Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Fulda Gap (German: Fulda-Lücke), an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border, the former Inner German border, and Frankfurt am Main, contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have driven in a surprise attack by the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact allies to gain crossings of the Rhine River. [1]
From 1938 to 1943, Fulda was the location of a Nazi forced labour camp for Romani people. [ 12 ] Fulda lends its name to the Fulda Gap , a traditional east–west invasion route used by Napoleon I and others.
Observation Post Alpha, OP Alpha, or Point Alpha was a Cold War observation post between Rasdorf, Hesse, West Germany and Geisa, Thuringia, East Germany.The post overlooked part of the "Fulda Gap", which would have been a prime invasion route for Warsaw Pact forces had the Cold War erupted into actual warfare.
The 3rd Armored's primary mission between May 1956 to July 1992 was, in the event of war, to defend the Fulda Gap alongside other NATO elements and if ordered, use tactical nuclear weapons against numerically superior Warsaw Pact forces.
It was an important strategic location in the so-called Fulda Gap. The military community had a population of 45,000 military members, U.S. civilians and family members at its peak during the Cold War. The extensive U.S. facilities included Hanau Army Airfield, also known as Fliegerhorst Langendiebach. The garrison closed in 2018.
11th ACR trooper on duty in the Fulda Gap “OP ALPHA” during the Cold War. The 11th Cavalry Group Mechanized was redesignated as the 11th Constabulary Regiment on 3 May 1946 in order that the regiment could fulfill its occupation duties, and was restored as the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and inactivated in November 1948.
The third route was the Fulda Gap further south. The North German plain routes were the best attack options for an attacking army. However, the Fulda Gap option was seen as the most likely invasion route because of easier and closer access to tactical and strategic goals important for an invasion of Western Europe.
A new section of roadway to close a second gap southwest of Fulda was opened to traffic on 13 September 2014. [1] The section includes a 1.6-kilometre (1.0 mi) cut-and-cover tunnel and replaces a diversion which saw traffic routed onto the B 40 for approximately 9 kilometers before rejoining the A 66 just prior to the junction with the A 7; the ...