Seek-Fix-Destroy
D+13 | 02 August 1989, 06:00hrs - 12:00hrs vs :smflag-so: @ Buchholz
The Soviet 3rd Shock Army hit the Netherlands and West German defenders hard in the opening days of the war with goal of reaching the Elbe River no matter the costs. And this attack was successful with the 3rd Shock Army reaching the river by July 31. Keeping the initiative and the attack moving, the 207th Motor Rifle Division conducted a hasty assault crossing of the Elbe River at the bend of the river at Fliegenberg during the night of July 31/ August 1. This “crossing on the fly” caught NATO by surprise and caused the Netherlands I Corps and West German I Corps defense to collapse. The Soviet engineers worked furiously to get the ferry going as the 2nd Guards Tank Army (GTA) was hot on the heels of the 3rd Shock, ready to exploit.
Soviet doctrine was all about swift penetrations into the rear of NATO’s defenses to keep the initiative, continue forward momentum, and keep NATO on its back foot. Knowing on that first day afyter crossing the Elbe that there would not be enough ferries yet established to push across whole divisions, the 2nd GTA formed an Operational Maneuver Group from a fresh regiment from the 16th Guards Tank Division. The 47th Guards Tank regiment was given this task. After some hasty planning, the 47ths crossed the Elbe and exploited west. Their goal was to reach Autobahn 1 and move as quickly and deeply as possible towards Breman with their eyes on the critical Weser River line.
The NORTHAG commander had wisely kept the US Army’s 3rd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in reserve and now was the time to committee the brigade to halt the Warsaw Pact penetration. The mission fell to Task Force 1-41, a balanced Mechanized Infantry/Armor task force built around 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment. Just before the “Straight and Stalwarts” moved out, the brigade commander told the task force commander: “Seek out the enemy, fix them in place and destroy them.”
A fateful meeting engagement was in the making near the West German city of Buchholz.
Scenario by Fred Schwarz | Map by William van der Sterren