The Last War: Chapter 376.

[Bernard Woolley]

With thanks to Jotun.

*

D+30

*

0631 hours GMT, 22nd May. Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand.
Commander Arden, yes Commander, not Acting or Temporary Commander, felt somewhat self-conscious as she walked from HMNZS Canterbury to Captain Slater’s office. Arden had finally found the time to have her reefer jacket altered to reflect her new substantive rank. The additional broad rings on each sleeve stood out, bright, against their slightly faded counterparts. It marked her as being newly promoted to anyone who chose to look.

Arden paused for a moment by the Static Training Ship Southland, which was berthed after of her ship. A Chief Petty Officer and a pair of Petty Officers were trying to marshal a group of men and women in civilian clothes into two lines. The Chief spotted Arden watching, approached and exchanged salutes.

“Just getting this group of recruits squared away, Ma’am. They’re going to spend a few days aboard Southland before going back to Pegasus.”
“They volunteers or National Servicemen, Chief?” Arden asked.
“Last of the pre-war volunteers, Ma’am.” The Chief replied. “Not expecting the first conscripts until next week. Just hoping I can persuade stores to issue some kit to this bunch.”

Arden smiled. Storemen were the same the world over.

“It would be called issues, Chief if the kit was for issuing.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” The Chief agreed with mock seriousness.
“Well, I’ll not keep you from your work any longer. Carry on, Chief.”

*

“You look like someone who is in a better mood than I expected, Commander.” Captain Slater said, as Arden took a seat in his office.
“Oh, I just shared a joke with a Chief, Sir.” He even treated me like a proper grown-up commander, she thought. “Doesn’t mean that I am any happier about that antique currently sitting on the flight-deck of my ship, though.”

Slater glanced out of the window. He could just see the dark-blue Westland Wasp HAS.1 sitting on Canterbury’s flight deck. It could be a scene any time between 1966 and 1998.

“Well, who knew that two of our Seasprites would go down at the same time and we’d need to order parts from the States.” Slater offered.

*

No.6 Squadron, RNZAF operated nine SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprites on behalf of the navy. Which sounded quite a lot until the numbers needed for deployment were toted up – four for the ANZAC class and two for HMNZS Gallipoli, which left three spares. Two of those had been assigned to Canterbury and her sister ship, Wellington. That meant that a single SH-2G was left for training purposes. As Slater had mentioned, two Seasprites, those assigned to the frigates Te Mana and Achillies had decided to go unserviceable at the same time. To make matters worse, the RNZAF had realised that even after stripping the spare Seasprite, they needed to order additional parts from the manufacturer. The only bright spot was that Te Mana and Achillies had both been in Devonport at the time.

Casting around for a solution, the navy had decided that the two old Leander class did not really need their Seasprite for the jobs they were doing. So, had reassigned the two helicopters to the more modern ships. On the bright side; or at least what the navy brass thought was the bright side; there were two airworthy Wasp HAS.1 in New Zealand, plus several others on display, or in storage. It was also only a few years since they had been retired, so there were still aircrew and maintainers who had experience with the Wasp. So, Wellington and Canterbury had each gained a ‘new’ helicopter.

*

“However.” Slater continued. “We just have to deal with it.” He said, cutting off any further objections from Arden. “Besides, at least you still have a helicopter. And I also know you are not too happy about twenty sailors being taken from your ship to be transferred to Achillies. Yes, their replacements are just out of training, but again, be grateful you have them at all. Achillies is not long out of refit and needs experienced hands.”
‘And I don’t?’ Arden thought but held her tongue.

Instead, she gave a more diplomatic answer to her superior.

“It will give me and my company a welcome challenge, Sir.”
“Good, because you are about to have another chance to shine. Canterbury and Rotoiti are going to escort a small convoy from here up to Tauranga. Pukaki will join part of the way there. She and Wellington are currently escorting another convoy just coming into Tauranga and she will detach shortly.”

Slater handed Arden a folder.

“There are more details in here. I want you to take a look, brief your senior people and be back here with them in two hours for a full briefing.”
“Not a great deal of time, Sir.” Arden replied, taking the folder.

Slater nodded.

“Fleet Op’s idea, or at least they’re passing on someone in Wellington’s idea. Seems the some of the merchant ships are carrying urgent cargos and nobody wants to send them unescorted.”
“And I guess that someone in Wellington is convinced our waters are infested with enemy submarines and surface raiders.” Arden noted rhetorically. “Well, it will allow me to keep my hand in and stop Canterbury from growing barnacles on her bottom. Or the other way around. I can’t remember which.”

