United States Army Garrison Schweinfurt (USAG Schweinfurt) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

military community located in and around

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1945 to 2014. The garrison comprised two installations (Conn and Ledward Barracks), two housing areas (Askren Manor and Yorktown Village Housing Area), and two local training areas (''Brönnhof'' or Area M) in Pfändhausen, to the north of

as well as Sulzheim (Sulzheim Training Area), 15 minutes to the south of

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

-era installations in

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

Bad Neustadt Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often simply called Bad Neustadt, is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. It is situated on the rivers Fränki ...

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Francon ...

, and Oerlenbach were closed prior to the closure of USAG Schweinfurt in the years following

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990. The installations that would go on to comprise Ledward and Conn Barracks of USAG Schweinfurt began construction in 1935. Ledward Barracks was then a Heer tank barracks, constructed from 1935–36 for Panzerregiment 4, then called the ''Schweinfurt Panzerkaserne'' or ''Adolf-Hitler-Kaserne'', while Conn Barracks, originally known as ''Flugplatz Schweinfurt'' was constructed from 1936–37 as a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

airfield, which was used to base Ju 87 Stuka bombers. Troops from the 42nd Infantry Division, Seventh U.S. Army liberated the constituent installations and the city of

on April 11, 1945. Immediately following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the ''Flugplatz'' was renamed ''Schweinfurt Air Base'', and used by the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

; the former ''Panzerkaserne'' was used as a refugee camp for displaced Estonians, Yugoslavs, Lithuanians, and Poles, while also containing U.S. consular offices. On October 19, 1946, the ''Panzerkaserne'' was redesignated Ledward Barracks, in honor of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

William J. Ledward, Commander of the 27th Artillery Battalion, killed in action in Italy in 1944. On December 22, 1947, Schweinfurt Air Base was redesignated Conn Barracks, in honor of 2nd Lieutenant Orville B. Conn, Jr. of the 6th Cavalry Group, killed in action in France in 1944. Under the United States Army, Schweinfurt was home to approximately 11,000 people at its peak, including about 6,000 Soldiers, family members, Department of Defense civilian employees, and their dependents. At the time of its closing, USAG Schweinfurt was subordinate to

United States Army Installation Management Command The United States Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) is a support formation of the United States Army responsible for the day-to-day management of Army installations around the globe. Army garrisons are communities that provide many o ...

– Europe and was an indirect report garrison under USAG Ansbach, as part of the ''

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

Military Community''. The installation was returned to the German government on September 19, 2014 due to an ongoing effort to concentrate the U.S. military's footprint in Germany to fewer communities. Since the end of the Army's tenancy, the installation has been utilized by the German government for a variety of uses, including the housing of refugees from the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

References

External links

U.S. Army Garrison Schweinfurt website
{{coord missing, Germany Schweinfurt (district) Schweinfurt Military installations of the United States in Germany