Campbell Barracks, circa 1945

Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, is the primary billeting area for enlisted staff of the Headquarters of the United States Army in Europe (HQ USAREUR). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1027x879, 140 KB) Summary from http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1027x879, 140 KB) Summary from http://www. ... Map of Germany showing Heidelberg Heidelberg (halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... The Seventh United States Army, also known as USAREUR, is the main American force in Europe. ...

Early History

The first American troops entered Heidelberg on the morning of Good Friday, 30 March 1945, the city surrendering without a fight. The U.S. units that initially occupied Großdeutschland-Kaserne (now Campbell Barracks) are not known, but by V-E Day—8 May 1945—the caserne was occupied by the headquarters of the U.S. 6th Army Group. The Army Group headquarters was inactivated in June 1945, whereupon the headquarters of the U.S. Seventh Army moved from Augsburg to Heidelberg, officially opening at Großdeutschland-Kaserne on 22 July 1945.

The Seventh Army headquarters remained in Heidelberg until its inactivation on 31 March 1946. The headquarters of the U.S. Third Army then moved from Bad Tölz to Großdeutschland-Kaserne on 2 April 1946. In the meantime the Third Army had activated a new organization on 15 February 1946 called the U.S. Constabulary. The Constabulary was basically a police force with the mission of maintaining law and order in the U.S. Zone of what was then occupied Germany. A year later, on 15 February 1947, the Constabulary headquarters moved from Bamberg to Großdeutschland-Kaserne and the Third Army headquarters was inactivated on 15 March 1947.

During this time the headquarters of the U.S. Army in Europe, then known as the U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET), was stationed in Frankfurt in the IG Farben Building (the Abrams building). On 15 March 1947, the same day Third Army headquarters was inactivated, USFET was redesignated as the European Command (EUCOM), not to be confused with the joint United States European Command (USEUCOM) of today.

In the series of phased moves between February and June 1948, the Constabulary headquarters moved from Heidelberg to Stuttgart and the EUCOM headquarters moved into the vacated facilities at Großdeutschland-Kaserne.

The caserne was formally renamed Campbell Barracks on 23 August 1948 in memory of Staff Sergeant Charles L. Campbell, 14th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously for extraordinary heroism. On 28 March 1945, 2 days before the surrender of Heidelberg, Staff Sergeant Campbell led a patrol across the Rhine River near Mannheim and was killed whiled covering the withdrawal of his patrol as it returned to the west bank with valuable information.

Until July 1949 the Commander in Chief, EUCOM, was also the U.S. Military Governor of occupied Germany. His office and personal staff were in Berlin. The ranking officer in Heidelberg was the EUCOM Chief of Staff. While Lieutenant General Clarence R. Huebner was the EUCOM Chief of Staff, the riding hall in building 31 was converted to a casino, which opened on 4 March 1949.

Joint Headquarters Activation

The next significant organizational change came on 1 August 1952 when a new joint headquarters, the United States European Command (USEUCOM), was activated in Frankfurt. At the same time, the EUCOM headquarters in Heidelberg was redesignated the United States Army, Europe (USAREUR). A small NATO planning cell called the CENTAG Plans Staff was also established at this time within the USAREUR headquarters staff, with the Commander in Chief, USAREUR, given the additional title of Commander, CENTAG (COMCENTAG). In April 1959 the CENTAG Plans Staff was designated Headquarters, CENTAG, and separated from the USAREUR headquarters staff. The USAREUR G3 (as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, was then known) nevertheless continued to serve as the CENTAG Chief of Staff while serving as the USAREUR G3.

The Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), formally activated a separated CENTAG headquarters on 1 October 1960. Between June and August 1961 the CENTAG headquarters staff moved from Campbell Barracks to Hammonds Barracks in Seckenheim.

On 1 December 1966 the Seventh Army headquarters (which had been reactivated in Stuttgart in November 1950) merged with the USAREUR headquarters. This new headquarters was designated Headquarters, United States Army, Europe, and Seventh Army (HQ USAREUR/7A).

In the late 1970s a series of studies concluded that interallied coordination would be improved by stationing three international NATO headquarters on the same installation with HQ USAREUR/7A. This resulted in the headquarters of the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4ATAF) moving into building 8 of Campbell Barracks in September 1980. The CENTAG headquarters returned to Campbell Barracks in December 1980, occupying offices in buildings 3,5, and 7 (with an office for the CENTAG Chief of Staff in building 1). Finally, the headquarters of the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land) moved to Campbell Barracks in December 1980, occupying part of building 7.

Following the Cold War

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the demise of the Soviet Union, and the dissolution of the East European Communist Block radically changed the politico-military situation in Europe. In addition to significant reductions and realignments of U.S. forces in Germany, a number of changes occurred in the NATO military organizational structure, all of which affected stationing at Campbell Barracks.

On 30 June 1993 CENTAG and 4ATAF discontinued operations. On 1 July 1993 the headquarters of NATO’s Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT) became operational on Campbell Barracks with a staff from seven nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States). LANDCENT moved into offices in buildings 3,7, and 8, formerly used by CENTAG and 4ATAF. The CENTAG Chief of Staff office suite in building 1 was returned to USAREUR. In the summer of 1994, V Corps headquarters moved from Frankfurt to Campbell Barracks.

See also:

http://www.history.hqusareur.army.mil/campbell.htm
http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/