Nuclear Battlefield Germany 1950-63

US Army Vehicles during the Early Cold War in West Germany

In the event of an attack by the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, the use of nuclear weapons was part of the defensive concept of the Western alliance, comprising NATO and the USA. From the early 1950s rearmament began, particularly in the area of nuclear weapons, to compensate for NATO’s conventional inferiority and to act as a deterrent. The 7th US Army in West Germany received its first nuclear-missile artillery as early as 1954. This was done as part of a strategic nuclear doctrine of “massive retaliation” in the event of an attack by the Warsaw Pact on Western Europe. At the same time, conventional troops of the 7th US Army were reinforced.

This publication shows, in impressive exercise photographs, the vehicles of the US Army in West Germany from 1950-63 - a bitter period when, had the Cold War ever turned into actual combat, the whole of Germany would have been annihilated in a nuclear firestorm.

ABC Abwehrkräfte

Vehicles on the NBC Defence Force of the modern German Bundeswehr

The German Bundeswehr has the world’s most modern systems for NBC reconnaissance and decontamination. This equipment is based on mature technical development and it will remain in use for many years to come. Nevertheless, new technologies and procedures are constantly being tested that are more powerful than those previously used. The most important systems of the NBC defence forces are the TEP 90 decontamination equipment based on the heavy Truck 15 tonne 8x8 FSA, the light decontamination forces based on the protected Mungo specialised wheeled vehicle to accompany airmobile formations and the Spürpanzer Fuchs - NBC Fox - wheeled armoured vehicle.

This publication describes in detail the structure of the modern German NBC defence forces, their equipment and the various specialised and support vehicles in service today.