NGP85 "81: Better Dead than Red v1.1"

[JDR Dragoon]

101400Z May 1981

FROM CENTAG G2
TO COMCENTAG

RE: Updated Intelligence Picture.

Since 0100 this morning, NATO forces have been involved in full-scale warfare against the Warsaw Pact. ABC weapons are still off the table, but might be used at any time.

CENTAG forces north of Bamberg (GE III Korps, US V Corps plus relevant parts of US VII Corps and Territorialkommando Süd) are currently under attack by a WAPA Front, comprising four (4) armies, two of which are Soviet, one Polish, and one East German.

The forces arrayed against the GE III Korps seems primarily to be the Polish 2. Army, with 2 Motorrifle Divisions (2. and 4. Mech.) plus two Tank Divisions (5. and 10. Tank). In this respect, the Army as deployed in wartime seems to closely mimic its peacetime structure. If this is the case, then we may presuppose, that a further Tank Division (11. TD) is in reserve, making this army five divisions strong in total. In addition to this, the army is likely to have extra engineer assets (like poonton equipment), antitank units and long-range/heavy artillery. In addition, the presence of attack helicopters is possible, although none have so far been spotted. The equipment of these units have mostly been older T55 tanks and OT-64 wheeled APCs, with some modern T72s and BMP infantry fighting vehicles as well. The artillery spotted in this sector has so far been upgraded older types as well. The sector of attack of the Polish 2. Army seems so far to closely follow the Corps boundary between the GE III Korps and US V Corps. If this observation holds, we may conclude that the GE III Korps is currently faced with the above threat. The enemy in this sector seems to advance on a broad front, with no obvious center of gravity.

Further to the south, the US V Corps is under attack by a Soviet army of unknown nomenclature. This army seems to be composed of 3 Motorrifle Divisions (20th GMRD, 39th GMRD, 57th GMRD) with a possible Tank Division waiting behind these units in order to exploit any gains. In addition, the same army level assets as for the Polish 2. Army are present here as well. This includes attack helicopters as well, and also additional battalions of rocket artillery, plus possibly a hitherto unidentified airmobile infantry formation. It now seems certain, that the Polish units detected near Eisenach were not a part of this army at all, but of the polish 2. Army. The center of gravity seems squarely aimed at the northern division of the US V Corps (3rd AD), with two GMRDs attacking here (20th, 57th), while the US 8th ID are only being tested by a single GMRD (39th). Since the identity of both this army, and its neighbor to the south attacking our VII Corps is unknown, we have so far been unable to elucidate the boundary between these two formations with certainty. For now we are assigning all Soviet units attacking the US V Corps to this Soviet army, with the ones attacking the US VII Corps being assigned to the other.

Using the above criteria as a guide, the US VII is under attack by a Soviet army of unknown designation. We estimate that there must be a second army attacking here, based on the number of Soviet divisions involved, combined with their spread out nature. This army seems to be composed of the 79th GTD, 27th GMRD, and the 6th GTD. Signals intelligence also indicates, that both an East German and an additional Soviet division are lurking in reserve behind these units, making the likely number of divisions here five. Supporting assets are likely to be the same as the ones supporting the Army attacking US V Corps. In addition, the East-German 3. Army is attacking the US VII Corps as well. This army seems to be composed of the East-German 4. Motorrifle and 7. Tank Division, with another division likely lurking in reserve north of Hof. Supporting assets for the East-German army seems to be almost the same as for the Polish one, although recent reports have now positively identified the presence of East-German attack helicopters. No centre of gravity has been identified for either of these armies, who seem content to push the US VII Corps steadily back.

We may thus conclude, that the GE III Korps is under attack by a Polish army of 4-5 divisions, with about half being Tank and the other half Motorrifle Divisions. Given its defensive positions behind river obstacles and the large amount of engineer works done, the two West-German divisions of this corps should be able to stop the enemy with their own resources. The US V Corps seems to be under attack by another army, tentatively estimated at 3-4 divisions, with 3 of these being Motorrifle Divisions. If this estimate is correct, the US V Corps should be able to stop the enemy with its own resources, even without the addition of any REFORGER units. The US VII Corps is under attack by a Soviet army, with 2 Tank and 1 Motorrifle Division, with 2 more divisions (1 East-German) waiting in reserve. In addition, an East-German army of 2-3 divisions, 1 Tank and 1-2 Motorrifle, is attacking here as well. The US VII Corps at its current composition (2 divisions plus two brigade equivalents) will be hard pressed to stop this attack on its own, and will require reinforcements of at least 3-4 brigades just to be sure of holding its assigned sector.

[JDR Dragoon]

101300ZMay1981

FROM: COM VII Corps

TO: COM US 3rd Infantry Division, COM 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

FRAGO

SITUATION:

A: Enemy Forces.

1: Enemy composition, strength and disposition.
Two enemy armies, comprising at a Soviet army (unknown designation) and an East German army (3rd Army), with at least 7-8 divisions between them (the Soviet 6th GTD, 79th GTD, 27th GMRD and the East German 4. MRD and 7. PD being positively identified here) are attacking the two divisions of the US VII Corps.

