Hohenfels, Bavaria

Hohenfels (literally High Cliffs) is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in the region of Upper Palatinate (German: Oberpfalz) in Bavaria, Germany. The town is host to the United States Army Garrison Hohenfels, which operates the Joint Multinational Readiness Center for training NATO armed forces.

Hohenfels
Hohenfels Castle
Coat of arms
Location of Hohenfels within Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz district
Hohenfels Show map of Germany Hohenfels Show map of Bavaria
Coordinates: 49°12′N 11°51′E
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Upper Palatinate
District	Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
Subdivisions	4 Ortsteile: Hohenfels, Großbissendorf, Markstetten, Raitenbuch
Government
• Mayor	Bernhard Graf (Ind.)
Area
• Total	137.10 km^2 (52.93 sq mi)
Elevation	390 m (1,280 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[1]
• Total	2,181
• Density	16/km^2 (41/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	92366
Dialling codes	09472
Vehicle registration	NM, PAR
Website	www.markt-hohenfels.de

Military

The German Army founded a training area in Hohenfels in 1938.

During World War II there was a POW camp here, Stalag 383[2][3] On April 24, 1945, Major General Stanley Eric Reinhart's 65th Infantry Division captured Hohenfels. Major General Gustav Geiger, staff and guards surrendered. The POW camp with numerous British inmates was liberated.

Later, between 1945-1949 the site became a displaced persons camp.[3]

United States Garrison Hohenfels

In 1951, Hohenfels became a training area for the United States military and was used primarily by United States forces until 1956. In 1955, the German Bundeswehr was founded, and in 1956 the first German unit was stationed in Camp Poellnricht (i.e. Lager Pöllnricht). From 1956 to 1988, the Hohenfels Training Area was used by NATO forces consisting primarily of American, German, Canadian, and occasionally British and French forces.

Combat Maneuver Training Center

In 1988, Hohenfels became the home of the Combat Maneuver Training Center (CMTC), the mission of which was to provide realistic combined arms training for the United States Army, Europe, and Seventh Army's maneuver battalion task forces in force-on-force exercises.

Exercises revolved around the fictional nation of Danubia and its three provinces of friendly Sowenia, hostile Vilslakia, and neutral Jursland. The opposing force was the fictional army of Danubia. The 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment represented the "4th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment". M113A2s were used to replicate Soviet BMP-2 IFVs and M60A3 tanks were used to replicate Soviet T-80 tanks.

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

In December 2005 the CMTC was transformed and officially named the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), part of the Joint Multinational Training Center (JMTC) which oversees training of all of United States Army Europe (USAREUR).

See also

• Grafenwöhr

References

1. "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). July 2019.
2. "The Camp at Hohenfels, Stalag 383..." Australian War Museum. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
3. Iacampo, Mark (25 November 2014). "Polish Consul visits monuments in Hohenfels". U.S. Army. Retrieved 17 January 2019.

External links

• U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria—the consolidated official site for the U.S. Army in Bavaria