T2K A Beach Too Far: Campaign History (Macro)
German 3rd Army's Summer 2000 Offensive- XI Corps
In mid June of 2000, U.S. XI Corps, subordinated to German 3rd Army, launched an ambitious offensive against Pact forces in northwestern Poland. The offensive had two primary objectives objectives, one of which being the isolation and destruction of Polish 1st Army. To achieve this end, U.S. 50th Armored and 8th Mechanized Infantry divisions would attack east towards Gdansk from their cantonments around Kozsalin, while the bulk of 2nd Marine Division would conduct an amphibious assault just east of Gdansk. From its beachheads east of Gdansk, 2nd MarDiv's main force would attack west and link up with 50th AD and 8th ID to complete the encirclement of Polish 1st Army.
With the U.S. 116th ACR screening their southern flank, 50th Armored and 2nd Marines, along with the Canadian 4th Mechanized Brigade, would then begin reducing the Polish 1st Army pocket, while 8th Mechanized would continue east on a deep penetration raid along the Baltic coast towards Kaliningrad, USSR. A [reinforced battalion] Marine task force (Task Force Inchon) would land further east near Elblag and secure the main highway bridge over the Elblag canal and the small city's major highway interchange in advance of the arrival of the Eight Ball Division.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 5th Mechanized Infantry division would launch its own deep raid from its jumping-off area near Chojnice, thrusting south towards Torun to wreak havoc in Soviet 1st Western Front's rear areas, while German III Corps attacked the PACT forces frontally from its cantonments around Stargard Sczcecinski.
German 3rd Army's summer offensive made stunning early progress, with the successful isolation of Polish 1st Army*, the nearly bloodless capture of Elblag, and deep, nearly unopposed drives into PACT territory by both 5th and 8th Mechanized Infantry divisions. This success was not to last. The rails started to come off in mid July with the unexpected appearance of the gasoline-fueled Soviet 4th Guards Army in the 5th ID's area of operations near Lodz. The 5th ID's dramatic final destruction by elements of the 4th GTA during the Battle of Kalisz on July 17th coincided with the encirclement of Task Force Inchon in Elblag, and strong attacks in the Gdansk region by the Soviet 9th Guards Tank Army. An attack by surviving elements of the Soviet Baltic Fleet (by summer 2000, a fleet in name only) managed to destory or damage several of the amphibious assault vessels supporting the 2nd MarDiv, including a crippling torpedo strike on the U.S. Tarawa. These sudden, strong attacks pushed the U.S. 2nd MarDiv and 5oth AD west and severed their direct links with U.S. 8th ID and the dwindling Marine Task Force doggedly holding Elblag.
The unexpected appearance of two powerful, gasoline-fueled Soviet Guards Tank Armies and the sharp reversals that they delivered prompted the premature cessation of 3rd German Army's summer offensive and sparked a general withdrawal back to its starting positions. Early reports indicated that U.S. 5th ID had been completely destroyed and the incommunicado 8th ID initially thought to be so, while several smaller XI Corps units were cut off behind PACT lines and left to fight for their lives.
- An underwater commando attack by U.S. Navy SEALs and German KSK frogmen succeeded in neutralizing the remains of the Polish Navy at its moorings in Nowy Gdynia harbor.
Operation Limerick
Task force Inchon was landed northwest of Elblag during the morning of June 22nd by two former East German navy Frosch I class landing ships and the Type 520 Barbe class ULC Flunder (Flounder), assisted by a pair of armed minesweepers (one German, one American) modified to carry troops. Naval gunfire support was provided the U.S.N. Knox class frigate, Truett, the West German Hamburg/Type 101 class guided-missile destroyer, Bayern, and another pair of German minesweepers optimized for use as light gunboats/sub-chasers. The landing beaches were scouted in advance by elements of 1st Platoon, A Company, 2nd Force Recon, which also conducted terrain and force-oriented [distant] reconnaissance patrols several kilometers inland of the landing areas. They identified several minefields on the beaches and marked them for removal by follow up UDTs, but encountered no significant enemy ground forces in the landing area or on the road to Elblag.