2: Enemy Capabilities and Limitations.
NIL

3: Enemys most likely and most dangerous course of action.
Enemy most likely course of action is continued attacks in order to open up the Meiningen Gap for further advances, combined with an advance to the Main river and the Rhine-Main-Donau Canal. Enemy most dangerous course of action is to push into the seam between the GE 12. Panzer Division and the US 3rd ID, thus splitting the US VII Corps in two.


B: Friendly Forces.

1: Higher HQs mission and intent.
NIL

2: Adjacent Units.
NIL

3 Supporting:
NIL


C: Attachments/Detachments.
Until the situation in the US VII Corps sector is stable, the 4th ID(-) and the 1st BN/75th Ranger Regiment are attached to the Corps, in addition to its organic units.


MISSION:
NIL


EXECUTION:

A: Commanders Intent.

Due to WAPAs main effort being directed at the US VII Corps, it is vitally necessary to reconstitute both divisional and corps level reserves in the VII Corps sector. By necessity, these reserves had to be part of the initial covering force, but recent developments means, that WAPA is in danger of breaking through in the sectors where the covering force has already been pushed back.


B: Concept of Operations.

1: Scheme of Maneuver.
As of 101600Z the two brigades (1st and 2nd) of the 3rd Infantry Division who are currently engaged as part of the covering force east of the Main river will move back into reserve, thus allowing the 1st Brigade to go into divisional reserve and the 2nd Brigade to relieve the 3rd Brigade/1st ID in guarding the crossings over the Main river and the Rhine-Main-Donau Canal, thus freeing this brigade to reconstitute a corps reserve. The role of covering force E of Bamberg will thus be borne by the 2nd ACR alone.

2: Fire Support Plan.
NIL

C: Tasks.
NIL

D: Coordinating Instructions.
Commanders of the withdrawing brigades will coordinate with the relevant squadron commanders from 2nd ACR.

LOGISTICS:
NIL


Signals:

A: Signals.
NIL

B: Command.
NIL

[JDR Dragoon]

Players notes and considerations.

This turn is afternoon (14 to 16 pm), Visibility is still 3 hexes (4,5 km).


Still no Spetsnaz caught this turn, and they remain as annoying as ever. In addition, heavy WAPA strikes on the airbases around Kaiserslautern mens, that the arriving REFORGER-brigades personnel must divert to airbases in Belgium. So far the delay is livable, but I need those units if I am to hold.

At Göttingen the armor of the Polish 10. Arm. Div. slips south to join the 2. Mech. Div., while its BMP mounted infantry holds Göttingen. They get a few firemissions from the 65. Panzerartilleriebataillon for their troubles. The 2. Mech. Div. seems to be moving up to the startline for their next attack, although not unmolested. The OT-64 equipped mechinf companies moving into the abandoned W-German positions gets shelled heavily, and the T-55 tank company anchoring the Polish right gets the ”Treatment”: HOT-missile firing helicopters and Jagdpanzers, finished off by two strikes by clusterbomb-armed Alpha Jets, cuts the company in half.




West of Witzenhausen, near Hessisch-Lichtenau, the Poles seems to grasp that the West-germans may slip away, and intensify their pursuit. The T72 equipped Tank Regiment from the 5. Arm. Div. runs into a W-German blocking position, where the Leopards of the 14. Panzer Brigade take their toll. In desperation the Poles call for air support, but one of the attacking SU-7s gets shot down. The W-Germans then disengage and pull back to Hessisch-Lichtenau, daring the Poles to repeat the experience. Meanwhile, air reconnaissance confirms, that the Polish 4. Mech. Div. seems to be going cross-country, likely in an attempt to cut around the covering force to the north.




The 57th GMRD, now joined by the 20th GMRD, continues to steadily force the covering force back another hex. The advance doesn´t go as planned everywhere though, since A & C Troop/3-12 Cavalry Squadron decide to stand their ground and maul the advancing BTR equipped infantry company instead of retreating.




On the boundary between the 20th GMRD and the 39th GMRD, a single BTR equipped infantry company cautiously probe the American defenders. Unknown to them however, it is a trap: what actually appears to be a single defending tank company is actually the entire 2-32 Tank Battalion, w. 50 M60A3 (Passive) MBTs. The soviet company rapidly deploys into the town of Eiterfeld upon coming under fire, but the American battalion commander first calls in the fire of 5 artillery battalions and then follows up by torching the last BTRs as they try to flee the ruined town. Another WAPA company destroyed!




The rest of the 39th GMRD seems content to cool their heels as well. It looks like the divisions BMP equipped infantry regiment will be the next unit to try and force my position though, as evidenced by the units reappearing deeper in the Rhön. Their accompanying T62 tanks gets a dose of TOW missiles from V. Corps Attack helicopter Battalion, which should dampen their enthusiasm some.




On the boundary between V and VII Corps, the 79th GTD and parts of the 39th GMRD, heavily supported by attack helicopters, starts pressing forwards again. They get a healthy dose of artillery, but it doesn´t appear as if this will dissuade them for long. I need a brigade in reserve behind this sector, and I need it pretty damn quick...
Another item of interest here is confirmation of the fact, that an E-German formation is hovering near Meiningen, where it can reinforce the attack on either the Meiningen-Bad Kissingen axis or the Coburg-Bamberg axis.




