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Bihac (Mission 1): Desperate Defense |
You are the commander of 6th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), of the 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Division. It has been 6 months since the mass migration of East Germans through Czechoslovakia sparked a global war between East and West. The NATO advance has been halted by rear-area attacks from Warsaw Pact special forces.
OPORD (Operations Order) 55-90
2 BCT (Iron Brigade), 1 AD
1. SITUATION:
A. ENEMY FORCES:
1. At 051900MAY03, Soviet Spetsnaz teams launched simultaneous attacks in ports and rail heads in ADRIATIC port cities from TRIESTE, ITALY, to RIEJEKA, YUGOSLAVIA. These attacks accomplished in one night what the Warsaw Pact has not been able to do for the past 3 months: halt the NATO advance in the Czech Cooridor. With Class V (ammunition) and Class III (petrolieum, oil, and lubricants) in very short supply, the entire Fifth Army has been forced to stop until lines of supply can be restored. The WARPACCCA (Warsaw Pact Czechosolvakian Cooridor Army) was initially surprised by its own success, but is now mobilizing to resume the offensive.
2. In the 1st AD (Armored Division) sector, the 22nd CAA is attacking with two divisions abreast. In the north, the 64th MRD attacks to sieze the rail heads at PRIJEDOR and OSIJEK and destroy the 22nd AD (GER) (Armored Division, German). To the south, the 63rd MRD attacks to sieze UBDINA and BIHAC and destroy the 1st AD. The 19th TD (Czech) is the exploitation division and will be comitted in the more successful division sector to complete the destruction of VII Corps. Each lead division will attack with two MRR's forward and one back, as an exploitation force. These MRR's are at 95% strength.
3. In our sector, we face the 919th MRR. It is at 95% strength with approximately a 30 / 90 / 30 (thirty T-72S's/ T-80B's, ninety BTR-60PB's/ BMP-2's, and thirty BRDM-2's with AT-5's). 919th MRR has a RAG (Regimental Artillery Group consisting of 1 BN of 2S1's at 18 tubes. The DAG (Division Artillery Group) has task organized 2 BN's of the new 2S19 the MRR. (The 2S19 is a new 155mm, SP howitzer which was first seen in Hungary, but has now been found across Europe.)
4. The most likely course of action is that the enemy will attack with 2 MRB's (Motorized Rifle Battalions) abreast along separate axes of advance, focusing on the capture of BIHAC. After he has siezed BIHAC, the second echelon MRB will pass through BIHAC and continue the attack to destroy the 2nd BCT. He is fully aware that our critical shortage in ammo will make it difficult for us to resist beyond our first echelon defense. He is also aware that we are rapidly speeding ammunition forward from second echelon BCT's to rearm. Subsequently, he will sacrifice security in favor of rapid advance and destruction. We do not expect to see fixed wing sorties as the enemy's capability has been decimated by our air supremacy. However we do expect SOKOL (rotary-wing aircraft) protecting the flanks of the enemy attack. To sustain the support of Warsaw Pact client states, the enemy will not use chemical agents on WARPAC soil.
B. FRIENDLY FORCES:
1. Higher Mission. 1st AD defends in sector NET 080600MAY90 to prevent penetration of the division rear boundary in order to retain control of UDBINA and BIHAC. O/O the division counter-attacks to destroy the 63rd MRD and facilitate the completion of resupply of VII Corps.
2. To our left, the 22nd AD (Armored Division, German) defends in sector NET 080600MAY90 to prevent penetration of the division rear boundary and retain control of the key cities of PRIJEDOR and OSIJEK. To our right, the 1st BCT, 1st AD defends in sector NET 080600MAY90 to prevent penetration of the BCT rear boundary in order to retain control of UDBINA and facilitate the completion of resupply of the 2 BCT. To our rear the, 3rd BCT, defends in sector NET 080600MAY90 to maintain key MSR's (main supply routes) and facilitate the emergency resupply of the 2 BCT, 1st AD.
C. WEATHER:
1. Winds are expected to be out of the northwest at approximately 10 miles per hour
2. The hours of daylight are as follows. Before morning nautical twilight (BMNT) will begin at 0630. Sunrise will be at 0730. Sunset will be at 1824. Early evening nautical twilight (EENT) will end at 1924. Moonrise on the evening of 07MAY90 is at 2010. Illumination will be at 75%. Moonset is at 0530.