The landing itself was unopposed and the majority of the task force was safely ashore and heading towards its primary objectives by noon. A Company, 2nd LAR/LAI Battalion ("Wolfpack"), was tasked with the coup-de-main of seizing the highway bridge over the Elblag canal and the highway interchange on the city's southeastern outskirts. This they completed without a hitch. The tiny, poorly armed Elblag militia, led by a former ZOMO officer, decided not to resist. Anecdotal evidence and recently declassified documents strongly suggest that the militia commander may have been on the payroll of the DIA prior to Operation Limerick.
After a long road march, the rifle companies of 2nd Battalion ("Warlords"), 2nd Marine Regiment ("Tarawa") linked up with A Company, 2nd LAI and began fanning out to seize their objectives in and around Elblag. 1st Platoon, A Company, 2nd Force Recon, now operating in a direct action capacity, seized a couple of key government and military sites in the city.
As night fell on June 22nd, Task Force Inchon began to prepare its defenses and push out clearing patrols while it settled in to await the arrival of the U.S. 8th Mechanized Infantry Division ("8-Ball"). Strong enemy counterattacks from the vicinity of Malbork were expected within 24 hours of the landing, but aside from near-daily probes by light Polish cavalry units starting on June 23rd, significant enemy attacks failed to materialize. The lead elements of 8th ID arrived at the Elblag crossroads on July 2nd, a couple of days behind schedule. The main body of the division began arriving in dribs and drabs shortly thereafter. By July 4th, the bulk of the 8th ID had encamped on the outskirts of Elblag. For three more days, the 8th ID remained at Elblag, awaiting stragglers, performing much-needed vehicle maintenance, and brewing fuel for the next phase of its advance. On July 7th, the 8-Ball division decamped and struck out east, leaving behind several unrepaired vehicles and a few of its more seriously wounded.
Soviet Attack and Encirclement
On July 11th, Task Force Inchon patrols began to encounter Soviet light armored reconnaissance forces pushing towards Elblag from the southeast. Initial long-range encounters with these enemy units favored the LAV-25s of the Wolfpack. Soon, however Marine, pickets were confronted by Soviet armor and infantry in numbers that no one at Division or Corps headquarters had expected.
On July 13th, Task Force Inchon's forward outposts had been pushed back to the highway interchange on the southeastern outskirts the city by heavy, persistent, combined-arms attacks. The highway interchange was defended by the dug-in A Company, 2nd LAR/LAI Battalion, Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, and an anti-tank section of the Battalion's weapons company. The ensuing battle for the crossroads was a brutal affair, lasting the rest of the afternoon, during which both sides suffered heavy casualties. The sheer weight of the Soviet attacks, especially the marked superiority of their artillery and armored firepower, soon decided the contest, but the attackers paid dearly for their prize. After nightfall, the battered remnants of the Marine defenders, having lost nearly all of their LAVs at the crossroads, withdrew to their fall-back positions in the southern outskirts of the city proper, while strong Soviet mechanized units rushed east and northeast to cut the Marine in Elblag off from escape and/or outside assistance. Field interrogations of enemy soldiers captured during the battle for the crossroads revealed that Task Force Inchon was facing the Soviet 3rd Motor Rifle Division (MRD). SIGINT indicated that elements of the Soviet 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division (GMRD) and 138rd MRD were also involved in the developing counteroffensive, pressing on through the newly-captured crossroads and heading west to meet the rearguard of the U.S. 2nd Marine Division around Gdansk. None of these Red Army units were supposed to be anywhere near Elblag (at last accounting, Soviet 9th GTA was reported to be in western Belorussia). Ground truth belied bad intelligence. Task Force Inchon had just met the Soviet 9th Guards Tank Army. The short and bloody siege of Elblag had begun.
