Staufen bombing 8 February 1945

The Southern German town of Staufen im Breisgau was bombed on this date by 12 P47s from the fighter group 1/5 Champagne. My research at the official website of the Groupe Chasseurs 1/5 Champagne makes no mention of any attack at this or any date in 1945. I have tried to contact the authors of this website, but the addresses did not work. Can anyone help me with this? P.S. I already know of the work of Mr. Thierry Feral, who is my source for this information.

[researcher111]

I wonder what legit target a small village like Stauffen must have been in WWII ....unless at the hill's top some Radar sites were mounted to survail FFA air movements at Colmar Air Base on the other side of the border in France ,eventually air traffic to Switzerland .....I live 15 minutes drive from this village and visited numerous times.

I live in Staufen and I can tell you that there is still a lot to learn about the strategic importance of this town in the last months of the war. Staufen had two train lines and a bridge, not to mention several intersections.
I invite you to check out the French website documenting the missions flown over this part of Germany by Allied air forces: http://www.histavia21.net/LIEUX-HIST...45-detail1.htm
You will see that there were potential targets everywhere, even in the smallest villages. Actual eyewitnesses of the bombing of Staufen all report the presence of troops and war material on the day of the attack. 1/3 of the victims there were soldiers. The German forces were retreating from the Rhine in great number. Even though the Luftwaffe was no threat anymore, there were Flak batteries everywhere.

[FrankieS]

wiki says:
Gegen Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs, am 8. Februar 1945, wurde Staufen Opfer eines alliierten Luftangriffs. Er richtete schwere Zerstörungen an und legte die Innenstadt in Schutt. Zeitzeugen berichten, dass in Staufen zum Zeitpunkt des Angriffs viele deutsche Truppen stationiert waren, die aus Frankreich abgezogen worden waren. Es heißt, dass französische Piloten, die britische Flugzeuge flogen, die Eisenbahnbrücke zerstören wollten, da diese für den Rückzug der deutschen Truppen wichtig war.

[researcher111]

Very interesting feedback...to my knowledge French FFA was equipped with P-47's and some P-38's at either Colmar AB Meyenheim or Strassburg which may
or may have not been involved on the Stauffen attack...strange the retreating German troops would come that close to Basel, Switzerland rather seek refuge
further and safer to Freiburg i.B

The units (GC 1/4 and 1/5) that bombed Staufen were stationed at Dole-Tavaux and flew p-47s. It is not surprising that German troops sought to withdraw into the Black Forest. Staufen lies at the edge of the forest and at the mouth of the Münstertal Valley, which leads up into the mountains. This is about 40 km from Basel: not a particularly short stretch in time of war, at least for ground troops. The bombing of Staufen probaby convinced the Bürgermeister on April 22 that it would be better to capitulate than to resist, and he secretely negotiated with the French command in Offnadingen. The SS guards who tried to blow up the bridge as French troops approached on the next day were shot. On April 22, SS troops kidnapped and executed a popular cleric, decan Willibald Strohmeier, in the forest above Münstertal. Fighting continued in the Münstertal Valley for days after that. It is unfortunate that a French historian recently added his two cents' worth to the legend that Staufen was of no military importance. He tried to "prove" that it was bombed to avenge the death of a popular commander and to relieve the French pilots of their pent-up frustration... I am working on setting the record straight.

[John Beaman]

FrankieS,

This forum is an English only forum unless you are quoting from an original WWII document. Wiki does not count as such. Please post your answer in English for the benefit of all.

[researcher111]

Interesting details , not much into my research area though good to hear all this. Of a particular interest would be more details into why the P-47's based SE of Dijon were used from such distance rather than the US and FFA assets stationed near Colmar and Strassbourg which were within distance. Once the weather allows I will be going to Stauffen and research more details on spot.


The old Confectionary shop ( probably one of the best in the area and adjacent Swiss border ) existed way before WWII and remained an attraction place for turists and cake lovers

http://www.cafe-decker.de/konditorei.html

I would be very interested in hearing what you find out in Staufen, though I believe the relevant documents are elsewhere (Freiburg? Müllheim?). It should be difficult to resolve such problems as to why units stationed farther away went into action rather than others closer to Staufen. As it is, for aircraft, Strasbourg is not really that much closer.
Your reference to Café Decker is cryptic and does not seem to address the topic.