlin Brigade: America's Force in the Heart of East Germany

With the Allies declaring a victory in Europe with the surrender of the Nazis in May 1945, the stage was set for the post war occupation and rebuilding of Germany and Europe. World War II had proven devastating to the city of Berlin. Between 92,000 to 100,000 German soldiers were killed in the Battle of Berlin with some 125,000 civilian casualties inflicted on the population. In the initial days and weeks after the fall of the city and the capitulation of German forces, the Soviet Red Army enacted a dreadful period of reprisals and revenge against the German inhabitants of the city as they engaged in mass rapes against the female populous, pillaging and often murderering countless Germans. Soviet forces also went door to door arresting and imprisoning any German in uniform including non-military personnel such as firemen and railway workers. When military forces of the western Allies reached Berlin, they divided the city in a reflection of the division of Germany with each of the four victories allied nations maintaining a section of the city under its own jurisdiction. This was done in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement with the western nations occupying the western portion of the city and the Soviets occupying the eastern portion of the city. Under the Potsdam Agreement, the status of the city could not be changed without a quadripartite agreement. With the Allied controlled section lying so deep within the boundaries of Soviet controlled territory, the western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors for use flying into the city.

By 1948, relations between the western Allies and the Soviet Union began to rapidly deteriorate and came to a boiling point when the Soviet Union blockaded the city. The Soviet attempt to force the western Allies from Berlin was countered when the western Allies mounted a massive airborne relief effort by supplying the city from the air. The Berlin Airlift known accordingly as Operation Vittles and Operation Plainfare would prove largely successful and prove a psychological and physical defeat to the Soviets. By the end of 1949, the declaration of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany in the West and German Democratic Republic in the East largely ended the occupational status of Germany. With the establishment of West Germany and East Germany respectively, Berlin remained occupied as it's status could only be changed with a quadripartite agreement. West Berlin, which was the Allied controlled section of Berlin consisted of 12 boroughs. The French would occupy the northern sector of the city administering the boroughs of Reinickendorf and Wedding. The British would occupy the central portion of the city with the boroughs of Charlottenburg, Tiergarten, Wilmersdorf and Spandau falling under their jurisdiction. The Americans would occupy the southern portion of the city with the boroughs of Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, Steglitz, Tempelhof and Zehlendorf falling under their jurisdiction. The Soviets would occupy the twelve boroughs that made up East Berlin which included Friedrichshain, Hellersdorf, Hohenschönhausen, Köpenick, Lichtenberg, Marzahn, Mitte, Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg, Treptow and Weißensee.

The first American units would enter Berlin in July 1945, when elements of the 2nd Armored Division followed by elements of the 82nd Airborne Division and 78th Infantry Division entered the city to begin postwar occupational duties. These units were replaced by the 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division along with the 16th Constabulary Squadron (Separate) which would remain in place in the American sector of West Berlin from 1946 until 1950. These units were replaced following the activation of the 6th Infantry Regiment. Following restructing and reorganization of Army units in 1958, the 6th Infantry Regiment was replaced with two other units the 2nd Battle Group, 6th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battle Group, 6th Infantry Regiment respectively. When Soviet forces and East German units began tearing up roads and setting up barricades the Berlin Brigade, the United States Army's permanently assigned military contingent to West Berlin was placed on high alert in anticipation of a coming Soviet attack. As tensions rose with the construction of the Berlin Wall beginning on 13 August 1961, the Brigade reflected President Kennedy and the United States's resolve to defend West Berlin from aggression and stood firm during a period of Soviet threats demanding the Allied withdrawal from Berlin. Tensions came to a headway on 27 October 1961, when American tanks and armored vehicles took up positions at Checkpoint Charlie and faced down Soviet armored vehicles. Eventually, the Soviets would relent and the tank standoff would end with no shots fired.

The Berlin Brigade had been established in response to the Crisis in Berlin. Infantry units of the brigade were organized along the lines of the pentomic structure. One formation designated as a "battle group" consisted of five line rifle companies, a combat support company, and a headquarters & headquarters company. The newly established Berlin Brigade would consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 6th Infantry Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment. The 4th Battalion, 18th Infantry was later redesignated as the 4th Battalion 6th Infantry Regiment. These battalions would later be reflagged to 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the 502nd Infantry Regiment. Additional units of the Berlin Brigade consisted of Battery C, 94th Field Artillery which would be replaced by Echo Battery, 320th Field Artillery. Company F of the 40th Armor, 42nd Engineer Company, 42nd Military Police Company (Customs), 287th Military Police Company (Separate), 43rd and 76th Chemical Detachments, 279th Station Hospital which was redesignated as US Army Hospital Berlin in 1976, 168th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service), 592nd Signal Company, 298th Army Band. The 168th Medical Detachment and 298th Army Band would go on to share the distinction of being the longest serving United States Army units in Berlin.

