Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen or Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne) 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 284 square kilometres (70,000 acres), which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.

It was established by the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, in 1935. At the end of the Second World War it was taken over by British occupying forces and some of its facilities used as a liberation camp for survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was located on the edge of the training area near the town of Bergen. Under British control, the training area was steadily expanded and, since the 1960s, has also been used by the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and other NATO troops.

Geography

Location

Bergen-Hohne Training Area is situated on both sides of the boundary between the districts of Heidekreis (formerly Soltau-Fallingbostel) and Celle, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hanover, roughly 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Bremen and around 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Hamburg. It is located between Bad Fallingbostel in the west and Bergen in the east, and between the towns of Soltau a few miles to the north and Wietze to the south. Its extent roughly coincides with the geographical area known as the Heidmark. The terrain is between 28 and 150 m above sea level (NN).

Landscape

The central part of the training area consists of two areas of heathland (Heide) known as Lohheide und Osterheide, which have not been under any local administrative control since 1945. Surrounding this are a number of areas of marsh known in German as a Moor. In the northern part of the training area is the small Wittenmoor. Just beyond its eastern boundary is the larger Großes Moor, in the south is the Ostenholz Moor and on the southern boundary the Bannetzer Moor which adjoins the Meißendorf Lakes. The remaining areas consist of woodland.

Outside of and flowing parallel to the northwestern edge of the military training area is part of the middle course of the River Böhme. Similarly the Meiße runs roughly along its southeastern and southern boundary (both are northeastern tributaries of the River Aller). Near the centre of the area are the Sieben Steinhäuser (literally: seven stone houses), a group of dolmens that may be visited at weekends. East-southeast of them and not far away is a small lake, the Meiersee, through which the Meierbach stream flows in a southwesterly direction. The central and southern parts of the training area are drained by this stream (which passes the Sieben Steinhäuser) and the Hohe Bach, both northeastern tributaries of the Meiße. Its southeastern part is drained by the Liehlbach (a northern tributary of the Meiße), along which several ponds are found and the northwest mainly by the Fischendorfer Bach (a southeastern tributary of the Böhme), which likewise has many ponds. The extreme northeast is drained by streams that flow eastwards into the Meiße.

A heavily wooded moraine ridge runs across the training area in roughly a southwest-to-northeast direction. These woods include the Becklinger Holz and amongst the elevations here are the: Falkenberg (150 m above sea level (NN)), Hakenberg (143 m), Staffelberg (127 m), Hengstberg (121 m), Hammberg (107 m), Großer Dellberg (107 m), Scharpenhorn (107 m), Fuhrberg (102 m), Horstberg (98 m), Söhrenberg (93 m) and Ziegenberg (63 m). The lowest point is on the southwest boundary of the area in the Ostenholz Moor at about 28 m high.

Panorama of the tank firing range 1A with training village Heidedorf down in the valley.

History

The first plans for establishing the military training area were laid in 1934 as part of the military re-armament of the German Reich. Due to the sparse population and the varied landscape this area was selected for creating the largest exercise area for Germany's armed forces, the Wehrmacht. In spite of opposition from the local population, within a few years 3,635 inhabitants in 25 villages had to leave their homes.^[1]

After the end of the war the training area was taken over by the British Army. During the Cold War up to 50,000 British, American and, from the 1960s, German soldiers were stationed at Bergen-Hohne and it became the largest military training area in Europe and the main training area for NATO's ground forces in the Federal Republic of Germany. One feature is the permanent accommodation at Ostenholz in the southwest, that has an autobahn junction in the immediate vicinity. Ostenholz Camp (Kaserne Ostenholz) is only used for exercising troops, yet it has permanent accommodation as well as the massive buildings of the training area's headquarters and the permanent range staff.

After the end of the Cold War the number of soldiers significantly reduced. The facility still has considerable importance however. In all, there are still around 10,000 British soldiers and their families based in and around Bergen-Hohne, including the barracks in Celle. In addition the area is still heavily used by the Bundeswehr and other NATO troops.

