HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-09-21, Page 12Page 12 Times-Advocafe, September 21, 197$
Bavarian Bayonet gives Canadian Forces
They’re known as the
“arrogant, contemptible
Canadian army at Lahr”,
and while that would appear
to be an insult, it is actually
taken as a compliment by
the Canadian Forces in
Europe because the label
was given to them by the
East German press.
The description went on to
note that the East Germans
also consider them as
“highly skilled and
professional fighting men",
which is an attitude shared
by many of the allied
military 'personnel within
the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
Having watched the Cana
dian Forces in Bavarian
Bayonet, a brigade-size ex
ercise which took place near
Ulm. an onlooker quickly
comes to the conclusion that
the latter part of the East
German opinion is well
founded.
Brigadier-General Jim
Fox of Bedford. N.S . who
directed the exercise, beam
ed proudly when he advised
press observers that in the
view of Canada’s allies in
Germany, the brigade is
described as “very
Brigadier General Jim Fox uses a hand gesture to describe Bavarian Bayonet to members of
the press corps. He heads the Canadian Armed Forces at Lahr. To the right are Major Bob
Gaudreau and Major Bill Whitehead,
A trooptrain carrying 30 tracked artillery vehicles rolls into Logeneau, along with the men
who operate them. In an hour, the equipment was unloaded and off down the street in a noisy
procession.
Captain Dave Kraufer, a native of Brussels, chats with Rod Brebner, Meaford, when the
former introduced himself as a Huron resident. He presently serves in the artillery.
professional" and enjoys a
high standard of training.
Canadian Forces in
Europe are equipped and
trained for full scale
military defensive
operations on the central
front in Europe within
NATO. The forces are under
full Canadian control in
peacetime, but become
available to the appropriate
NATO commander in time
of war.
The two Canadian bases
are located at Lahr and
Baden-Soellingen near the
Black Forest area in the
Southern region of the
Federal Republic of Ger
many. The headquarters of
the Canadian Forces
Europe, with the two major
formations. 4 Canadian
Mechanized Brigade Group
and 1 Canadian Air Group, is
located at Lahr. Ap
proximately two-thirds of
the command is located at
Lahr, with the remainder at
Baden-Soellingen, about 60
kilometers to the north.
The total strength of the 4
Canadian mechanized
brigade group is 3.000.
The brigade group carries
out an intensive training
program at all formation
levels throughout the year to
maintain combat readiness.
The training program in
cludes participation in ma
jor exercises of other NATO
nations
The brigade's fall concen
tration. of which Bavarian
Bayonet is the second last
stage, begins in late
summer in the U.S. Army
Hohenfels training area
where individual and unit
training is emphasized.
Bavarian Bayonet was
then staged to “put it all
together" in the words of
Brigadier-General Fox. It is
the only brigade size exer
cise of the year wherin
Canadian troops can com
bine and practice their
military skills.
At the completion of
Bavarian Bayonet, the
Canadian brigade joined five
other countries Germany,
the Netherlands. Belgium.
United States and United
Kingdom, for a major
SACEUR exercise of the
autumn forge series. It is en
titled Blaue Donau. and is
designed to test the ability
of the 50.000 strong NATO
force in combined
operations in simulated war
time conditions.
Way of Life
Watching the Canadian
Forces move into the Ulm
area to stage Bavarian
Bayonet gives ample indica
tion of the reception given
the personnel with the dis
tinctive Canadian flag on
their vehicles and combat
uniforms.
As the tracked vehicles
arrive on train from the
Hohenfels training centre
and the wheeled vehicles
make their way along the
autobahn, they disperse into
their staging areas
throughout the countryside
and small villages.
The simulated war is not
conducted in a regular' train
ing exercise area. The 60
kilometer area has been
“requisitioned” in consulta
tion with civil officials and
the “battle" takes place as
the tanks and infantry make
their way along village
streets, through cornfields
and the country terrain.
Despite the disruptive
nature of the exercise, the
Germans appear to take the
whole thing in their stride
and the troops are given
friendly receptions as they
pull their tanks or other
huge equipment into far
myards. orchards or nearby
fields to take their positions
for the ensuing battle
against the “enemy” force
provided by 4 Jaeger Divi
sion (German Army) based
at Amberg.
Farmers maneuver their
tractors around armored
vehicles in their yards, step
over communication lines
and generally attempt to
carry on as usual despite
their visitors.
The Canadians are
greeted with smiles and
handshakes to invitations to
visit German homes. One
soldier reported that he
usually was invited into the
house for a shower as he
awaited the battle call,
while many housewives
serve up coffee or other
treats.
One story is told about a
Canadian unit located near
the bottom of a cliff in one
exercise and a German
farmer living in the area
made periodic visits to supp
ly them beer from a bucket
he lowered over the side of
the hill by rope.
