D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0630-0700 Zulu

Brussels, Belgium 0630 Zulu (0830 Local) News of the chemical weapon attack on LANDJUT units along the Danish-West German border reached NATO headquarters in Brussels less than seven minutes after the first CW rounds impacted. Initial reports were understandably lacking in detail, but it was clear beyond a doubt that the Soviets had deliberately initiated …

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

As III Corps awaited the arrival of West German and British brigades, activity along the rest of the front ebbed and flowed through the remainder of the morning and early afternoon. Probes became a regular occurrence as formations on both sides wrestled with the realization that the anticipated NATO attack had failed to materialize. For …

The Central Front D+19 (28 July, 1987) Part II

Author’s Note: CENTAG is coming first because my laptop went south on Friday and it took over 36 hours to get it reset and all my files recovered. Need some extra time to gather my CENTAG and NORTHAG timelines and notes up from the wreckage. As a result, this entry will be short, unfortunately. 😊 …

The Central Front D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part VII

Brainstorming and informal planning for a potential CENTAG offensive option continued on. Many of CENTAG’s war plans assumed an offensive from the army group’s region would be directed north or northwest to blunt a major Soviet attack or breakthrough on the North German Plain. An embodiment of the cavalry coming to the rescue, so to …

The Central Front D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part VI

It was 0315 in the morning. The commander of NATO’s Central Army Group (CENTAG) General Glenn Otis, US Army, received a call at his field headquarters from Brussels. The voice on the other end was the familiar nasal, New England-accented voice belonging to SACEUR. “Glenn, I want to let you know what’s going on up …

The Central Front D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part II

Once all factors were taken into account, NATO forces in Germany appeared to be in far better shape than anyone could’ve expected. The Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) General John Galvin reflected on this as midnight heralded the start of the eighteenth day of the Third World War. The aggregate data compiled from hundreds of …

Primer For The Remainder of Central Front D+17

Greetings from the Jersey Shore! So here we are with Central Front D+17 getting underway. The first entry gave an overview of the Soviet position on the Central Front coming into the eighteenth day of the war. Central Front D+17 Part II will offer the same for NATO. From there we jump into the battles …

The Central Front D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part VII

In southern Germany, Warsaw Pact ground operations continued to lose steam on D+16. While fresh NATO divisions continued arrive and join the battle, Pact forces were nowhere near as fortunate. Soviet and Czech reserve combat formations were almost entirely committed. To expound matters even more, fuel and ammunition was not making its way forward as …

The Central Front D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part VI Bravo

The 4th Infantry Division secured Alsfeld and the surrounding network of roads in the early hours of D+16. The Soviet motor rifle troops that had stubbornly held a portion of the town into the evening hours had used the cover of night to slip out practically unnoticed. 2nd Brigade/4th Infantry spent the next four hours …

The Central Front D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part VI Alpha

In the CENTAG area the attacks that commenced the previous day in the V Corps sector had made good progress. CENTAG’s commander General Glenn Otis, US Army, was encouraged by the progress of the current operations. The two V Corps divisions were pressing their attacks west in the direction of Bad Hersfeld and Fulda. Beyond …