Current Use

The original ranges and their purpose:

Today there are 22 firing ranges on the training area for main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, of which nine are also suitable for anti-tank guided missiles. In addition there are 14 artillery fire positions, six of which are outside the boundaries of the training area. There are also five small arms ranges and three ranges for hand-held anti-tank weapons, as well as air defence training facilities, FIBUA villages, deep wading points and bivouac sites.

The multinational troops of NATO member countries – Germany, Netherlands, Britain and Belgium – exercise regularly on the training area. Major combat equipment that uses the ranges include Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 tanks, WAH-64 Apache attack helicopters and Panzerhaubitze 2000. The area is increasingly used by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and it is the only training area in Germany which may be overflown by reconnaissance drones. Air-to-ground practice and live munitions may also be fired.^[2]

Hohne Station

Hohne Station is the main British Forces base and is located in Lager Hohne, a former Wehrmacht facility, on the eastern side of the training area. It is the headquarters of Bergen-Hohne Garrison, a large British military garrison for the 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats) which is part of the British Forces Germany.

Hohne Station is home to the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, 9th/12th Lancers, 32 Engineer Regiment, 2nd Medical Regiment, 1 Medical Regiment and HQ 7th Armoured Brigade & Signal Squadron.

Hohne Station also has quarters and facilities for the families of British forces stationed here including three Service Children's Education schools – Gloucester Secondary School, Montgomery Primary School and Slim Primary School. The station amenities include 2 swimming pools, beauty & hair salons, medical & dental centres and several shops selling goods from sports equipment, art & crafts, telephones to furniture.^[3]

The Roberts Roundhouse building located in the barracks was formerly used as a ballroom and a hospital but is now used as a social gathering area, being located next to the NAAFI, the base shop.

Not far from this barracks is the village of Belsen which gave its name to the nearby concentration camp in the Second World War.

Command

The current German commandant of Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Colonel Gerd Ahrens, is also responsible for Munster Training Area. He also has command of the training areas at Ehra-Lessien and Lübtheen.

Cultural monuments and places of interest

There are several places of interest within the Bergen-Hohne Training Area:
In the area of Lohheide:

• near Belsen:
  • Bergen-Belsen concentration camp memorial site.
  • Bredebeck Castle at Liehlbach (part of Bergen-Hohne camp).

In the area of Osterheide and its neighbourhood:

• in Oerbke (to the west):
  • Cemetery of the unknown soldiers Friedhof der Namenlosen, a war cemetery in which about 30,000 Russian prisoners-of-war from the Second World War were buried in mass graves.
• In and around Ostenholz (to the southwest):
  • Timber-framed church with wooden tower dating back to 1724
  • Hoher Stein, a monument to the evacuation of the local communities in 1936 in order to create a Nazi military training area
  • Sieben Steinhäuser, large dolmens (stone graves) from the New Stone Age. in the south of the training area
• in Wense (to the northwest):
  • Gutskapelle, a church built in 1558.

See also

• British Forces Germany
• British Army of the Rhine
• Sieben Steinhäuser

52°48′0″N 9°49′0″E / 52.80000°N 9.81667°E / 52.80000; 9.81667

References

Literature

• Olaf Mußmann: Geschichte des Truppenübungsplatzes Bergen. Münster 1996; ISBN 3-8258-2753-4
• Die Heidmark. Wandel einer Landschaft. Die Geschichte des Truppenübungsplatzes Bergen, Hinrich Baumann, Walsrode 2005, ISBN 3-00-017185-1
• Judaslohn, Andree Hesse, crime novel, (set on the military training area and in Eichendorf [= Meißendorf]), ISBN 978-3-8052-0800-0

External links

• "Hohne – A witness to infamy". Helen Mathews. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 17 April 2005.
• "About Gloucester School Hohne". GSHA. Archived from the original on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2005.
• "Montgomery Primary School". Service Children's Education. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005. Retrieved 17 April 2005.