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 V Charlie

Late in the evening, General John Galvin, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) received word that the first troops from 1st Cavalry Division were over the Leine. The news invigorated SACEUR’s deputies, as well as his staff. After two and a half weeks spent playing round-the-clock defense, NATO had possession of the ball. NORTHAG’s new …

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

The Commander-In-Chief of the Western TVD, Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov was relieved of his duties at 1600 hours, CEST. It was to be another hour before General Snetkov learned of the news. A KGB officer arrived from Western TVD’s wartime command post in Poland to personally deliver the news of Ogarkov’s removal. The officer also informed …

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

Disorientation continued to hamper Soviet commanders into the afternoon. From the divisional level straight up to the theater commander, there was no clear picture of the situation developing along the Leine or to its west. Fragments of information made their way to headquarters and then somehow ended up either being exaggerated and passed along or, …

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 …

Gaming World War III: The Future For NATO-WP Games Is Bright Part I

A couple of weeks back I made an observation on Twitter that 30 years from now wargame companies will likely still be churning out new games based on a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict in Europe set in the 1980s. At present, we are a shade past 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. New …

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 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 …

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

NORTHAG’s new American commander arrived at Holzminden and spent 15 minutes with General Yeosock. 1st Cav’s commanding general briefed him on the still-developing plan, providing as much detail as the limited amount of available time would allow. Saint liked the plan. It was aggressive and bold, but not wildly reckless. He gave Yeosock his approval …

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

1st Cavalry Division’s commander General John Yeosock was discovering a potential way to bring his entire division into the battle in a decisive fashion. The loose collection of thoughts in his mind came together and a plan was taking shape. The inspiration for his plan was the brilliant thunder run pulled off by the 2nd …