Chapter 2: The Soviet Right Hook

Chapter 2: The Soviet Right Hook

As we detailed in the previous chapter ("Red July"), STAVKA had conceived of the assault on the Fulda Gap not as their central effort but as a grand diversion to draw NATO forces away from other sectors of the West German front.  As expected, NATO, long expecting Fulda to be central to a Warsaw Pact onslaught, took the bait and committed the bulk of its ground forces to holding off the fierce Soviet offensive. STAVKA waited three full days to ensure that NATO forces were fully engaged before committing their strategic reserve to opening a new front to the north of Fulda.  Known as "Operation Gold Pluto," this daring Soviet plan would put NATO in a perilous position.

Final unit dispositions of Operation Gold Pluto with operational overlay (courtesy 8th Guards Army Archives, Volgograd, 1985)

Historical Redux

If this sounds a bit familiar, it should: Operation Gold Pluto was based on the plan used by Germany during World War II.  As with the Wehrmacht's Operation Watch on the Rhine, which kicked off the so-called Battle of the Bulge, Operation Gold Pluto had the 57th Guards Tank Regiment and 174th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 8th Guards Army launch a surprise attack against ill-prepared and ill-equipped West German units in a relatively quiet sector of the front.  The idea was to race to the Rhine before NATO could react, much as Wehrmacht forces sought to reach Antwerp before the Allies could react in the winter of 1945.

If the initial idea was daring, General Sergei Popov's execution would be an even bigger gamble.  As recounted in an interview given to Military History Illustrated after the war,  Popov was prepared to do the unthinkable: divide his forces in front of a potentially superior enemy:


"No, no, no. You can't do that. They all said, 'STAVKA won't allow it!' Well, let STAVKA come out here and run the show, then. [Laughing] We needed speed. I couldn't complete the operational objectives if I kept my armor on a leash and tied to the infantry. So I detached most of my armor - the bulk of the 57th Guards Tank Regiment - and had them run free in the north of our operational area." - General Sergei Popov, "Recollections of the Battle for Germany," Military History Illustrated, 1991.


The gamble paid off.  Soviet maskirovka - that is, deception - worked;  the West German forces were completely unprepared for the assault of July 23.  Only West German gebirgsjäger units - light infantry equipped with rudimentary transport - were stationed in the area, and none of them were prepared for a fight. Senior Lieutenant Ivan Tekliov was the unit commander of the second company, third battalion of the 57th Guards. His T-80BV{m} tanks were the first to meet resistance as the regiment crossed the Wohra. His surprise at the lack of organized resistance could still be clearly heard in a radio interview conducted shortly after the war ended:

"I couldn't believe my eyes. There is only one major bridge that crosses the Wohra into Rauschenberg and there it was, in all its glory. Untouched. Unblown! Unguarded! I commented to Rogov [Tekliov's command tank driver], 'Don't these fellas know that there is a war on?'" - "Veteran Talk," German News Now, 1991


But things would become even more surreal as Tekliov's unit formed up for the assault into Rauschenberg.

"So we were preparing to cross into Rauschenberg when my gunner reports activity on the other side of the bridge. I figured here we go, the fight is about to begin. But what came to check us out? A jeep with a handful of guys. A jeep! They made it halfway across the bridge before they realized what was going on. [Laughing] I still can see them jamming on the breaks and hightailing it out of there!" - Ibid.

Events would prove that there wasn't very much more of a defense awaiting Tekliov's battalion inside Rauschenberg. His unit would cross the Wohra with minimal resistance and old encounter a reinforced company of gebirgsjäger that was completely unprepared to meet the Soviet armored advance. Again, Tekliov:

"The fight took about an hour. Really, it was more of a skirmish. The enemy was scattered about the city and was little more than a collection of lightly armed patrols. Most didn't even have prepared defensive positions. It was an incredible stroke of fortune. The prisoners we collected were thoroughly bewildered by our sudden appearance. They seemed to think the war wasn't going to touch them up there in the hills." - Ibid.


As the 57th Guards Tank Regiment first raced west and then south, this story was repeated time and again. General Popov's gamble paid off in a big way. The Soviets had broken through behind NATO lines and was now racing south along the B3 national highway.

