[Raellus]

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.