0745 hours GMT. Al-Fāw, Al-Faw peninsula, Iraq.
Iranian Army engineers had built a pair of long ribbon bridges across the Arvand Rud (Shatt al Arab). Allowing vehicles and supplies to be moved across to support operations on the Al-Faw peninsula. One of those vehicles was Major Edris Darvish’s Chieftain tank. Darvish felt horribly vulnerable as his tank rumbled slowly across the bridge. All would take was some reasonable accurate Iraqi artillery fire, or some mines floated downstream, and his Chieftain would become a very poor submarine.

The commander of Iranian forces on the Al-Faw peninsula had requested a squadron of tanks to reinforce his air assault troops and marines. Who were only had limited numbers of light armoured vehicles. The Iraqis, on the other hand, had moved in a company of tanks and along with fortified buildings, these were proving troublesome for the Iranian forces. The Chieftains should be more than capable of dealing with both.

As Darvish’s Chieftain drove off the end of the bridge, he breathed out. Not realising he had been holding it in. To his surprise he spotted what looked like a TV news crew filming his squadron crossing into Iraq. His surprise turned to shock when he saw that they were not from the National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT), but Al Jazeera Arabic. Turing away from the film crew he directed his driver to an assembly point where he was supposed to report to headquarters.

*

“Major! Major! Why are you in Iraq?” An insistent voice assaulted Darvish as he dismounted from his Chieftain.

Evidently the film crew had followed the Chieftains as they moved to the assembly area. Darvish was slightly caught off guard by the reporter’s appearance.

“Is the Iranian Army assisting Western goals in Iraq, a sovereign nation?”

Darvish blinked at what he thought was an odd question. Had Al Jazeera missed Iraq’s recent behaviour?

“The Iranian Army is in the Al-Faw peninsula to protect legitimate Iranian interests and to save lives. We are conducting an operation independent of any other nation.” He replied, parroting a line given to all officers. “If you have any other questions, you will need to contact our press liaison officer. If you will excuse me, I have a job to do.”

*

“Gunner! Target tank! Load fin!” Darvish ordered.

The Iraqi T-55 had rapidly retreated behind cover on spotting the Iranian Chieftains. However, Darvish could still see the unfortunate tank through his vehicle’s thermal sights.

“Identified!” The gunner reported.
“Loaded!” Came the loader’s report, letting Darvish and the gunner know he was clear of the breach.
“Fire!” The Major ordered.

The tungsten tipped fin round tore through the sand berm the T-55 was sheltering behind, not being significantly slowed down, before slamming into the tank’s turret. A moment later the T-55’s turret attempted to attain escape velocity. It failed. Landing a few meters away from the hull of the tank. The Iranian tank squadron proceeded to massacre their Iraqi counterparts. A couple of T-55s managed to get shots off, leading to two Chieftains being disabled when they had tracks shot off. However, other than that it was a very one-sided engagement. The surviving Iraqi tanks attempted to escape, those not destroyed by Chieftains were picked off by AH-1J SeaCobras.

With the threat of Iraqi tanks eliminated, the Chieftain squadron dispersed into individual troops. Spreading out to support the air assault troops and marines. The fortified buildings occupied by Iraqi troops proved to be vulnerable to 120mm HESH round. While the Iraqis did not have any anti-tank weapons capable of penetrating the Chieftain’s armour. The battle for the Al-Faw peninsula was by no means over, but the intervention by Iranian tanks would prove to be decisive.

0801 hours GMT. Clandestine BND site, somewhere in rural southwest Baden-Württemberg.
Even before the first enemy ordnance had taken to the air on D-Day, the BND had largely vacated its fixed sites in the Federal Republic of Germany, correctly calculating that all or most of them would be immediately bombed or attacked by Warsaw Pact special forces. Many of the BND sites had been turned by the Territorial Army into ambush sites for enemy SOF who had incurred catastrophic losses.

An analyst group made up of technical and non-technical branch analysts and field personnel had gone over the most important data provided by “Petunia”, the Russian German KGB defector’s code name. Now, they were in the final phases of assigning precedence to the various pieces of information in front of them.

The head of the commission, deputy head of the technical intelligence department of the BND, spoke up.

