(Swabian Alps, Donautal & Black Forest)

Tour Number 1:

THE SCENIC TOUR

I can offer a Scenic & private, one day tour, where I take you in my car, to the most stunning, historic and picturesque locations, in and around the Tuttlingen area, where you will have fantastic photo opportunities and in some cases – panoramic views – of the Donau River (The Danube), The Donautal River Valley, ruined and preserved castles and sweeping views of beautiful pine forests, lakes, mountains of the Swabian Alps and the Black Forest (SCHWARZWALD) and the wonderful nature. Lake Constance is only a 35 minute drive ! (Some hiking during this tour is required, to be able to see the most beautiful views). On a clear day, you will see the SWISS Alps !

Tours conducted by your professional English guide, who lives in Tuttlingen

email: whitecrossbattlefieldtours@gmail.com for full details and prices etc

Tour Number 2

THE WORLD WAR 2 TOUR

A World War 2 Historical Tour, showing you locations, in and around Tuttlingen, associated with the events of World War 2, including aeroplane crash sites, allied bomb crators, War factories, concentration camps, locations where combat took place etc

Or: I can offer you a combination of both of the above tours

TOUR 2 LOCATIONS

Half day, full day, or 2-3 day tours available. Meeting point: The Markplatz, Tuttlingen

HONBERG – The beautiful Honberg Castle ruins, overlooking the city. (Observation post as the French tanks approached Tuttlingen)

DANUBE WALK (DONAU) & P.O.W CAMP – A short walk along the Donau River (Danube) to Lager Muhlau – Former location of a huge P.O.W camp, that once held 300,000 German Wehrmacht soldiers. Including a look at the Kommandant’s Villa, the location of the former entrance gate, a large restaurant that once cooked all the food for the inmates and the unloading ramp location, from the trains.

THE SINGEN ROUTE – COLDITZ SCHLOSS escapees – Major Pat Reid & Canadian pilot – Hank Wardle, amongst others,  successfully escaped from Colditz Schloss and left the train here at Tuttlingen, to walk to Switzerland. I will show you the exact route, that they took from Tuttlingen Bahnhof and where they entered the forest – following  “The Singen Route”

FACTORIES – A look at several large factories that once made leather goods (some still do) and during World War 2 – they produced boots, uniforms and weapons etc for the German army

Below photo:  My original Leather WEHRMACHT MEDIC’S Sanitatstasche (Medical bag). Dated 1940 and made by Tuttlingen factory BOLLMANN GMBH & Co….

AIR-RAIDS

During WW2, Tuttlingen and it’s railway station (Bahnhof), suffered 5 air-raids, by allied planes. Therefore, I can show you where houses and buildings were destroyed, the targets of the raids and a short forest walk, i will show you 2 huge bomb crators, from one of these raids.

Cemetery memorial to several hundred Nazi victims that were murdered prior to the end of WW2.

Location of anti-aircraft flak guns

ADOLF HITLER PLATZ -Location of the former restaurant, where the local S.S had gatherings and important meetings, plus the site where a tree was planted in 1933, to commemorate Hitler becoming Chancellor. The street was re-named Adolf Hitler Platz.

Former temporary Lazarett’s (Military Hospital’s), that were used to treat wounded soldier’s.

BRIDGES – A look at the old bridge that was wired with explosives as the French soldiers and tanks tried to cross the Donau (The Danube)

LAST STAND OF THE WAFFEN S.S

WAFFEN SS – Exact location of where 50 Waffen S.S armed soldiers tried to stop the first French tank entering Tuttlingen, in April 1945 and where the ensuing battle occurred.

JEWISH SLAVE LABOUR – Former slave labour quarry.

WW2 LOCOMOTIVES – Several original Locomotives, that were used to haul troops, tanks, supplies, armour, and jews to the concentration camps, during the war.

LUFTWAFFE AIRFIELD & CRASH SITES

LUFTWAFFE BASES – The former Luftwaffe Night Fighter Airfield at Neuhausen ob Eck, with it’s runway, former Luftwaffe ammunition bunkers and memorial to a crashed British Lancaster bomber, that was shot-down by a Messerschmitt BF110 Night Fighter. All the crew were sadly killed.

6 British Lancasters crashed in this area alone !

I will show you the crashsite and memorial to Lancaster BF409

Ober Leutnant Martin Becker  (2.NJD 6), in his Messerchmitt BF110 Nightfighter, shot pathfinder Lancaster Bomber ND409 down, on it’s return from the Friedrichshafen raid, near Tuttlingen.

Sadly all the crew were tragically killed.

R.I.P:

E.C Eaton

P. Wadsworth

L.H Glasspool

K.G Franklin

J.R Dodds

C.A Kidd

R.G Sharland

Also – The  location where a HEINKEL 111 bomber exploded by accident and killed several Luftwaffe soldiers who were loading it with ammunition and bombs. The graves are located nearby.

