Munster Training Area
Encyclopedia
Munster Training Area is a military training area in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on the Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (Munster-Nord) and Munster South (Munster-Süd). The two areas are separated geographically by the town of Munster and several barracks. When the military training area was established a camp or Lager was built about 1.5 kilometres from the town centre which became known as Munsterlager.
Between Munster North and South there is a road corridor to the nearby training area of Bergen-Hohne
Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.It was established by the German armed forces, the...
over which exercising troops can transfer from one area to the other.
There are many rare and endangered plant species on this terrain today that thrive in the environment created by the training area.
Munster South Training Area
In 1891 the Prussian Ministry of WarPrussian Minister of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the...
began to buy up areas of heath and marsh between Munster, Reiningen and Wietzendorf
Wietzendorf
Wietzendorf is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 11 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg....
and to lay out a military training area and military camp for the X Hanoverian Army Corps
X Army Corps (German Empire)
The X Army Corps or 10th Hanoverian Army Corps was a formation of the Imperial German Army during the time of the German Empire, which was headquartered in Hanover and was placed under the Third Army at the outbreak of the First World War....
. The camp was first established in June 1893 by the 91st Infantry Regiment (Infanterieregiment 91) from Oldenburg under its commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
, who later became the Reichspräsident
Reichspräsident
The Reichspräsident was the German head of state under the Weimar constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945. In English he was usually simply referred to as the President of Germany...
.
Today there is a barracks here, the Hindenburg-Kaserne, named after him. The terrain, which was originally used for exercises and troop movements, has been used since the formation of the post-war German armed forces, the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, as an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
range. It has an area of 7400 hectares (18,285.8 acre) and lies in the districts of Soltau-Fallingbostel and Celle. On this range, specially constructed for tube artillery, rocket artillery
Rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars.Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers.-History:...
and mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
, weapons fire into the target area from locations lying outside the actual training area.
Live artillery firing takes place at Munster South using M109
M109 howitzer
The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It was upgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin...
and PzH howitzers
PzH 2000
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 , abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall for the German Army. The PzH 2000 is one of the most powerful conventional artillery systems currently deployed...
. In addition, Marder infantry fighting vehicles
Marder (IFV)
The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere from the 1970s through the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of Germany's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid...
, equipped with MILAN
MILAN
MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...
surface-to-surface anti-tank guided missiles, Luchs recce tanks
Spähpanzer Luchs
The Spähpanzer Luchs is a German 8x8 amphibious reconnaissance armoured fighting vehicle in service since 1975 by the German Army, who used a total of 408 in their armoured reconnaissance battalions...
and Fennek
Fennek
The Fennek, named after the fennec , or LGS Fennek, with LGS being short for Leichter Gepanzerter Spähwagen in German , is a four wheeled armed reconnaissance vehicle produced by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Dutch Defence Vehicle Systems...
recce vehicles also use the ranges. Training Area South also has bivouac
Bivouac
Bivouac may refer to:* Bivouac Peak, a mountain in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA* A military camp** Bivouac shelter** Bivouac sack, or "bivy sack" or bivy bag, an extremely lightweight alternative to traditional tent systems...
sites and ranges for small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
and anti-tank weapons. Ground-based trials with MILAN
MILAN
MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...
surface-surface anti-tank guided missile were carried out here. In addition there are grenade ranges, explosives ranges, infantry battle ranges and target areas for the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, firing rockets and bombs from their Tornado fighter-bombers
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
. Bölkow Bo 105
Bölkow Bo 105
The MBB Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose utility helicopter developed by Bölkow of Stuttgart, Germany. Production began under Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm , which became a part of Eurocopter in 1991...
anti-tank helicopters exercise here, firing HOT 3105 guided missiles
Euromissile HOT
The HOT is a second-generation long-range anti-tank missile system developed originally as an effort to meet a joint German-French Army requirement, by the then German firm Bolkow and the French firm Nord, to replace the older SS.11 wire guided...
. Exercising troops from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
can be accommodated in Trauen Camp (Lager Trauen) where there are facilities for 1,750 soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s.
Munster North Training Area
In 1916 a chemical weapons production site, Gasplatz Breloh, was built in north Munster. In 1935 this area became the Munster North Training Area. It is located in the districts of Soltau-Fallingbostel, Lüneburg and Uelzen, and has battle training ranges for armoured vehicles.The training area covers a total of 10200 hectares (25,204.7 acre). As well as four major ranges for armoured vehicle mounted weapons and anti-tank guided missiles there are infantry weapon ranges and special ranges for hand-held anti-tank weapons. In addition there are grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
ranges, explosives ranges and a facility for air defence training.
