Fulda Gap

Coordinates: 50°50′N 9°40′E / 50.84°N 09.67°E / 50.84; 09.67
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Vogelsberg Mountains
rise between the two routes.

The Fulda Gap (

Rhine River.[1] Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap became seen as strategically important during the Cold War of 1947–1991. The Fulda Gap roughly corresponds to the route along which Napoleon chose to withdraw his armies after defeat (16–19 October 1813) at the Battle of Leipzig.[2] Napoleon succeeded in defeating a Bavarian-Austrian army under Wrede in the Battle of Hanau (30–31 October 1813) not far from Frankfurt; from there he escaped back to France
.

From 1815, the area appeared of minimal strategic importance, as it lay deep within the borders of the

Soviet occupation zone. This in turn did much to compel the Soviets to honor the Yalta Conference agreement meaning that Western Allies got access to Berlin. In exchange the U.S. Army withdrew in July 1945 from Thuringia and Saxony to the line agreed upon in Yalta
.

During the Cold War, the Fulda Gap offered one of the two obvious routes for a hypothetical Soviet tank attack on

.

Strategic location during the Cold War

The northern route through the Gap passes south of the

Vogelsberg Mountains; the narrower southern route passes through the Fliede and Kinzig Valleys, with the Vogelsberg to the north and the Rhön mountains and Spessart mountains to the south.[2] More importantly, on emerging from the western exit of the Gap, encounters flat terrain from there to the river Rhine, which would have counted in favour of Soviet attempts to reach and cross the Rhine before NATO could prevent this (the intervening Main River would have been less of an obstacle).[citation needed
]

The Fulda Gap route was less suitable for mechanized troop movement than was the

Frankfurt am Main. Furthermore the capital of the Federal Republic in Bonn, was situated only 200 km to the west. A rapidly advancing Soviet or Warsaw Pact attack through the Fulda Gap along the lines of Seven Days to the River Rhine could have also potentially cut the territory of West Germany in two parts, making the long-term existence of a West German state untenable.[citation needed
]

The topography around the Fulda Gap.

Strategic responses to the geographic feature

Strategists on both sides of the

V Corps. The actual Inner German border
in the Fulda Gap was guarded by reconnaissance forces, the identification and structure of which evolved over the years of the Cold War.

From June 1945 until July 1946, reconnaissance and security along the border between the U.S. and

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Vietnam in 1972, the 11th ACR
relieved the 14th ACR and took over the reconnaissance mission in the Fulda Gap until the end of the Cold War.

The mission of the armored cavalry (heavy, mechanized

armored cavalry
's mission in war was to delay a Soviet attack until other units of the U.S. V Corps could be mobilized and deployed to defend the Fulda Gap.

Terrain near the central German town of Fulda.
11th ACR
memorial at the former Downs Barracks, Fulda, Germany.

The

Frankfurt and Bad Kreuznach areas.[7]

From 1947 until 1951, the

CONUS. This included the 4th Infantry Division, which was stationed in the Frankfurt area, and the 2nd Armored Division, which was located with its headquarters at Bad Kreuznach to the west of the Rhine River; both of those were the divisions assigned to the newly activated V Corps. Within six years, unit changes resulted in the arrival (May/June 1956) and stationing of the 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD) around Frankfurt, and the December 1957 arrival of the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
(8th ID) in the Bad Kreuznach area. The two replaced divisions returned to the United States.

The following is a summary of US Cold War history in Germany from the 1950s. US Forces were headquartered at Frankfurt and therefore had an orientation that included the Fulda Gap:

Atomic Demolition Mines for many years in the Fulda Gap.[11] In the early '60s, the Fulda Gap was also protected by V Corps Artillery units equipped with the medium-range MGM-5 Corporal guided missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In 1962, the more reliable solid fuel MGM-29 Sergeant missile was deployed and remained in use until 1973 when it was replaced by the MGM-52 Lance missile.[12]

For many years, V Corps' principal adversary was the

Soviet 8th Guards Army, which was to be followed by additional armies (including the four armored divisions and one mechanized infantry division of the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army), making the Fulda Gap a key entry route for the Soviet Bloc to western Europe
in any hypothetical battle in Cold War Europe; both armies were well equipped and held high-priority for receiving new equipment.

Beginning in 1975, the Soviet Union's strategy for attacking Western Europe involved the use of operational manoeuvre groups to outflank NATO defensive positions such as the Fulda Gap.[13]

From 1976 to 1984, the 4th Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division was garrisoned in Wiesbaden and also subordinated to U.S. V Corps.

From 1979 onwards, the first V Corps unit detailed to reinforce the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Fulda Gap in the event of hostilities was the 8th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion,

68th Armored Regiment (1-68 Armor), stationed at Wildflecken to the south of the Gap. The mission of 1-68 Armor was to establish a defensive line across part of the Gap, providing a shield behind which other V Corps units could advance and defend. Also located in Wildflecken was the 108th Military Intelligence (MI) Btn, to which Delta Company Rangers was assigned – the Rangers' mission was to strike at the supply lines and command structures of any invading Soviet forces. 144th Ordnance Company was in charge of much of the ammunition slated for 8th Infantry Division and 3rd Armor Division, as well as operating ASP #3 in Wildflecken. 144th Ord. was also responsible for chemical and nuclear ammunition for the Fulda Gap sector, operating not only ASP #3 but multiple Forward Storage and Transportation Sites. The 54th Engineer Battalion (United States)
, also garrisoned at Wildflecken, was tasked with destroying critical bridges, roads, and other channels to impede any Soviet advance through the Fulda Gap, as well as provide critical engineering services to enable 1-68th Armor to ease the engagement of Soviet forces.

In September 1980, the 533rd Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion was reactivated in Frankfurt and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division.

air strikes as well as to intrude on enemy radio networks using radio jamming and deceptive communications by Defense Language Institute trained Russian and German linguists. The 3rd Armored Division was also reinforced with an organic attack helicopter wing, and was the first military unit to deploy the attack helicopter Boeing AH-64 Apache
in 1987.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Fulda Gap". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, W. B. (June 2015). "The Fulda Gap" (PDF). The Blackhorse Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  3. ^ Stacy, William E. "Chapter One: Early Post-War Border Operations – 1945–1946". US Army Border Operations in Europe. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Border Ops, Map 3". Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  5. ^ Stacy, William E. "Chapter Three: Transition Into a Tactical Force – 1950–1952". US Army Border Operations in Europe. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "History of the 14th ACR". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  7. ^ TRADOC conducted a hypothetical wargame based on the defense of the city of Fulda which involved both US officers and retired Wehrmacht Generals. The simulation was designed to compare World War Two concepts formed in Russia against current American doctrine, BMD Corporation, "General Balck and von Mellenthin on Tactics: Implications for NATO Doctrine," December 19, 1980., accessed February 2023
  8. ^ "USAREUR Units - 19th Armor Gp". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  9. ^ "USAREUR Units - 7th SUPCOM". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  10. ^ "USAREUR Units - 7th SUPCOM". Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  11. ^ "The History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, Volume VI, 1955–56", by Kenneth W. Condit, (Washington: GPO, 1992)
  12. ^ "Personal knowledge"
  13. ^ pp. 104–105 of the Jan–Feb 2010 issue Archived 2014-01-11 at the Wayback Machine of Military Review, the journal of the U.S. Army's Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth KS.
  14. ^ "533rd MI Bn". Archived from the original on 2009-07-21.

Further reading

External links

50°50′N 9°40′E / 50.84°N 09.67°E / 50.84; 09.67