Editing Augsburg (section)

=== Second World War and Cold War ===
[[File:A-Polish-woman-weeps-as-she-tells-her-story-to-US-troops-142365089506.jpg|thumb|A Polish woman weeps as she tells American soldiers of her life as a [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|slave labourer]] for the Nazis. She was liberated in Augsburg when the third-largest Bavarian city fell to the Americans (23 April 1945).]]

Augsburg was historically a militarily important city due to its strategic location. During the German re-armament before the [[World War II|Second World War]], the Wehrmacht enlarged Augsburg's one original Kaserne (barracks) to three: Somme Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Artillerie-Regiment 27); Arras Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 27) and Panzerjäger Kaserne (housing Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 27 (later Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27)). Wehrmacht Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27 was later moved to [[Füssen]].

The [[MAN SE|MAN]] factory at Augsburg was the largest German manufacturer of engines for U-boats in [[World War II]] and became the target of the Augsburg Raid. When the [[Avro Lancaster]] bomber was new in service, the [[RAF]] sent 12 at low level to bomb the factory in daylight, on 17 April 1942. The bombers were intercepted en route and only five returned, all damaged. The factory was damaged but production continued; the factory was repeatedly bombed later. A subcamp of the [[Dachau concentration camp]] outside Augsburg supplied approximately 1,300 forced labourers to local military-related industry, especially the [[Messerschmitt]] AG military aircraft firm, headquartered in Augsburg.<ref>Wolfgang Sofsky, William Templer, ''The Order of Terror - The Concentration Camp'', [[Princeton University Press]], 1999 {{ISBN|0-691-00685-7}}, page 183</ref><ref>Edward Victor, ''Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps'' {{cite web |url=http://www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/List%20of%20camps.htm |title=List of Camps |access-date=25 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216205741/http://edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/List%20of%20Camps.htm |archive-date=16 December 2010}}</ref>

In 1941 [[Rudolf Hess]], without [[Adolf Hitler]]'s permission, secretly took off from a local Augsburg airport and flew to Scotland, crashing in [[Eaglesham]], to the south of Glasgow. His objective was to meet the [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton]] in an attempt to mediate the end of the European front of [[World War II]] and join sides for the upcoming Russian Campaign.

The Reichswehr Infanterie Regiment 19 was stationed in Augsburg and became the base unit for the Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 40, a subsection of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27 (which later became the Wehrmacht Panzerdivision 17). Elements of Wehrmacht II Battalion of Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99 (especially Wehrmacht Panzerjäger Kompanie 14) was composed of parts of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27. The Infanterie Regiment 40 remained in Augsburg until the end of the war, finally surrendering to the United States on 28 April 1945 when the [[U.S. Army]] occupied the city. The city and its Messerschmitt works were [[Bombing of Augsburg in World War II|bombed on three occasions]] during the war. Collateral damage included the destruction of just under 25% of all homes in the city and the deaths of several hundred people.<ref name=diaryfeb44>{{Cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/feb44.html |title=Campaign Diary February 1944 |work=Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |access-date=7 December 2014 |publisher=UK Crown |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/feb44.html |archive-date=6 July 2007}}</ref>

Following the war the three Kasernen changed hands confusingly between the [[United States|American]] and Germans, finally ending up in US hands for the duration of the [[Cold War]]. They became the three main US barracks in Augsburg: Reese, Sheridan and FLAK. US Base FLAK had been an anti-aircraft barracks since 1936 and US Base Sheridan "united" the former infantry barracks with a smaller Kaserne for former [[Luftwaffe]] communications units.

The American military presence in the city started with the U.S. 5th Infantry Division stationed at FLAK Kaserne from 1945 to 1955, then by [[U.S. 11th Airborne Division|11th Airborne Division]], followed by the [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division]], U.S. Army [[VII Corps (United States)|VII Corps]] artillery, [[701st Military Intelligence Brigade|USASA Field Station Augsburg]] and finally the [[66th Military Intelligence Brigade (United States)|66th Military Intelligence Brigade]], which returned the former Kaserne to German hands in 1998. Originally the Heeresverpflegungshauptamt Südbayern and an Officers' caisson existed on or near the location of Reese-Kaserne but was demolished by the occupying Americans.