page_title: NORTHAG War Headquarters Cannerberg
section_title: Format
hierarchical_section_title: NORTHAG War Headquarters Cannerberg / History / Period 1954-1993 Cold War / Format
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: NAVO hoofdkwartier Cannerberg - Bunker English: NATO headquarters Cannerberg - Bunker
context_page_description: NATO Headquarters Cannerberg / Joint Operations Centre, located behind the Château Neercanne south of Maastricht, on the border with Belgium, was, during the Cold War, a communications center and headquarters of NATO. It housed the war headquarters of Northern Army Group and Second Allied Tactical Air Force.
context_section_description: The floor of this quarry was already hardened with concrete by the Germans, also they had electric lighting. Since the complex is in a former quarry, it is a maze of corridors. Here is structure in affixed by the Middle gang the "Main Street", and are against the hands on the clock in, the course named after the letters of the NATO alphabet of Alpha to Golf Street. The offices in the hallways were numbered from low to high, starting at 1 from the Main Street.
  In 1955 was in the quarry by NATO an interim war headquarters located: "a temporary site to be used only in war". From 17 February 1956 got the Headquarters as "ultra secret" because it's from that moment at Royal Decree was placed under the Law on State secrets. November 20, 1980 in the edition of weekly magazine Vox of the Belgian Armed Forces was reported on this secret underground NATO Headquarters: "somewhere in the region of Maastricht".
  As a result of the construction of the iron curtain got the bunker also from 1 July 1963 in peacetime a permanent (24 hours a day, all year) military occupation. From that time there were during the day such a 300-400 Dutch, Belgian, German, English and American soldiers about 40 persons, active at night and at multiple-day exercises up to 1000 people. Should the war break out, then could the regional headquarters of the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF) immediately from the German Rheindahlen (near Mönchengladbach), where it was housed in peacetime, be moved to this location. Also was Allied Tactical Operations Centre (ATOC) in the complex. This organization would be if necessary, give commands to the offensive on behalf of 2ATAF aircraft. In addition it was here the command of the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG, Northern army group). This command covered the Dutch, British, Belgian, German and possibly American country units in the North of West Germany. In the event of war it would be Joint Operations Centre (JOC) with forward command posts and their units by means of the communication system of the NATO Air Defence Ground Environment (J). During the cold war was a special task for the Delta company 30 Natresbat Tactical Natrescompagniestaf Nr. 16. According to the operation plan of the then National Territorial Command in Gouda would this staff with 3 Natres platoons upon the issue of 'telegram N' under the command of the NATO commander of the Northern Army Group to secure the JOC of the Northern Army Group/Second Allied Tactical Air Force (NORTHAG/TWO ATAF STATIC) in the Cannerberg and the NATO Information and Communication System (NICS) near Maastricht.
caption: Bunker
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