Convoy With Six American Howitzers Halted by German Police

Local officers banned the military vehicles for the US Army from passing through the eastern German town of Bautzen, as they lacked correct documentation and were loaded on unsuitable trailers.

Saxony traffic police stopped a convoy coming from a Polish cargo company and consisting of trailers, ferrying six M109 self-propelled howitzers to an undisclosed location run by the US Army. Thorough inspection showed that "the required transportation documents were missing, the cargo was too wide and, above all, too heavy," the police explained.

The 25-ton tanks were impounded pending authorization, and the cargo company, as well as the truck drivers, were eventually given fines, the statement said.