Air and Land

D+1 | 21 July 1989, 12:00hrs - 20:00hrs vs @ Hameln

Even if expected, the air assaults by Soviet forces were still a problem. There was an abundance of targets and little possibility of defending them at all times. NATO was left with reacting and hoping the reaction could clear the air landing units.

The Soviets descended on the Hameln bridges as soon as the air battle was conducive to air assaults. They had some setbacks, courtesy of air interception of one of their flights and unexpectedly fierce ground resistance by local forces. Still, they were able to set a reasonable defence and were waiting patiently for the link up with the main body forces.

After some timid attempts at using air power to remove the Soviet forces, NATO command finally acknowledged that without a serious push by ground forces the persistent and resilient Soviet forces would not clear the area before the link up.

Scenario by Joao Lima | Map by Richard Lloyd