Plus the crashsite of a Messerschmitt BF110 piloted by Oberfeldwebel Klever in this area

GUNPOWDER FACTORIES – The former huge World War 1 & 2 PULVERFABRIK gunpowder & ammunition factories at Rottweil and Rottweil Prison, where Stauffenberg’s mother was once imprisoned

DONAUESCHINGEN – Former Wehrmacht Barracks (Kaserne) & German military cemetery

Below:  Hitler’s favourite test pilot & famous WW2 aviator – Hanna Reitsch, trained glider pilots here, on the Klippeneck

KZ ECKERWALD – Former Nazi Concentration Camp slave labour works and memorial site.

KZ SCHORZINGEN – Former Nazi Concentration Camp /slave labour camp & cemetery

KZ VULKAN – HASLACH memorial & unfinished  Nazi tunnel project, deep in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald)

KZ BISINGEN ruins, slave labour quarry, Bahnhof & memorial

GRAFFENECK Euthanasia Centre

UBERLINGEN – secret tunnels for war production (unfinished project)

STALAG VB at VILLINGEN (Former location of P.O.W camp at Villingen)

CONCENTRATION CAMP -KZ Spaichingen. Location of former slave labour camp and memorial, plus several camouflaged French ammunition bunkers, hidden in the forest (used by the French army, during occupation)

FOXHOLES – Many Foxholes used by WAFFEN S.S soldiers at the end of the war. Plus several allied bomb crators nearby

BUNKER WW1 -A World War 1 artillery observation bunker

IMMENDINGEN – Location of the air-raids and final battles around the towns of Immendingen & Zimmern. I will show you my original relic MAUSER K98 de-activated German rifle, that was thrown into the Danube near Immendingen, by retreating German soldiers and I will show you the location where it was found

BLUMBERG – I will show you a beautiful, deep forested valley, near Blumberg, where on the 22nd to the 26th of May, 1945, French planes and French troops pursued and attacked the retreating German soldiers, as they desperately attempted to reach the Swiss border. A MESSERSCHMITT BF110 crashed in this area !

LAST BATTLE – The route of retreat for 2,000 German soldiers, being pursued by French soldiers, to make a last stand at Zimmern, on the Donau (Danube). These were remnants of the 106th Infantry Division, 719th Infantry & 352nd Volksgrenadiers.

RAILWAY GUN – The location of where a huge WW1 railway gun was used to test artillery shells, by firing over the Donau (Danube) into the cliff face opposite. (You can still see the impact holes on the cliff face).

FIELD GRAVE – Location of where a returning young Wehrmacht soldier, was executed by French soldiers, just outside Fridingen

RADOLFZELL – WAFFEN S.S shooting range, built by slave labourers. The S.S trained here were Concentration Camp guards

WAFFEN S.S Kaserne (Former barracks)

Impressive WAR MEMORIAL RADOLFZELL

Below: WAFFEN S.S Shooting range near Radolfzell

Below:  Location of the ruins of HITLER’S former top secret headquarters, deep in the forest near Freudenstadt

THE QUIST FACTORY – ESSLINGEN (hundreds of thousands of German helmets (Stahlhelm), were manufactured at this site

HAILFINGEN Luftwaffe Airfield

TANNENBERG – Hitler’s top secret Headquarters ruins near Freudenstadt

Below: The huge PULVERFABRIK Gunpowder factories – ROTTWEIL

Below:   The allied bombing of the Gunpowder factories in Rotttweil – 1942, which killed 19 people

ERICH HARTMANN /HERMANN GRAFF – Luftwaffe pilot aces graves

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN – RADERACH – top secret unfinished V2 Rocket facility ruins, deep in the forest

OBERNDORF – The MAUSERWERKE gun factories. These factories produced thousands of Mauser K98 rifles and LUGER pistols, during WW2

OBERNDORF – Fliegersperre – The German’s hung massive steel cables over the Neckar valley, to protect the MAUSER factories, from allied air attacks

I am currently researching (as of April/May 2020), for LANCASTER BOMBER ND557’s  crashsite, near Wolterdingen, Baden Wurttemberg, which was shot down, AT 23.14 p.m, on the 15th of March 1944, by Oberleutnant Fritz Lau (4.NJD 1), in his MESSERSCHMITT BF110 Night fighter. The aircraft burst into flames and then crashed. It was on a mission to bomb Stuttgart.

Any additional information would be appreciated

Sadly all the crew were all killed on impact.

R.I.P to the crew:

D.A Carter (RAAF) Pilot

P.H Hamby – Co-Pilot (RAF) -See photo below

K.C Dyer (RAAF)

I.H Nicholson (RCAF)

R.G Ryder (RAF)

H.P Riddle (RAF), From Lostwithiel Cornwall

G.A Johnston (RAAF)

R.S Smith (RAAF)

Below photo:  Messerschmitt BF110 Night Fighter (Zerstorer) Crashsite – Baden Wurttemberg