22 January 1967 ‘Aden Riots Escalate’ - The New York Times
ADEN Federation of Southern Arabia: Street riots in the capital of the Federation of Southern Arabia have entered their fourth day as Arab Armed Police units have been unable to suppress this latest escalation of unrest in the troubled colony. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Turnbull has ordered troops from the South Arabian Army and the British Aden Garrison onto the streets to reestablish order and is thought to be on the brink of declaring martial law.
KGB Situation Report Intercept
FROM: Cairo Station
TO: Moscow Centre
Subject: British Military Activity
Assets in Alexandria report sudden heavy activity at Royal Navy base. Many, repeat many, ships preparing to sortie, destination unknown.
Intense activity also reported at British bases in the Canal Zone. Indications received that the Canal may be temporarily closed to civilian ships for ‘military operation’
...................,,,,
FLASH TRAFFIC
FROM: USS Oxford AGTR-1
TO: CINCLANT
Large formation of 100+ British military aircraft detected over Ionian Sea on bearing 125 degrees.
.....................
Flash Order
FROM: CDS
TO: CINC MECOM
Execute Operation CASTELLAN
........................
Yevgeniy Martov was unused to being roused in the dead of night by any sort of call, but particularly had never given thought to his emergency signal being activated. The roof of his house in Shaykh Outhman gave him a very decent view of RAF Khormaksar which now, despite the hour, was alight and alive with activity. Over the last three quarters of an hour, he had counted twenty one large jets landing on the main runways, whilst he had lost count on the number of smaller planes that had roared down and taxied away, presumably into the new underground hangars and hardened shelters.
All of this now paled into comparison as a huge airborne shape now hove into view appearing to Martov’s shock to be larger than an aircraft carrier. With a rhythmic throb of its engines, the massive skyship ponderously edged down to a graceful halt on the landing ground to the north of the airfield. Within a few scant minutes, the shadowed gloom and the scant light supplied by the partially obscured airfield lights, he could see large tank-shaped figures rolling off its rear ramp.
He was not looking forward to putting this together for Moscow. Surely this couldn’t get any worse.
.................................
Eight hours later, Martov wished he could eat those words. A steady flow of helicopters and Rotodynes went back and forth between the airfield and the naval base in Aden, flying the seemingly unending numbers of troops into the city. parade of arriving aircraft had continued well past the dawn and now seemed to be beginning again in earnest. First light had brought with it a new wave of aircraft, this time clearly warplanes rather than the transport jets. Few with a smattering of knowledge of planes would mistake the Vickers Valiants that had begun the procession, nor the white Supermarine Eagles that followed them, their swept wings wide, but absolutely no one would fail to know the four huge delta winged bombers that concluded the flight.
He had gone down into the city shortly after the Vulcans had landed and already the numbers of British soldiers and Imperial Police were starting to spread out across the city. He had seen the green berets of the Commandos, the red of the Parachute Regiment, the khaki of the Guards and the blue of the Royal Marines, alongside Gurkhas and other British units he could not identify from a distance, but more striking had been the hulking sight of an old Dreadnought lumbering through the streets. Something was brewing up alright, although Martov couldn’t exactly say what would occur.
He glanced out to the east from his new vantage point atop a hotel roof. There, far out to sea and just, just creating the horizon, were a dozen tiny black dots. Rushing over to the edge of the roof did nothing to aid his eyesight, but slowly and inexorably, they kept coming.
Then he felt a hand clap on his shoulder.
“Good morning, sir. Or ‘Tovarich’, as I should more properly say. Would you mind awfully coming along with us? Quietly now, there’s a good gentleman.”
...........................
Martov was thoroughly discombobulated by the time he was lead into a bright room and his cloth hood removed. He blinked several times before his vision returned and he could finally see six men sitting around an open office whose balcony looked out over the harbour of the British naval base in Aden, HMS Sheba. That harbour was now abuzz with activity and a great cruiser bristling with guns and missiles was slowly steaming in to join the usual array of frigates and support ships, whilst further out to sea, he could see what seemed to be two enormous carriers and half a dozen other warships. One of the officers, dressed in a British Army khaki service uniform bereft of any markings of rank apart from a range of ribbons on his breast (including a crimson one Martov had never seen before), strolled over to join him in a casually friendly manner.
"Just the first wave, Mr. Martov. That's Thunderchild coming in now and the commando carriers Albion and Furious standing off, along with Foudroyant, Vindictive, Skye, Sir Lionel, Hotspur and Hereward, along with the small matter of 5000 or so Royal Marines. It should get a bit more crowded over the next few days, what with Hood and Eagle coming down through Suez and Gibraltar, Lion and London swinging around from the Gulf."