2. MISSION. 2nd BCT, 1st AD defends in sector NET 080600MAY90 to prevent penetration of the brigade rear boundary in order to retain control of OBJ READING, vic BIHAC. O/O, 2 BCT counter-attacks to destroy the 63rd MRD and facilitate the completion of resupply of the 1st AD.
3. EXECUTION:
A. COMMANDER'S INTENT.
1. Key Tasks. It is key that VII Corps retain control of the UDBINA-OSIJEK Corridor as its loss will give the enemy a high speed railway with which to rapidly move troops and supplies across the Czech Corridor zone. Our piece of this railway is BIHAC. We must retain it at all costs. The division is also counting on our brigade to destroy the 63rd MRD, to relieve pressure on 1st BCT in the south, defending around UDBINA.
a. Push all available Class III (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) and Class V (ammunition) to 6-6 IN, the initial main effort.
b. Retain control of BIHAC
c. Receive and disseminate supplies from 1st and 3rd BCT.
d. Complete the destruction of the 63rd MRD after resupply is complete.
2. Endstate. 63rd MRD destroyed and 2 BCT arrayed along PL EASTWOOD with 3 CO/TM's (Company Teams) of combat power remaining.
B. CONCEPT OF THE OPERATION.
1. Maneuver. This operation will be conducted in 4 phases. In the first phase, we push all of our available resources to TF 6-6 IN (M), and prepare their defense around BIHAC. In Phase II, 6-6 IN defends BIHAC (OBJ READING) while the rest of the BDE receives supplies from the rest of the division. In Phase III, the BCT counter-attacks to complete the destruction of 22 SCAA. In the final phase, we consolidate our position along PL EASTWOOD and prepare for follow-on missions.
a. Phase One.
<paragraph omitted>
b. Phase Two. This phase begins at 080600MAY90. TF 6-6 IN(M) defends in sector, as the BCT main effort, along PL BRONSON to retain control of BIHAC in order to deny the enemy this key rail head and allow the rest of the BCT to receive supplies from the division. TF 2-70 AR and TF 4-70 AR receive supplies from 3 BCT along MSR JIMMY and 1 BCT along MSR RONALD, respectively, and prepare for the offensive. This phase ends when TF 2-70 AR and TF 4-70 are GREEN in class III and class V.
c. Phase Three.
<paragraph omitted>
d. Phase Four.
<paragraph omitted>
2. Fires. We currently only have the Class V available to re-supply one battery, A / 2-1 FA. This battery will support TF 6-6 IN (M)'s defense of BIHAC as a dedicated battery. Once the BCT is fully resupplied, A battery will revert to BDE control and priorities of FA fires will shift to TF 2-70 AR, the Phase III main effort.
3. Tasks to Subordinate Units. See Appendix C for Task Organization.
a. TF 2-70 AR.
<paragraph omitted>
b. TF 6-6 IN (M).
1. Receive supplies from TF 2-70 AR and TF 4-70 AR at CP 22 <not shown> at 071200MAY03.
2. Defend in sector behind PL BRONSON NET 080600MAY03.
3. Prevent enemy from entering OBJ READING, vic BIHAC.
c. TF 4-70 AR.
<paragraph omitted>
4. Coordinating instructions.
a. Recon LOA (limit of advance) is PL WAYNE.
b. No vehicle or dismount fighting positions are authorized forward of PL BRONSON. All main battle area defensive positions must be behind PL BRONSON.
c. Indirect fire inside population centers (any area indicated as Urban Level 1 or higher) is not authorized. Direct fire inside population centers is authorized only on positively identified targets.
d. PIR
<paragraph omitted>
4. SERVICE SUPPORT. Initial priority of all classes of supply will be to TF 6-6 IN (M), the initial main effort. At the beginning of Phase II, class III and class V priority shifts to TF 2-70 AR and TF 4-70 AR, in order.
5. COMMAND AND SIGNAL.
A. Succession of command is per SOP
B. Current SOI is in effect.
C. Should the brigade be overrun, the rally point is vic KANOVAC <not shown>.