The Great Escape
D+1 | 21 July 1989, 18:00hrs - 00:00hrs vs @ Leupoldsgruen
Far away from the front, the East-German 7th Panzer Division had an initial attack that was straight out of a drill book. They started moving under cover of the Warsaw Pact's first push for air superiority and started well behind the front line. Together with their fellow group units, they were part of the second-echelon forces. They were earmarked to give the knock-out punch in the Fulda Gap and take Frankfurt. The 7th Panzer's route took them on an axis that was aimed at the Hof Corridor. The division had the option to attack the corridor or move parallel to it and then either support the Soviet 39th Motor Rifle Division or the main drive to Frankfurt.
They started at the correct time and made good progress towards the border, even if hampered by more aerial interdiction than expected. Halfway to Hof, they were given orders that they were to support the 39th with a flank advance towards the units opposing them. Shortly afterward, they were informed that all mobile units, including them, were now to exploit toward Frankfurt. The division was starting to become a fractured line with component parts spread in a long route. Communications and control started to become problematic as the first units were close to the border.
As the 39th became more and more entangled with the NATO forces, it became obvious to the Pact commanders that the (now) fragmented 7th would take a long time to assemble in sufficient force to become a factor. This is more so since assembling such a large unit adjacent to the combat area with so many NATO forces in range would spell disaster for it.
In the Hof Corridor, the mauled West-German 102nd PzG Bn and the US 1st Squadron 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment were 'holding the fort.' The 1st Squadron kept a vigilant eye on the border but had already received orders to be prepared to redeploy west when ordered. The 102nd, after their initial disaster, had kept a low profile and was the (tenuous) link connecting the fragmented forces of the 10th Panzer Brigade in the area. They were soon to be hit by a storm of steel.
The Warsaw Pact command realized that, even if the 7th was poorly positioned for a direct attack against the US forces holding the 39th, it was very well positioned for a simultaneous attack against the 1st Squadron and the 102nd. If successful, this would overrun the Hof Corridor and connect with the advancing Czechoslovakians. It was a daring initiative since the advancing 7th would have its entire west flank exposed to powerful US formations.
Scenario by Jo Lima; Mike Johnstone | Map by William van der Sterren