An In-Depth History and Analysis of the Third World War
The sheer intensity of modern war arrived with the force of a bludgeon to allied Forward Air Controllers, whether in the air or on the ground. Soviet battlefield air defenses were the subjects of endless briefings for these men throughout their pre-war time in the service. The ways in which they operated, and the number …
Continue reading "Central Front: Forward Air Controllers At War Part II (A)"
In World War III USAF Forward Air Controllers proved to be invaluable assets to US and allied ground forces on the Central Front. Whether in the air or on the ground FACs were responsible for coordinating close air support. There were several instances where the presence of an FAC meant the difference between whether a …
Continue reading "Central Front: Forward Air Controllers At War Part I"
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 …
Continue reading "Central Front WWIII 1987 Addendum E: CENTAG- V Corps Part II"
1st Guards Tank Army’s Ivy League Education Late on D+6 8th Guards Army was handing off the Soviet/Warsaw Pact advance in the Fulda Gap are to 1st Guards Tank Army (1st GTA). After seven days of war 8th Guards was in no condition to continue the Pact drive west towards Frankfurt and the Rhine beyond …
Continue reading "Central Front WWIII 1987 Addendum E: CENTAG- V Corps Part I"
The relieving of NORTHAG’s Commander-in-Chief General Sir Martin Farndale was fully justified in the eyes of SACEUR. Right before midnight of D+15, SACEUR relieved Farndale of his duties. The news came at a point in time when the outside world was oblivious as to the gravity of the situation on the North German Plain. The …
Through the 20th Century the working relationship between some American and British general officers was occasionally strained. Despite the close relationship developed by the United States and Great Britain, some general officers found it difficult to coexist with their counterparts from the opposite side of the Atlantic. Whether it was a matter of personal egos …
D+6 The northern prong of the Warsaw Pact effort through Bavaria remains directed at Nuremberg. The advance dries up almost completely and with the decisive fighting going on up north, the prospect of Pact reinforcements arriving is minimal. As is the possibility of a secondary advance coming south out of East Germany. 8th Guards Army, …
For most of the Cold War Bavaria was viewed as a far more defendable region for NATO forces when compared to the North German Plain. The Hof Corridor, positioned in the US VII Corps sector of responsibility, contained the type of geography and man-made structures that would hinder the rapid movement of advancing armored forces. …
As midnight approached in Germany, Western TVD and Group of Soviet Forces Germany (GSFG) were individually assessing the first day of hostilities. The conclusions reached at both the TVD high command wartime bunker in Western Poland and at GFSG’s own facility in Wunsdorf were similar. Progress in general on the Central Front was poor, owing …
At 0754 the first Soviet ground force crossed the IGB at Hötensleben. A miscommunication caused this early movement but it had no adverse effect on Soviet/Warsaw Pact strategy and plans. By 0803 the scene was being repeated all along the frontier. T-80 and BMP-2 IFVs were thrusting into West German territory. Contact between NATO and …
Third World War 1987 