West of Pfarrweisach the 27th GMRD comes out in force, and as I feared, they are busting out to the south towards Bamberg, w. a T64 battalion and a T62 company leading the BMP infantry carriers. The lead tank units gets the ”Treatment”: First the Cobra Attack Helicopters from the 3-7 Cav and 3rd Aviation Battalion strike, followed up by multiple strikes by A-10 ground attack aircraft. The 4-64 Armor Battalion then closes in and fires into the disrupted enemy units. The net result is, that both units are cut in half, with the loss of almost 20 T64 and T62 tanks between them. The only fly in the ointment is the loss of an A-10, which got hit by AA and crashed into the nearby hills. The rest of the 27th GMRD also gets hit hard by NATO artillery, as they assemble for the next attack. Near Pfarrweisach, the covering forces of the 3rd ID begins to disengage and pull W-SW-S in accordance with their orders.




Coburg finally gets occupied by the Reds, and I now have to lose only 7000 VPs more from objectives before the next 1½ day has gone, before I lose the game by default. NATO forces in this sector have disengaged cleanly and slipped away to the SW towards Bamberg or directly S across the Main river. SIGNINT again confirms the presence of more WAPA units in depth.




South of the Main river things are a bit mixed. Spetznaz infiltrators ambush and kill the liaison officer carrying the authorization to fire the demolition at the Main river bridge at Lichtenfels, and the heavy jamming makes it impossible to get permission via radio. The bridge is thus still standing, albeit not currently threatened by enemy forces. This might soon change however....

Slightly to the SE of Lichtenfels, the 2nd Squadron/2 ACR spreads out and prepares to contest the onrushing 6th GTDs crossing of the Main river. So far, no engineers are in evidence, but I am pretty certain they will not be far behind the tanks. Near Kulmbach, East-German BTR infantry carriers from an unidentified Motorrifle Division shows up, but since the bridge across the ”white” Main is blown, they cannot do much more than glower at the American tanks. The BTR is amphibious however, so it is possible they will simply cross the river using their own means. Further to the east, the E-Germans realize that the Americans are getting away and speeds up their pursuit, using the major roads for speed. This brings punishing losses in the form of F111 strike aircraft interdicting the bunched up columns, causing heavy losses in men, vehicles and guns, as they move off in pursuit of NATO. The 1st Squadron/2nd ACR give the E-Germans the slip again and disengage without losses, but the presence of E-German attack helicopters make it clear, that they are now earnest in their pursuit. In addition, it appears as if the E-German 7. Panzer Div., currently unaccounted for, might be trying to advance between Münchberg and Kulmbach, thus cutting off the 1st Squadron/2nd ACR. As their last task before disengaging according to their orders, the 2nd Brigade/3rd ID covers the retreating cavalry. As soon as all units are safely back behind the ”red” Main, they too will pull back.




The annoying E-German Army HQ near Erfurt betrays itself again be sending too heavily. Unfortunately, yet again my recon and strike assets are tied up with more urgent tasks. 3rd Air Force F-111s operating from England takes a chunk out of the WAPA units moving behind the front though, by constantly interdicting traffic junctions, railyards and airfields.




The score markedly improved during this turn, partially due to interdiction against units moving behind the front, partially due to him being more aggressive and thus suffering higher losses. The destruction of another enemy company sized unit is of course always welcome as well. The only fly in the ointment was the loss of an A-10, since these cost an obscene amount of victory points. Oh well, it probably won´t be the last to be shot down....
If only those reinforcements would get here ASAP, then I could really get rolling!

[JDR Dragoon]

Players notes and considerations.

This turn is late afternoon (16 to 18 pm), Visibility is still 3 hexes (4,5 km).


Enemy special forces remains as annoyingly elusive as ever and resist my every attempt at cornering them. The good news here is, that the latest REFORGER lift has been bussed in from Belgium and have mated up with their equipment. The 3rd Brigade/4th ID have scarcely left Kaiserslautern behind before the first unit is stopped by abatis felled by enemy Special Forces. On top of this,airstrikes, directed by these special forces, cause heavy losses among the Brigade HQ and Logistics Battalion. My patience is now at an end: The brigades Airmobile Battalion is detached to deal with these blighters. Their helicopters will allow them to rejoin the rest of the brigade that much quicker.



West of Göttingen T72s of what I suspect is the Polish 10. Armor Division advances westwards towards Panzerbrigade 6´s covering force. Towards the southwest, the 2. Mech. Div. seems to hesitate: The infantry withdraws out of sight, while the T55 equipped tank companies move forward. No doubt a final reorganization before the assault is unleashed.



Further to the south and out of sight, more ominous things are afoot. The US 3rd Airforce reports having directed heavy interdiction efforts against the road between Heiligenstadt and Witzenhausen with noticeable effects. This might suggest, that the enemy is bringing up a reserve regiment or even a division to continue the attack. In addition, signals intelligence locates a polish regimental HQ. Aerial reconnaisance confirms its location, and a strike by bomb laden Alpha Jets take out the regimental command post. Excellent, that will be one Polish regiment in disarray untill they can re-establish their chain of command.