There are also firing positions for artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
to support combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
training. Other weapon systems used on this exercise area include the Leopard 2
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...
, Marks A5, A6 and A6M. Munster North is also used to exercise the Marder infantry fighting vehicle
Marder (IFV)
The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere from the 1970s through the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of Germany's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid...
, as well as the Luchs
Spähpanzer Luchs
The Spähpanzer Luchs is a German 8x8 amphibious reconnaissance armoured fighting vehicle in service since 1975 by the German Army, who used a total of 408 in their armoured reconnaissance battalions...
and Fennek
Fennek
The Fennek, named after the fennec , or LGS Fennek, with LGS being short for Leichter Gepanzerter Spähwagen in German , is a four wheeled armed reconnaissance vehicle produced by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Dutch Defence Vehicle Systems...
recce vehicles.
Even non-military organisations, such as the bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
service (Kampfmittelräumdienst or KMRD) of the state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, the German Federal Police and police special response units
Spezialeinsatzkommando
Spezialeinsatzkommandos are the special response units of the German state police forces. German SEKs are full-time units whose members do not perform any other duties, and are essentially the equivalent of American SWAT Teams...
(Spezialeinsatzkommandos), make use of the training facilities.
First World War
In 1916 the so-called Breloh Camp (Breloh-Lager) was built in north Munster by a regiment of gas warfare engineers (‘’Gaspionier-Regiment’’). In January 1917 the Prussian War OfficePrussian Minister of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the...
issued an order for the construction of a facility for gas munitions. Gasplatz Breloh was built on a piece of land about 6500 hectares (16,061.8 acre) in size in the Raubkammer Forest (part of the present-day Munster North Training Area). Three factories were erected for the manufacture of chemical war material and associated munitions. Production began as early as July that year and, by the end of the First World War in 1918 extensive facilities had been built, the majority of which were working.
Factories at Gasplatz Breloh
(in the First World War)| Factory | Size | Products |
|---|---|---|
| Klopperwerk I | 560m² | Green Cross Green Cross (chemical warfare) Green Cross is a World War I chemical warfare pulmonary agent consisting of chloropicrin , phosgene and/or trichloromethyl chloroformate .... (Grünkreuz): Phosgene Phosgene Phosgene is the chemical compound with the formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. In low concentrations, its odor resembles... , Chloropicrin Chloropicrin Chloropicrin, also known as PS, is a chemical compound with the structural formula Cl3CNO2. This colourless highly toxic liquid was once used in chemical warfare and is currently used as a fumigant and nematocide.-History:... (Chlorpikrin or Klop) and Diphosgene Diphosgene Diphosgene is a chemical compound with the formula ClCO2CCl3. This colorless liquid is a valuable reagent in the synthesis of organic compounds... (Perstoff or Per) |
| Klopperwerk II | 560m² | Green Cross: Phosgene, Chloropicrin (Klop) and Diphosgene (Per) |
| Lostwerk I | 2.400m² | Yellow Cross Yellow Cross (chemical warfare) Yellow Cross is a World War I chemical warfare agent usually based on sulfur mustard .The original Gelbkreuz was a composition of 80-90% of sulfur mustard and 10-20% of tetrachloromethane or chlorobenzene as a solvent which lowered its viscosity and acted as an antifreeze, or, alternatively, 80%... (Gelbkreuz): Mustard gas (Schwefellost), Lewisite Lewisite Lewisite is an organoarsenic compound, specifically an arsine. It was once manufactured in the U.S. and Japan as a chemical weapon, acting as a vesicant and lung irritant... and Dick |
| Lostwerk II | 660m² | Yellow Cross: Mustard gas, Lewisite and Dick |
| Clarkwerk | >2.500m² | Blue Cross Blue Cross (chemical warfare) Blue Cross is a World War I chemical warfare agent consisting of diphenylchloroarsine , diphenylcyanoarsine , ethyldichloroarsine , and/or methyldichloroarsine... (Blaukreuz): Clark I Diphenylchlorarsine Diphenylchloroarsine is the organoarsenic compound with the formula 2AsCl. This odorless, toxic liquid was once used as harassing agent. It is also an intermediate in the preparation of other organoarsenic compounds... Clark II Diphenylcyanoarsine Diphenylcyanoarsine, also called CLARK 2 by the Germans, was discovered in 1918 by Sturniolo and Bellinzoni and shortly thereafter used like the related Clark 1 gas by the Germans for chemical warfare in the First World War. The substance forms colourless, garlic-smelling crystals and causes... The factory was unfinished at the end of the war in 1918 |
In addition the site had the following facilities:
- Power station
- Several camps for about 4,500 people
- About 100 km of industrial railway
- A firing range (up to 4,000 m) for trials purposes
- Several test sites and buildings
- Several dumps of captured ammunition
Another test facility was planned on the Westerhorn Estate (Gut Westerhorn).
