Reported by G.Müller (former ensign in the Kugelbake battery):

After a course in Husum, I was transferred to the Kugelbake battery in Cuxhaven "for front-line probation". I remember the following about the events of the last six months in the battery:

In terms of culture, the battery offered a lot, as it was a test subject in the department. All performances were submitted to us first. If they were deemed good, they could be presented or performed in the other batteries in the department. This applied not only to lectures and performances, but also to films.

A choir was founded in the battery under the direction of Sergeant Gorski. During one musical evening, for example, the choir performed the "Trout Quintet".

1945 war der Außendeich bis zur Einfahrt gesperrt. Im Kugelbake Hafen lag ein Kohlenschiff, das bewacht wurde. Mit den Wächtern kam man ins Gespräch. Sie wurden mit Spirituosen und Zigaretten bestochen, und so ergänzte man in den Batterieunterkünften den Vorrat an Kohlen.

One event towards the end caused some consternation. A member of the battery named Jordan from Tangermünde had drawn up a "black list". He wanted to declare Kugelbake a base and protect it against all enemy attacks. Everyone on this list was to be shot in an emergency, with the battery commander being the first to be named. Jordan had already procured a pistol for this purpose, but events moved too quickly and fortunately the plan was not carried out.

As the enemy troops came ever closer and faster, the end of the war was already in sight. There was a fear that the battery would be destroyed by bombs or artillery fire. This suspicion was given new impetus as reconnaissance aircraft had been spotted over the battery. In this uncertainty, the battery commander ordered the naval assistants to march to Brockeswalde and Sahlenburg. In doing so, he risked having to "report unclearly" the battery in the event of an attack. At that time, this would have inevitably resulted in a court martial.

On May 7, 1945, the English approached Cuxhaven and later Döse. They drove carefully along Strandstrasse in armored reconnaissance vehicles. Alert and always ready to shoot immediately if there was any resistance. At that time, the cherry trees were in bloom in the front gardens - it was May, after all. The English then sat down in front of the battery's driveway and both sides were relieved that not a single shot was fired.

Since there was an election in England, the first thing they did was connect the radios and wanted to know the result. The Highlanders were in a friendly mood. We were ordered to pack up all our things and load them onto wagons belonging to Oelkers, who had a truck as a tractor. In addition to our personal belongings, which took up very little space, we loaded them with meat and sausage products, canned goods, pulses and other foodstuffs. Then we left the battery and marched to internment in Brockeswalde. We had plenty of food to choose from. There was even red wine and rum.

Almost all of us were taken prisoner in Freiburg. A tent city with electric light, beds and mattresses was set up on a farm near Öderqart. The Wehrmacht members who worked in agriculture were released first. I said I knew something about agricultural machinery and was released from the camp that way. GM