Welcome to the Bavarian Millitary Community

12 Welcome to the U.S.Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. May - General Heinz Guderian, as Chief Inspector for Panzer Corps, visits Grafenwoehr to evaluate 250 Panther tanks before their deployment to the eastern fronts. June - The 12,000-man Italian San Marco Division begins training at the GTA. 1944 May - Mussolini visits the GTA to and observe its training. June - The Longest Day: The largest invasion in history com- mences on the Normandy beaches of France. American, British and Canadian forces establish a beachhead after breaching Hitler’s “Fortress Europe”. After fierce fighting they drive east to take Paris. Reichsführer-SS Himmler, overseer of the extermination camps and com- mander of the Gestapo visits SS units in Grafenwoehr. His speech, delivered in the local theater promotes loyalty to the regime. 1945 January - The Battle of the Bulge: Hitler sends a quarter of a million troops into the Allied western front, in deadly win- ter weather. More than 76,000 U.S. Soldiers are casualties of the onslaught, but win the battle, counterattack and drive on. April - Two allied bombing raids take place on the town and post. U.S. 3rd Army Soldiers fighting their way through Bavaria arrive to accept the surrender of the GTA 10 days later. April/May - Hitler commits suicide. The Red Army takes Berlin. Germany surrenders. 1946 January - Americans start training at Grafen- woehr. Tankers attend courses at the 7th Army Tank Training Center near Vilseck, Germany, while artillery and infantry units train at both the GTA and at Wildflecken training areas. In the aftermath of the war, and in the ruins of the main camp, a Prisoner of War collection point is established, while some 8,000 members of the German SS are sent to prison in Bernreuth. 1947 June - U.S. General George Marshall as Secre- tary of State announces a comprehen- sive program of American assistance to help rebuild Europe. Germany defeated is divided by the Allies into four zones. The American zone consists of Bavaria and Hessen, Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present day state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The U.S. Constabulary establishes a training area for the newly activated 370th and 371st Infantry Battalions. The area between Grafenwoehr and Vilseck will be used. In 1948, the U.S. Tank Training Center HQ is established at Rose Barracks, until war damage at Grafenwoehr is repaired. 1948 February - Soviet coup d’état in Czechoslovakia. June - The Cold War Begins. The Soviet Union cuts-off land routes to the Allied zones of Berlin, prompting the Berlin Airlift – U.S. and British forces provide a lifeline of food and fuel to the beleaguered city, until the Soviets yield, and lift the blockade a year later. The U.S. Army officially re-opens Grafenwoehr for unit training. 1949 April - NATO is established with a headquar- ters in Brussels. The organization con- stitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense. May - Formed from the three western zones of occupation and West Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) History of the Grafenwoehr Training Area