A strategic overview of the frontline on the Alsfeld axis.
Date: June 20, 1989
Time Day 1 + 8 hour
Location: Bad Hersfeld, West Germany
Warsaw Pact's breakthrough offensive aimed at Frankfurt-am-Main risks leaving its flanks exposed.
The Nationale Volksarmee's 4. Motorisierte Schützendivision's mission is to protect the northern shoulder of the attack. The East Germans plan to seize Bad Hersfeld and the crossroads at Alsfeld and set up a covering force.
This would slow or even block the inevitable NATO counter-attack headed by the West German 5. Panzerdivision. The fight for the flank becomes a deadly contest, pitting the armies of a divided Germany against one another.
Detailed Briefing[]
As the attack on Fulda begins, the communist Nationale Volksarmee is tasked with protecting the flank of the Soviet 8th Guards Army further north. Like elsewhere in this part of CENTAG’s sector, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is positioned to safeguard the border. The East Germans plan to first seize the American stronghold at Bad Hersfeld and then push through to Alsfeld. This town sits at an important crossroads, and holding it against the inevitable NATO counter-attack will ensure that the Soviet flank remains secure.
The Nationale Volksarmee’s 4. Motorisierte Schützendivision deploys in full to achieve this objective. As on other parts of the front, NATO reinforcements are still being mobilized and will take time to arrive. The West German 5. Panzerdivision, a powerful tank formation, is one of those reinforcing units. The Warsaw Pact forces need to move at speed if they want to capture Alsfeld before it is too late. However, they will also have to defend against a potent armored counter-attack. For the NATO defenders, buying time - even if it means sacrificing those units on the border - will allow them to block and perhaps roll back the East Germans across the frontier.
