APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110023-8
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FIGURE 8. The Elbe River in Southern East Germany (U/OU) (photo)
Soils freeze to a depth of 1 foot in most plains areas and to 2 feet in the higher hills. In most places the ground is frozen periodically from early December through February and is snow covered for about one-third of that period; the ground at higher elevations in the south and southwest is almost continuously frozen and snow covered from early December through February. During the spring thaw, beginning in March in most places and in April at higher elevations in the southern highlands, the ground is wet for several weeks. After the thaw, most of the ground remains moist until freezing in early December.
Good concealment of troops and vehicles from aerial observation would be provided by forested areas. Cover from flat-trajectory fire and good concealment from ground observation would be available in the deeply dissected parts of the southern hills, in the low hills, incised valleys, and escarpments of the rolling plains, and in the hillocks and low ridges of the lake belt in the northern part of the plains. Fair concealment and cover from small arms fire would be afforded by river dikes, ditches in fields, and embankments. Some concealment for foot troops would be provided in June and July by extensive grain fields. Bunkers and hasty ground shelter could be constructed readily in most parts of the country, especially in large areas of the plains where soils are deep, well-drained, and easily excavated. Construction of tunnel-type installations would be feasibly only in scattered areas of the southern hills; extensive drilling and blasting would be required.
Most of East Germany is well suited for airborne and airmobile operations. The nearly flat to rolling, cultivated plains offer numerous sites for airdrops, helicopter and assault-type aircraft landings, and the construction of large airfields. Airdrop sites are particularly good in the northern and southern parts of the plain where air approaches are generally unobstructed, and movement from sites would be facilitated by numerous good roads. The large number of airfields scattered throughout the country would provide landing strips for assault-type aircraft. These airfields are most numerous near the center of the country, especially in the vicinity of Berlin. Many sections of autobahns and World War II airstrips now under cultivation or completely abandoned would
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110023-8