The 4th Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment; 5th Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment and 6th Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiments would be positioned in West Berlin until the end of the Cold War and leave Berlin in 1994. U.S. Army Berlin would maintain four large military installations known as McNair Barracks, Andrews Barracks, Roosevelt Barracks and Turner Barracks in the West Berlin boroughs of Zehlendorf and Steglitz. In the borough of Tempelhof, the Tempelhof Airport which had been used as a Nazi airport and was later occupied by the Soviets during the Battle or Berlin before being turned over to the 2nd Armored Division on 2 July 1945 was expanded and used as a military terminal for military personnel arriving in West Berlin. United States Air Force operations were typically transportation and intelligence gathering in nature. The United States Army also maintained a small contingent of helicopters at Tempelhof to augment the capabilities of the Berlin Brigade. The Berlin Brigade Headquarters was located at the Clay Headquarters Compound, named after the American Military Governor of the American Zone during the Berlin Airlift. The Clay Headquarters Compound also contained the headquarters of U.S. Army Berlin and the headquarters of U.S. Command Berlin. Together the three units were typically referred to as the Berlin Command. This would function as an independent command separate from United States Army Europe (USAREUR) which former commanded American forces in West Berlin.

American troops in West Berlin had standard ammenties authorized to all American units including a branch of the American Forces Network Europe better known as AFN which provided radio and television broadcasts for American servicemembers stationed in West Berlin. AFN Berlin maintained a facility near Saargemünder Straße and became immensely popular among Americans and Germans alike. During the Berlin Airlift, American pilots flying their Douglas C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymasters loaded with supplies bound for the airfield at Tempelhof, tuned their radios in to AFN Berlin due to the transmitting towers proximity to the airfield. AFN Berlin also proved immensely popular with listeners on the other side of the Iron Curtain as it maintained a way for people in communist nations to maintain contact with the West and it was not jammed by the Soviets such as was the case with Radio Free Europe. Soldiers assigned to the Berlin Brigade also had their own BX/PX facilities operated by the Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) located at the Truman Plaza along with a Commissary, and several clubs and theaters. There was also an Army Post Office Facility located there along with a branch of the American Express bank, Stars & Stripes book store, a barber shop, florist, a branch of the Deutsche Bundespost along with the the Major Arthur D. Nicholson Memorial Library. For family members of servicemembers accommodations were located in the Düppel, Dahlem, and Lichterfelde boroughs along with educational facilities in the form of the Thomas A. Roberts Berlin American Elementary School (TAR) and Berlin-American High School (BAHS), were located in close proximity to the Truman Plaza shopping facilities.

 A close bond of friendship and appreciation was quickly forged between the residents of West Berlin and the American forces stationed in the city.

Soldiers of the Berlin Brigade had a unique duty of being assigned to pull guard duty in month long rotations at Spandau Prison located in the British Sector of the city. Beginning in 1947 through 1987 a period of forty years, elements of the Berlin Brigade took turns along with elements from the British Berlin Brigade, French Forces Françaises à Berlin and Soviet Forces in Berlin guarding prisoners at the prison. This mission would end when the last prisoner, Rudolf Hess the former  Deputy Führer of the Nazi Third Reich until his capture 12 May 1941 died in custody at Spandau on 17 August 1987 at the age of 93.

With the unit's position deep within the heart of communist East Germany, the unit often engaged in close cooperation with their Allied counterparts. American forces had a training facility in the West Berlin Grunewald borough which housed a shared training facility which was used by both the Americans and the British forces. The Americans designated their training facility here 'Doughboy City'. 

If they received authorization, soldiers could also travel into East Berlin often to see the Neue Wache, and the elite East Guard guard unit the Wachregiment Friedrich Engels as they stood guard around the SED communist parties important government facilities. Another common point of interest visited by American forces in East Berlin was the Soviet war memorial in Treptow Park. When visiting East Berlin, soldiers would travel in their Class A uniforms but were restricted from wearing nametags to prevent East German Stasi agents from gathering personal information regarding American personnel in the area.

With Berlin's unique legal status as an occupied territory left over from the days following the conclusion of the Second World War, members of the Berlin Brigade were authorized the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp. The soldiers of the unit wore the standard patch of the United States Army Europe which maintained heraldic ties to the United States Seventh Army along with a special Berlin tab. The patch depicts a flaming sword and a arch of three colors representingthe three basic combat branches that make up a standing field army, these colors were blue for Infantry, red for Artillery, and yellow for Armor and Cavalry.