The Canadian Weekly
press corps was given its
first insight into the exer
cise during a briefing at
command headquarters by
Major Bob Gaudreau.
operations officer for the ex
ercise.
His unit had moved into an
orchard in a small village,
while part of their operation
centre was moved into an
unused room in the local
Gasthof (hotel) at
Scharenstetten.
He noted that the late
harvest in Germany would
cramp the style of the exer
cise to an extent, as the
heavy vehicles would
attempt to, stick to the
secondary roads through the
countryside in an effort to
reduce the damage to crops
which were about three
weeks behind schedule due
to heavy summer rains.
However, where
necessary, the troops would
make their way across un
harvested fields and the
German farmers would be
compensated for the
damage, The German
government pays 25 percent
of the damage claim and the
Canadian government picks
up the other 75 percent.
He advised that the
reputation of the Canadian
troops is very high in Ger
many, and other nations
value them as participants
in exercises because they
are considered to be highly
professional.
Moral is considered
generally lower in many of
the NATO forces because
the personnel are involved
through conscription.
After leaving the briefing
we awaited the arrival of
Brigadier-General Fox and
soon the sound of his
helicopter could be heard
overhead and in short order
he was marching briskly up
the street with two com
panions. peeling off to ex
tend a warm greeting to our
host, Major Bill Whitehead,
and the press corps.
A briefing scheduled
for his office in the rear of
an armored vehicle was
moved over to the Gasthof
to afford more comfortable
surroundings.
While he presents a highly
“spit and polish” profile in
his initial contact, he
chatted off-the-cuff in a very
sincere manner, even
attempting to answer some
of the highly political
questions tossed in his direc
tion.
He summed up the NATO
stance as being one of a
deterrent “to convince the
other fellow (read Warsaw
Photo story by
Bill Batten..,
a recent visitor to
Canadian Forces
Europe Base
in Lahr, Germany
Pact Countries' that it
wouldn’t be practical for
them to start anything.
Fox noted that “quan
titatively and qualitatively”
the standards of the Warsaw
Pact armies has gone up in
recent years.
“I’m satisified with the
standard of the brigade and
that NATO is being
successful in acting as a
deterrent,” he commented
when asked how the alli's
are stacking up to the exten
sive build-up along the Ger
man and Czechoslovakian
borders.
When asked about
Canada’s contribution to
NATO in terms of personnel
and equipment, he candidly
replied that “as a military
guy I can see things we
could be doing”, but he
quickly added “I don’t envy
the politician his problem”.
After further comments
on the scenario of Bavarian
Bayonet, we headed to
Lageneau to await the
arrival of a special train
carrying the 1st Regiment,
Royal Canadian Horse Ar
tillery, with their 30 tracked
vehicles which included M-
109 self-propelled 155mm
howitzers, M-113 armoured
personnel carriers and
assorted artillery vehicles.
We had been told one
could set his watch on the
German railroad system,
and that turned out to be
more than prophetic as the
train arrived right on
schedule, giving us an in
sight into how the Germans
moved around their own
country during World War
II.
' The members of the ar
tillery had the luxury of
sleeping accommodation on
the train, but in quick order
they were off and in about an
hour they had their 30
vehicles lined up along the
roadside in readiness for the
35 kilometer trip to a bush
area that would serve as
their launch area.
Through some quick
arrangements between Ma
jor Whitehead and Major
Hague, the press corps was
loaded into individual ar
moured personnel carriers
for the trip and we were
given a taste of the bone
tingling experience as we
made our way across the
secondary roads.
A large crowd of
onlookers quickly gathered
to watch the incoming train,
and children lined the
streets in many of the small
towns to wave at the ar
tillery or hold their fingers
in the universal peace sign.
Sgt. Carl Day. Kingston,
who was in charge of the
vehicle on which the writer
bounced along and shared
the exhaust fumes, politely
returned the waves along
with a warm smile.
Cars and trucks waved
through the lines of ar
tillery, while civilian police
directed traffic. While many
older people stopped to
watch the proceedings, the
majority took only a quick
glance and went on about
their field and farmyard ac
tivities, leaving us with the
impression it was a sight
they would just as soon not
consider — perhaps on the
basis of past experience, or
perhaps in fear of what the
future may hold.
The artillery soon reached
their destination and buried
themselve in a dense bush,
awaiting the start of their
36-hour engagement.
Engineers Drew Mud
Awakening the next day to
the sound of heavy rain, we
found the 4 Combat
Engineer Regiment located
in a field just outside the
town* which we used for our
headquarters for three days.
