[Legbreaker]

I've been spending a LOT of time on exactly this question of late in preparation for writing up my take on the Soviet side of the Summer 2000 campaign.
It is my belief that the 4th Guards Tank Army was intended as a reserve unit for the offensive, and perhaps to exploit any breakthrough.

There was most certainly a Soviet offensive in 2000. The only definate reference to this however can be found on page 46 of the Survivors Guide to the United Kingdom in the 6th Airmobile Brigade unit history.

During the Soviet counteroffensive in 2000, the unit was flung into the attack and was one of the first NATO units to react. A heavy price was paid for this, and the unit was almost destroyed. After the battle the unit was pulled out of front line service for a refit. It remains in Hannover as part of the British Cantonment there.

This was written as of the 1st of January 2001. It is also interesting to note that the British consolidated their forces in the Hannover to Magdeburg area in early 2000, yet the map in the 2.0 yellow book (alleged to be 01JUL00) has one UK unit (the 5th Mechanised) on the other side of Berlin, over 100km north east of Berlin (Bernau) and 250-300km from it's listed position in both the Nato Vehicle Guide (01JUL00) and UK book (01JAN01) - Hildesheim.

What does this tell me? Well, obviously we have two positions for one unit almost 300km apart on the same day - quite possibly a typo. Up until 01JUL00 the unit history also states this unit remained in the Hildesheim area since February 2000.

I would therefore say that given the information from the 6th Airmobile Brigade, and the two locations for the 5th Mechanised Division, the Soviet offensive occured, at a minimum, in the region to the north of Berlin, and was possibly intended to cut off the US XI Corp (an objective which as shown below was reached).

This is reinforced by the information presented in Going Home that the US XI Corp (less the 5th and 8th ID's obviously) are cut off from withdrawing to Bremerhaven as part of OMEGA.

Additionally, the Situation section of the Omega operations order shows us that:

Warsaw Pact forces (1st Western Front, 2nd Western Front, 1st Southwestern Front, and 2nd Southwestern Front) have established a static front line through central Germany along the line Zwickau-Dresden-Frankfurt-Szczecin.

Furthermore, examination of the Soviet unit locations between 01JUL00 and information provided in Going Home, show that Soviet units on the front line north of Cottbus have moved anything up to 140km eastward (the further north the starting point, the further the unit has moved.

This tells me that fighting was most likely fiercest in the north where UK 5th Mech is shown to be on the map.

What units are holding the line mentioned in the Operations Order is unknown - it appears to be clear ground all the way from Szczecin to the ruins of Gorzow Wielkop. My guess is it is still being heavily patrolled (or teeming with marauders) and the remnants of the US XI Corp simply doesn't have the strength, or more importantly, fuel and ammunition to move into this area. Chances are they'd have to travel almost to Berlin before they could find a bridge to cross the Oder.

Polish units on the whole remain in the same location in Going Home as shown at 01JUL00. Some limited movement has taken place in the southern most Polish units, but this is no more than 30km and appears mainly to represent a consolidation of force perhaps in the face of the US XI Corp to the north west.