At Hessisch-Lichtenau the Polish 5. Armor Division also seems content to consolidate its position and bring up additional forces before trying to force the W-German covering force (Panzerbrigade 14) away from the town. The attempt by the Polish 4. Mech. Div. to outflank this position from the south also appears to continue, as ground search radar and dust trails seems to confirm.



In the US V Corps sector the 57th GMRD also seems satisfied with pulling back their infantry, while the tanks consolidate on the positions I vacated earlier.

The Hind Attack Helicopter squadron of the 57th GMRD continues its attack runs against the US armor for a little too long though, continuing to hover over the target area. 4 Hinds are quickly shot down by a combination of .50 machineguns and the Vulcan 20mm AA system when they stray too close to the American armor. Excellent!



The loss of a Motorrifle company last turn apparently sends the Soviet units further to the SW howling for revenge. Three battalions of T62 tanks, two from the 20th GMRD and one from the 39th GMRD charges forwards against the culpable American armor battalion, which then proceeds to disengage after having exhanged 3 T62s for every lost M60.



Among the units supporting this attack was an army level antitank unit, which gave away the identity of the attacking enemy Army in this sector. The 8th Guards Army is attacking the US V Corps.



Further to the south, the 1st Squadron/11th ACR is finally forced to relinquish the positions they have held since the morning on the road towards Fulda due to the 3rd AD covering force to the north withdrawing. They pull back to prepared positions in Hünfeld.

Down in the Rhön, the BMP equipped Motorrifle Regiment that was forming up withdraws as well, which continues the pattern from further north. The T64 equipped Tank Regiment of the 39th GMRD remains in contact though, but gets steadily whittled down by artillery and attack helicopters. The number of dust clouds spotted on the horizon suggests that this is just a pause. Further to the east, the East German unit north of Meiningen betrays itself again by using its radios too heavily.



At Bad Neustadt the 12. Panzerdivision prepares to face the enemy along the FEBA, the covering force battle being over here. But the WAPA opposition still seems to contend themselves with attritioning NATO by artillery and attack helicopters here. A single T64 battalion pokes forward, but gets disrupted by the heavy guns of the VII Corps 210th Artillery Brigade. In addition, A10s are called in as well, but has to drop their load and scatter due to the approach of enemy interceptors, before reaching the target.



West of Pfarrweisach the 27th GMRD breaks contact as well, mostly withdrawing back east into the Hassberge mountain area. The armor units caught in the open last turn is slow in getting away and gets a few TOW presents from my attack helicopters to hurry along their retreat. A10s are called in here as well, but the heavy enemy SAM defence means they do not dare to press the attack. As the A10s withdraw, the soviets call in their own fighter bombers on the American tanks, destroying 1 M60, but one of the departing A10s manage to ambush a passing MiG 27 with a Sidewinder before eloping to the west. My covering forces abandon Pfarrweisach, pulling back towards Bamberg or Schweinfurt after the 2-30 mechanized infantry battalion takes heavy losses to enemy fighter-bombers.



Meanwhile, on the Coburg-Bamberg axis, enemy armor tentatively probes forward, but so far fails to catch the withdrawing covering force. The only problem here is again at Lichtenfels, where the demolition order is successfully given this turn, but the demolition fails to fire. With the threat of enemy special forces lurking, the engineers of the 10th Engineer Battalion now has to manually check the emplaced explosives. This bridge has to go pretty soon, otherwise the viability of the Main river as an obstacle will be compromised.



South of Kulmbach the withdrawal continues, though not without losses. This area is about the only part of the front where the enemy is actively trying to press forwards.This they do with a vengeance. The unidentified MRD north of the Main river mostly just shuffles its units around a bit, but the East German 4. Motorrifle Division is charging forward hard, and supported by Attack Helicopters and fighter bombers engage the 1st Squadron/2nd ACR screen east of Kulmbach. The 1st Squadron, after having caused losses to the pursuers, promptly pull back another 10 kilometers, while interdiction strikes work over the charging East-Germans strung out along the road between Hof and Kulmbach. All is not peachy here however: the Brigade HQ and Logistics Battalion of the 3rd Brigade/3rd ID gets hit heavily by enemy airstrikes as it prepares to cross the bridge across the Main. The vital HQ and logistics tail of this formation is thus left disrupted and in disarray on the wrong side of the river.
In addition, US 3rd Air Force also reports having caused heavy losses to enemy columns advancing towards the front from East Germany. Especially notable here are the axes Saalfeld-Kronach and Wurzbach-Kronach which suggests, that at least one and possibly two enemy divisions are about to be committed on the Kronach-Bamberg axis during the night. Luckily reinforcements are finally on the way, but will they get there in time?



And guess who gets pegged by SIGINT again. You guessed it: The mysterious East German HQ near Erfurt. I think some moron at that HQ must have his fingers glued to the mike. As soon as I get some more air that HQ is going to get a visit, not because it constitutes an immediate threat, but on the pure principle of punishing incautious stupidity.



