Mines
The East Germans laid over 1 . 3 million
anti personnel mines along the border from 1961 until 1985. Their only
purpose was to prevent crossing from East to West. Along the border, to
include the Eaglehorse sector, the mines fell into two groups, the
buried land mines found between the two close running fence lines of
the second generation barrier system and the fence mounted " shot gun "
mines found on the single fence lines of the third generation barrier.
The ground laid mines, in wooden, plastic
and steel cases, were very unstable and prone to explosion in a quick
thaw then freeze, heavy rain or contact with wildlife. Working with
these mines was very dangerous and often, the mine pattern established
by the engineers was useless in the recovery process as the mines had
shifted position. The East Germans hung " Danger Mines " signs on the
second generation fences; these signs faced towards the West.
As the engineer troops of the border
guard units converted sections of the barrier system from second to
third generation fence, the buried land mines were recovered or, more
often, detonated in place, to clear the area for the construction of the
new, single ply fence. These operations were dangerous and carefully
watched by the GAK's of the DDR, the Bundesgrenzschutz of the Federal
Republic and the patrol members of the US cavalry. Even after
reunification, the former East German government admitted that it could
not account for the location of almost 18 ,000 mines, the vast majority
were ground mines. These mines were probably exploded but not recorded
in recovery operations or lost due to weather and animals.
Interestingly, as of 1985, the West German
government was offering financial aid to the DDR linked specifically to
the clearing of the ground mines. Even after the reunification of the
two Germanys with the great economic and technological assistance of the
former West Germany, it was not until late 1995 that the Federal
Government certified that the last areas of the former border region
were free of land mines. The final section cleared was by Hof, not too
far to the southeast of the Eaglehorse sector. In 1995 US dollars, the
final cost of clearing the border region in Germany of mines and
barriers was put at over 142 million. For more information on mines and
East German engineer troop activities, please see the " Engineer Troops
" tab.
This sign, from the
Eaglehorse sector in 1977, " Attention ... Mines .... Barrier ....
Danger to Your Life " found on a run of 2nd generation barrier fence.
The sign faces to the West, of no help to a potential escapee.
--Tartella
Seen in the center of
the frame, an anti personnel mine, pulled to the surface and rolled on
it's side by the frost. A common scene along the second generation
fence lines.--Erwin Ritter
Border Troop engineers
on a dangerous hunt for mines in the area between the two fences of a
second generation barrier run. They wear padded uniforms, special
helmets and carry wooden poles to prod for ground mines. --Erwin Ritter
Searching for mines by
hand, a group of engineer troops clears a run of second generation fence
prior to upgrade. Note ambulance in upper right corner of photo.
--Tartella
As the barrier evolved
to the third generation, single fence, the East Germans retired the
unreliable ground mines in favor of the SM 70 " hot gun" mine,
mounted to the concrete support posts of the inside runs of the new
style fence. Clearly seen in this photo, the mine could be triggered by
a trip wire or by signal from a command tower. On occasion, West
German civilians would toss stones at the fences to try and trigger the
mines. --Erwin Ritter
In this photo, we are
standing in West Germany but looking along the back of a run of third
generation fence line. Two SM 70 mines can be seen; they appear as
small, gray rectangular boxes attached to the fence. Metal outriggers
that maintain the position of the trip wires can clearly be seen.
--Erwin Ritter
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