My last tour in Germany was with the 2nd ACR, which was charged with border patrol along the FRRG/Czech border. Most of our patrol activity was simply running jeeps up and down the grenze, calling in reports on anything unusual...
Like NATO, the Warsaw Pact runs field exercises and this story involves a tank crew from the Soviet Group of Forces in Czech. A T-62 regiment was conducting an exercise close to the border, and we were perched up in a hilltop, watching, taking photos and maintaining a humorous critique of the exercise. We were absorbed in binos and spotting scopes when one of the driver's spotted a T-62 moving down a logging road that approached the border.
Unlike the East/West German border, the border with the Czechs is marked with border stones and warning poles, only in critical points were the normal fencing/towers. So if you didn't pay close attention, you could find yourself crossing the border rather easily.
By this time we were watching this tank approach the border stone, and we could see the TC, trying to read a map and looking like he was totally lost. As the tank crossed into West Germany, we called in the spot report, and the the fhit hit the san!!!
Our squadron commander came up on the radio and ordered us to stop the tank and place the crew under arrest.
Now, picture this, our patrol consisted of two hard topped jeeps, with five men, 4 M-16s and a M-1911A1 was the largest caliber weapon we had. Like most tanks on both sides, S2 had advised that the Soviets loaded at least a partial load of main gun ammo. Hmmmmmm...a 115mm cannon vs a M-16? sounds like a bad WWF match up!!!!
So, we peeled off down the hill, blowing our little horns and pulled up alongside the T62. The TC peered down at us with a questing look and I yelled up at him "Czech" pointing back the way he had come. When he looked back, I pointed the border stone to him and the light bulb went off over his head and he turned his tank around and went back.
A few moments later, two helicopters landed and our squadron and regimental commanders get out. Needless to say, I was racked over the coals by the squadron commander for failing to stop the tank. My only defense, "It was a tank, sir, I had no anti-tank weapons to disable it when it drove off!"
At this, our regimental commander laughed and said "He's right!"
So, only a minor international incident, but least we got some excellent photos of a T62....not to mention the TCs map with all of the field exercise graphics on it!
|