Much to my surprise the WAPA player chooses to disengage almost everywhere, even in places where he might have been able to eke out an advantage by pressing forwards. This gives me valuable time to cause additional losses and bring up needed reinforcements, but it also gives him time to groom his strength and come at me much more harder during the night. In addition, the more units that are out and moving forwards over the roads, the more casualties will be caused by interdiction. This is especially notable as regards his towed artillery, which has really taken a beating. In addition I had the welcome opportunity to pounce on some of his units that were left vulnerable and hanging such as the Hind helicopters and the Regimental HQ. This of course meant that the score grew very much in my favor during this turn. A little bit more of that and I should be able to hold on and win this one.

[JDR Dragoon]

Well, time to finish up this AAR now I have some time on hand again :-)

[JDR Dragoon]

Players notes and considerations.

This turn is late afternoon (18 to 20 pm), last turn of full daylight. Visibility is still 3 hexes (4,5 km).


US MPs finally catch a Spetznaz team, after they succesfully used an SA-18 to shoot down a C-141 Starlifter, as it approaches the Rhein-Main airport. Good, since the more of these I kill, the better my ability to shift forces will be. In addition, the security measures imposed by the 3rd Bde/4th ID seems to have been succesful, since they were hardly hit by the activity of the infiltrators this turn.


At Göttingen the entirety of the 10. Armor Div. throws themselves at the Bundeswehr covering force: 2 Regiments of T55 tanks and one of T72s, supported by an OT-64 equipped Motorrifle Regiment from the 2. Mech Div. charges the two W-German panzer battalions covering this sector. They manage to kill a goodly amount of WAPA armor, the older T55s being no match for modern 105mm guns. In addition they radio for support: Antitank Helicopters kill even more armor, supported by Alpha Jets equipped with AP clusterbombs detonating even more of the older Polish tanks across the eastern slopes of the hill. The only fly in the ointment is the loss of a single Alpha Jet to a Polish ZSU 23/4.

The rest of the 2. Mech. Div. Gets targeted by harassment fire, making especially certain to direct copius amount of counterbattery fire against the located artillery. In addition, the located HQ in Duderstadt, which is likely the divisional command post for 10. Arm. Div. gets hit heavily by a bomb armed Alpha Jet strike, destroying much of the surrounding town



Near Hessisch-Lichtenau the Polish 5. Armor Division still cools their heels, no doubt waiting for the flanking attack by the4. Mech. Div. to develop before trying their luck. So far the 4. Mech. have had significant troubles negotiating the forested heights of the Kaufinger Wald, so a concerted attack is unlikely to materialize for the next 2-4 hours. In addition, Air-Recon reveals, that more enemy units are lurking behind the frontline for their turn. The paucity of action here also means, that I can turn my attention towards bombarding the located artillery, and targeting the suspected CP of the 5. Arm. Div. with a rocket armed fighter-bomber strike.



Down in the V Corps sector the 57th GMRD continues to shuffle its units around, while pelting the covering force with artillery and long-range missile fire. But this inactivity of course also allows me to dedicate artillery resources towards targeting his located artillery and HQs here as well. The only real activity seems to be the 20th GMRD, which continues to push forwards. An impudent battalion of T62s gets punished heavily by american Attack Helicopters and M113s equipped with TOW missiles, acting in concert with the 2-32 Armor Battalion, losing over 10 tanks, albeit at the cost of the 2-32 getting scattered and disrupted by WAPA artillery fire. The 2-33 Armor Battalion quickly moves up to support.



On the road to Fulda the 39th GMRD starts to poke its head out again, no doubt wanting to test the US defences during the evening and night. Down in the Rhön there is still no change, as American artillery and Attack Helicopters continue to attrition the Soviet armor.



In front of Bad Neustadt the enemy also continues their waiting game, allowing the West German and American defenders plenty of opportunity to mass long-range fires against the few WAPA units showing themselves. A possible divisional CP of a second echelon division is detected S of Suhl as well.



At Pfarrweisach the 27th GMRD tentatively starts to poke their heads out again, with the divisions T64 equipped Tank Regiment being especially aggressive. The division gets treated roughly by NATO artillery, and the T64s get hit by Attack Helicopters and multiple A-10 strikes, which also rubble much of the city of Pfarrweisach. Multiple sightings of dust plumes, corroborated by ground-search radar suggests, that the enemy attack here is likely to get rolling again soon.



To the south of Pfarrweisach enemy infiltrators proceed to direct multiple airstrikes against the HQ of the 1st Brigade/3rd ID, the HQ of the 3-12 Cavalry Squadron and B Coy/10th Engineer battalion. In all cases US and Luftwaffe F4s chase the enemy fighter-bombers away though. But in the case of the 1-76 Artillery Battalion the strike gets through, demolishing 5 out of 12 203mm M110 SP howitzers. Ouch! On the bright side, the capture of some of these Spectznaz infiltrators gives away the identitity of their parent formation; namely the 1st Guards Tank Army. Excellent. All that is left now is to discover where the exact boundary between the 1st GTA and 8th GA is. In addition, the CHAPARRAL SAM launchers accompanying the howitzers shoot down one of the attacking MiG-23s.



