Sometimes one just can’t help oneself…
On any given day you could usually find 5 to 10 tanks on the firing range. One morning during the Spring of 1962 Heinrich Goetz, my counter part in the German Army', and I were meeting with the Grafenwohr post people. After the meeting Heinrich wanted to go by the tank range and see a friend of his who was a German tank commander, another Feldwebel. On the range there were 4 or 5 German tanks, 2 or 3 US tanks and 2 British tanks.
The tanks were there “sighting” their tanks in on the range. While we were visiting with Heinrich’s tank buddy the radio chatter got loud and the tank commander pointed out that there was some idiot down range that had driven on the range and parked his car. It was an old car and I’m not sure what kind it was.
The range officer was on the loud speaker yelling at the idiot and telling him that he was on a live firing range. He announced this in German, English and French. The guy just stood there and looked at the tanks. After the 3rd of 4th announcement, in all languages, the guy gives what looks like an “up yours” hand and arm signal and marches off across the field and up the side of the mountain.
The time to start firing was getting closer and there was a lot of discussion going on at the range officer’s stand. More announcements, more yelling, and tank commanders getting antsy and pissed because they are burning diesel and time.
Then God opened the heavens and rained all over the idiot at the other end of the firing range. A German tank put one high explosive round right into the car. No more car. The idiot is running down off the ridge – two German Army jeeps head to the smoke where the car was and Heinrich says, “we have another meeting in Weiden.” Let’s go mach schnell!
It was a great morning. No one was hurt, the German Army only used one HE round, the tank commander felt good, he was sighted in, and the two jeeps and the idiot were last seen leaving the training area.
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