page_title: Observation Post Alpha
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Observation Post Alpha / Operations
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Streckmetallzaun Verwendet an der Innerdeutschen Grenze am Antifaschistischen Schutzwall.
context_page_description: Observation Post Alpha, OP Alpha, or Point Alpha was a Cold War observation post between Rasdorf, Hesse, in what was then West Germany and Geisa, Thuringia, then part of East Germany. The post overlooked part of the "Fulda Gap", which would have been a prime invasion route for Warsaw Pact forces had the Cold War erupted into actual warfare. It was abandoned by the military in 1991. Today, the "Point Alpha" memorial commemorates the Observation Point's four decades of existence. The memorial is dedicated to keeping it and a nearby section of the inner German border as reminders of the division of Germany and the confrontation between NATO and Warsaw Pact in the Cold War.
context_section_description: Observation Post Alpha was one of four U.S. Army observation posts along the Hessian part of the inner German border. OP Alpha was manned by the 1st Squadron, 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Fulda and re-flagged as the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1972. To the north were other observation points, OP Romeo, OP India, and OP Oscar, manned by the 3rd Squadron, stationed in Bad Hersfeld. The 2nd Squadron was stationed in Bad Kissingen, and guarded the border at OP Tennessee (OP Sierra) to the south. Jeeps and helicopters were used to patrol the areas in between, with occasional increased border activity with armored vehicles. OP Alpha fulfilled NATO defence reconnaissance south of the East German crossroads town of Vacha, regarding its view of Geisa, then the western-most town of the Eastern Bloc; the Warsaw Pact had counterpart observation posts on their side of the border.
  The OP overlooked part of the Fulda Gap from atop a 411-metre hill, lying in the centre of that section of the NATO defence line. The "Fulda Gap" was considered a strategic location by NATO for a Warsaw Pact invasion as it allowed the easiest access to Soviet tanks to the area around Frankfurt and then to the Rhine. The name OP Alpha dates to its being the first such point; geography also allowed monitoring Communist radio traffic. The use of the AN/PPS-5 ground surveillance radar set in the observation tower allowed 24-hour monitoring of activity on the roads leading into Geisa (tanks could be detected as far away as 10 kilometres). At the first sign of an invasion the OP Alpha crew would have withdrawn, as the actual planned battlefields to meet a Warsaw Pact invasion lay a couple of kilometres to the west. The OP also served as a place to show the Inner German Border to visiting dignitaries, both from the U.S. and from Germany. Several American cabinet members, including in 1978 Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance made it a stop on their itineraries when in Germany.
  Under normal circumstances, approximately 40 soldiers were stationed for four to six weeks at OP Alpha. A typical manning of a border OP was one platoon of armored cavalry, with up to 10 armored vehicles. In crisis situations the garrison strength rose to 200 men.
  Due to its exposed position, the OP was also sometimes referred to as "the hottest spot of the cold war". For a 1979 documentary made for the BBC Nuclear Nightmares, Peter Ustinov also visited OP Alpha which he referred to as "a hotspot of history".
caption: East German border fortification near OP Alpha
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