The Potsdam Missions

[scooters]

There was a brilliant documentary on Sky a couple of weeks ago called The Potsdam Missions.

 

During the cold war both sides had MLMs (Military Liaison Missions) operating behind 'enemy' lines. These guys were instrumental in ensuring the Cold War stayed...well....cold. The official purpose of the MLMs was to maintain communications between the opposite sides and to ensure things like local infractions etc didn't get out of control...the real and unofficial purpose was to gather as much information on your opponent as possible,

 

The documentary was mostly focused on the UK, US and French Missions although the Soviets also conducted them.

 

Essentially the 'team' would consist of 3 men

 

British teams usually included:

 

An officer who usually spoke at least German and Russian and would be at least a Captain in rank and would wear undress regimental uniform but would ALWAYS be a member of Army Intelligence, they would also be either experienced infantry, logistics, armour/cavalry, or engineering.

 

A senior Non Commissioned Officer of the type that has been the backboe of our forces for hundreds of years. Unflappable would be key - they were trained in photography, filming, recording etc

 

A highly trained driver who could be of any rank and would be extensively trained both in the UK and Germany in high speed pursuit driving, driving across rough terrain, high speed night driving and escape and evasion. He would usually be a skiled mechanic as well.

 

Then there would be a vehicle -

 

Depending on the decade (these missions ran from the 1950s until the wall came down)

 

There was a wonderful collection of Mercs - W123s especially popular in the 70s and 80's. BMW 2002's, XJ6's, Range Rovers, Opel Monzas, Rover P6, Rover P5, Citroen DS, G Wagons, Volvo 120's/140's/240s, Lotus Cortinas, Big Granadas

 

these cars all had to be -

 

a/comfortable for 3 people

b/ large amount of space in the cabin for storing flasks of tea, sleeping bags, sandwiches, cameras, cinecameras, binos etc

c/ a good sized boot for carrying an extra spare and Jerry Cans as well as some spare parts - points/condensers etc.

 

In addition they usually had the bejesus tuned out of them but were left looking pretty ordinary on the outside. The also had additional headlamps mounted at the exact distance between the headlamps of a Trabant or Wartberg - the same atthe back. This enabled these large cars to pass as East German vehicles at night time by running with the fake lights.

 

They would also disconnect the brake lights - this was essential for pursuit driving when being chased by the Stasi - the drivers could hit the anchors and turn without alerting the pursuers.

 

What would then follow would be trips into East Germany where the MLM teams, which were permitted to visit areas pre approved by the Soviets, would be entirely self sufficiant - whilst not actively hindered by the other side they would go out of their way to make life awkward for them - ie the teams took all their food, drink, fuel etc. The idea was to gather information on Russian troop movements, photograph it and give an expert opinion on how good the other side was at doing things - what was the capability of the kit they had and what tactics could we expect in an attack. All of this was absolutely essential.

 

A wierd Le Caree-esque game of cat and mouse would ensue where the teams would follow the russian columns in thier modified cars and photograph and record vhat they saw whilst it was bloody obvious what they were up to it was also bad form to be stopped and questioned. Oddly enough it was the Stasi and not the Russians who posed the biggest threat, many of the East German civilians would tip off the MLMs - eg: wait here for an hour...and low and behold a convoy of tanks would pass. Frequently there would be high speed chases between the Stasi and the MLMs. The MLMs would always drive flat out the main reason being that you were unlikely to be stopped on the East German roads by the regular Polizi. The only drivers who would speed in Western cars on the East German roads were either West German private citizens (more trouble than it was worth for the Police) or Stasi - and they would not want to stop them given the brutal reputation of that orgainsation.

 

Sometimes the Stasi would succeed in blocking in the MLM team and the extraordinary situation of the three team members sitting in their boxed in car for several hours - sometimes days whilse they totally ignored the Stasi officers around them - hence the tea and sandwiches and sleeping bags. Eventually their non-return woulf be reported by their headquarters and a complaint would go into the Soviets who would then locate the blocked in car, bollock the Stasi and allow the MLM team on its way.

