The Central Front D+5 (14 July, 1987) Part IV

The temporary moratorium placed on offensive operations by Western TVD failed to disrupt Soviet forces in central Germany to the degree as it had the army groups farther north. D+5 was a day of transition for the 8^th Guards Army and 1^st Guards Tank Army. The indecision surrounding the final destination of 1^st GTA had placed a 24-36 hour delay on the army group’s arrival at the front. NATO airpower had done its best to stretch that delay out farther, but by noon on D+5 the first units were starting to reach 8^th GA’s sector of the line. It was estimated that an additional twelve to eighteen hours would be needed before 1^st GTA would be ready to commence its own offensive operations in force.

Lt General Anatoli Tchernitsov, 1^st GTA’s commander, remained uncertain about where the direction of his main axis of advance would materialize. A push to the northwest through the northern sector of the US V Corps and into the West German III Corps area was quite attractive. Success here would inevitably aid the efforts of 3^rd Shock Army’s drive on Hannover by threatening NORTHAG’s right flank. An added bonus was the fact that the main fighting would be done mainly against the West Germans and not the Americans. Tchernitsov was under no illusions about the abilities and competence of the West German soldier. However, given the defensive terrain in the US V and VII Corps sectors, and the reports from 8^th GA officers who’d fought against the US forces, he believed the best chances for a favorable outcome were to come against the West German divisions.

While most of 8^th GA’s regiments were handing off responsibility to the newly arrived units and pulling back to the rear areas, some of the 8^th’s regiments continued to probe and push to the west and northwest in an attempt to find weak points in NATO lines for Tchernitsov’s divisions to exploit. Particular attention was given to V Corps sector from Hunfeld to Bad Hersfeld, and from Cornberg north to Wald Kappel in III WG Corps sector. The results were mixed and by late afternoon when Western TVD lifted the restrictions on offensive operations, Tchernitsov was no closer to a decision concerning the direction his army group’s advance would take.

 

CENTAG was going through a period of transition on D+5 too. It had become apparent that the 1^st GTA was to be committed to the fighting in central Germany rather than up north. Instead of laying the foundation for a tentative attack into East Germany, as some senior commanders had been pushing for, CENTAG was now gearing up to withstand a push from another Soviet first echelon army group. Senior commanders and staff officers anticipated the enemy advance would likely come in the northern sectors of CENTAG’s area of responsibility. The US V Corps and III WG Corps had absorbed the brunt of the fighting in the first five days of the war. The deepest enemy penetrations had come against them too. The Soviets were likely to reinforce their earlier successes there, probably operating under the presumption that the NATO forces in these areas would be considerably weaker as a result of the heavy fighting earlier in the week.

CENTAG’s commanding general had some concerns about the reserves that would be on-hand for these two corps’. V Corps reserve for the moment consisted of the 11^th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Once the covering force battles had been decisively concluded on D+0 and D+1 the regiment was pulled back to the corps rear area to act as a reserve and fire brigade of sorts for V Corps’ two combat divisions. As the CONUS-based units assigned to V Corps under REFORGER arrived in the Federal Republic and formed up they were to assume the role of the corps reserve, freeing up the cavalry regiment for duties elsewhere. The problem was that the flow of ground units into Germany had slowed down over the last twelve hours and wouldn’t pick up again for another twelve. The 4^th Infantry Division was not entirely formed up yet. Barring an emergency situation such as a major Soviet breakthrough, CENTAG’s commanding general didn’t intend to see it committed piecemeal. Given the current situation on the ground in V Cops sector a breakthrough didn’t seem likely. Therefore, the risk was one worth taking.

 

Author’s Note: I fully intended to complete D+5 on the Central Front this evening. Unfortunately, the situation in the Ukraine at the moment is creating longer hours for me at my fulltime job. I will finish up D+5 later this week however, regardless of the international situation. 😊