The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part III (Bravo)

Dusk fell upon the Central Front, bringing with it the first notes of a precarious pause on the North German Plain. Artillery rumbled sporadically in the distance, but nowhere near as concentrated as it had been earlier in the afternoon. The crack of tank cannons firing and small arms fire popped up periodically as well, …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part III (Alpha)

A military aircraft ostensibly designated and marked as a medical evacuation flight transported General Snetkov back to the Western Theater of Operations. The plane landed at a military airfield southeast of Berlin. From there he was transported amid heavy security to the Group Soviet Forces Germany peacetime headquarters complex at Wünsdorf. The buildings and surrounding …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II (Bravo)

1200-1800 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 1230- As most the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment halts near Gifhorn, air and armored cavalry reconnaissance patrols push ahead. They discover Soviet units dug in on the eastern side of the Elbe Lateral Canal. The regiment is awaiting the arrival of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division and a British Regiment promised …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II (Alpha)

0535-1200 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 0535- Operation Thunder Cloud resumes. 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division begin the drive to Phase Line Dodger. 0550- Heavy maneuver elements of the Dutch 5th Division spearhead the resumption of the Dutch attack northeast of Celle. As these units move, other elements of divisions from I NL …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part I (Bravo)

In an underground command bunker situated in the forest outside Mons, Belgium, Boris Snetkov’s NATO counterpart was sizing up the day ahead. General Jack Galvin, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) was taken aback by the date on the calendar. He realized this was the twenty-third day of war. In his mind it seemed more like …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part I (Alpha)

Western TVD commander-in-chief General Boris Snetkov began D+22 at his command’s alternate wartime headquarters in western Poland, an area still under the control of Soviet forces. His first thought of the new day was the realization that the situation was not going to improve. If anything, it appeared destined to deteriorate further. What was uncertain …

The Central Front D+21 (30 July, 1987) Part III

By dusk, the situation facing the NATO corps on the North German Plain was auspicious, to put it mildly. The sun dipping beneath the western marked the end of Operation Thunder Cloud’s first day. The counteroffensive was nowhere near reaching its climax., but given the events of the last sixteen hours, the main battle was …

The Central Front D+21 (30 July, 1987) Part II

0400- The NORTHAG counteroffensive, officially codenamed Operation Thunder Cloud begins on schedule. As reconnaissance elements of the Dutch 5th Division north of Hanover, and US 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment to the south, cross their lines of departure, heavy barrages of artillery and MLRS fire falls on the confirmed or suspected areas containing the main lines …

The Central Front D+21 (30 July, 1987) Part I

By 0100 hours the main components for the first phase of the NORTHAG counterattack were in place. North of Hanover, the Dutch 5th Division was primed and ready to jump off. This division’s attack would hit the forward positions of the Soviet 20th Guards Army just west of Autobahn 7. The first objective was Celle, …

The Central Front D+20 (29 July, 1987) Part IV

General Bill Kirk, USAF was the Commander of Allied Air Forces in Central Europe (COMAAFCE). Thus far, he had run an almost flawless air war, having achieved air superiority and overcome Warsaw Pact advantage in aircraft numbers, as well as the much-vaunted effectiveness of enemy air defenses. That is not to say NATO losses in …