At Lichtenfels the crossing are now under artillery fire and the demolitions fail to fire again, despite the presence of two engineer units! The lead T64s of the 6th GTD is now almost within range.... In addition, the enemy ups the ante here by airstriking the HQ of the US 3rd Infantry Div., located south of Lichtenfels. At Kronach, the reported number of interdiction sorties reported by USAF A-7s and F-111s operating from England leads me to believe, that something major is afoot. Just to be on the safe side, I strike the located HQ in Kronach repeatedly with A-10s, although unfortunately without choking the roads with rubble from the destroyed town



East of Kulmbach, the East-Germans continue to press forwards, albeit somewhat more carefully. The T72s of the 7. Panzer Div. show themselves again, although the identity of the Motorrifle unit north of Kulmbach remains unknown. US 3rd AF units continue to punishing the travelling east-german columns between Kulmbach and Münchberg as well.



And this is just silly. I guess they really want to die in that East-German HQ....



The combination of interdiction against his travelling units and me engaging in lopsided battles on my terms drives the score even further in my favor by another 100 points. The only bad thing is the loss of another fighter-bomber. If I had been without that, my score would have been even greater . In addition, the identity of the last Soviet army attacking me is now known. Unfortunately it is a Tank Army, so there is likely a lot of armor waiting in the wings.

Now darkness begins to descend on this first day of battle.....

[JDR Dragoon]

Players notes and considerations.

This turn is Dusk (20 to 22 pm), and darkness is falling. Visibility is now only 1 hex (1,5 kilometers).


Patrols sent out by the 64. Heimatschutzbrigade near Limburg, deep in the NATO rear, succeeds in tracking down a Spetznaz team south of the city, where they had established an observation post overlooking the highway between Bonn and Frankfurt. Good. So far the Territorialheer is doing what they are supposed to do: Keeping the rear areas free of enemy interference so I can maneuver freely.


At Göttingen the pressure from the 10. Armor Div. and the 2. Mech. Div. is retained, and the NATO Covering Force withdraws another couple of kilometers. In order to make the delaying action last a little bit longere here, airmobile Fallschirmjägers are deployed. With their large number of ATGMs they should be ideal against the phalanx of T55s. In addition, mechanized infantry of the 2. Mech. Div. starts to probe the Covering Force from the south as well.



A grouping of 122mm artillery, likely from the 2. Mech. Div. gets discovered by aerial reconnaisance south of Göttingen, and subjected to heavy artillery fire and repeated strikes by Alpha Jets (unfortunately armed with cluster munitions rather than napalm and high explosive bombs, so the effect was not as great as could be hoped for). The Polish try to get their own back by sending in an entire regiment of MiG-21 Fighter Bombers to punish the NATO artillery supporting the covering force, but the effective NATO SAM umbrella forces many Polish planes to drop their payload short of target in order to evade, and the ones who do get through gets greeted by a hail of AA fire, shooting down two MIG-21s. Excellent! But NATO strike aircraft continue to report interdicting large columns of armor and artillery moving towards Munden and Witzenhausen, which suggest that some kind of relief of the attacking units during the night is likely.



The Covering Force at Hessisch-Lichtenau continues to hold for another turn, despite the probes of the 4. Mech. Div. which seems mostly concerned with advancing to contact, calling in artillery and then withdrawing again.



The discovered artillery SE of Hessisch-Lichtenau gets special treatment from my counterbattery fire. The density of HQs on this attack axis doesn´t suggest, that this is the enemy point of main effort.



The 3rd Armored Div. and the 3rd Squadron/11 ACR is the subject of a full blown attack by the 57th and 20th GMRD this turn. Divisional and Corps artillery responds in force to this threat. Realising that he is running out of space and with the Fulda river behind him, the commander of the 11th ACR orders most of the Covering Force units back behind the Fulda, covered by a furious attack by A10 strike aircraft which keeps the enemy armor cowed. The bridge at Bebra is blown shortly after and now the WAPA forces will have to bring up bridging engineers before being able to cross the Fulda river. At Bad Hersfeld the 3rd squadron/11 ACR plus the 1st Brigade/3rd AD continues to hold the enemy. The combined force of 20th and 39th GMRD T62s fare especially badly against the 2-32 Armor Battalion. First they try a charge against the disrupted American tankers, but Charlie Coy moves its M60A3s up in support and guts the storming T62s at a loss rate of 5:1. The Americans then rally, call in multiple A10 strikes, and return fire against the stalled T62s, which suffer mightily (by my reckoning both battalions should be at 50% now). Located HQs and artillery positions get pasted by artillery as well.



The rest of the 39th GMRD doesn´t seem to be in a hurry either. They drive back the remaining cavalry forces in the Rhön, but little else happens. I take the opportunity to use my artillery against the located artillery and Hqs, with a notable succes being scored by VII Corps and 12. Panzer Div. long range guns against the HQ in Meiningen, destroying large parts of the city in the proces, thus blocking the major road through the city. Excellent! In addition, NATO strike aircraft reports hitting columns of enemy vehicles on the road towards Hünfeld and Meiningen.



At Bad Neustadt the situation is pretty much the same and the artillery concentrates on located enemy units and HQs. But the enemy here cannot be far away.



