1st Armored Division’s Break Through At Fulda
In the CENTAG region, the attacks that commenced in the V Corps sector on D+15 were making progress. CENTAG’s commander General Glenn Otis, US Army, was encouraged by the current operations. The two V Corps divisions were pressing their attacks east in the direction of Bad Hersfeld and Fulda. The corps’ forward divisions were operating like well-oiled machines. Beyond those towns was the Inner-German Border. It was not his place to determine if future operations would continue beyond that point. That decision would be made at the strategic level where the goals are always national, and in the case of an alliance like NATO, multinational.
The 4th Infantry Division secured Alsfeld and the surrounding network of roads in the early hours of D+16. The next four hours were spent by the division’s 2nd Brigade consolidating control of the town. Meanwhile, south of Alsfeld, the 1st Armored Division was knocking on Fulda’s front door. 3rd Brigade/1st AD was arrayed between Grossenluder and Hosenfeld while 1st Brigade was moving into position southwest of Flieden. The next attack commenced at 0900 with the two brigades maneuvering towards Fulda. The Soviet tank division deployed in front of, and on the flanks of the town, remained deployed in depth and gave the appearance of being a tough nut to crack.
The appearance was true to reality. The battle flowed into the late afternoon with the Soviet tank regiments stubbornly holding their positions and keeping the American tankers from achieving a breakthrough. Unfortunately for the Soviets, the combat power of their forward units was reaching the critical point. The amount of time that they could offer effective resistance was rapidly diminishing.
At 1800 hours, the dam finally broke. 1st Armored Division broke through the 11th Guards Tank Division in two places. The more northern penetration opened the door for the 3/35th Armor to cut Autobahn 7 and serve as the spearhead for 3rd Brigade’s advance on Hunfeld. The second breakthrough occurred northeast of Neuhof and resulted in the envelopment of the 40th Guards Tank Regiment. These nearly simultaneous penetrations forced the 11th Guards TD’s commander to order his forces to fall back east of Fulda and commence preparations for what looked to be to be 1st Guards Tank Army’s final stand on West German soil.
Author’s Note: Needless to say, this has been a hectic and fast paced weekend owing to events taking place in the Middle East. My schedule was obliterated and for the moment I’m trying to salvage what I can. Unfortunately, my free time is minimal and as a result, this entry is not as detailed as I originally intended. I’ll follow up on Tuesday and explain just what I had originally planned and discuss how blog posts will work for next week and a half. A lot depends on events on the other side of the world. Hope everyone is safe and well. –Mike
Third World War 1987 