This small bunker was the forward command post of the Soviet 8th Guards Army. The 8th Army was the main spearhead of the Russian thrust into Berlin in 1945, where the commanding officer, a Lieutenant General Vasily Chuikov, took the surrender of the commander of the German forces defending Berlin. The 8th Army then became part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, with their 8th Army HQ in Weimar-nohra. During the Cold War the 8th army was opposed to the US V Corps along the Fulda Gap in Germany. The 8th Army consisted of 1 Guards Tank division and 3 Guards Motor Rifle divisions.
The 8th Army was withdrawn from Germany in 1992 and stood down back to Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) before being finally disbanded in 1994.
This bunker is all that remains now, hidden deep in a forest in the former East Germany. It comprises of a smaller original bunker dating from approx the 1970’s or 80’s some time, but appears to have been enlarged with a bunker along side that is of more modern construction, presumably the late 1980’s. The bunker has been either comprehensively stripped or was in the process of being upgraded/extended when the end of the Cold War overtook it. Its hard to tell as there is precious little information available on former Soviet sites in Germany. The bunker is is fairly derelict although all rooms are accesible, unfortunately nothing really remains with just empty rooms seen throughout. The entrances all bar one are extensively backfilled with rubble. Some period Russian graffiti can be seen in some places.
