It's my belief the Germans were held up by the Pact counteroffensive. More pressure than expected was exerted upon the defending units to the south, requiring a temporary retasking of the Germans to hold the line.
Also there's my proposal that the Marines suffered from a catastrophic loss of fuel reserves, necessitating resupply by land from the German stocks. This would hamstring the Germans and keep them basically in place (which probably wouldn't matter too much if the decision to abandon the offensive had already been made and both the 5th and 8th written off as lost - even before the 5th's destruction).
As it became clear that the Baltic coastline could not be held, I'm sure a few stragglers from the 8th would have been absorbed into the Marines. Likewise, it's possible some of the more advanced Marine units may have followed on after the 8th - the 8th being a closer unit with less hostile forces in the way.
Task Force Inchon, or whatever remnants remain after Rae's scenario would be ideal candidates for joining the 8th.
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If it moves, shoot it, if not push it, if it still doesn't move, use explosives.
Nothing happens in isolation - it's called "the butterfly effect"
Mors ante pudorem
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