“The missile seeker head signatures and data are all well and good, but NATO EW forces have gleaned the same data over the last several weeks. The most important set is the one of the new hypersonic anti-ship missiles used during the Battle of the Norwegian Sea, preliminary NATO code name SS-N-33 ‘Slamdunk’. The Soviets call it Zircon. The data has already been disseminated to all allied nations and work on developing countermeasures is ongoing.”
“I think we all concur on that.” A senior analyst of the East Europe desk opined.
“What is a lot more important is the cornucopia of extremely concise and detailed information of KGB and even GRU operations, including special operations, sabotage, asymmetric warfare and the like all over Europe and the USA, including safe house locations, bank accounts, compromised personnel and so on and so forth. If we play our cards right, we can all but eliminate most of those assets, seize the dough…and utilize some of the compromised personnel to spam the KGB and GRU with disinformation…”
“Deconflicting operations with the Amis, Limeys and Frogs here in country is going to be a cast-iron bitch. We must not squander this unprecedented opportunity by the usual turf wars…and I think I am speaking for us all when I say that we have earned a reprieve from the usual American overbearing swagger and the British and French high-handed arrogance, and a longish grace period. I also suggest we not be smug but professional and courteous.” The commission chairman opined.
“Let’s produce a list of possible ops, and then contact our esteemed colleagues…”

0831 hours. Fort Widley, outside Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.
The old Scout AH.1 helicopter, which belonged to the Army Historic Aircraft Flight, circled the fort as it came into land. Fort Widley sat on Portsdown Hill, to the north of Portsmouth, and was one of the Palmerston Forts, better known as ‘Palmerston’s Follies’, built on the hill in the 1860s. The fort had latterly been adapted for civil defence purposes, housing both the standby control for Hampshire County Council and the control for Portsmouth City Council. [1]

*

Since Portsmouth housed a vital naval base and made up most of Portsea Island, it was treated slightly differently from the rest of the county. It operated as a sub-TAOR commander by a Colonel, who made his H.Q in the city’s main TA Centre. He reported to the commander of the Hampshire TAOR, who in turn reported to 44 Infantry Brigade. The navy was responsible for security of its installations inside their perimeters, while the army manned Vehicle Check Points, guarded other Key Points and mounted mobile patrols.
The navy’s ‘Force Protection’ unit had a reinforced troop of fifty marines at its core, supplemented by armed ‘Matelots’ and officers of the MoD Police. While the army had J Company from 3rd (V) Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment, a Composite General Reserve Unit and a General Support Unit. A small GSU based on the Isle of Wight also came under the Portsmouth sub-TAOR.

*

Brigadier Richard Holmes was of the opinion that the leadership of Portsmouth City Council had moved rather precipitously to ‘The Fort’ from the Civic Centre. Even though the naval base had been attacked on a few occasions, nothing had come close to the Civic Centre. Moreover, most of the administrative staff of the council had to remain in their peacetime offices. The Brigadier could imagine that it did not exactly do wonders for the morale of ordinary council workers to see the Chief Executive and select members of staff head for relative safety, while they were left exposed. At least he might get some time to take a look at the historical fort. Holmes still thought of himself as a historian first and military officer second.

Holmes was the commander of the Hampshire TAOR and was making one of his occasional visits to Portsmouth to meet with his naval counterparts, senior members of the emergency services and council leaders. Normally he was content to leave things t the Colonel in charge of the sub-TAOR, but there were times when he had to show his face. At least he had been provided with a helicopter to fly him down from his H.Q at Sir John Moore Barracks near Winchester. Even if it was a superannuated Scout.

*

Colonel Ian Collier held onto his peaked cap as the Scout came into land. He was of the opinion that trekking up to the Fort was rather a waste of time. Especially when there were perfectly good meeting facilities in the city itself. Naval Home Command’s headquarters at Dockyard Commissioner's house had some excellent facilities if the navy was to host. The TAC his H.Q was in was not quite as suitable, but still serviceable. Not to mention that the city council had plenty of space where any meeting could be held.

“Good morning, Sir!” Collier said once Holmes had disembarked. “Sorry to drag you up here!”
“That’s quite alright, Ian. Gets me out of my H.Q!”

The two men had to shout as the Scout took off again. Heading off to the nearby RNAS Lee-on-Solent to refuel.

*

The accommodation in the Fort allocated to Portsmouth Council’s Emergency Centre smelled slightly damp. Holmes remarked on it to Collier.

