20 years ago: How i nearly started WW3

[+Gepard 10,690]

Its now nearly 20 years ago, that i nearly had started WW3. And this came so:

It was February 1989. I came fresh from the Sergeant School to my new helicopter squadron. It was a very small unit, around 100 men (pilots, technicians, meteorological personal, staff etc) and i must say i had a very good live there. It was like a big family.

By certain circumstances i became a member of the SAR Team which was founded in early March. Our job was to search and rescue shot down pilots, a more theoretically job, but it was the order from "above" to form such a team and so was it done. You cant compare it with todays CSAR operations, we were only 4 men for this job, so it was a better joke.

After some training on the job we were ordered to go to the border line, to "sniff how the enemy smells". Also we climed on the loading space of a W50 lorry and drove to a border unit. When we arrived there we were seperated, each of us got a skilled border soldier as partner and leader. I came to a Stabsoberfähnrich. He was a Borderranger (Grenzjäger). I had never heared before this term. And so i was not thinking very much as he told me to climb in the small Trabi Jeep. On the backseat sat a dangerous looking german shepherd dog with the name Anja. But it only looked dangerous, in reality it was the most friendly dog i have seen, but that i found out later. At this moment i had a lot of respect for this animal.

The Borderranger drove the car and after a while we stoped near the Border fence. He took Anja on the dog lead and then he was walking straight to a small door in the fence. I thought "What for the hell is is doing?" and then he opend the door and ordered me to follow. Now i learened that the border fence was not the border itself. The fence stood on GDR territory between 50 and 3000 metern "friendward". The terrain between the fence and the border was the patrol area of the Borderrangers. And now my terrain too.

Also we started to walk the line and it was not very different from a camping tour, only that we had a shepherd dog with us and our Kalashnikov rifles on the back. On the first day we saw not much of the "enemy", only some west german BGS who shot some photos from us. Nothing else. The second day was not very different and the strange feeling to walk on the wrong side was gone. But on the 4th day it changed around 13.00 o clock. We had eaten our meal when we heared a sound i have never listend before. It was a mixture between helicopter and panzer tracks.

"We get guests!" told me the Borderranger

"Who?"

"Amis"

And some minutes later a M-1 Abrams tank came out of the wood. Exactly on the border he stoped, then he turned on the place and stood parallel to the border. The hatch opened, the tank commander and a other crewman looked out, grined and started to communicate.

"Dont let provoke." ordered me the Borderranger, "Not one single word."

And so only the americans tried to "deepen the friendly relations between the peoples". Every 3rd or 4th of their words was "f.cking". All and everything was "f.cking". And it seems to be, that she had a funny time. They laughed and we stand only 5 meters away, still and silent and looked on them. After a while of "one sided communication" the two americans started to communicate more provokativly. The raised midle finge gesture and nice words like "stupid commies", "f.cking red krauts", "motherf.ckers", "whitebreads" etc came over the border.

While the Borderranger was completly relaxed, i started to worry about it. Just in this moment Anja, the dog, had a natural need, crouched down and let fall a piece of dirt. Not long thinking i took the dirt and throw it away, directly in the face of the tank commander. It was the first time that i have seen that the face of a black man can become white. One second later the 2 americans vanished in their hatches. Now i started laughing, but only for some seconds, then the turret of the Abrams started to turn and stopped when i looked directly into the gun barrel. It was not really a nice feeling to have a smoothbore gun on your chest. Then the tank commander came out of the turret, but not more smiling, with an angry face.

"Blockhead!" said the Borderranger, and i was not sure wheter he meant me or the americans. Then the shouting over the border started again, but now we shouted back. It was a realy good and long "deepening of friendly relations" now. Finaly the the relaxed behaviour of the Borderranger was gone. He took a handfull earth from a mole hill and pushed it deep into the 120mm gun barrel of the american panzer. This was the moment that i saw the second time the white face of a black man and i dont know how this confrontation would have been ended if not suddenly the sound of a helicopter was hanging into the air. Few seconds later a soviet Mi-24D was hovering and now the american tank commander looked into the barrel of a machine gun. His reaction was fast. He dived into his tank. The engine of the Abrams started and some moments later he run away and disappeared into the wood.