 

Before the UK recognised East Germany (1973) the MLM teams did not acknowledge ANY state representitve of the DDR. More often than not it was the Soviets, who were afterall an occupying army, who ensured the MLM teams could do their jobs effectively.

 

REally interesting period and a huge contribution to peace - both sides, Nato and the Soviets tolerated this because it meant that even if relations soured politically, there was reassurance that neither side was planning an attack, tension was dispelled. If anything the access to the west was more important for the Soviet MLM teams than it was for us. They used to use Mercs BTW - Sometimes big V8 Shaikas or Zils though.

 

Incidents like the crackdown of the Prague Spring were detected by the MLN teams who noted Red Army Barracks in East Germany emptying as they went on a war footing to invade Bohemia.

 

If you get a chance to watch the programme, from a historical perspetive bt also from a shite perspective it is fascinating. A search of Potsdam Missions on google or You Tube will frequently bring up film footage recorded by these guys with plenty of coverage of their extraordinary cars.

 

They would cross the border for anything up to 3/4 days and live in the vehicles, they had to be self sufficiant as no assistance would be rendered by the Stasi - however, the Soviets would frquently

 

There were two deaths - one was in the 1970s when a French Major was squished on an autoroute by a Stasi Lorry - his W123 was pancaked - the Stasi claimed that the French officer had lost control. However, Soviet accident investigators proved that they had deliberately targetted him...In 1986 a Captain Nicholson of the US Army was shot by a Russian sentry..caused a huge diplomatic incident Vice President George Bush (Sn) went to Berlin to discuss it. The Soviets were very concerned (they also had MLMs operating) and proved that it was caused by an sentry acting against orders on his own initiative. The mid 80's saw the MLMs in a key position to judge the morale of units returning from Afganistan.

 

During Glastnost the teams on both sides facilitated the arms reduction programme as they knew where to go and what to look for and also knew their opposite numbers pretty well- mutual respect.

 

Who would have thought that world peace was kept alive by a load of blokes with tashes hooning round East Germany in a souped up Granada?

 

sorry about typos - using a crappy keyboard

[warren t claim]

The story I was told is that they used Senators with very old tech engines so it could be fixed behind the iron curtain with simple tools.

[scooters]

The story I was told is that they used Senators with very old tech engines so it could be fixed behind the iron curtain with simple tools.

 

 

yup I certainly saw early senators with the fake headlight arrangements....often they dropped old tech engines in them - easy to fix like you say...

 

because the mission spanned 40 years many different cars were used but they had to be large, comfortable, quick and relatively easy to fix...guess thats why the W123 was so popular

[dollywobbler]

Isn't there a Senator in a museum here somewhere that was used for these (or similar) missions? Think it's 4x4 IIRC.

[Shep Shepherd]

Isn't there a Senator in a museum here somewhere that was used for these (or similar) missions? Think it's 4x4 IIRC.

 

It's at RAF Cosford:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sestsettrojka/1478224052

 

Incidentally, FF Developments also offered their 4X4 conversion to civilian owners of Senators, Monzas and Royales, but not many cars were converted, as despite it being very effective, the conversion added 50% to the on-the-road price of a standard car.

[dollywobbler]

Fabulous. Some interesting comments on that pic!

[Shep Shepherd]

Found a link to an online version of the documentary:

 

http://www.militaryhistory.co.uk/videos ... aro%26ps=1

 

Guess what I'll be watching this evening?

[scooters]

Found a link to an online version of the documentary:

 

http://www.militaryhistory.co.uk/videos ... aro%26ps=1

 

Guess what I'll be watching this evening?

 

 

well done - result!

[M'coli]

Very interesting - and timely, seeing as there's a Cold War film out this Friday!

[Shep Shepherd]

Just finished watching the documentary. I wont give anything away, but it was fascinating viewing.

