850610_13: Fulda Gap ( V Corps vs. 8th GA & 1st GTA ) - MC 05 Danube Front '85

Fulda Gap, West Germany, June 10th 1985: (WP Human vs. NATO AI).
This scenario is loosely based on the old SPI Central Front
Series, Fulda Gap game's " V Corps " scenario and covers the
first five days of a Warsaw Pact (WP) invasion through the Fulda
Gap. The basic notes from the Historical Folder are assumed
to be the scenario for the outbreak of the conflict with two
(2) changes. First, the thinking in the early 1980's was that
the Deutsche Democratic Republic's (DDR) 3rd Army would take
positions near Colburg and the Hof Gap and attack southward into
the US VII Corps sector and the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army (GTA)
would serve as the second echelon for the 8 Guards Army (GA)
attack toward Frankfurt and that is the basic set up for this
scenario. That said I have to say the HPS West Germany scenario's
positioning of the DDR's 3rd Army opposite Kassel and the 1st
GTA near Colburg-Hof makes much more sense as under the conditions
of the SPI scenario the 3rd Army would have to cross the 1st
GTA's line of march which would be a traffic control nightmare!
The second change is that as conflict became more and more inevitable
NATO Ministers decided to take a longer term view of the situation
and positioned engineering units near many of the Rhein (Rhine)
River bridges with demolition equipment. The idea here was to
give NATO a fall back position west of the Rhein from which an
eventual counterattack could be launched. During the late afternoon
and evening of June 9th evidence of large scale WP troop movements
became obvious and NATO Command ordered the wiring of the bridges.
While the bridges could not be closed due to the large scale
civilian exodus (and congestion) to the west bank of the Rhein
the risk of an accidental detonation was taken. It was a desperate
plan with the hope of avoiding nuclear war while still giving
NATO a hope of halting the Pact steamroller.