Delayed Reaction

Popov's 174th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment wasn't encountering much more difficulty as it threw its bulk westward.  Again, most West German units encountered were light infantry that seemed organized for patrols rather than a determined defense.  Indeed, the 174th didn't meet any real resistance until they penetrated as far as Kirchhain.  It was here that the Soviets first detected signs of a gathering West German reaction to the surprise attack.  Oborin Victorovich was a junior lieutenant leading a platoon of three BRM-1K Korshuns reconnaissance vehicles that penetrated all the way into the heart of Kirchhain before encountering resistance.  In an interview given to military historian Nathan Simpson, Victorovich recounted the experience:

"Up to that moment we were on an uneventful mission. It was bizarre to be driving down a German street and see life going on like normal. I mean, the streets were mostly deserted of people - word of the fighting near Rauschenberg had spread no doubt - but there were no signs of defensive fortifications and such. It wasn't until we neared the west end of the city, near the bridge that crossed the Ohm, that we encountered our first hostiles. A roadblock had been set up and we were suddenly under small arms and heavy MG [machine gun] fire. Totally ineffective, albeit the commander of my second BRM suffered a slight head wound before he could button up. But it was determined resistance. We returned fire but had to retreat as German reinforcements arrived with anti-tank weaponry. Our job was recon not combat, after all." - The Iron Curtain Split Asunder: World War Three in Europe, Nathan Simpson, 1994


Ironically, Victorovich's retreat would lead him to receiving the Order of Alexander Nevsky commendation for his encounter with German panzers:

"We eventually found ourselves north of Kirchhain and stopped to deploy our ground search radar. We detected some activity about a kilometer or two north of us on a low rise that overlooked Kirchhain and its surrounding fields. Well, we were in the recon business, so we headed on over there to take a look. By careful maneuver we had placed ourselves on the flank of what appeared to be two platoons of dated German M48 tanks that were setting up to engage the approaching infantry of the 174th. I said screw it, they put 73mm cannons on these things for a reason! [Laughing] I ordered my platoon to open fire. Our HEAT [High Explosive Anti-Tank] rounds were surprisingly effective against the enemy armor. We only managed to get two volleys off before the Germans returned fire, knocking out Leonidovich's BRM - the crew was battered but survived - and destroying Zakharovich command, sadly. But still, considering we left six enemy tanks disabled or worse, I am proud of what we accomplished. How many men in the infantry might have died if we didn't take the risk?" - Ibid.

 Such disproportionate results seemed to favor the Soviet advance into Kirchhain for most of the day as West Germany fed ad hoc forces into the city in a haphazard and panicked fashion.  However, by dusk NATO command had begun to get a handle on the situation and start to respond in a cohesive fashion.  What is more, the NATO forces superiority in low-light and night vision technology began to tell against the less well-equipped Soviets.  While still greatly outnumbered and on the defensive, NATO found their footing.  Soon, Kirchhain was being contested block by block.  Unfortunately, this also meant that the city suffered as fierce fighting and supporting artillery strikes took their toll.

A U-2 reconnaissance photograph of smoke plumes rising over Kirchhain at the height of fighting 

South of Kirchhain, another area of contention had developed:  the bridge over the Ohm river that was east of the small community of Amonburg. The armor of the 174th Grds MRR needed to secure this crossing if they were going to link up with the infantry that was advancing through Kirchhain.  As elsewhere, opposition was scattered and light.  However, here three platoons of gebirgsjäger were dug into the pine forest to the east of the L3073 highway that crossed the Ohm.  They would prove a tough nut to crack.   Till Kolb owned a TV repair store near the west bank of the Ohm and had a clear view of the fighting.

"I heard them before I could see them. The rumble of the tanks and other stuff. Eventually I could see that it was Pact tanks coming up the L3073. The red star painted on their hulls and all that. They didn't bother us any. Of course, I stayed inside so as to avoid tempting them! I didn't want any trouble.

"The fighting began around evening. Bang! Boom! Loud! Shook the windows of my shop! I could see the flash of artillery or mortar shells landing in the forest to the east. Lots of bright tracers, too. And missile trails. Going both directions! I was proud of my countrymen! I could see that they were giving the reds one heck of a time just by watching Sov officers near my shop impatiently pointing at the forest and shouting orders into their radios. Those boys in the trees bought time for their country with their lives. True heros." - A Cruel Thing: Civilian Voices of World War III, 1998


Despite the bravery of West German forces, Operation Gold Pluto was a smashing success.  By one o'clock in the morning of July 24, all operational directives were achieved.  General Popov's units were told to hold in place and prepare for the next day's operations.  Despite nearly twenty-four hours of continuous combat operations, Popov's forces were in surprisingly good condition and would only need four hours refit before kicking off the next phase of STAVKA's grand plan to win the war against NATO.