He quickly surmised that by telling him this, the officer either intended to have him held incommunicado or to let him go, rather than be killed, so in any case, he needed a drink.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I'm not sure who this 'Martov' cove is, nor who you are. I hate to be a bother, but could I trouble you for something to drink at all?"
"But of course, I shouldn't forget my manners so!" He turned around and shouted through the open door. "Jenkins! Tea for our Chekist!"
Turning back around, he smiled sweetly at Martov. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone here, Yevgeniy - you don't mind me calling you that? Good. May I present Sir Charles Ratcliffe, Admiral Sir John Aubrey, Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, Lieutenant General Colin Mitchell, General Officer Commanding Arabia, Brigadier Sir Jeremy Moore, Royal Marines and Lieutenant Wales, Royal Navy. I am Major Simon Bailey, retired."
Martov blanched. He knew these names and now recognised the oldest and only one out of uniform, a man with a shock of greying blond hair, curled moustache and beard. If he had been in his usual attire, he would have spotted him in an instant. It was not every day that a low-ranking officer of the KGB came face to face with perhaps the worst living foe of the communist world and greatest hero of the British Empire. Perhaps he was to be killed after all...
"You aren't in danger, Gospodin Martov. Far from it." Ratcliffe now spoke in an almost kindly tone. "You shall be escorted to the press briefing areas and given access to everything you need, after which, you will be flown to Moscow. To deliver a friendly message."
.............................................
British Middle East Command Press Release
January 24 1967
"In response to an request from colonial authorities and the civil government of the Federation of South Arabia, British land, sea and air forces have moved and are moving from across the area of command to reinforce Aden and fully restore order. Additional elements of the Imperial Strategic Reserve and Commonwealth forces are also involved. Forces engaged in Operation Castellan are under the direct command of Lieutenant General Colin Mitchell and the newly organised Commonwealth Rapid Deployment Force. Lieutenant General Mitchell is in full and cooperative coordination with the Military High Command of the Arab Union which is acting to seal the Yemeni border. A state of martial law is currently in place over Aden and selected other areas of the Federation."
..........................................
FROM: Cairo Station
TO: Moscow Centre
Subject: Operation CASTELLAN
Assets in Aden and Southern Arabia currently being held in British 'protective custody' according to a notification to our consulate in Yemen. Regular reports still being submitted, but clearly subjected to British vetting.
Fraternal socialist civilian assets report regular heavy artillery fire to the north and east of Aden, multiple fire missions from offshore Royal Navy battleships and an extremely heavy volume of sorties of combat aircraft from RAF Khormaksar. Civil disorder in Aden apparently mostly subdued by an estimated division of British troops. Sources report usage of new and highly effective variant of tear gas and battle tigers (unconfirmed).
Latest British military publications report the arrival of the '21st (Rifles) Infantry Brigade, 33rd (Wessex) Infantry Brigade, 40th (Irish) Infantry Brigade, 44th (Highland) Infantry Brigade, 3rd War Machine Regiment, RMGC and 5th Giant Company'.
....................................................
FLASH TRAFFIC
FROM: CLASSIFIED, USSF
TO: CINC USMEF
Observation sorcerers report at least three British dragons currently engaged in action in Radfan, Southern Arabia
REMAINDER REDACTED
................................................
March 2nd 1967 - Britain Announces End of Aden Operation - Melbourne Herald
ADEN Federation of Southern Arabia: British military authorities have announced the end of Operation Castellan, the emergency deployment of strong forces to the colony, labelling the operation as a tremendous success. Captain Michael Yates, Middle East Command’s official spokesman, stated that estimated 800 insurgents were eliminated over the course of Castellan at a cost of only 17 British and Commonwealth losses, whilst a further 2600 suspects were still under detention on Socotra and the Seychelles. Full order has been restored to the city of Aden, with troops largely replaced by local forces, Imperial Police and Royal Constabulary, allowing the military to concentrate on pacification of tactical operational areas in the hinterland. Critical reports from Soviet journalists alleging the employment of heavy-handed tactics have been dismissed as ‘scurrilous Communist propaganda’ and British commanders have stated that they look forward to making use of the operational lessons of Castellan in the Far East. The fighting in Aden saw the first use of the Army’s superheavy howitzers since the Korean War, with four of the long range 24” pieces being pulled out of mothballs for Castellan. It is thought that they will be shipped out to Malaya and South Vietnam for further employment. An official statement by the government of the Federation of South Arabia expressed its gratitude for the assistance provided by British and Commonwealth forces against external subversion.