More than 6,000 people (75 officers, 677 NCOs and about 5,775 special staff) produced in these facilities about a quarter of the total war munitions for the German Army at that time. The working conditions were, by modern standards, appalling. Protective clothing did not exist. People handled the dangerous chemicals without concern for their own safety. As well as the production and storage of the actual chemicals, war munitions were also filled here. In addition, captured munitions were stored at Munster; for example, about 20,000 chlorine gas bottles of Russian origin and chemical jars (Nebeltöpfe). Extensive trials were carried out with chemicals and munitions on the firing ranges and test sites.
Inter-war period
At the end of the war in 1918 the Gasplatz held about 48,000 tonnes of chemical munitions, several thousand tonnes of chemically-filled captured munitions and 40 tank wagons of unfilled chemicals. These supplies were sunk in the North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. During the preparations for this there was a tragic accident on 24 October 1919. A train laden with chemical weapons and munitions exploded. Apart from the Clarkwerk factory and the power station almost the entire facility was destroyed, a total of 42 buildings. Chemical grenades were catapulted for miles around and clouds of poison gas threatened the surrounding villages, some having to be evacuated. Many houses in the surrounding area were badly damaged. In addition to the immediate victims of the explosion there were numerous deaths in the months that followed.
The terrain was supposed to be cleared by 1925. Roughly 1,000 workers combed the surface of the land out to a radius of 3 km from the explosion site. There was no detection equipment at that time. A considerable quantity of chemical munitions remained live. In 1921 the Hamburg firm of Stolzenberg took over the work that had been previously carried out by König and Evaporator AG. Stolzenberg established a chemical incineration facility and a site to convert chlorine gas and diphosgene
Diphosgene
Diphosgene is a chemical compound with the formula ClCO2CCl3. This colorless liquid is a valuable reagent in the synthesis of organic compounds...
. The latter installation exploded on being taken into service in April 1922. In spite of everything, clearance work was completed in 1925 and the remaining facilities were blown up at the behest of the Allies.
In 1935 the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
opened Breloh again as a Weapon Testing and Firing Site (Kampfstoffversuchs- und Geschützübungsplatz). The plan was for an overall split of 15% chemical and 85% explosive munitions. The chemical weapons were to be filled with mustard gas (Lost) and phenacyl chloride. The 6,500 or so hectares of the old Gasplatz were transferred in 1934 to the Reich Defence Ministry and were expanded through purchases and expropriation to about 10200 hectares (25,204.7 acre). The whole complex, which was largely built between 1935 and 1938, was called the Munster North Army Testing Facility (Heeresversuchstelle Munster-Nord), often referred to as the Raubkammer Army Testing Facility. The main purpose of the facility was the testing of chemical weapons that had been developed in Berlin at the Army Chemical Defence Laboratory in Spandau Citadel
Spandau Citadel
The Spandau Citadel is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island created by the meeting of the Havel and the Spree, it was designed to protect the town of Spandau, which is now...
(Heeresgasschutzlaboratorium Zitadelle Spandau). No. 9 Weapon Testing Office of the Army Weapons Office (Heereswaffenamt) and the Army Chemical Defence Laboratory moved at the beginning of March 1945 from Berlin to Munster (Örtze), due to air raids
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
, and carried on working there until the end of the Second World War.
Second World War
An extensive range of tests were carried out on a wide variety of shells of various calibres, as well as on mineLand mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s, projectiles, bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s (up to 500 kg) and spray equipment. The substances tried included arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
oil, hydrogen cyanide, mustard gas (Lost), Tabun
Tabun (nerve agent)
Tabun or GA is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid with a faint fruity odor. It is classified as a nerve agent because it fatally interferes with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system...
, Sarin
Sarin
Sarin, or GB, is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [2CHO]CH3PF. It is a colorless, odorless liquid, which is used as a chemical weapon. It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687...
, cyanogen chloride
Cyanogen chloride
Cyanogen chloride is an inorganic compound with the formula NCCl. This linear, triatomic pseudohalogen is an easily condensed colorless gas. More commonly encountered in the laboratory is the related compound cyanogen bromide, a room-temperature solid that is widely used in biochemical analysis and...
