Certain Encounter 81

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Certain Encounter 81 ( German "certain encounter" ) / REFORGER 81 was a US , British and German REFORGER-FTX military maneuver in Hesse , which took place in autumn 1981 and in which a total of 71,000 NATO soldiers took part.

Division of troops

The BLUE exercise force was composed as follows:

In addition the following REFORGER troops BLUE:

ORANGE was structured as follows:

Line u. The 1st Brigade / 8. U.S. Infantry Division.

scope

Exercise began on September 8, 1981 and ended on September 23, 1981, with the return march lasting until September 25, 1981. The retreat of the REFORGER troops was completed by October 18, 1981. Certain Encounter 81 took place with the participation of 71,000 soldiers, 15,000 wheeled vehicles and 4,800 tracked vehicles. From the air force of the NATO troops 600 fighter planes were involved.

assignment

An important exercise goal of Certain Encounter 81 was the interoperability of the troops. For the exercise team, the focus was on overcoming bodies of water while moving, overcoming barriers, opening narrow spaces and releasing them by allies. In addition, company commanders, platoon leaders and patrol officers were trained in certain tactical procedures, such as the eye stripe procedure.

procedure

The 8th US Infantry Division's control room was around Alsfeld . The area around Alsfeld, Homberg , Schwalmstadt , Neukirchen , Oberaula , Gerterode , Mühlbach , Sterkelshausen , Schlitz , Lauterbach , Gießen , Marburg , Melsungen , Erksdorf , Ulrichstein and Treysa served as a conurbation . Bridges across the Rhine by the 8th US Infantry Division took place from 9th to 11th September 1981 and at the same time across the Main near Mainhausen by the 549th MFAB Pioneer Battalion. 17,000 REFORGER soldiers were flown in from the USA. They took part in a combat shooting from September 25 to 28, 1981 at the Baumholder military training area. An ABC decontamination center for the US troops was set up in Hassenhausen.

The command post of the 5th Panzer Division was temporarily located on the Falkenberg Castle estate in Upper Hesse.

The 5th Panzer Division ORANGE carried out an attack, then changed sides and carried out a counterattack for BLUE. During the combat exercise, PzGrenBrig 13 had the task of using the brigade reserve to flank an attack in front of a neighboring brigade. To this end, a series of agreements had to be made between the command posts of the brigades and battalions. The coordination was partly established by liaison helicopters. Liaison officers provided information on the situation of the neighboring units.

The use of the armored reconnaissance troops (brigade reconnaissance according to Army Structure 3, reinforced by M113 MTWs and 0.5 ton trucks) was only approved by the referee service shortly before the start of the attack, which led to unrealistic images. PzGrenBrig 13 was informed of the situation report via the command group with the reconnaissance train.

The maneuver damage of Certain Encounter 81 in the Vogelsbergkreis was considerable, but this is denied by the US Army . REFORGER 81 brought u. a. Innovations in the implementation of modern telecommunications technology.

See also

Web links

media

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Field Training Exercise, free-running exercise for the full force
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Certain Encounter 81 on M136
  3. ↑ USNG?
  4. ↑ Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge Panzerschnellbrücke
  5. ↑ questionable, a unit that only existed during WWII?
  6. ↑ In 1981, in order to take Army Structure 4, the insinuations and, accordingly, the designation of Panzer Brigade 6, 14 and 34 were "swapped"
  7. ↑ REFORGER air transport to Knielingen and Neureut. Karlsruhe City Archives
  8. ↑ Interoperability at CENTAG: The ability of systems, units or armed forces to support or to be supported by other systems, units or armed forces and to use the support exchanged in this way to enable them to work together effectively. OTL Holger Weitenhagen in troop practice X / 19XX. Darmstadt, Wehr und Wissen publishing company.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g CERTAIN ENCOUNTER combat exercise. Selected experiences of a brigade staff. Major i. G. Jürgen Eigenbrod (at the time of exercise G3 of the PzGrenBrig 13). Troop practice 7/1982. Darmstadt, Wehr und Wissen publishing company
  10. ↑ A Critical Look at OPSEC (Operations Security) - REFORGER 81. Military Intelligence. Vol. 7, Issue 3. 1981