Brüggen-Bracht ammunition depot
The ammunition depot Brüggen-Bracht was an ammunition depot of the British Rhine Army in the district of Viersen . It existed from 1948 to 1996 and was at times one of the largest ammunition depots in Europe.
location
The depot was in the area of the Brachter Forest near the German-Dutch border in the Bracht district of Bruggen , after which it is named. Larger cities in the vicinity are the Dutch Venlo, 10 kilometers away, and Mönchengladbach, 20 kilometers away .
history
From 1945 the British Rhine Army used the area to blow up duds , which often led to forest fires . In 1948 she began to fence in the area and develop it into the largest ammunition depot in Europe. From 1952, the area became a restricted military area , to which, in addition to the military, only foresters and forest workers had access. In 1976, a major forest fire threatened the site, but the cooperation of German and British fire departments prevented a major disaster. The ammunition depot was abandoned in 1996 and released as a nature reserve in Brachter Wald in 2000 .
Most of the 1250 hectare site is owned by the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation for Nature Conservation, Heritage and Culture (NRW Foundation). Other areas are used by the local clay industry.
Storage and logistics
In addition to conventional ammunition such as hand fire and artillery ammunition , aircraft bombs from the nearby RAF airfield Brüggen-Elmpt were also stored. The ammunition was delivered by train via the Kaldenkirchen – Brüggen small railway . There were three covered loading stations on the site itself, with the one at the eastern end of the depot serving as a distribution point. It was unloaded here directly or the ammunition was forwarded to the other two loading stations.
At the beginning the ammunition was stored in simple corrugated iron huts. These were later replaced by mobile sheds, since the palletizing of transport and storage goods in the previous storage facilities posed problems for the British Army on the Rhine at the end of the 1960s. The bombs were stored openly in the western area of the depot.
staff
The depot manager held the rank of colonel . In addition to the British soldiers, Germans and people from the Eastern Bloc at the time worked in the camp (members of the Mixed Services Organization (MSO)). In the barracks area on today's St.-Barbara-Strasse there were accommodations for single British soldiers and foreign employees. A sports hall and a soccer field as well as smaller clubs were available for leisure activities. Families were housed in the nearby town of Bracht and the city of Venlo.
The depot had its own fire brigade and a fire watch tower in the north of the site.
task
After the abandonment in 1996, the former ammunition depot became the property of the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation and was declared a nature reserve Brachter Wald in 2000 . The barracks area was converted into a campsite, the Heide-Camp. Gastronomy is housed in the officers' mess. In order to relieve the British taxpayer, the ammunition mills and railway tracks were moved to Great Britain, others were removed by the British Army and later by German companies. In order to give the unique flora and fauna space and tranquility, most of the streets have been renatured or closed to visitors. Cattle, sheep and horses are kept to maintain the heathland. The former fire station and other areas in the barracks area were demolished for renaturation or use as a landfill. The St. Barbara Church in the barracks area was placed under monument protection due to its unique construction . Many bunkers and protective fences can still be seen today. Almost all the halls were demolished, and many of them only have the concrete floor.
literature
- Ina Germes-Dohmen: 3 Base Ammunition Depot. A British ammunition depot in the Lower Rhine border forest 1948–1996. Series of publications of the district of Viersen, Volume 47, Viersen 2006, ISBN 3-931242-18-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 55 ″ N , 6 ° 8 ′ 52 ″ E