Welcome to DECODED, a blog site for those interested in the period of history between the end of the Second World War and the final reunification of Berlin, Germany. This site is maintained by a Cold War history enthusiast, for other Cold War history enthusiasts and will be a source of information from both sides of the Cold War for history enthusiasts, political science fans, researchers, military history collectors and military veterans alike. Please visit the site regularly for updates. This site by no means is to represent or endorse any political agenda or ideology, information contained within is strictly used for the purpose of education and preservation of history for future generations. Thank you for visiting my blog, and welcome to the brink...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
British Forces Posted Overseas (BAOR Garrison Codes)
The British armed forces maintained their own postal service much like armies around the world, assigning each of its facilities abroad with a postal code corresponding to a garrison. The British Forces Post Office or BFPO had a system of numbered codes for its garrisons across Western Europe primarily those of I British Corps positioned in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia during the Cold War. The vast majority of these codes were assigned to British Army of the Rhine garrisons in the Federal Republic of Germany and a handful of these were assigned to garrisons in Belgium and the Netherlands. Below is a listing of British Forces Post Office Overseas assignment numbers for historical record.
British Forces Posted Overseas Numbers
BFPO 15 - Herford
BFPO 16 - Sennelager/Paderborn
BFPO 17 - Münster
BFPO 18 - Maastricht, Netherlands
BFPO 19 - Köln/Bonn
BFPO 20 - Dortmund
BFPO 21 - Emblem, Belgium
BFPO 22 - Lübbecke
BFPO 23 - Celle
BFPO 24 - Iserlohn
BFPO 25 - Brüggen
BFPO 27 - Hannover Isodets
BFPO 28 - Brunssum, Netherlands
BFPO 29 - Minden
BFPO 30 - Hohne
BFPO 31 - Hameln
BFPO 32 - Verden
BFPO 33 - Hannover
BFPO 34 - Düsseldorf
BFPO 35 - Krefeld
BFPO 36 - Osnabrück
BFPO 37 - Soltau / Brannenburg
BFPO 38 - Fallingbostel
BFPO 39 - Bielefeld
BFPO 40 - Rheindahlen
BFPO 41 - Detmold
BFPO 42 - Wildenrath
BFPO 43 - Laarbruch
BFPO 44 - Dulmen
BFPO 45 - Berlin
BFPO 46 - Bünde
BFPO 47 - Gütersloh
BFPO 48 - Nienburg
BFPO 49 - Brussels, Belgium
BFPO 101 - Wolfenbüttel
BFPO 102 - Hildesheim
BFPO 103 - Hamm/Werl
BFPO 104 - Munsterlager
BFPO 105 - Düsseldorf Isodets
BFPO 106 - Soest
BFPO 107 - Lippstadt
BFPO 108 - Kiel
BFPO 109 - Ramstein
BFPO 110 - Willich
BFPO 112 - Menden
BFPO 113 - Mansergh Barracks, RAF Gütersloh
BFPO 114 - Körbecke
BFPO 140 - BAOR Headquarters
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.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
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'
Friday, August 16, 2013
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
Thursday, August 15, 2013
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
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