Our arrival at their muddy
site coincided with the Ger
man farmer who owned the
field, and while there was
some concern expressed on
his face for the deep ruts be
ing cut into his field, he
seemed resigned to the fact
it was all part of his con
tribution to maintaining
peace in his country.
Men hurried about the site
heating water for an early
morning shave, while th’e
field kitchen staff supplied a
warm breakfast to those
who had been soaked.
We struck up a conversa
tion with Major K.J.
Holmes, London, in charge
of the unit, who succinctly
explained the role of the
engineers as one of main
taining the progress for the
friendly force and denying
progress for the enemy.
The engineers support two
infantry groups, their
proudest possession being a
new German bridge-builder
or Bibber (German for
beaver). It hadn’t arrived
with the main unit as it was
being shipped by rail, but a
further description will
follow in this article.
Major Holmes told us of
the many requests the
engineers receive from
civilian authorities for their
services, and many of those
public relations tasks are
undertaken when the
program can result in a
valuable training exercise
for the personnel.
Emergency situations, of
course, fall under a different
category, and the services of
the engineers are readily
available to the Germans
under such circumstances.
During our conversation,
Major Holmes looked
longingly at a nearby forest
and said his unit would move
out to’ that spot to get onto
higher and dryer ground
when the final tracked
vehicles arrived.
The writer was disap
pointed to learn that Cpl.
Allan Unruh, a brother of
Dee Beuerman of Exeter,
was on one of the tracked
vehicles and this cir
cumvented our opportunity
to pass along a big hello
from home.
A visit to the tank corps
was one of the most exciting
outings during the pre
exercise outings, not only
because the press contingent
wanted to get their first look
at the German-made
Leopard tanks, but also
because we left knowing the
Canadian Forces were ex
tremely pleased with their
new acquisitions.
Canada has been leasing
some Leopards from the
Germans, but have now
taken delivery of some of
their own. and a young
Militia officer, Lieutenant
John Murray, of Thorold,
was more than pleased to
show us the Leopards well
camouflaged in a bush.
There are 16 tanks in the
brigade and Lieut. Murray,
who was on a leave of
absence from his teaching
position in the Eastern
Townships of Quebec, gave
full evidence that Canada’s
Militia at home is as proud
and professional as our full-
time troops at home and
abroad.
While we sat bewildered
as he rhymed off the
capabilities" of the tank, we
also had an opportunity to
explore every nook and
cranny of the huge machines
which pound across the
countryside at an un-
believeable rate of speed
and with some dexterity that
is difficult to comprehend.
The crew had to learn
Germarr as part of their in
troduction, because all in
structions are in that
Vehicles hove a strange habit of needing repairs when they're in the middle of a muddy field,
as these two engineers found out. ,
This anti-tank weapon demonstrated by three Canadian troops is extremely accurate up to
3,000 meters and can penetrate any known armour. It is known as a TOW (Tubelaunch Op
tically Tracked Wire Command Link).
Germanfarmersattempf to carry on as usual, despite some huge obstacles in their village
yards. This tracked vehicle was squeezed in behind a wagon, while the farmer is shown cutting
some metal beside his barn door.
language. The bridge
builder is also mounted on a
Leopard body.
4 After popping a few
rounds from the machine
gun, we arrived back at the
unit’s camp just in time to
hear a young officer give an
intelligence briefing that
gave ample evidence that
the Reds are watching
NATO troops at every turn,
“That lady you bought
your bratwurst from at the
railhead was the wife of a
well-known informer,” the
troops were advised.
The intelligence briefing
also told of a man and his
son touring in the area on
bicycles and who had spent a
large sum of money (400
marks) in a couple of days
and they were under sur
veillance.
While the troops are con
tinually reminded of the fact
there are people watching
over their shoulders and
listening for any unguarded
conversations, the briefing
was just to point Up more ex-
plicity the problems that do
exist.
In exercises over 25,000
personnel, observers from
Warsaw Pact countries are
invited to watch NATO
troops and vice versa.
Few Reminiscences
After enjoying a delicious
meal from "the finest cooks
in the army” at the tank un
it, we moved onto visit Lt.
Col. Butch Waldrum, head
of the 444 Tactical
Helicopter Squadron.
Waldrum had taken some
of his early training at
RCAF Station Centralia and
we found two others in his
unit who had also come
through training programs
there in the persons of Don
Chambers and Andy Seguin,
the commanders of the two
flight groups which incor-.
porate 11 Kiowa helicopters.
Rain again greeted us, but
did afford an opportunity to
see the mechanics rebuild
one helicopter and to visit
many of the personnel in
Kids lined the street to wove at the Canadian Armed Forces as they moved to their staging
area. However, the lad Shawn here had a different welcome ... he blasted the armored per
sonnel carrier above with his water gun.