At Pfarrweisach the only trace of the enemy is the fact that A7 strike aircraft reports hitting enemy columns moving towards the town hard. Further to the east the picture is different. Here the T64 tanks of the 6th GTD is hard on the heels of the withdrawing 3-7 CAV/3rd ID, supported by heavy air activity which takes a heavy toll on the lightly armored US M113s of the Cavalry. They call in their own A10 support, but these are engaged by both SAMs and AA going in, and their attack run doesn´t kill as many attackers as I would have liked. At Lichtenfels, A Coy/10th Engineer Battalion uses the protection of their M113s to brave the incessant Spetznaz sniper fire, and makes final checks on the demolitions. The bridge here finally goes skyhigh, which is not a minute too soon, since 2nd Squadron/2nd ACR is now in combat with a battalion of T64s, only 1.5 kilomters away from the bridge site. The Soviets direct strike missions against the US Cavalry, who in turn nails an attacking MIG-27 with a REDEYE. In addition, NATO aircraft flying interdiction reports attacking columns of armor, APCs and artillery converging on Kronach.



South of Kulmbach the 7. Panzer Division is now leading the East-German advance again, briefly making contact with the US Covering Force in order to direct artillery, before withdrawing again.



As per VII Corps orders, the 2nd Brigade/3rd ID disengages and withdraws back across the Main River, leaving the 1st Squadron/2nd ACR holding a small bridgehead east of the river. The number of targets interdicted by NATO aircraft between Münchberg and Kulmbach suggests that the East German 3. Army will not tarry in pressing them back across the river. This is further supported by the number of HQs revealed by SIGINT.



The interdiction, combined with me punishing vulnerable and isolated units, proceed to drive the score even more in my favor by over 100 points. This is further helped by the fact that I managed to shoot down three of his strike aircraft. But the Close-Air-Support that has helped throughout the day is now forced to break off due to them not being all-weather capable (the Forward Air Controllers directing them have no night vision equipment either). For the next 6 hours of spring darkness the ground forces are alone against the attacking enemy...

[JDR Dragoon]

FROM COM4ATAF

TO COMCENTAG


102100ZMay1981
2. Luftwaffendivision reports increased enemy air activity and heavy jamming in the 3. SOC area. NATO fighter patrols are being heavily engaged. Additional fighters are being vectored, but the heavy jamming makes it hard to control them by centralised means.

102120ZMay1981
2.Luftwaffendivision reports heavy SEAD activity aimed at the US 6th Bn/52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment east of Schweinfurt. COM 69th Air Defence Artillery Brigade reports that most of the IHAWK target illumination radars are either out of commission or being forced to displace.

102130ZMay1981
2.Luftwaffendivision reports that the 18. Kompanie/Fernmelderegiment 32, with their mobile radar system, who are operating S of Bad Kissingen are burning through the enemy jamming. They are detecting multiple bogeys moving at slow speed at low altitude in the direction of Schweinfurt.

102140ZMay1981
Low level air defence units of the US VII Corps are reporting engagements and shootdowns of enemy 4 engined transport planes east and north of Schweinfurt.

102150ZMay1981
Radar and ground observation reports enemy planes turning back towards the border again.

[JDR Dragoon]

TO COM VII Corps

FROM COM Heimatschutzregiment 76.


102155ZMay1981
Jägerbataillon 762 at Schweinfurt reports enemy parachutes descending north, south and west of the city. The 3. Kompanie of the same battalion reports being in a confused firefight with paratroopers trying to secure the southern end of the bridge over the Main to the south of Schweinfurt. Prisoners taken during the initial enemy landing confirms that the unit in question is the 106th Guards Airborne Division.

[JDR Dragoon]

Players notes and considerations.

This turn is Night (22pm to 01 am). Visibility is 1 hex (1,5 kilometers).


It is the best of times, it is the worst of times...
The enemy is finally showing his hand. The only problem is, that I am not certain that I can deal with this at the moment and might have to give up even more ground....

On to of this, REFORGER gets delayed even further, since the heavy enemy fighter sweeps accompanying the airlandings means, that the Ramstein-Sembach complex cannot accept landing cargo and passenger planes for fear of them getting shot down. This means that most of the Divisional troops of the 4th ID, including the artillery, divisional cavalry squadron, engineers and attack helicopters, will be delayed. Great....

West of Göttingen the Bundeswehr covering force continues to give ground grudgingly, making the Polish armor pay for every little advance they make. The commitment of the Fallschirmjägers here seems to have had the intended effect of prolonging the moment where I have to make my stand in earnest in the GE III Korps sector along the Weser and Fulda rivers. The located artillery also gets a healthy dose of counterbattery fire. Looking good here...



The 14. Panzer Brigade Covering Force briefly encounters enemy recon units of the Polish 2. Mech. Div. probing the road to Kassel, but since they do not press the issue and withdraw again, the covering force holds in place here.



Further to the south the remainder of the 5. Panzer Div. And 2. PzG. Div. Covering Force abandons Hessisch-Lichtenau and withdraws to the north towards Kassel and westwards towards Melsungen in order to avoid being cut off by the Polish forces advancing north between Melsungen and Hessisch-Lichtenau.