“We’re having a few problems with the ventilation system. I’m told it should be sorted out soon.”

Amongst the people waiting for them, Holmes spotted a man who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, who he did not recognise, talking to the representative from the Home Office. He searched in vain for the Council Chief Executive.

“Where’s Mr Moody?” He asked Collier.
“I’m afraid Eric had a heart attack yesterday. Stress probably. He’s in hospital, but I think we’ve lost him for the duration.” Collier replied. “That’s his deputy, Martin Goodman. He’s been made the new Controller (Designate).”
“He’s young.” Holmes observed. “That’s Oliver Davidson from the Home Office, isn’t it? Man somehow manages to be creepy and sinister.”

Portsmouth was one of the few places in the UK where the Home Office had assigned a representative to a council’s Emergency Centre. Another indication of how important the city was considered by the government.

“Yes, Goodman is young, almost indecently so. But I trust Superintendent Lowrie to give him good support. That Davidson gives me the willies.”
“To change the subject, Ian, if there’s a chance, I’d like to pop over to Newport and check in on your troops over there.”

The small 100-man General Support Unit on the Isle of Wight was based around J Company’s 9 (Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles) Platoon. There were a surprising number of Key Points on the island that needed guarding, so the GSU was always stretched.

“Well, we can’t postpone the inevitable.” Homes said, stepping forward to greet the others.

0945 hours GMT. New Zealand Field Hospital, northern Kuwait.
Captain Wendy Crook, Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps stepped out of the surgical tent and took a deep breath. She was tired after a long shift and needed a rest, though Crook still had a few hours ahead of her before she went off duty.

*

The New Zealand Army’s 2nd Health Services Battalion had provided the basis for the Field Hospital that was supporting 1st (Australian) Division. With reinforcements provided by the 11th Close Health Company, 1st Health Support Battalion of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps and individuals from the British Royal Army Medical Corps. Some medical personnel from the SAF Medical Services had also recently joined.

*

“Offer you a cigarette, Captain?” A male voice asked Crook.

The nurse shook her head before answering.

“No thanks, they’re really bad for you.” She said. “Plus, they’re unhygienic, so I don’t want to see you smoking any of them around here..., Sir.” She said on realising that the voice belonged to Brigadier Andrew Russell, the commander of the 3rd Land Force Group. “I’m sorry, Sir, I didn’t realise that it was you. Smoking is still banned around here, though.”
“Quite right, Captain.” Russell agreed.

Before visiting the hospital, Russell had acquainted himself with its personnel. So, he knew that Captain Crook was the Charge Nurse for the surgical team. Therefore, whatever her army rank, she carried a great deal of authority. Even over visiting senior officers.

“Don’t let anyone tell you different.” He continued. “This is General Glasgow, the divisional commander.”
“Sir.”
“Good to meet you, Captain Crook.” The Australian general said. “Wish it was in better circumstances. How are things going?”
“Busy, Sir.” Crook replied. “I think we’ve been lucky in terms of friendly casualties, though we’re getting injuries from accidents and illness. However, the majority of our combat casualties have been Iraqis. Their own medical services are pretty awful from what I can gather, so they are just really grateful to receive any care at all. We haven’t had any trouble from them.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Captain.” Russell observed. “I can see you’re busy, so we won’t take up any more of your time.”

As the two senior officers walked away, leaving Crook to grab five minutes rest before getting back to work, Major General Glasgow reflected on the fact that he had also been busy that day. Albeit in a very different way. The 2nd, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment battle group had finally arrived in theatre, allowing the New Zealand 3rd Land Force Group to become a separate brigade group in its own right. With the arrival of the new battle group, Glasgow had also taken the opportunity to carry out a bit of a reorganisation of his division to, hopefully, increase its operational effectiveness. [2]

“We’ve got our own little United Nations, Andrew.” Glasgow observed.
“Sir?” Russell wondered.
“Just thinking about the fact that the division is a real multi-national organisation.” Glasgow replied. “We’ve got Aussies, Kiwis, Poms, Omanis and Kuwaitis in one formation. Wouldn’t surprise me if we have a few other nationalities in there too. Fijians, or other Pacific Islanders maybe.”
“We have some Fijians and Pacific Islanders in our units, and I believe the Poms have some Fijians in the Welsh Guards.”

Glasgow chucked at the thought of Fijian Welsh Guards.

“There you go then, Andrew.” He said. “May our coalition terrify the enemy, because they sure as Hell terrify me!”

