Both sides of the
Iron Curtain developed detailed battle plans in regards to war in Europe should
the Cold War have gone hot. Allied military planners had begun studying the
terrain and anticipating Soviet military operations in Europe since the end of
the Second World War. NATO military planners theorized that the Soviets and
their Warsaw Pact allies would attack from one of three areas across the middle
of Europe and divided Germany.
The first expected
theory of Soviet invasion was centered on the area of the North German Plain.
The composition and terrain of the North German Plain makes it ideally suitable
for the deployment and maneuvering of armored and mechanized formations. The
North German Plain was for the most part in the British areas of West Germany
and in the event of war in Germany, the Warsaw Pact invasion led by elements of
the Soviet 3rd Shock Army and the 8th Guards Army of the Group of Soviet Forces
Germany, would be countered by elements of NATO's Northern Army Group and
Second Allied Tactical Air Force comprised of West German, Dutch, Belgian,
British and American combat forces.
The second suspected
route of attack was identified by allied planners as the Fulda Gap, a corridor
of lowlands between the East German border and the city of Frankfurt am Main in
West Germany. The Fulda Gap would be less suitable for armored and mechanized
maneuvering than the North German Plain but it presented the Warsaw Pact with a
direct route of attack on the heart of the United States military in West Germany
and the financial heart of the Federal Republic: Frankfurt am Main. By attacking through the Fulda Gap, Warsaw
Pact forces could attempt to seize control of two large airfields one being the
Rhein Main Airbase and effectively cut off American reinforcements to the
theater. In using the Fulda Gap, upon western exit of the Gap armored forces
would encounter favorable terrain which extended to the banks of the Rhine
River which increased Soviet chances of reaching and crossing the Rhine before
NATO forces could arrive and prevent the advance.
The third and least
likely of the suspected routes of invasion was identifed as being through the
Danube River Valley.
Due to its proximity
to West Germany, the German Democratic Republic was expected to play a major
role in the assault on western Europe. Elements of the Nationale Volksarmee
trained constantly in cooperation with its Soviet and Warsaw Pact allies to
perfect interoperability in the event of war with NATO. The East German Army
would play a major role in the initial phases of the invasion of West Germany
and principle to the opening phases would be the employment of shock troops to
disrupt Allied concentrations and clear the way for heavier elements to reach
their assigned objectives. In this manner East Germany would turn to its elite
500 man assault unit, the 40. Fallschirmjägerbataillon Willi Sänger. An
airborne infantry regiment trained in dissimilar warfare and commando tactics,
the unit was expected to infiltrate and sabotage NATO command structures and
disrupt supply routes as well as neutralize nuclear weapons launchers, enemy
command and control facilities, prevent the resupply and reinforcement of NATO
forces and occupy areas of strategic importance until friendly Warsaw Pact
forces could arrive.
Specialized in
fighting in NATO's rear areas, each soldier was trained to be an independent
thinker and received specialized training in areas that included day/night time
combat, day/night parachute jumping, handling explosives and incendiary
devices, mountain climbing, skiing, swimming, diving, close combat and hand to
hand combat training, radio communications and deception, urban combat,
advanced marksmanship, reconnaissance, surveillance, survival and training in
foreign languages. Everything in the unit was designed to be readily
transportable by Luftstreitkräfte transport planes or helicopter to the target
area. In combat, the companies of the battalion would be organized into five or
six man teams to reduce its operational profile in the theater.
By the end of the
1960s, the East German military command had developed a plan for the initial
stages of armed conflict with the West that would come to be known as Operation
DUNAJ or Operation Danube. According to the East German battle plan coordinated
with Warsaw Pact commands, elements of the 40. Fallschirmjägerbataillon Willi
Sänger unit would initiate attacks on West Germany commencing with intial
landings in a two pronged assault from southern East Germany into southern West
Germany effectively the American zone near Bamberg and Würzburg. Antonov An-2
Colts and Antonov An-26 Curl transports or Mil Mi-8 Hip utility helicopters of
the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA would presumably penetrate West German airspace
under the cover of darkness and drop the groups of paratroopers into the rear
areas of NATO forces. Simultaneously a second wave would be launched from the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic into West Germany bypassing Regensburg. These
landings would be followed up by NVA armored and mechanized assaults of the 7.
Panzerdivision '7th Armored Division' from Dresden, 11. Motorisierte-Schützen
Division '11th Motorized Rifles Division' from Halle and 4. Motorisierte-Schützen Division '4th
Motorized Rifles Division' from Erfurt in five thrusts into the American and
British sectors. Formations of Landstreitkräfte T-72 and T-62 main battle tanks
along with BMP armored personnel carriers, BRDM armored personnel carriers and
other armored vehicles along with Warsaw Pact allied armor would then push to
penetrate into the French sector.
The northern most
elements of ground forces consisting of 9. Panzerdivision '9th Armored
Division' from Eggesin, 8. Motorisierte-Schützen Division '8th Motorized Rifles
Division' from Schwerin and 1. Motorisierte-Schützen Division '1st Motorized
Rifles Division' from Potsdam would roll across the Iinner German Border and
would thus cross the North German Plain making a push through Hannover and
Bielefeld to defeat and capture the British Army of the Rhine headquarters
before heading for Dortmund. Other elements of this assault force would also
begin heading towards Siegen. The middle, central prongs of the attack would
push through the Fulda Gap moving to defeat the American headquarters at
Frankfurt am Main along the Main River and Mannheim. The fifth and southern
most prong of the attack would be aimed towards the town of Ulm. Once secured,
a secondary airborne assault would be launched with the aims of pushing through
the Saarland and invading France. Airborne assault forces would bypass Metz and
Strassburg and make landings near Verdun and Langres.
The battle plan was
revised and updated several times throughout the course of the Cold War, and
would remain and effective battle plan up until the collapse of the German
Democratic Republic in 1990.
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