What units were designated for the Fulda Gap (I was C 3/8 INF and we had 11th ACR)?

2017-10-15T03:00:07-04:00

Response by SPC Christopher Jackson made Oct 15 at 2017 3:21 AM

2017-10-15T03:21:15-04:00

I can see in the photo that 3rd AD was as well. My company took us by bus to Fulda to show us our fighting positions. mission, fight a soviet invasion by either being a speed bump or dying in place. Oh how did we love those 0400 Alerts too! C 3/8 INF (Mech) were the "War Eagles."

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2017 9:22 PM

2017-10-15T21:22:16-04:00

BLACKHORSE!!!!

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Oct 16 at 2017 8:51 AM

2017-10-16T08:51:31-04:00

I guess the technical answer would be all the American Ground Force in Germany at the time. The two big units permanently assigned at the time were the 3rd Infantry and 3rd Armor Divisions, but depending on the time frame, you had a brigade from the 1st Infantry (1st Forward) and the 1st Armor as well. I don't know how many of the Guard units at the time where slotted for Europe, I did some support of the 35th Division and they had a Central Germany mission.
I always thought of the mission there as being a Speed Bump.

Response by SSG William Norris made Oct 16 at 2017 9:16 AM

2017-10-16T09:16:22-04:00

In the late 80's - early 90's the 4th ID was tasked to come in for clean-up.

Response by SFC James William Bolt [ 40 Yards ] made Oct 16 at 2017 5:49 PM

2017-10-16T17:49:09-04:00

One of your Artillery support unit in the gap was 2nd Rocket @ Howitzer Battalion 73d Artillery 3rd Armor Division . We had two battery of 155mm howitzer four 8 inches howitzer 2 long johns rocket launcher . Sign 40 yards

Response by SGT Mark Rhodes made Mar 31 at 2019 12:40 PM

2019-03-31T12:40:42-04:00

The Fulda Gap was the most heavily guarded place on Earth. The life expectancy of the 11th ACR was about 30 minutes. But for those of us who served there knew we were better than that. Blackhorse

Response by SP5 Ron Destremps made Dec 14 at 2019 10:25 PM

2019-12-14T22:25:13-05:00

I was in A Trp 1/11th ACR in Fulda in the early 80's , I also spent almost 30 years there after i got out of the Army , quite to contrary belief Fulda Gap was not meant to be a holding operation , it was early warning and a retrograde operation , each of the 3 squadrons was responsible for 168 kilometers of border , life expectancy was less than 30 minutes after engagement , our closest tac air was over 20 minutes out and would have come from britain not rhine main or rammstein , facing the gap the soviets had two full tank divisions within 30 miles of the demarcation line in our section of the border followed by a ton of support units , their goal was to over run everything and head straight for the main river first heavy armor units on our side would have been the iron brigade in gelnhausen then closer to frankfurt 1st second and third armor divisions , the mission was to hold the soviets at the river everything up to there would have been occupied in less than 72 hrs , it would have gotten seriously ugly seriously quick with extreme high casualties on both sides almost immeadiatly , most of our serious missle capabilities had been removed in the early 70's nike hercules and ajax sites so it would have been mostly conventional weapons given the terrain and civilian density i dont believe either side would have resorted to nukes , at the time i was stationed there our military strength was at about 230k thruout all of germany , that was sparse compared to what we would have been facing , until the 70's we actually looked pretty good after that with re organization and restructuring it didnt look as good here an excerp from wiki ...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.[11]

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 (FSTS). 547th Combat Engineer Battalion was tasked with destroying critical bridges to channel any Soviet advance, as well as provide critical engineering services to enable 1-68th Armor to engage Soviet forces.

In September 1980, the 533rd Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion was reactivated in Frankfurt and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division.[12] The 533rd MI Battalion deployed assets in the Fulda Gap to provide electronic warfare capability for the 3rd AD Commander. The missions of the MI battalion were to identify and target invading forces for artillery and air strikes as well as to intrude on enemy radio networks using radio jamming and deceptive communications by Defense Language Institute (DLI) 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.

With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the reunification of Germany in 1990, and the subsequent withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Fulda Gap lost its strategic importance.

Response by SGT John Swift made Jan 29 at 2023 7:32 PM

2023-01-29T19:32:32-05:00

From 1970 to 1973 I was in the 8th Signal Bn/8th Inf Div in Bad kreuthnach ( BK } at Rose Barracks,,,31M UHF Rig with cripto ...We supported many units during their exercises and yes I remember the 4 am Alerts,and as CQ we had to go down town to Curts Bar to get some guys still downtown. haha,went to Jump school at Wiesbaden AFB in 1970. really helped me grow up, the Army put you in charge of equipment worth millions and we did it