Posted on 27 January 2014 at 21:50:25 GMT Counter Attack at Fulda
SitRep: 2/32nd Armour 1st Brigade 3rd Armoured Division, Late afternoon, 4th August 1985
At approximately 0300 hours local this morning Warsaw Pact forces began unrestricted air and land attacks on NATO forces throughout SACEUR’s AOR with the apparent objective of conquering Germany and breaking the Atlantic alliance. A mechanised infantry regiment believed to be from the 8th Guards army routed the armoured cavalry squadron in front of Fulda and consolidated into the town itself, taking up defensive positions while awaiting reinforcement by a divisional operational manoeuvre group who would complete their manoeuvre by breaking into the open ground beyond the Fulda gap. Having no contact with higher command, brigade HQ seized the initiative and launched a counter attack with what forces were at hand to restore the line and continue to delay the Soviets in the rough terrain before Fulda for as long as possible. Due to the speed at which the crisis developed we were the only unit immediately available and the need to retake the town before Soviet reinforcements arrived outweighed the danger of sending a lone battalion into action -we were committed immediately after a short briefing by the Cav’s survivors about enemy troop strengths and dispositions.
The concept of manoeuvre was to split the battalion into two task forces: the combined arms Task Force Hammer was to hit the right flank of the enemy defences while the tank heavy Task Force Anvil was to infiltrate even further around the enemy’s right flank and cut off their lines of communication. The two units were to rendezvous at Hill 213- suspected to be a major point of enemy resistance. Once it was secured they would merge, becoming Task Force Blacksmith and assaulting the Fulda from the south, hopefully outflanking most of the enemy defences which were expected to be deployed facing west. The battalion’s left flank was to be screened by reconnaissance forces with priority fire support to ward off any counter attacks from this angle. Enemy forces were estimated at a heavily depleted motor rifle regiment at about a third strength supported by the remnants of the divisional tank battalion at roughly half strength- both recovering from the bruising the Cav gave them in the morning.
The Operation got off to a bad start with Task Force Hammer floundering on the line of departure while Task Force Anvil seized the (fortunately unoccupied) Hill 213 by itself. Indeed co-ordinating the movement of the two task forces was to be a recurring problem throughout the operation and the effects of battlefield friction were noticeable on certain untried company and staff level officers. As Anvil waited for Hammer atop Hill 213 it was engaged by surprisingly lethal main gun fire from a company of T-62s to the North of their position. Tank commanders were shocked to find the antiquated 115mm cannon able to penetrate their armour at normal combat ranges- intelligence may have seriously undervalued the performance of this weapon leading to heavy and unnecessary casualties. Of the 5 M1 Platoons on the hill 3 fell to a mixture of 115mm Sabot, as well as RPG-16s and AT-5s launched from Fulda itself. Direct return fire was largely ineffective but the battery of M109s attached and the on station A-10s did sterling work in suppressing enemy fires so that Anvil could extricate itself to the reverse slope of the hill.
Having repulsed our first attack the enemy then took the initiative and launched a counter attack with his reserve, the half strength divisional tank battalion equipped with the more modern T-64s to finish off the stricken Task Force Anvil. However just before Anvil was overrun Task force Hammer arrived and engaged the soviet tank battalion. Losses were heavy on both sides but the superior accuracy of the Abrams 105mm rifled gun took a steep toll on the Russians and the counter attacking force was destroyed. While the road to Fulda was now cleared the battalion had to call a temporary halt to reorganise and regroup following the heavy casualties in the battle thus far. The remaining tank units would take up over watch positions and pump rounds into enemy positions in the town and the surrounding hills while the cross attached infantry company would assault Fulda which was held at the time by two companies of Russian mechanised infantry. The fire support team is to be again congratulated on their excellent work in suppressing the opposing forces in the town so that the assault could go in. After heavy house to house fighting we eventually emerged the victorious and the remaining Soviet forces reluctantly disengaged to the North East as in the gathering dusk.
While we have recovered the town our current position is critical: we are down to just two platoons of Abrams and 2 Platoons of infantry plus supporting elements and are expecting to be attacked by a full armoured regiment before dawn. The battalion aid station is overflowing with casualties and some of my tanks are down to less than a dozen rounds of ammunition. Reinforcement and resupply is essential if we are to hold throughout the night. |