US Army Garrison Schweinfurt

USAG Schweinfurt
	; ; USAG Schweinfurt headquarters; in the Ledward Barracks
active	1945 to 2014
Armed forces	United States Army
Branch of service	infantry
Subordinate troops	3rd Infantry Division : 1st Brg. ; and much more
Strength	4,750
Location	Schweinfurt
Origin of the soldiers	United States ; of America
insignia
3rd Infantry Division

US Army Garrison Schweinfurt ( English United States Army Garrison Schweinfurt ; abbreviation: USAG Schweinfurt) was the name of the US Army garrison in Schweinfurt and the surrounding area, which existed from 1945 to 2014. USAG Schweinfurt was one of the largest American locations in Europe from the 1990s until its complete dissolution in 2014 and at times comprised over 12,000 people: soldiers, civilian employees and family members, with civilians in the majority. A total of 100,000 American soldiers were stationed here. In the Cold War USAG Schweinfurt had the highest concentration of US combat units in West Germany . The training area on Brönnhof was the third largest training area in the US Army in Europe. The area of the garrison had a total size of 29 km², at the end of the Cold War even more than 30 km², as much as the area of Brussels . The civil infrastructure for the Americans in northwest Schweinfurt corresponded to that of a small American town (Little America) . The USAG Schweinfurt part of the United States Army I nstallation M anagement Com mand Europe ( IMCOM ), as part of Franconia Military Community ( Franconian military community).

The Schweinfurt location has been in first place among American locations in a quality ranking since the 1990s. He was also very popular with American military personnel because of the high quality of life in the Schweinfurt area (“golden opportunities for traveling”) , which is why several older military personnel stayed here after the dissolution.

Because of its importance, USAG Schweinfurt was the last location to be closed as part of the restructuring of the US armed forces in Europe.

Overview

The USAG Schweinfurt facilities were located in the independent city of Schweinfurt and in the district of Schweinfurt , with one minor exception: the northern edge of the Brönnhof training area was in the municipality of Maßbach in the Bad Kissingen district .

Building on the former Sulzheim Training Area in 2018

Surname	US designation	use	Area in ha	Height above NN	Commune	Distance to headquarters
Ledward Barracks		Barracks supply and leisure center	26.2	233 m	Schweinfurt	-
Conn Barracks		Barracks airbase	201.0	240 m	Geldersheim Niederwerrn Schweinfurt	2.0 km west
DPW complex		Administrative center	3.0	244 m	Schweinfurt	0.6 km northeast
MP station	Military Police	military police	0.4	238 m	Schweinfurt	0.4 km northeast
Abrams Entertainment Center	NCO Club	Officers' mess	0.5	233 m	Schweinfurt	0.3 km southeast
Victory shooting range		Shooting range	13.0	330 m	Schweinfurt	4.0 km northeast
Brönnhof : Camp Robertson & Range Area	Local training area	Site practice area	2,060.0	300 m - 417 m	Üchtelhausen Dittelbrunn Maßbach	7.5 km north
Sulzheim Training Area	Local training area	Site practice area	58.0	270 m	Sulzheim Donnersdorf Grettstadt	15 km southeast
Askren Manor	Housing area	Housing estate supply and school center	28.0	236 m	Schweinfurt	0.6 km west
Yorktown Village	Housing area	Housing estate	12.0	255 m	Schweinfurt	1.1 km northwest
Kessler Field		High school , bowling center sports and amusement park	8.0	250 m	Schweinfurt	0.6 km northwest

location

The military and civil facilities of USAG Schweinfurt were mainly located in the northwest of Schweinfurt, relatively contiguous, on both sides of the city limits. The center, u. a with the Ledward Barracks and the headquarters, was in the northwest part of the city . The 4 km long Niederwerrner Straße ( B 303 ), a wide arterial road and avenue to Bad Kissingen , to the A 71 and A 7 , was the location's unofficial main street and a German-American boulevard , lively until late at night , with numerous restaurants. The training site at Brönnhof, on the other hand, was very remote, in the middle of the Schweinfurt Rhön . It was connected to Niederwerrner Strasse by the internal 9 km long Heeresstrasse .

history

Ceremony at USAG Schweinfurt, March 2014

On April 11, 1945, the 42nd Division of the 7th US Army marched into the city after being shelled by artillery for two days . The Americans immediately occupied the two German barracks, the later Ledward Barracks and Conn Barracks . In the course of time the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division and countless other units of various types were stationed in the garrison . The 9th Engineers Battalion (US) was reactivated as part of the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt on April 5, 1996. Initially, USAG Schweinfurt was subordinate to USAG Würzburg of the same size and, after its dissolution in 2008, to smaller USAG Ansbach .