 

Here's an album of GR9 photos, featuring various BRIXMIS, USMLM, MMFL and SOXMIS vehicles, which includes a close-up of the aforementioned MMFL Mercedes-Benz W123 after the Stasi hit it and killed its driver, Adjutant Chef Philippe Mariotti:

 

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/252plates/M ... onsColdWar

[Andrew353w]

Just watched it-BRILLIANT!!! We only recently discovered that my late Uncle John was in the British Liaison in the 1970's. A more self-effacing guy you'd never meet! He passed away 3 years ago and NEVER spoke of his job there, but at his funeral a number of friends explained about how things were. It sounded like a great job!

 

Incidentally, excellent photographs of Wartburgs on the film!

[Shep Shepherd]

Just watched it-BRILLIANT!!! We only recently discovered that my late Uncle John was in the British Liaison in the 1970's. A more self-effacing guy you'd never meet! He passed away 3 years ago and NEVER spoke of his job there, but at his funeral a number of friends explained about how things were. It sounded like a great job!

 

Incidentally, excellent photographs of Wartburgs on the film!

 

It's amazing how much you find out about your relatives after they die; my great uncle Jim was similarly self-effacing and I only found out at his funeral that he was a police officer at the Woomera Missile Range in Australia in the 1950s, after which he became an opal miner, making loads of money in the process...

 

I would have loved to have been a member of BRIXMIS, as by all accounts it was a fast-paced and fascinating occupation.

 

I too appreciated the Wartburgs (the footage of the M-B W116 shooting past a couple of them at 130kph or so on a 40kph stretch of autobahn made me laugh), and it was nice to hear someone pronounce their name correctly for once

[RoadworkUK]

Found a link to an online version of the documentary:

 

http://www.militaryhistory.co.uk/videos ... aro%26ps=1

 

Excellent work, everybody.

 

Cheers Scooters for making my afternoon in the showroom a damn site more interesting.

[CreepingJesus]

I worked with a guy who was a driver for these missions and more, in the late 70's/80's. His tales were so extensive, and well recalled, it was difficult not to be impressed.

Apparently, they had cars equipped purely for shortish high speed runs, like Berlin back to W.Germany. Well, shortish. According to Charlie, he'd been tailed increasingly quickly by the Stasi, while driving a tuned XJ12 back to W.Germany. His passenger was an officer with a briefcase of interesting info, so he really needed not to get stopped that time. Unusually, the Stasi officer lost control of their car (he had the utmost respect for the E.Germans' driving ability btw), so a recovery squad was called while the Jag charged for the border.

When they grabbed the wreck and dragged it back, to have a look, it turned out the standard issue Stasi 'black saloon' (GAZ?) had a ruddy great V8 in the back, complete with blower and water injection. On ostensibly standard looking tyres, suspension and brakes

[chaseracer]

...the standard issue Stasi 'black saloon' (GAZ?) had a ruddy great V8 in the back, complete with blower and water injection. On ostensibly standard looking tyres, suspension and brakes

With a V8 in the back, that sounds like a Tatra...

[Shep Shepherd]

...the standard issue Stasi 'black saloon' (GAZ?) had a ruddy great V8 in the back, complete with blower and water injection. On ostensibly standard looking tyres, suspension and brakes

With a V8 in the back, that sounds like a Tatra...

 

That's what I thought. The GAZ Volga was available to the KGB, SOXMIS, etc. with a V8 engine, but it was mounted at the front of the car

[CreepingJesus]

I wish I could remember better - it's been the better part of 10 years since I heard the story - but what I will say, is that the story hinged around the V8 being a surprise, 'cos it wasn't what they expected to find in there. Far less the blower and water injection setup. They had wondered how the Stasi were able to keep pace with the Jags (and blown V8 Mercs, and iirc a big block Camaro the Americans had) which were built to be rock steady at 150mph.

I could be entirely wrong about the location of the engine, but I am wondering if it was a Tatra he was talking about, 'cos swing-axle suspension was mentioned. I'm pretty sure that was common on Tatras, wasn't it?

