The last training area in West Germany I will discuss is Wildflecken. Although some units also trained at Bad Tolz and Grafenwöhr my unit did not.
The German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS used Wildflecken as a combat training area during World War II. The US took control of Wildflecken in 1945.
When we deployed to Wildflecken, we trained in conventional infantry training. The one exercise I remember the most is the 50K raid. Assaulting and destroying a guarded enemy ammunition depot was the mission of the 50K raid. We would use helicopters to move to a landing zone and then tactically move to the objective. Once on the objective, we would assault the objective and then use explosives (simulated) to blow up the depot. On completion of the mission, we were supposed to escape and evade back to the barracks about thirty miles away. A special forces unit played the role of the opposing force for the escape and evade exercise. According to the escape and evade exercise rules, a captured unit had to return to the starting area and restart. The second rule was there were no rules. Starting the escape and evade was the hardest part because the Green Berets were everywhere. My unit got captured, but since we were so close to the starting area, restarting wasn’t a big deal. We finally made it about five miles from the start. We spotted a German farmhouse. One soldier was fluent in German, so he asked if they would give us a ride back to the barracks for 100 marks. The German farmer agreed, so we broke down our weapons and hid them in our rucksacks. We made it back to the barracks fairly early, but other units had the same idea we did, so most of the units showed up shortly after we did. There was one diehard unit that walked all the way back. They showed up the next morning.
Vicenza, lat the foot of the Dolomites mountains in northern Italy, is where we trained for conventional winter warfare. On arrival, the Airborne unit stationed in Vicenza provided classes on everything to field hygiene in a winter environment to downhill skiing. I enjoyed the skiing the most.
Starting our winter warfare exercise consisted of strapping on snowshoes and hooking up to an Ahkio. We pulled the Ahkio and our supplies up a mountain affectionally called Mount Mother Fucker. After setting up a base camp, we had a few days of conventional winter warfare training. Lesson learned is you do not take off the snowshoes no matter how packed the snow looks. The second lesson learned is running in snow shoes takes practice.
After we finished training in Vicenza, we received a day of R&R in Venice, Italy. I kind of regret my 20-year-old self wanted to eat and drink more than explore Venice. Maybe someday I’ll return.
Back in Berlin:
I have a few more pictures to share before I finish up the posts about Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie ~ 1986
Checkpoint Charlie is known for being the place where US and Russian tanks confronted each other during the 1961 Berlin Crisis. Checkpoint Charlie was also one of the best known crossing points from West Berlin to East Berlin. US soldiers wishing to visit East Berlin had to cross at Checkpoint Charlie. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Guardhouse, a significant artifact of the Cold War era, found a new home within the Allied Museum’s collection.
President Ronald Reagan, near Berlin Wall
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan visited Berlin. He gave a speech, near the Brandenburg Gate, telling “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Notice the glass behind Reagan. The glass was bulletproof. East Berlin was not far behind him.
Spandau Prison, Americans taking over guard duty from the Russians
Spandau Prison, in the British sector of Berlin, once held seven Nazi prisoners. The four powers, The Americans, French, British, and the Russians took turns guarding the prisoners. When I arrived in Berlin, the prison had one prisoner, Rudolf Hess. Hess committed suicide on August 17, 1987.
Article from the Wichita Eagle Beacon, August 23rd, 1987.
After Hess died, the prison was demolished and replaced by a shopping center.
Afterword
In 1990, I visited Berlin. I wanted to see what Berlin was like without the wall. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures, just one story. I visited Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz, a German knight who lived from 1651 to 1702. Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz was accused of murder. Since he was an aristocrat, he could simply swear an oath to his innocence and free himself.
He died at 52 in 1702. In 1794, the church decided to bury his coffin in the cemetery, but they discovered Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz had not decayed. Local legend said God was punishing Kahlbutz because he swore to a court about the murder, “It was not I, otherwise after my death my body will not decay.”
Image from: The Mummy of Knight Kahlbutz
Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz looks pretty good for being dead 223 years.
Terry Ebaugh 