As a result of the closure of many other German US locations, some areas and troops were relocated to Schweinfurt and the location became increasingly important. Another billion US dollars were invested in the location from the 1990s. Most recently, USAG Schweinfurt comprised 12,000 Americans, including 4,758 soldiers, over 7,000 American civilians and 478 German employees.

Existing until 2014

Military facilities


Victory shooting range		Brönnhof training area 2010

The garrison included two barracks , Ledward Barracks and Conn Barracks. The latter did not belong to the US Army from 1945 to 1948 , but to other parts of the US armed forces. In addition, the two on-site training areas at Brönnhof and Sulzheim and the Victory shooting range in Haardtwald . There are also military facilities from the Cold War in Bad Kissingen , Bad Neustadt , Hammelburg and Rottershausen , which were closed in the years after German reunification . The Schweinfurt Terminal Station (SFT) was located in the Conn Barracks , for the railroad loading of tanks for war missions ( Middle East ). In the Ledward and Conn Barracks were missile positions for anti-aircraft missiles (FlaRak position Hawk ). They were disbanded at the end of the Cold War in 1992.

As a result of these facilities, the USAG Schweinfurt, the smallest major unit (brigade) of the Army, was able, if necessary , to solve operational tasks independently, without substantial reinforcements, and to train at its own location. Furthermore, to prepare foreign and war missions and to load heavy military equipment.

Civil institutions


American Independence Day July 4th 2009, USAG Schweinfurt		Lt. Dan Band 2008, USAG Schweinfurt

The garrison also included two housing areas, Askren Manor and Yorktown Village, and the Kessler Field sports and leisure area. In addition, there was a very diverse, civil infrastructure for all the needs of daily life, security and leisure, which was spread over the military and civil areas of the site. With clinics, fire brigade, military police, high school, event and sports halls, cinemas, bowling centers, amusement arcades, restaurants, car dealerships, gas stations, hotels, post offices, churches and bus routes.

From the end of the Cold War to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, all civil areas, with the exception of the Conn Barracks, were also freely accessible to Germans without control. With the exception of the shopping centers, they could also be used by Germans and internal roads could be driven on with their own cars, with free parking. However, little was used, although restaurateurs in the Ledward Barracks also organized smaller parties and advertised them in the German media.

additional

September 11, 2001

September 11th changed everything suddenly, which was also externally visible. Illuminated barriers and massive, large, roofed checkpoints were built around the American areas, which are still standing today (2018). A wall was even built around the Abrams Club officer's mess , which was unofficially accessible to Germans as the NCO club at the time, even during the Cold War. The systems were reminiscent of the Berlin Wall and were in operation for thirteen years. For the first time in almost 60 years, there was criticism of the American military among the German population, which emphasized that the barriers were not built with the help of German tax money.

The atmosphere in the north-west of Schweinfurt was completely different. The fear of terrorist attacks was omnipresent, there was mistrust, passers-by felt that they were being watched. The enemy was now conceivable everywhere and no longer, as in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain , which was once 33 km northeast of Schweinfurt - the crack now ran right through the city.

After the Americans left, it was suggested that a checkpoint be permanently preserved as historical evidence.

German-American folk festival

The German-American Folk Festival took place twice a year, as a spring and autumn festival. At last it was the size of a medium-sized German folk festival, with the same rides as carousels. Otherwise, in entertainment and especially in gastronomy, it had an original American menu. The audience consisted primarily of stationed Americans, their family members and young people from the local German-American milieu that had emerged over the decades. In contrast to the ethnically organized Berlin German-American folk festival , the Schweinfurt festival presented visitors with an authentic American atmosphere. For a long time the party was in the Ledward-Barracks, first on the central square, the Parade Ground and later in the northeast area on Franz-Schubert-Straße.