As an aside, the two E.Germans in the car were spirited away too, treated for their injuries, and handed back on the quiet. Apparently, they spoke perfect English, and were very well up on football, of the association and American varieties. They kept the guards busy getting all the inside info on the subject that they could! I'm sure he told me that, bizarrely, one of them was an avid Arsenal fan.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

CJ, unless I am missing something bloody obvious, that story sounds well confusing. How were the Westerners allowed to call a recovery squad in DDR territory, or, alternatively, why were Stasi allowed to keep following Jags into Bundesrepublik land?

[gtd2000]

I'd completely forgotten about SOXMIS etc - amazing what gets lost amongst the cobwebs!

 

There's also a book about the BRIXMIS - I'll need to watch that online program to refresh my memory:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0006386733/ref=nosim?tag=armrumser-20

 

 

A couple of lads from my unit went skiing in the Harz mountains and came across a German lookout tower. They decided to say hello but unknown to them they had somehow crossed over into the DDR (deep snow blown over the border fence supposedly) and were arrested!

 

According to the story, they were bundled into the back of a truck at gun point and taken to Russia "for a chat" to be returned weeks later after signing all sorts of confessions

[Guest]

Same era same war... by me here in Kent is Fort Halstead, an MOD place, incidently where the remains of Princess Di/Dodi's car are stored.

Anyway, it's a MOD Research place for all sorts of gubbins.

The old boy who taught me to fix/maintain theodolites etc worked there in the Cold War.

Every Thursday a furniture van, I envisage Dad's Army BANG 2 3 4, type thing, would drive slowly round the perimeter, no points for guessing who that was!

I addition he worked on Concorde doing surveying stuff.

Eh?

Well they had to measure the flex and movement so he was called in to do that.

Oddly there's two sets of curtains up the aisle in Concorde.

Why?

Because he reckoned if you could look the whole way up or down the plane you'd sh*t your kecks at the mount it flexed!

 

Actually thinking about it he had some proper old chod, a very very faded, badly reparied, gel coat cracked Bond Equipe, this must of been about 15 years ago.

[CreepingJesus]

CJ, unless I am missing something bloody obvious, that story sounds well confusing. How were the Westerners allowed to call a recovery squad in DDR territory, or, alternatively, why were Stasi allowed to keep following Jags into Bundesrepublik land?

 

Bottom line is this: there was a long running entente cordiale of sorts at work here. Many of the staff and officers on both sides saw it as a bit of sport, a game. They played cat-and-mouse with each other to such an extent, that if there was a crash or breakdown (which, with the best will in the world, is a risk) the 'snatch' squads would have a little game of cat-and-mouse of their own. Get to the given point first and rescue/arrest people and vehicles.

In the case I was talking about, Charlie's 'co-pilot' radio'd in, to alert the 'snatch'/recovery team (call them what you will) while they were still charging at speed for the border. Remember also, that all the drivers were specialsts: drive anything, anywhere, at any time, in any conditions to the highest standards. So charging out in a Landy or a 3 tonner to pick up two prisoners and a wreck, was bread and butter for them.

Ultimately, no-one was technically allowed to be where they were, by any standard their activities constituted espionage, and could have attracted the death penalty almost anywhere. Read Lt Col Scoots' post again, and realise that there was a kind of respect going on. This was nothing like the Gary Powers incident, because it was all covert - there wasn't much to attract that kind of attention. Mostly, if arrested, it was name rank and number, some token interrogation, then a drive back to the border to be handed over. Whereupon the game started again.

[gtd2000]

I'm having a bit of a laugh to myself here at the assumption of these people all being highly trained experts. My own experience of life in green would not be so positive by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I often have a joke with some of my more "conservative" German friends and comment that their army must have been really fucking useless to allow us to win any wars against them

 

The old adage "couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery" would fit most of the senior ranks, with precious few exceptions.

 

And that oxymoron "planned with military precision"..

 

Scooters has probably heard that the council in Edinburgh are in line for an award this year - how many fuck ups have they managed this year? Just how inept are the other councils if they are in line for an award - same principle as the Army really?

 

Here's a highly trained Artillery Recon expert in Cyprus: