The Fulda Gap is an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border and Frankfurt am
Main that contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have
driven in a surprise attack effort by the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact allies
to gain crossing(s) of the Rhine River. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda
Gap was strategically important during the Cold War. The Fulda Gap is roughly
the route along which Napoleon chose to withdraw his armies after defeat at the
Battle of Leipzig. Napoleon succeeded in defeating a Bavarian-Austrian army under
Wrede in the Battle of Hanau not far from Frankfurt; from there he escaped
home to France. The route was also used by the U.S. XII Corps during World War
II to advance eastward in late March and early April 1945.
During the Cold War, the Fulda Gap was one of two obvious routes for a
hypothetical Soviet tank attack on West Germany from Eastern Europe, especially
East Germany; the other route was the North German Plain. The concept of a
major tank battle along the Fulda Gap was a predominant element of North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation war planning during the Cold War, and
weapons such as nuclear tube and missile artillery, the nuclear recoilless
gun/tactical launcher Davy Crockett, Special Atomic Demolition Munitions, the
AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, and A-10 ground attack aircraft were developed
with such an eventuality in mind. Strategic location during the Cold War
The northern route through the Gap passes south of the Knüllgebirge and
then continues around the northern flank of the Vogelsberg Mountains; the
narrower southern route passes through the Fliede and Kinzig Valleys, with the
Vogelsberg to the north and the Rhön mountains and Spessart mountains to the
south. Perhaps even more importantly, on emerging from the western exit of the
Gap, one encounters gentle terrain from there to the river Rhine, which would
have counted in favour of Soviet attempts to reach and cross the Rhine
before NATO could prevent this. The Fulda Gap route was less suitable
for mechanized troop movement than was the North German Plain, but offered an
avenue of advance direct to the heart of the U.S. military in West Germany,
Frankfurt am Main, on the Main River, as indicated in its name. The Main River is
a tributary of the Rhine River. Frankfurt am Main was not only West
Germany's financial heart, but also home to two large airfields that were
designated to receive U.S. reinforcements in the event of war.
Strategic responses to the geographic feature
Strategists on both sides of the Iron Curtain understood the Fulda Gap's
importance, and accordingly allocated forces to defend and attack it. The
defense of the Fulda Gap was a mission of the U.S. V Corps. The actual Inner
German border in the Fulda Gap was guarded by reconnaissance forces, the
identification and structure of which evolved over the years of the Cold War.
From 1945 until June–July 1946, reconnaissance and security along the
border between the U.S. and Soviet zones of occupation in Germany in the area
north and south of Fulda was the mission of elements of the U.S. 3rd and 1st
Infantry Divisions. By July 1946, the 1st, 3rd, and 14th Constabulary
Regiments had assumed responsibility for inter-zonal border security in an area
to include that which later become famous as the Cold War Fulda Gap. The
U.S. Constabulary as a headquarters was subsequently drawn down, but individual
constabulary regiments were retitled armored cavalry regiments. This
coincided with the 1951 upgrade of the U.S. Army's mostly administrative and
occupation responsibilities in Germany to a combat army via the arrival of four
U.S. combat divisions from CONUS. Thus, from 1951 until 1972, the 14th Armored
Cavalry Regiment patrolled the Fulda Gap. After the return of the 11th
Armored Cavalry Regiment from Vietnam in 1972, the 11th ACR relieved the 14th ACR
and took over the reconnaissance mission in the Fulda Gap until the end of the
Cold War. The mission of the armored cavalry in
peacetime was to watch the East-West border for signs of pre-attack Soviet
army movement. The armored cavalry's mission in war was to delay a Soviet
attack until other units of the U.S. V Corps could be mobilized and deployed to
defend the Fulda Gap. The armored cavalry would have also
served as a screening force in continuous visual contact with the
Warsaw Pact forces, reporting on their composition and activities, and forcing
advancing Warsaw Pact forces to deploy while the cavalry fought delaying
actions. In order to defend the Fulda Gap and stop a Warsaw Pact advance, U.S.
V Corps planned to move two divisions forward from bases in the Frankfurt and
Bad Kreuznach areas. From 1947 until 1951, the 1st Infantry
Division was the sole U.S. division in Germany, although the various
Constabulary units taken together were equivalent in size to another division.
U.S. Army forces in Germany were increased in 1951 as a result of
President Truman's 10 Dec. 1950 declaration of a National Emergency as a
result of the Korean War, with four divisions arriving from CONUS. This
included the 4th Infantry Division, which was stationed in the Frankfurt
area, and the 2nd Armored Division, which was located with its headquarters
at Bad Kreuznach to the west of the Rhine River; both of those were the
divisions assigned to the newly activated V Corps. Within six years,
unit changes resulted in the arrival and stationing of the 3rd Armored Division
around Frankfurt, and the December 1957 arrival of the 8th Infantry Division in
the Bad Kreuznach area. The two replaced divisions returned to CONUS.
Cold War history from the 1950s of U.S. armor headquartered at Frankfurt: 19th
Armored Cav Group activated at Frankfurt on 2 January 1953; on 1 October 1953,
the 19th Armd Cav Gp was redesignated as 19th Armor Group. On 1 July 1955, 19th
Armor Group was replaced by 4th Armor Group. The Seventh Army troop list of 30
June 1956 shows 4th Armor Group attached to V Corps, along with the U.S.
divisions, 2d Armored Div, 3d Armored Div, and 10th Infantry Div. USAREUR
Troop Lists dated 30 June 1958 show V Corps as containing 3rd Armored Div.(HQ
Frankfurt), 8th Infantry Div., 4th Armor Group, & 3rd Infantry Div.. After the
1963 ROAD reorganization, the 4th Armor Group was inactivated, and the 3rd
Infantry Division headquartered at Wuerzburg was reassigned to VII Corps.
The deployment of the 3rd Armored Division and the 8th Infantry Division
to V Corps remained stable until the end of the Cold War. In practice, it was
unknown how effective V Corps would have been in the event of war due to the vast
numbers of tanks and infantry that the Soviets were able to field. In response
to the quantitative superiority of the Soviet forces, the U.S. deployed Atomic
Demolition Mines for many years in the Fulda Gap.
From 1976 to 1984, the 4th Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division was garrisoned
in Wiesbaden and also subordinated to U.S. V Corps.
For many years, V Corps' principal adversary was the Soviet 8th Guards
Army, which was to be followed by additional armies, 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.
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, 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 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 Wildflicken. 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. 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 Battalion was reactivated
in Frankfurt and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. 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 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, but it remains a
powerful symbol of the Cold War. See also
Observation Post Alpha—Cold War observation post that overlooked a part
of the Fulda Gap, now the site of a Cold War memorial
Seven Days to the River Rhine Notes
Further reading Faringdon, Hugh. Strategic Geography:
NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and the Superpowers. Routledge. ISBN
0-415-00980-4. Harper, John L. American Visions of
Europe. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45483-2.
Fulda Gap: The First Battle of the Next War. Designed by James F. Dunnigan,
Simulations Publications, Inc., 1977. Board Game
Vol.1, Encyclopedia of World Geography, R.W. McColl, Ed., 2005, Subj: "Fulda
Gap". ISBN 978-0-8160-5786-3. External links
US Army Border Operations 1948–83 reproduced by the United States Army
Center of Military History 14th Cavalry Association
Squadrons, 14th CAV 11th CAV AOs
14th Cav at US Army Germany site 11th Cav at US Army Germany site
From Fulda Gap button, one of 5 limited Fulda Gap pages at 1st Battalion 33rd
Armor site Fulda Gap Big Picture from Decker's 1st
Bn, 33rd Armor site 1st Bn 68th Armor at Wildflecken was a
Fulda Gap screening force OPLAN 4102
Fulda Gap Concerns in 1985