After the attacks of September 11th, the Ledward Barracks were inaccessible to guests all year round for the first time since the war. The folk festival was therefore moved to the Kessler Field. Previously there were no access controls at the folk festival, but these have now been carried out in the strictest form out of fear of terrorist attacks. The festival was therefore no longer accepted by visitors and showmen and was discontinued in 2002.

Feldpostamt Schweinfurt

USAG Schweinfurt had a routing post office.

Routing post office	APO	Area Code	TSK	Location	Military facility
APO 09702 Schweinfurt	09702	20th	Army	Schweinfurt	Conn Barracks
	09026	20th	Army	Wild spots	Wildflecken Training Area
	09033	20th	Army	Schweinfurt	Ledward Barracks
	09330	20th	Army	Bad Kissingen	Daley Barracks

social change

Since the 1990s, the image has changed significantly compared to the conventional idea of a US location for several reasons, and USAG Schweinfurt became more civil in character.

For the first time, conscription was abolished in the USA in 1973 , and there were no more regular soldiers . In contrast to the first post-war period, where there was therefore resentment among the German population, crime was no longer noticed. With the professional soldiers came many family members, who in the end were in the majority. During large foreign deployments, almost only American civilians were in the city, with the female sex in the majority. Much free time was spent in the ever larger American recreational facilities. Until the beginning of the 21st century, more was invested in this than in the actual military facilities, which were thinned out in the city and largely relocated to the Conn Barracks.

Second, one clearly noticed the social change in the USA towards a more multicultural society, with more colored people, Latinos and Asians. The Americans have recently brought a multicultural note to the west of Schweinfurt, with an event and discotheque scene that is more exotic compared to other cities (Megadrom, Mad).

Thirdly, due to globalization and subcultural change since the 1990s, fashion and lifestyles between young Americans and Germans, especially those with a migration background , became more and more similar, and differences were hardly noticeable in the city.

Dissolution of the garrison

On February 2, 2012, Schweinfurt's Lord Mayor Sebastian Remelé announced after a conversation with the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces in Europe, Mark Hertling , that the US Army would completely dissolve the garrison in Schweinfurt, as the restructuring of the US armed forces would relocate heavy loads Troops from Europe back to the USA takes place. With the ceremonial collection of the flags in the Ledward Barracks, the US Army finally left Schweinfurt on September 19, 2014. With small exceptions, the properties freed up as a result became the property of the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA).

Web links

Videos

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b US military base, USAG Schweinfurt, location description

↑ ^a ^b ^c Information about the city of Schweinfurt: Video Schweinfurt says goodbye to the US Army

↑ ^a ^b ^c Ron Mihalko, Forst : History of the US barracks in Schweinfurt

↑ ^a ^b ^c Information: Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA), Conversion Schweinfurt, as of September 2014

↑ Stars ans Stripes: "US Army says farewell to Schweinfurt", September 19, 2014. Accessed July 11, 2018 .

↑ Unless otherwise stated: Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA), Conversion Schweinfurt, as of September 2014

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Measured from the BayernAtlas

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bavarian State Surveying Office. Topographic map 1: 25,000, sheet no.5927 Schweinfurt . Munich 2005

^ Economy in Mainfranken: The US Army has withdrawn from its Schweinfurt site , July 2012, p. 34

↑ Bavarian Land Survey Office. Topographic map 1: 25,000, sheet no.5827 Maßbach

↑ Bavarian Land Survey Office. Topographic map 1: 25,000, sheet no.6028 Gerolzhofen

↑ ^a ^b Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA), Conversion Schweinfurt: History of the properties of the military location Schweinfurt

^ Mathias Wiedemann: End of a 70-year neighborhood . In: Schweinfurter Tagblatt, September 19, 2014.

↑ List of military facilities at US locations in Germany. Retrieved July 5, 2018 .

↑ Video: Reim Hart Nei 2 - Hip Hop Jam: Street scenes from the west of downtown Schweinfurt (2:48). Retrieved June 18, 2018 .

[MB-1] US military base, USAG Schweinfurt, location description