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HISTORY OF THE ARMY SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL TRAINING (GERMANY) (EXTRACT FROM THE 1981 MBS)
The following potted history of the Army School of Physical Training was published in the 1981 edition of the MBS:
In 1890 a Military Commission purchased a plot of land near Paderborn in Germany. The area, about 70km square, consisted mainly of heather and sand with a few trees and bushes. On the
5th July, 1892 the rst Prussian troops moved into 15 man tents captured from the French in the Franco-Prussian war 1870/71. A year later tents were replaced by corrugated tin buildings and the camp housed 3,190 troops and 1,430 horses. This was the beginning of Sennelager Training Centre – at which the BAOR School of P&RT is located.
During the 1914-18 war many German troops received their nal training at Sennelager prior to en-training from the local station directly to the Eastern or Western Fronts. Following the German surrender in 1918 the camp was used by various irregular troops until the new German Army (Reichswehr) was formed and limited to 100,000 men. A cavalry Unit was stationed in the main camp and many improvements based on World War 1 experiences were made to the ranges. In the late 1920’s gasoline engines were installed to pull tank targets, a range was constructed to simulate attacking troops by a series of targets which appeared at decreasing ranges. In addition some areas were planted with crops to give the appearance of a cultivated landscape, rather than a training area. A replica of a Russian village was built and a dam was erected to form a lake 500m by 60m for Engineer training.
In 1933 Sennelager was greatly increased in size, many modern buildings were built and an excellent road network was completed by 1941. During the Second World War a portion of the airborne assault on Holland and Belgium was staged from the air eld rst established in 1913, Combat training was conducted at a fast pace and an ammunition factory for 1,200 workers was built.
Con dence 1948
An armour centre was set up where Panther and Tiger tanks were made ready for front line service. Controlled environment (Arctic to desert) buildings and deep fording facilities also existed. In late 1944 several Panzer, Panzer-Grenadier and armoured reconnaissance units of the Waffen SS and a training camp for the preparation of Hitler Youth for combat service were to be found, again many POWs were held here and the air eld housed two squadrons of night ghters.
In April 1945 German defences were prepared but the troops were ordered to withdraw to the Weser River. Canadian and American troops moved into Sennelager but later it was turned over to the British. Many areas and facilities were looted and nally demolished by order of an Allied Commission in 1948.
The School also moved to Berlin where it played an important role in the Berlin airlift (1948 to 1949) before moving to Hamburg and nally, to its present location. In 1954 the BAOR School of P&RT was established in the main camp.
B.A.O.R SCHOOL OF P AND RT
WO1 (SMI) J Jennings APTC