Lionheart 84

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MLRS rocket launcher on exercise Spear Point 84

Lionheart was a British FTX military maneuver in southern Lower Saxony , which took place in autumn 1984 and in which a total of 131,000 NATO soldiers took part.

Division of troops

The BAOR (British Army of Rhine) provided the BLUE defending force. The reinforcements consisted of 17,000 active soldiers from the regular army, 39,500 reservists plus TA soldiers and 1,200 members of the RAF . In the actual combat area, 6,500 BRSC troops, 42,000 soldiers of the 1st British Corps and 12,000 members of the Royal Air Force were deployed. There are also 6,300 Bundeswehr soldiers, 3,500 Dutch and 3,400 US soldiers . In addition, 135 military personnel from the Commonwealth countries. The representation of the enemy, embodied here by the ORANGE units, was made up of parts of the 1st Panzer Division from Hanover , the Panzergrenadierbrigade 1 from Hildesheim , the 41st NL-Armored Brigade (Panzerbrigade), the 1st US Armored Brigade, the 5th British Airborne Brigade (paratrooper brigade) and additional British, German or American troops. In addition, they were subordinate to the 2nd ATAF air units.

Exercise Outline Spearpoint

The BLUE exercise force was composed as follows:

ORANGE was structured as follows:

  • Headquarters of the 1st Panzer Division , Hanover
  • 41st NL Pantser Brigade (41st PzBrig), Seedorf , Hohne and Langemannshof (4th Division / 4th Divisie)
    • 41st Pantser Battalion (41st PzBtl.)
    • 43rd Pantser Battalion (41st PzBtl.)
    • 42nd Mech. Infantry Battalion (42nd PzGrenBtl)
    • A- Eskadron, 103rd Verkenningsbataljon, Seedorf (103rd Pz AufklBtl)
    • 41. Pantserluchtdoelartilleriebatterij, Langemannshof and other units from the Netherlands

REFORGER troops:

Other troops

  • River Pioneer Company 800, Neuwied
  • River Pioneer Company 801, Krefeld
  • Feldjäger Battalion 730, Düsseldorf
  • 5th UK Airmobile Brigade on both sides

assignment

The two British divisions of the conflicting party BLAU had received the order to conduct a delay and defensive battle against intruded armored forces from ORANGE at the VRV. The orders of the BRSC included the maintenance of air support, communication and telecommunications connections, supplies to the combat troops of the I. BR Corps at the VRV and the flight of the wounded.

scope

The Lionheart 84 exercise, the preparation and preliminary phase of which began in 1982, lasted from September 3 to October 5, 1984 and was divided into two operational phases:

  1. Exercise Exercise “Full Flow” : primarily over the entire period for the BRSC (British Support Forces) combat support troops in the rear corps area. "Full Flow" began with the landing of British troops across the English Channel in the Belgian seaports of Ostend and Zeebrugge and ended with the crossing of the Rhine from September 16-19, 1984 until reaching the 1st BR Corps corps battle strip east of Düsseldorf .
  2. Exercise Exercise "spear point" : the actual combat training of I. BR Corps with the two associations 4th and 3rd Armored Division on VRV (front edge of the battle) south of Hildesheim in the period from 17 to 27 September 1984th

procedure

The partial exercise "Spear Point" concentrated on an exercise scenario of the defense and delay battle in the hilly terrain of southern Lower Saxony. In the district of Northeim attacked on September 19, attack spikes of the 2nd US Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") and the 41st NL Tank Brigade at Dassel in Solling buried forces of the 2nd UK Division. The ORANGE firing positions were in the hills of the Leinebergland in the Immensen and Stöckheim area . The bridges over the river Ilme were blown up, so that it was much more difficult to cross the river . With the help of the Biber bridge-laying tank, ORANGE built several rapid armored bridges across the approximately 12-meter-wide river. The first attempt at attack by the enemy with the new Leopard 2A4 tanks of the Dutch army and the M1 Abrams main battle tanks of the Americans failed in the narrowness between Dassel and Lüthorst. The target of the Weser attack could not be achieved. At Lüthorst and Wangelnstedt , the British achieved defensive successes with the help of armor-piercing weapons. Dismounted infantry fought a series of firefights in the Lauenberg , Wellersen and Ellensen area . While the ORANGE tank formations were concentrated in the Einbeck basin between Dassel and Hollenstedt , the British formations from the B-64 between Eschershausen and Greene formed a counterattack into the attacker's right flank. In the course of further fighting, however, BLUE was pushed south via the leash and the BAB-7 .

Innovations

During the Lionheart 84 maneuver, a number of new combat vehicles were tested for their operational suitability. These included, for example, the Leopard 2A4, the M1, M2 / M3, the British Challenger 1 battle tank, the MCV 80 "Warrior" and the Saxon personnel carrier.

media

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ engl. Lion Heart
  2. ↑ Field Training Exercise - free-running exercise for the full force
  3. ↑ ND archive, NATO autumn maneuvers reach their climax, largest war exercise to date on the territory of the FRG
  4. ^ Territorial Army
  5. ↑ a b Lionheart 84 on M136
  6. ↑ Rear Combat Zone
  7. ^ British start War Game on Continent, New York Times, September 18, 1984