12.09. 1rst Platoon, D-Company, 2/66 Armour occupied positions small German town of Kielbach. American M1A2 tanks part of American armoured task force moved forward to stop an anticipated Soviet lunge for the road junction at Neustadt 15km to their rear. The M1A2 Abrams were snuggled close to ground in initial hull-down positions; seen from in front, little was visible but the turret roofs and the snouts of their 120mm guns. … Artillery support could be expected, but would be limited. … keep an eye out for retreating Cavalry scouts. 13:40 pair of Soviet BRM (= BMP) were obviously probing for the NATO main line of resistance. Mason allowed the BRM to approach within 2km of his tank. … M1A2 fired and two seconds later the Soviet BRMs erupted in a spasm of burning fuel and oily smoke; their thin armour offered no protection against tank guns. Internal propellant fires from their ammunition blew their remaining wreckage apart. … The lead BRMs had no managed to radio their final positions to their tank regiment 5km to the rear. … Explosive rain. Small armour-piercing sub-munitions burst all over the regiment, raising a cloud of dust in the parched fields. … Several tanks were burning, with flaming diesel leaking from their external fuel tanks, other tanks have had blocks of their reactive armour detonated. … Regiment with 93 T-80 (verstärktes PzRgt?), 36 BMP-2 Hedgehog infantry combat vehicles, 3 BRMs, a battalion of 18 SO-122 Carnation self-propelled guns (Panzerartillerie?). The ICM barrage had been very damaging … The BMP regiment had suffered the most … The attack had been far more damaging to the morale of the motor riflemen … The troops inside many of the BMPs had witnessed the horrific deaths of many of their comrades. The dark, cramped troop compartments were garishly illuminated by the fiery flash of sub-munition explosions through their roofs. The blast killed and mutilated any soldiers unfortunate enough to be under the impact point. This gruesome experience caused several squads to abandon their vehicles in panic. The company commanders had a hard time getting these squads back under control … Shurkin ordered the BMP battalion to dole out its remaining vehicles between the three tank battalions. The understrength BMP companies would follow behind the attacking wave of tanks. … The surviving BRM had found Mason’s position, and radioed in its co-ordinates. … The Soviets were nothing of not predictable. … You cannot hide tanks, especially fast moving tanks, which invariably drag a tail of dust behind them, gradually rising 50 to 60 feet in the air before dispersing … BMPs following the wave of tanks about 500 metres behind. Each tank company was assigned a sector of the sky to search for enemy attack helicopters [damals wohl nur die Cobra-Hubschrauber der Amerikaner]. … Mason got on the radio and told the other three tanks to hold their fire until 3.000 metres. “Engage at 3.000 metres, not before! Hit your smoke grenades when you see me fire mine!” … If Soviet tankers [also Panzerbesatzungen] were any good, they would use the terrain to mask their approach. The T-80 was very fast and could cover a thousand metres of farm country like this in 60 seconds. … The Soviet tanks fired blindly through the smoke, with no effect. … In less than six minutes. … In less than six minutes, the 2nd Battailon, 173rd GITR had been gutted; it had lost all 22 tanks in the attack on Mason’s platoon outside Kielbach. Only two BMP-2s survived from the company that had been attacked. Crew losses had been exceptionally heavy. The T-80, like most Soviet tanks, has a decided propensity to burn due to the proximity of fuel and ammunition propellant, and the lack of fire compartmentalization. Of the 66 tankers who started the attack, 52 were dead.