In the 3rd AD sector, the remaining engineers withdraw out of contact, leaving the 57th GMRD cooling their heels on the wrong side of the Fulda. Meanwhile the remainder of the Covering Force gets forced into a shrinking bridgehead near Bad Hersfeld. The end of the Covering Force Battle is in sight here as well. The 3-36 Infantry Btn (Airmobile), along with the attack helicopters stay behind to cover the withdrawal.On the road to Fulda the 1st Squadron/11th ACR stops a probing T62 battalion of the 39th GMRD cold, before withdrawing from Hünfeld in order to avoid being outflanked to the south. Even though my strike aircraft are not flying, the RF-4C´s of the USAF are equipped with Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) and thus capable of doing their mission at night as well. They reveal a Soviet regimental HQ, which is then taken under artillery fire.



East of Fulda, a BMP/BRM equipped reconnaisance company of the 39th GMRD manages to infiltrate through the 8th ID lines, and position itself in a position to block the road from Hünfeld to Fulda. Four companies of American armor and a company of engineers immediately counterattack in strenght, supported by heavy artillery and the 8th ID attack helicopter battalion, using illumination fired by artillery to guide their TOWs. The offending company is promptly wiped out!



Further to the south, the T64 equipped Tank Regiment of the 39th GMRD tries to follow the recon company, but gets checked by the fire of two companies of American armor holding the small village of Hofbieber, which inflicts serious delays on them by destroying almost ½ dozen of the critters for negligible own losses. The American tankers then break contact after running low on ammo. Even further south two BTR equipped units try to probe the 8th ID and 11th ACR FEBA, but they get checked with heavy losses. There will be no more withdrawing here!



Down in the VII Corps sector, shit just got real...
On the junctíon between US V and VII Corps, the 79th GTD is attacking in strenght. Be that as it may, another unit, the 9th Tank Division, is interspered among them. The 9th TD seems to mostly have older T62 tanks, but it is still another 300 tanks being thrown against me here. This suggests, that 2nd echelon forces are now being committed in order to force a breach. For now the 12. Panzer Div. (supported by the Ranger Btn) is holding along the FEBA in front of Bad Neustadt, but they are being pressed and are without any reserves in depth, so might need to pull back before they jeopardize their ability to continue the fight.



Further to the south the situation is in flux. The US 3rd ID is struggling to come up with some kind of answer to the airborne irruption immediately behind the frontline. Meanwhile, most of the US VII Corps reserve, consisting of about half of the 1st Brigade/1st ID plus whatever units of the Territorialheer can be rounded up, is sent towards Schweinfurt in order to suture the wound. The remainder of the 12. Panzer Div. and 3rd ID have their hands full succesfully containing the attacking units of the 27th GMRD and have little force left to turn backwards in order to secure the rear against the airlanded 106th GABD.



North of Bamberg the withdrawal is almost complete for the 1st and 2nd Brigades/3rd ID, who are urgently needed in order to deal with the 106th GABD at Schweinfurt, and the process of blowing up the bridges across the Main river is initiated. Not a moment too soon, as the 3/7 CAV reports a Soviet Tank Regiment from the 6th GTD barreling southwest along the road from Coburg.



On a routine patrol, the Scout Platoon of D Troop, 3/7 CAV discovers a spetznas platoon disembarking from their MI-8 HIP transports in a position where they will be able to bushwhack the withdrawing units of the 3rd ID. A swift call to the 1-76 Field Artillery Battalion causes heavy 203mm shells to crash into the LZ, annihilating helicopters and men. Score one more point for NATO in the war against the infiltrators.



Everything east of Bamberg is now the preserve of the 2nd ACR, which is facing the remnants of the 6th GTD plus 3 East German Divisions. Then this happens at Lichtenfels:



Great... Obviously another 2nd echelon division (and a Guards Tank Division to boot) is about to enter the fray. Odds wise this is not looking good for the 2nd ACR.

South of Kulmback a battery of BRDM 2s w. antitank missiles blunders into the 2nd ACR screen and suffers debiliating losses before retreating.



This done, the 1st Squadron/2nd ACR withdraws across the Main river, blowing the bridge behind them. Further to the east a preponderance of east german units are in evidence as can be seen from this SIGINT picture



And speaking of SIGINT....



Somebody are due for an airstrike in a few hours once the coming of sunlight makes it possible to utilize tactical air support again.....

Despite the various enemy advances and pressure, the score takes a large jump in my favor this turn, by exactly 250 points. Some of those are from the losses the enemy airborne troops suffered while jumping, but most of them are from my opponent impaling himself on my defences. This is good. The commitment of 2nd echelon forces is both good and bad. Good because it means that my defence is solid. Bad because there is precious little I can do about it without reserves. Holding a defensive line in-place is predicated upon me having reserves to either restore the line by counterattack or relieve shattered units. I do not have any at the moment, and that airlanding is likely to suck up any I can marshall. The two northern sectors are holding comfortably, but in the south the US VII Corps is beginning to feel the pressure......

http://www.baltap.dk/MC/Turn%2021/Score.png