I noticed there are quite a few British troops and Veterans on this site. I was wondering if any trained or was stationed in Northern Germany between late '85-early '87. Of those, did any of you train at the Belson-Bergan training area?
During that time, I was stationed north of Bremen at Clay Kasern, 2nd Armored Division (fwd), 4 battalion, 3rd Field Artillery regt.
Life is too short for bad coffee!
69 to 82 ,we always disembarked with recce veh , at Bergen sidings ,in tanks it was usually by the tank bridge , then on to Soltau , stationed in Osnabruck , then Herford , fond memories of that training area , some good , some bad , d,ya remember the round house in Hohne , its still there i believe .Originally Posted by 63DH8
Last edited by tankie; 15 Feb 10, at 14:55.
TANKIE.
Soltau was greatespecially on the way home. The last time I was in Hohne was about 5yrs ago and the Round House was still a Naafi complex. Went to Bremen a few time in the years I was in Germany, it was usually to play hockey or the catch the ferry to blighty
Dave Soltau is now a massive caravan park , i bet horsefly wood has been tamedSoltau was great
TANKIE.
Please excuse me if I am incorrect, but I think it was in the Belson training area, there was an observation post made of cement that was perhaps two or three stories high. You could go inside to the top. It looked like it was in disuse for several decades, perhaps since WWII. You had to go up a spiral staircase. Every so often, there was a door. Next to the door, there was a rectangular port the went upwards into the darkness. When you got to the top floor, you realized those ports were the exits for grenade chutes. Does anyone remember that post/building?
Life is too short for bad coffee!
Can't ever remember seeing that building. The only buildings everyone remembers in Belsen/Bergen is the Concentration Camp. The only other Training Area close was Hohne Ranges. Soltau has been the main tank training area prior to the war and it was a sad day when they closed it down.
Hitlerhoff
TANKIE.
Maybe I'm thinking of the Munster training area? I remember the Concentration Camp. We had a re-enlistment drive afterwords. The results was one of the highest re-enlistments for the 2nd Armored Division.
Life is too short for bad coffee!
Looking at the Map I think the training area you are talking about is Luneberg. Soltau and Munster are too far away from Bremen unless on a Div Ex.
Ah yes Nuts , wasnt that the last great tank battle WW11 , the battle of Luneburg heath ?
TANKIE.
And of course it's name to fame is:
The heath was the scene of the unconditional German surrender to Allied forces, under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, on May 4, 1945, at the end of World War II in Europe. It is also the area where the body of Heinrich Himmler, a leading figure in Nazi Germany and head of the SS, was secretly buried in an unmarked grave, following his suicide.
Luneberg doesn't ring a bell. Munster and Bergan were two places up north we went. Grafenwöhr, Hoensfeld, and Wildflecken down south. We also went to Oksbøl in Denmark.
2nd Armored (fwd) was only a brigade. Our home Division was at Ft. Hood, Texas. Munster and Bergan were often battalion field exercises. The others were brigade FX. The only time the entire Division went on an EX together was during REFORGER.
I wish I had more time back then to explore and learn about the local history. Unfortunately, most of the US history is down southern area in Germany. Our WWII history of Northern Germany is a bit lacking.
Life is too short for bad coffee!
Yea , you lot always got the best postings ,and grub .
TANKIE.
To tell you the truth, I'm not that big on cities. I'm more the rural or countryside type of person. I lived in a little town by the name of Harrendorf. It's near Axstedt. When I was there, there were only nine houses in the town. Presently, I'm looking at purchasing a little over 150 acres of land. Unless I find more land at a better price, I'm moving out of this area. After the house and barn, a shooting shack and shooting range is on the list to be built.Yea , you lot always got the best postings ,and grub .
I enjoyed living up north and the way of life up there. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever really disliked where I was stationed, to include on the Saudi/Iraqi border. Once in Iraq, the attitude of the Iraqi people seemed different than what it is now. Of course, with the exception of the soldiers who were trying to do their job.
You know who had outstanding field rats? The French! They came in large packages, and have things like beef tips sauteed in wine sauce. They even had small bottles of wine in the meals! Our MREs were turned down even by the Arab and Iraqi children. Some even had the look of fear in their eyes as they turned down out MREs. That pretty much clinched the nickname of
Meals Rejected by Ethiopians"
The German/Belgium field rats were "different". I refuse to say bad because I feel its a perspective thing. However, we were able to use the loaf of bread as a football without it falling apart. I didn't care for the blood sausage much. However, it wasn't so bad that I didn't finished what I started. I never tried British field rats.
I heard the new MREs got better since I got out in 91. I think there was only one or two MREs that I didn't care for back then. Other than that, I thought they were pretty good. What I liked better was the old C-Rats. The only thing you had to watch out with those were they tend to blow up whenever you tried to heat them up in the box.
Life is too short for bad coffee!
The new US MRE's are VERY good. There are a few little nasties still lurking, like the veggie burger and the Omlette thing. But overall 2 thumbs up from me.
Regards
Arty
"Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations".- Motto of the Gun Crew who have just done something incredibly stupid!!!!
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