U.S. Army Berlin was commanded by a major general who was appointed the title of "Commandant; U.S. Commander Berlin and Commander, U.S. Army Berlin". In addition to this, a brigadier general would serve as the "Commander, Berlin Brigade (Infantry) along with receiving the titles "Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Berlin and Community Commander". There was also a specialized military liaison mission known as U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) positioned in West Berlin to serve as military intelligence services in the city and their support staff which often conducted their duties in Potsdam, East Germany. This was agreed to between the western Allies and the Soviets with each nation maintaining a small number of intelligence personnel in each others territory for the purposes of monitoring and improving relationships between the Soviet forces and Western occupation forces. The Mission teams were usually comprised of one officer accompanied by a non commissioned officer and a driver. The missions continued their operation throughout the Cold War period and ended in 1990 just prior to German reunification.

 Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Berlin Brigade remained in West Berlin and elements of the Brigade would deploy in support of military operations in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield & Desert Storm. Elements of the unit would also participate in Operation Provide Comfort, a relief and protection mission for Iraqi Kurds following the cease of hostilities. Further elements of the unit would see service  as members of the United Nations Protectionary Forces designated UNPROFOR to Macedonia in July 1993. This mission was later renamed as Task Force Able Sentry. Others still would be deployed in July 1994, to Entebbe, Uganda as part of Joint Task Force Support Hope, to help prevent a humanitarian crisis resulting from a refugee situation as a result of the civil war in Rwanda.

With Germany reunified and the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, a quadripartite agreement was reached and all non-German military forces were required to leave Berlin. The Berlin Brigade was officially deactivated by President Bill Clinton on 6 July 1994 having completed their mission of maintaining peace and freedom for over 49 years. The final review of Berlin Brigade forces was conducted when a ceremony took place in Berlin's Lichterfelde borough on the '4th of July Platz' located adjacent to McNair Barracks. The unit would go down in history as the American unit that existed deep within the heart of East Germany, and survive and maintain completely isolated and cut off from friendly forces for nearly half a century. 

United States Army Units in West Berlin

2nd Armored Division 1945

82nd Airborne Division 1945

•       325th Glider Infantry Regiment
•       504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
•       505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

78th Infantry Division 1945-1946

•       309th Infantry Regiment
•       310th Infantry Regiment
•       311th Infantry Regiment