It was a big fun at this moment, a big adventure, but later i got a very big rebuke from my commander. And now 20 years later i think my commander was right. What all could have happen. What if the americans would have shot on us, what if the soviet Mi-24 would have shot on the american Abrams? The start of the big bang in Central Europe? And all this because i had thrown a piece of dog dirt into the face of an other young man.

This was my small adventure on the borderline. I have never seen the border again. I was banished into the hinterland.

[+ravenclaw_007 7,335]

nice story i realy like to see the picture of a soviet mi-24 pilot and a american m-1 comander facing each other on the german-border not sure what to do

[Mannie 21]

Oh man thats funny.

You don't really think that a III WW would have started because of some dog s**t tossed at some tank crewman do you?

Cheers.

[TX3RN0BILL 3]

Although the sh1t literally hit your (then) nr.1 fan , it really is a question wether the sh1t would've hit the fan figuratively... who knows...

[Silverbolt 104]

nice history ! that what i call "F" diplomacy! lol

damn if you had started that i would never had the oportunity to born

Edited January 9, 2009 by Silverbolt

[ONETINSOLDIER 2]

I like the way he calls it the "American Panzer". lol

[+Dave 2,319]

Great story. I laughed my ass off.

[JediMaster 451]

That was great!

[Nathan 0]

Very funny story , i loved it . I think there is a lesson for life in there some where , but i dont think it's in the face of adversity throw dog poo lol . You must have felt like David and Goliath . Even better when the border ranger put dirt up the muzzle of the tanks gun . You think maybe the tank commander got a talking to when he got back . Good shot though bet the inside of the Abrahams smelt nice on the way home lol good job i'd have promoted you . And as for the Hind ive seen them for real to and they scared the poo out of me , doubt i'd have stopped to pick it up to throw back at the hind though

[DWCAce 19]

A modification of Patton's story:

 

Grandson: "Grandpa, how did you start WWIII? Did you lead a divison of The Motherland's Finest into the Fulda Gap?"

 

Grandpa, shifting his grandson to the other knee...: "Well, no, flung dog doo at the Americans..."

[Mike463 0]

We had a term for U.S. Army troops stationed in the Fulda Gap facing the Warsaw Pact-

 

"Speedbumps"

 

Warsaw Pact Order of Battle June 1989

 

http://www.orbat.com/site/history/historic...warsawpact.html

 

Yours, Mike

[+Typhoid 231]

great story!

 

[toonces 4]

Oh man, that was an awesome story!

[Ghost029 1]

Outstanding story. I remember the times well, I had just finish my time in service. :yes:

[Sakai 2]

LOL, that is a great story! Can't say I would have done any different, but I was six years old in 1989, so it would have been more understandable.

Edited January 10, 2009 by Sakai

[+Typhoid 231]

in '89 I was in the European theater assigned to a dual-hatted USN and NATO combat staff.

 

we might have been at it....

 

its a good thing that now we can look back at those incidents and share a laugh.

 

here's to you

 

Edited January 10, 2009 by Typhoid

[+wilco 11]

Maybe that's what the Soviets had their anti-tank dogs for in WW2.

[charlielima 328]

It was a big fun at this moment, a big adventure, but later i got a very big rebuke from my commander. And now 20 years later i think my commander was right. What all could have happen. What if the americans would have shot on us, what if the soviet Mi-24 would have shot on the american Abrams? The start of the big bang in Central Europe? And all this because i had thrown a piece of dog dirt into the face of an other young man.

This was my small adventure on the borderline. I have never seen the border again. I was banished into the hinterland.

I never loose any sleep when Our State Departement has to actually do thier jobs.

Good use of improvised munitions and application of appropriate response.

I think displays by both sides is what keeps bullets and worse from flying in tense areas such as this. However I've always tried to appear to treat potential adversaries with respect. You never know when you can end up on the other side of the fence and be thier "Guest". If you were rude and acted like a barbarian the likely hood of being treated like one by your unintended "host" will be exponentialy increased or you even may dodge doodoo if you're even on the right side of the fence.

:ph34r: CL

Edited January 10, 2009 by charlielima

[jtin 0]

LOL - now that's real diplomacy :yes:

[Roopod 0]

Watched this a few days ago. -Youtube-Video-

I don't know why, but it just reminded me of it again.

Edited January 11, 2009 by Roopod