AAR - Wissenberg Counter Attack, Part 1 Ground

On the 19th of August 1988 Germany's 12 Panzerbrigade launched itself across the Weissenberg gap into the flank of 18 Guards Motor Rifle Division part of 20 Combined Armies Army of the Central or Czechoslovakian Front.  In a gruelling day long battle the Germans struggled hard against a mix of Soviet ATGW fire and the massed artillery fire from 280 Motor Rifle Regiments Regimental Artillery Group.  The Brigade eventually broke through the Soviet hasty defence with a panzerkiel formed by the Leopard 2A1s of 123 and 124 Panzerbattalions in a scene reminiscent of the Eastern front some 43 years earlier.  The Weissenberg gap is and was ideal tank country, an area of flat open agricultural land to the west of Weisenberg that lent itself well to the swift armoured thrust that 12 Pz Brigade intended to deliver into the flank of 18 Guards Motor Rifle Division, which with 201 Tank Regiment leading was driving hard for Stuttgart.

The major features of the area included Wissenberg and the surrounding villages of Schmalwiesen Hattenhof and Weimensheim along with the wooded high ground of the Hochwald that bounded the area to the West.  

The town of Weimensheim in the South western corner of the Weissenberg Gap was set to become the seen of fierce resistance by forward ambush groups of 151 Air Assault battalion who fought from the town and the nearby Hochwald feature against the troops of Panzergrenadier batalion 122 and the brigade  Aufklärungszug.

above and below air photo shots of Weimensheim taken by the Luftwaffe's Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann" Photo reconnaissance squadron flying Tornadoes out of Bremgarten Airbase, these images were taken 6 hours before the arrival of 12 Panzer Brigade

This shot below from the same set of photos shows the town of Hattenhof from the East bypassed by Aufklärungsbataillon 4 who drove to link up with the 46 Jägerbataillon who should have been in Schmalwiesen

Looking South from the"Russian Farm" towards Hattenhoff and Weimensheim the open nature of the ground can be appreciated from this shot.

The "Russian Farm"  so called after it was occupied and used by 27 Anti Tank Battery from 136 Independent Anti Tank Battalion which together with elements of 151 Air Assault Battalion and a Company from  79 MRB held the Soviet Eastern flank successfully during the Weissenberg Counter Attack.  This position formed the core of the Soviet defence around fire pocket Влад. 136 Anti Tank Battalion was one of the first to receive the new Sprut 2A45 anti tank guns and they used them to deadly effect.

The western Edge of Weissenberg the large town at the Eastern end of the Weissenberg Gap creating an area of difficult terrain which the Soviets hoped would be by-passed by the Germans. this was lightly held by an artillery battalion and Recce Company from 280 MRR

and Finally the village of Schmalwiesen which formed the Northern boundary of Fire Pocket Александр which unfortunately for the Russians they would be unable to close due to an inability to communicate with the Divisional BM 27 battalion which should have provided a scatterable minefield as part of the on call fire plan of 79 MRB. 

This then was the historic site of the last charge of 12 Panzerbrigade, which now like so many of the battle sites of World War Three is now designated a UN World Peace site. It was the scene of a dramatic and confused meeting engagement that lasted for three days and eventually prevented the penetration of 4 Panzergreinader division's area of responsibility by 20 Combined Arms Army though at a significant cost to the men of 12 Panzerbrigade amongst others.

References:

Steel Leopards, 12 Panzer Brigade at Wiessenberg,  BrigGen A Wittenberg, 2020

Red Highway, The Drive into Germany, Colonel Professor Valentine Runov, 2015

War and Reconciliation, UN World Peace sites 

TTP - Soviet, Forward Detachments as a Covering Force

Scenario - The Wiessenberg Counter Attack

AAR - Wissenberg Counter Attack, Part 2 Opening Moves

AAR - Wissenberg Counter Attack, Part 3 Counter Strike