, phenacyl chloride, Adamsite
Adamsite
Adamsite or DM is an organic compound; technically, an arsenical diphenylaminechlorarsine, that can be used as a riot control agent. DM belongs to the group of chemical warfare agents known as vomiting agents or sneeze gases...
, Aeroform, Excelsior (10-chlor-9,10-dihydroacridarsin) and many others.
Chemical munitions were filled at the so-called "fog-filling point" (Nebelfüllstelle), which had a tank capacity for about 3,000t of chemical. At this filling point there was a large underground facility that was partly linked with walkways.
During a spraying demonstration by the Luftwaffe on 8 September 1944, a Do-217E-3
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
crashed, killing all those on board.
The facilities were mostly disguised as "simple" bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
complexes or as houses in rural style. A network of railway branches linked the individual parts of the site with one another. There was also a link to the Reichsbahn network.
After the Second World War
Following occupation of the site by British forces in 1945 almost all the chemical installations were demolished in the succeeding years and most of the stocks of chemicals were also destroyed. In spite of that, it has left a dangerous legacy behind which is one of the largest areas of residual contamination caused by armaments in Germany. Since April 1956 there has been intensive work to clear the pollution. Today this is the responsibility of the specialist Group for Chemical Weapon Clearance (Gruppe für Kampfmittelbeseitigung), the Chemical Defence Research Establishment (Wehrwissenschaftliches Institut für Schutztechnologien) and the federal Chemical Weapon and Armament Pollution Disposal Company (Gesellschaft zur Entsorgung chemischer Kampfstoffe und Rüstungsaltlasten).Munsterlager
Around the turn of the 19th century other troops were stationed there including those involved in the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and units destined for the German colonies in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. In the First World War the camp was used to house about 21,000 prisoners of war. After the occupation of the site by British forces in 1945 the British Occupying Power established the largest prisoner of war release camp soldiers in Germany from this vast military estate owned by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. In Munster and Breloh about 1.7 million prisoners of war were admitted and returned home. In the facility at Hornheide, the Breloh refugee camp was set up. The different hutted camps, which were given letters of the alphabet by the British (e.g. M Camp), were partly torn down during the 1960s when Munster no longer wanted to be "Munsterlager".
In 1956 Munster was the base for important military installations for the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, Germany's newly-formed armed forces. Almost at the same time the Training Area Headquarters, the Garrison Staff, the Armoured Vehicle Training Centre (formerly the Armoured Forces School), the 9th Armoured Demonstration Brigade (Panzerlehrbrigade 9
Panzerlehrbrigade 9
The Panzerlehrbrigade 9 is a formation of about 5,000 men strong within the German Armed Forces or Bundeswehr, which is subordinated to the 1st Armoured Division in Hanover. The bulk of the brigade is stationed in Munster. Two battalions are based in Neustadt am Rübenberge...
) with the Panzergrenadier School, the Armoured Demonstration Battalion and the Panzergrenadier Demonstration Battalion, 53 Trials Unit (Erprobungsstelle 53) (today the Chemical Defence Research Establishment (Wehrwissenschaftliches Institut für Schutztechnologien - ABC-Schutz) and other units and organisations were set up. As a result the largest Bundeswehr garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
in the whole of Germany came into being in Munster.
The British Forces stationed in Germany, which had maintained a garrison in Munster since the war, gave this up in 1993 and left. After the withdrawal of the British from the remaining open areas were used to build houses and shops. The former barracks was renovated and partly converted. It is largely used today for commercial purposes. The old headquarters building now houses the municipal department of works for the town of Munster, the officers mess has been turned into a hotel.
Commandants of the Training Area
- Colonel Erich Freiherr von Falkenstein: 1 February 1928 to 31 March 1930
- Major General Franz Becker: 1 July 1942 to 30 May 1944
The present commander of Munster Training Area (to 30 June 2008 Colonel Udo Meyer, from 1 July 2008 Colonel Gerd Ahrens) has his headquarters at Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.It was established by the German armed forces, the...
which is also subordinated to him. The commander is also in charge of Ehra-Lessien Training Area
Ehra-Lessien
Ehra-Lessien is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-Volkswagen Group test track:Volkswagen Group owns a test track facility in Ehra-Lessien...
and Lübtheen Training Area
Lübtheen
Lübtheen is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 28 km west of Ludwigslust, and 37 km southwest of Schwerin....
.