Sennelager Training Area

The Sennelager Training Area (German: Truppenübungsplatz Senne) is a military training area in Germany, under the control of British Forces based in Paderborn Garrison. It covers an area of 116 square kilometres (45 square miles), and belongs to the German Government, which discharges its responsibility through its Institute for Federal Real Estate. The area was first used for military purposes at the end of the 19th century. The Field Marshal Rommel Barracks, Augustdorf is located nearby.

Sennelager Training Area
Senne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Sennelager Training Area insignia
Sennelager Training Area
Coordinates	51°51′N 8°47′E
Type	Military training area
Area	116 km2 (45 sq mi)
Site information
Owner	German Government
Operator	British Army
Controlled by	UK Ministry of Defence
Garrison information
Garrison	British Army Germany

Location

The training area lies north of Paderborn, on the western edge of the Teutoburg Forest in the middle of the Senne, at a height of between 113 metres (371 ft) and 382 m above sea level (NN). The Stapel Exercise Area in Lage, north of Augustdorf, also belongs to the Sennelager Training Area, and covers some 550 hectares (1,400 acres). The land on which the training area is established falls within the boundaries of the following towns and villages: (clockwise beginning in the north): Augustdorf, Detmold, Schlangen (Lippe), Bad Lippspringe, Paderborn, Hövelhof (Paderborn district), and Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock (Gütersloh district).

Current and future use

The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 concluded that the British Forces Germany would close the Sennelager military training area, and repatriate all troops and equipment back to the United Kingdom by 2020.

In November 2021, due to increasing threats of potential hostility from Russia, the British Government updated their stance to reflect the increased level of threat. The defence secretary announced the British Army would return to Germany to form one of three land hubs for the Army. The British Army is to base around 250 tanks and armoured vehicles in Germany, to be ready to respond to a potential Russian invasion.

Gallery

Sennelager Training Area

• 
  Location of the Sennelager Training Area.
• 
  Guardpost with vehicle access control barrier, and red 'danger' flag aloft its flagstaff. The circular signs on the pole to the right indicate 'no pedestrians' (top) and 'no vehicles' (bottom).
• 
  Barracks.
• 
  North-western part of the Sennelager Training Area (Stapel exercise area). The Teutoburg Forest is in the background.
• 
  Typical training area landscape: tank tracks can be clearly seen.
• 
  Assorted collection of former target objects.
• 
  Observation tower.
• 
  Senne Aerodrome, on the edge of the Sennelager Training Area, north of Bad Lippspringe. This was regularly in use by the Royal Air Force Sports Parachute Association (RAFSPA).

See also

• Westfalen Garrison
  • Barker Barracks
• Category: British Army barracks in Germany

References

Bibliography

• Hils, Claudio; et al. (2 July 2000). Red Land Blue Land. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz Publishers. ISBN 3-7757-0930-4. OCLC 45010296. OL 12876676M.
• Piesczek, Uwe (1992). Truppenübungsplatz Senne. Zeitzeuge einer hundertjährigen Militärgeschichte. Chronik, Bilder, Dokumente. Paderborn Bonifatius. ISBN 3-87088-730-3. OCLC 644038781.

Further reading

• Makos, Adam (19 February 2019). Spearhead: an American tank gunner, his enemy, and a collision of lives in World War II (1st ed.). New York, USA: Ballantine Books. p. 269. ISBN 9780804176729. LCCN 2018039460. OL 27342118M.

External links

• Forces bases: Truppenübungsplatz Senne (in German) — at Streitkraeftebasis.de, via Archive.org
• Royal Air Force Sport Parachute Association - Finding A Dropzone — at RAF.MoD.uk, via Archive.org
• Biologische Station Paderborner-Land – Naturschutz auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Senne (in German) — (en) Paderborner Land Biological Station – Conservation on the Sennelager Training Area — at Biologische-Station-Paderborner-Land.de, via Archive.org
• Stadt Bad Lippspringe – Sperrzeiten Truppenübungsplatz Senne (in German) — (en) City of Bad Lippspringe – Closing times for the Senne military training area — Bad-Lippspringe.com, via Archive.org