Grafenwoehr Training Area

Grafenwoehr Training Area
U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr
Truppenübungsplatz Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr, Bavaria in Germany
Grafenwöhr postcard, 1910
Coordinates49°41′N 11°48′E / 49.683°N 11.800°E / 49.683; 11.800
TypeMilitary training area (ground-based warfare)
Area232 square kilometres (90 sq mi)[1]
Site information
Owner Germany, Bundeswehr
Operator United States Armed Forces, United States Army
Controlled by7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command
ConditionOperational
Websitehttps://home.army.mil/bavaria/
Site history
Built1907; 117 years ago (1907)
In use30 June 1910 (1910-06-30) – present[1]
Garrison information
GarrisonU.S. Army Garrison Bavaria
Occupants1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division - Ironhorse Brigade, 41st Field Artillery Brigade

Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA) (German: Truppenübungsplatz Grafenwöhr), also known as the U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr (abbreviated USAG Grafenwoehr), is a United States Army military training base located near Grafenwöhr, eastern Bavaria, Germany. At 232 square kilometres (90 square miles),[1] it is the largest training facility of the United States of America in Europe. The base is operated by 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, and includes live firing training areas. Grafenwoehr facilities include the Tower Barracks.[2] Grafenwoehr Training Area now comes under the command of the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.

History

The military training area was established in 1907 by clearing at least 58 smaller villages,[3] and used to train troops for the III Royal Bavarian Corps.[1][4] Undergoing a major expansion from 96 to 230 square kilometres (37 to 89 square miles) in 1938 and forcibly evicting more than 3,500 people from their villages,[3] the base was used by the Wehrmacht to practice blitzkrieg tactics.[5][3] During the course of the war, a myriad of different units were trained in the area, including foreign volunteers of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, as well as four divisions of the Italian Social Republic's National Republican Army.

Following World War II, the base was occupied by the United States Army.[6][1] On 2 September 1960, 16 American soldiers were killed and 26 injured when an 8-inch howitzer shell crashed into them during a morning roll call. The shell had been overloaded with charge, and when fired, went 4+1⁄2 miles (7 kilometres) beyond its target.[7]

Assigned units

From December 2018 to February 2019, Grafenwoehr Training Area housed more than 5,000 soldiers of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division - Ironhorse brigade,[8] which is the current Regionally Aligned Force in eastern Europe. As the current Regionally Aligned Force in Europe, one of the brigade's main mission is increasing interoperability with other NATO nations.[9] Grafenwoehr Training Area allowed the entire brigade to re-consolidate all forces in preparation for redeployment back to Fort Hood, Texas. Within the training area, Camp Aachen and Camp Algiers are located on the Grafenwoehr Training Area, and provide housing support, as well as an Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), United Service Organizations (USO), and Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) shoppette facility. In addition, Grafenwoehr Training Area is home to the Joint Multinational Simulation Centre[2] specifically located on the Camp Aachen portion of the training area.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Morgenstern, Sgt. Maj. Gerald (23 June 2010). "Grafenwoehr Training Area celebrates 100th anniversary". Army.mil. United States Army. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Stew (27 October 2016). "U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr - installation overview". The Balance Careers. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Egnash, Martin (6 September 2017). "Relics of Germany's past dot Army's Grafenwoehr Training Area". Stripes.com. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 29 January 2023. In 1938, the Third Reich drastically expanded the base from a small artillery range to a large training area, and forcibly evicted more than 3,500 people from the villages.
  4. ^ Yannes, James A. (June 2013). The encyclopedia of Third Reich tableware. United States of America: Trafford Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-4669-9984-8. LCCN 2013910659 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Sachs, Ruth Hanna (13 July 2011). Evolution of Memory, Volume I: Historical revisionism as seen in the words of George J. ('Jürgen') Wittenstein. Los Angeles, California, USA: Exclamation! Publishers. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-9822984-9-7 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Griffin, Neal (19 August 2016). Soldier: a Memoir, Volume 1. Bloomington, Indiana, USA: AuthorHouse. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-5246-2510-8. LCCN 2016913571 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Wild shell kills 15 in army camp". Oakland, California: Oakland Tribune. 2 September 1960. p. 1.
  8. ^ Hester-Heard, Jacob (4 February 2019). "Ironhorse soldiers reflect on rotation, lessons learned". Army.mil. United States Army. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  9. ^ Maucione, Scott (27 October 2014). "NATO to work with industry to solve interoperability problem". Inside the Pentagon's Inside the Army (Trade journal). 26 (43). Arlington, USA. ISSN 2164-8182. LCCN 2011207105. ProQuest 1616439581.
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