11th Traffic Regulation Group (TRC), Detachment C, 1945-1947

483rd Air Service Group 1945-1948

US Military Liasion Mission, Potsdam (MLM) 1945-1990

7771st Document Center 1946-1994

Armed Forces Network Europe-Berlin 1945-1994

298th US Army Band 1945-1994

822nd MP -Co. 1945

388th MP -Co. 1945

296th MP -Co. 1945

18th MP Service Detachment 1947 - 1949

388th MP Service Platoon (Hospital) 1947 - 1949

62nd MP Highway patrol unit section 1949 - 1953

553rd Quartermaster Group 1945-1946

95th Quartermaster Battalion 1946

279th Field Station Hospital 1945-1976

US Army Hospital 1976-1994

3110th Signal Service Battalion 1945-1948

168th Medical Detachment 1947-1994

Berlin Military District 1945-1950

6th InfantryRegiment 1950-1958

759th Military Police Battalion 1945-1953

Horse Platoon 287th MP Company (Separate) 1945-1958

540th MP Co, Co. B, 2nd Platoon, Railway Guards 1949-1956

570th MP Co. Railway Guards 1957-1979

42nd Military Police Group 1973-1994

272nd MP-Co. (since 1947 combined US / West German police duty) 1953-1958

287th MP-Co. (combined US / West German police duty) 1953-1994

MP Helmstedt Detachment 1946-1961

Helmstedt Support Detachment 1961-1990

16th Cavalry Group 1945

16th Constabulary Squadron 1946-1950

7782nd Special Troops Battalion 1947-1994

39th Special Forces Det A 1956 - 1958

7781st Army unit Det A 1958 - 1984

Physical Security Element Berlin (PSSE-B) 1984 - 1994

S2 HQ Berlin District Command 1945 - 1949

Intelligence Office - COB 1950 - 1961

DCSI Berlin Command 1961 - 1994

979th CIC Detachment 1945-1950

66th CIC Detachment, 66th CIC Group 1950-1961

66th MI Group -Field Station- 1961-1969

766th MID, 66th MI Group 1969-1994

JAROC-B (from18th MI Batt. & 66th MI Group) 1950-1992

7829th Military Intelligence Platoon 1946-1949

7880th Military Intelligence Detachment 1949-1957

513th Int. Collection Group ( Berlin Station) 1948-1975

US Army Evalutation Unit 1962-1994

168th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service) 1947-1994

Field Station Berlin 1949-1994

280th ASA Company  1957-1961

9539th Technical Service Unit (Signal Corps) 1954

22nd ASA Detachment 1955-1957

260th ASA Detachment 1957

78th Special Operations Unit 1961-1966

54th USASA Special Operations Command 1966-1967

7350th US Air Base Group 1948-1993

C Battery 94th Field Artillery 1963-1986

Company F, 40th Armor Reg.(Turner Tankers) 1958-1990

6th Battalion, 40th Armor Reg 1990-1992

503rd ENG Company 1949

7762th ENG Battalion 1946 - 1952

579th ENG Company 1946 - 1952

581st ENG Company 1946 - 1952

20th ENG, A Company 1958 - 1963

42nd Engineer Company 1963-1994

592nd Signal Company (Support) 1959-1979

Berlin Aviation Detachment 1962-1994

16th Inf./3rd Battalion (1st Inf. Div.) 1946-1950

US Army Europe / Tech. Intel. Center, Field Team No. 3 1962-1994

1st B.G. (8th Inf Div) & 4th Battalion / 18th Inf. 1961, 1963-1972

2nd Battle Group / 47th Inf.(4th Inf. Div.) 1962

1st Battle Group / 8th Inf.(4th Inf. Div.) 1962

2nd Battle Group / 12th Inf.(1st Inf. Div.) 1962-1963

1st Battle Group / 13th Inf.(1st Inf. Div.) 1963

1st B.G., 2nd & 3rd Battalions/19th Inf. (24th Inf. Div.) 1961, 1964-1965

1st & 2nd Battalions / 34th Inf.(24th Inf. Div.) 1963-65

1st Battle Group / 28th Inf.(-the Black Lions-from 1st Inf. Div.) 1963

2nd Battle Group / 26th Inf. (1st Inf. Div.) 1963

1st & 2nd Battalions / 21st Inf. (24th Inf. Div) 1964, 1966

2nd Battle Group, 6th Infantry 1958-1963

3rd Battle Group, 6th Infantry 1958-1963

2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry 1963-1984

3rd Battalion, 6th Infantry 1963-1984

4th Battalion, 6th Infantry 1972-1984

US-Army Berlin-Brigade (BBDE) 1961-1994

8001st US Army Reserve 1980-1994

43rd Chemical Detachment 1982-1994

E Battery 320th Field Artillery 1986-1994

4th Battalions 502nd Infantry Regiment (STRIKE) 1984-1990

5th / 6th Battalions 502nd Infantry Regiment (STRIKE) 1984-1994

United States Air Force Units in West Berlin

Transportation Units:

301st Troop Carrier Squadron (1945-1946)

47th Troop Carrier Squadron (1946-1947)

12th Troop Carrier Squadron (1947-1948)

53rd Troop Carrier Squadron (1948-1949)

Military Police Units:

1119th MP Company AVN, TCA, (1945-1948)

100th Complement Squadron, Army Air Force (1945-1947)

7352nd Air Police Squadron (1949)

7350th Air Police Squadron (1965-1993)

7350th Security Police Squadron (1965-1993)

Signal Units:

788th AAF Base Unit (1947-1948)

1946th Air Com. Squadron (1948-1953)

1946th AACS SQ/Com. Squadron (1954-1993)

Headquarters & Support & Units:

473rd Air Service Group (1945-1946)

715th Air Material Group (1945-1946)

891st Air Engineer Squadron (1945-1946)

808th Air Engineer Squadron (1946-1947)

632nd Air Material Squadron (1947)

HQ & Base Service Squadron (1947)

Tempelhof Base Unit (1947)

7351st Maintenance & Support Squadron (1948-1949)

7350th Air Base Group (1948-1993)

-Air Traffic Control Operations (AT)

-6912th Electronic Security Group (ESG)

-7025th Air Postal

Detachment 2, 435th Operations Group (1993-1994)

Detachment 1, 435th Air Wings (1993-1994)

Army Units assigned to U.S. Army Berlin / U.S. Command Berlin

Headquarters, Berlin Brigade

4th Battalion, 502nd Infantry

5th Battalion, 502nd Infantry

6th Battalion, 502nd Infantry

Combat Support Battalion

• Headquarters & Service Company
• A Company (Provisional)
• C Battery 94th Artillery (redesignated E Bty, 320th FAR in 1986)
• 43rd Chemical Detachment
• 42nd Engineer Company (3)
• E-320th Field Artillery Battery
• Company "F", 40th Armor Regiment
• Helmstedt Support Detachment

US Military Community Activity (USMCA)

• 298th Army Band 
• Signal Support Company
• 287th Military Police Company

Aviation Detachment

6941st Guard Battalion

U.S. Army Field Station Berlin

U.S. Military Liaison Mission to the Commander-in-Chief, Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

United States Army Europe Technical Intelligence Center, Field Team #3 w/Duty Station Berlin

Joint Allied Refugee Operations Center (J-ROC)

Allied Control Authority

Allied Kommandatura

Berlin MEDDAC

Berlin DENTAC

168th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Services) 

Tempelhof Central Airport

766th MI Det, 66th MI Grp, Intel & Scrty

Naval Advisor

U.S. Army Special Security Det (Berlin)

U.S. Army EOD detachment