Kampfgruppe Becker
D+19 | 08 August 1989, 14:30hrs - 20:30hrs vs @ Montabaur
Lieutenant Colonel Gustav Becker, commander of the 132nd Panzergrenadier Battalion, was sound asleep against a tree in Assembly Area Schnitzel. His much-needed rest after days of fighting was suddenly interrupted by a liaison officer from Brigade headquarters. As he walked to the liaison officer’s vehicle he thought, while shaking off the cobwebs of sleep in his brain: “my god, what do they want us to do now.” Arriving at the brigade headquarters, he was met by the brigade commander who told him that an opportunity has arisen, and his unit is the best prepared to take advantage of it.
The Warsaw Pact attack through the West German III Corps sector had made great progress but had culminated just east of Autobahn 3. And it appears the communists were pausing until fresh forces could be brought up. One such unit was the East German 17th Motor Rifle Division, a reserve unit that was recently brought up to strength and immediately sent forward to reinforce the fight. The 17th pulled into position, replacing the battered Soviet 20th Motor Rifle Division and immediately started to dig in to hold the line until offensive operations could resume.
West German intelligence detected the entrance of the 17th MRD into sector and determined this could be a weak point in the Warsaw Pact lines. The West German 5th Panzer Division received the mission to attack immediately and breach the 17th MRD’s defenses to pave the way for a NATO counterattack through this perceived weak point. Like everything in the military, stuff rolls downhill and at the bottom of the hill was LTC Becker and his remnant force. His orders were to cobble together a Kampfguppe and attack in the late afternoon along Axis Brötchen to seize Objective Torte. The Brigade commander said: “this should not be too bad; those East German reservists should be easily brushed aside.” “Right…” Becker thought sarcastically to himself; yet he simply said nothing, saluted and returned to his unit to prepare.
Lieutenant Colonel Ralf Steiner, commander of the 1st Battalion, 43rd Motor Rifle Regiment strolled through his battalion’s defenses, inspecting the positions and joking with his soldiers. Morale was always important to reinforce, especially with his green, nervous reserve soldiers who never dreamed of facing NATO’s armies in deadly combat. Yet he was troubled, his commanders told him his unit was to simply dig in and protect the units to his rear reconstituting to resume the attack later. The regimental CO was certain this sector would be quiet, the West Germans whom they have driven back for almost two weeks, are too beat up to do anything. “Sit, dig-in and soon the Soviets will continue the attack to west,” his commander told him. Steiner stopped and peered to the west. His gut told him something was coming, and that something was not going to be good.
Scenario by Fred Schwarz | Map by John Osborne