Welcome to the Bavarian Millitary Community

4 Welcome to the U.S.Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. History of the Grafenwoehr Training Area 1910 Grafenwoehr’s first Commander, Gen- eral Oskar Menzel arrives at the new training area. General Menzel begins the first of many internal improve- ments and lays-out ranges and fields of fire for testing artillery, and areas for infantry maneuvers. Establishment of the Bavarian Military Forest Office at Grafenwoehr. The iconic Grafenwoehr water tower is completed. On June 30th the first artillery shell is fired at the GTA from a 150 mm Field Howitzer. 1911 By January 1911, more than 10,000 Bavarian soldiers are training at the GTA. The typical Bavarian Infan- try Soldier was 18 years old, literate, and from a long tradition of military service. He wore a heavy grey jacket, and wool pants, utility and ammo belt and leather boots. Around his neck, he wore a signal flashlight, which was considered “modern” addition to his kit. His pointed helmet is an allied propaganda icon by the end of World War I. 1912 Bavarian Army Headquarters, based in Munich authorizes training with a new and modern weapon, the machine gun. Other “modern” weapons introduced at the training area, during this time are Balloons and C-type biplanes to assist with observation and fire-direction. 1913 By 1913, the Grafenwoehr airfield, named “Airfield Hammergmuend” is a fully operational facility for the new science of military aeronautics. April - Grafenwoehr hosts one of the largest military exercises prior to World War I, with more than 12,000 soldiers, 540 officers, 1,000 horses, 60 machine guns and 16 aircraft taking part. 1914 June - Archduke Ferdinand of Austria is murdered by an assassin in Sarajevo. Within weeks, all European powers begin mobilization. July - World War I begins. Grafenwoehr becomes a major Prisoner of War (POW) camp. The prisoners create an enduring legacy. They establish a mili- tary cemetery for soldiers of all nations at Grafenwoehr. 1915 In early 1915 a second general offi- cer, General Ferdinand Hocheder is assigned to the training area as Com- mander of POWs. The POW population at Grafenwoehr, by the end of 1915, is more than 15,000 men. Hocheder is a conscientious and honorable warden. The prisoners at Grafenwoehr were healthy, active and productive. The POWs built places of worship, created sculptures and drawings, staged theat- ricals, formed concert bands and even established their own bakery. 1916 January - Trench warfare leads to stalemate and carnage as the Allies – Great Britain, France, Russia- and the Central Pow- ers-Germany, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires incur huge casualties everyday with no advantage for the attacker. 1917 April - The U.S. Declares war on Germany. June - General John J. Pershing and the first troops of the American expeditionary Force (AEF) arrive in France. In Septem- ber AEF soldiers are assigned to the trenches; the tide turns in favor of the Allies as AEF troops attack along the western front. It would take 28 years and another world war before U.S. forces would finally arrive at the gates of Grafenwoehr. 1918 April - The POW camp at the training area is closed. During the war the training area detained soldiers of all Allied nations, but larger numbers of French, Russians and Romanians. May thru October - WWI brought uncertainty, civil unrest, and revolution in Germany. The Kaiser abdicates. In November a Republic is proclaimed in Berlin. On November 11 an Armistice is signed in Compiegne, France, and a ceasefire is declared, effectively ending the war. The Grafenwoehr Training Area is converted into a demobilization point.