1031 hours GMT. Regierungsbunker, Ahr Valley, FRG.
“While operations in the Kuwait Theatre of Operations have gone very well, Herr Bundeskanzler, we understand that there has been pressure for us to withdraw forces and redeploy them to Europe.” The American Defence Attache, a major-general said.

In peacetime, the position had been held by a full colonel, but with the outbreak of war it had been felt that an officer of general rank was more appropriate. Especially as the Defence Attache would essentially serve as the chief link between the US Defence Department and the West German government.

“Specifically, the 4th Armored Division has been identified as a formation that could be redeployed to Europe.”
“That would mark a serious reduction of combat power for you, wouldn’t it?” Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder asked.

While his country had been fighting for its very existence, he had still found time to keep up with events in the Middle East. The briefings he had received had indicated that the Iraqis had been dealt a severe blow but had not yet been defeated.

“Withdrawing a single division would have a serious impact on your operations there but might not make much of a difference here. Especially since it would take some time to arrive. I understand that other formations, specifically a mechanised division, currently earmarked for the Middle East might reach Europe sooner.”

The Defence Attache nodded. A mechanised division based around the Army National Guard 38th Infantry Division was being organised for potential deployment to either CENTCOM, or Europe.

“Yes, Herr Bundeskanzler, we believe that division could reach Europe sooner. If it was to be deployed to Europe, it is likely that it would be assigned to AF South.”

Schröder nodded. While part of him wanted all the available American military forces sent to his country, the logical part of his brain recognised that other NATO members needed support too. Besides, I (US) Corps had already brought four additional heavy divisions, an armoured cavalry brigade and other supporting units. AFCENT was well served for the moment.

“I’m sure I am not the only European leader who has expressed the opinion that the division should come here. The Greeks and Turks, or maybe Italians would appreciate an additional American division.”
“We understand that, Herr Bundeskanzler. Which is why we are giving serious consideration to diverting that division, as well as possible redeployment of the 4th Armored Division.”

Before the Defence Attache could reply, there was a sneeze from the corner of the room. Reminding the two men that a third person, a member of the bunker administrative staff taking notes.

“Sorry, excuse me.” Maria Fischer said.

While she was primarily employed as a file clerk, like almost all the administrative staff in the Regierungsbunker Fischer had a second job. In her case she was often deputed to take notes in important meetings.

“Gesundheit!
“That’s quite all right, Fräulein Fischer.” Schröder said with a warm smile. “I hope you are fully recovered after your recent illness? You are okay to remain for my next meeting?”
“Yes, thank you, Herr Bundeskanzler.” Fischer replied, flattered that the Chancellor remembered she had been taken ill. “I am quite well.”

Schröder’s next meeting was a briefing on Operation COBALT. Fischer assiduously took notes of the meeting, making sure it was all recorded.

*

One of the Regierungsbunker Security Officers read the two letters written by Maria Fischer. One was to her parents, asking after her apparently sick Mother. The second was to her boyfriend, an employee of DB, asking after him and thanking him for visiting her in hospital.


Amongst the Security Officer’s jobs was censoring mail leaving the bunker to make sure that nothing contained any secret information. It had thought that keeping staff incommunicado would be harmful to morale and might actually raise suspicions as to why so many people in government service had suddenly disappeared. After being checked, the mail would be taken to a government office outside Bonn, from where it would be ‘officially’ posted.

Satisfied that both of Fischer’s letters were innocuous, the Security Officer replaced the letters in their respective envelopes and sealed them up. He placed both letters in his Out Tray and moved on to the next one.

***

[1] See this link for more information on Fort Widley.

[2] Order of battle as of D+30:

1 (Australian) Division
- Division Headquarters
- 2nd Cavalry Regiment: ASLAV
- (KW) Reserve Independent Tank Battalion: Chieftain Mk.5K
- (NZ) Field Hospital, 2nd Health Services Battalion
-- (AUS) 11th Close Health Company, 1st Health Support Battalion
- NBC Company
Air Defence Group
- 16th Air Land Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (-)(+)
-- 110th Air Land Battery: Rapier FSC
-- 111th Air Land Battery: Rapier FSC
-- 116th Battery, 17th Air Land Regiment, RAA: HVM
-- Battery, 19th Air Land Regiment, RAA: Leopard Marksman
Divisional Artillery Group
- 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment (-), Royal Australian Artillery:
- 8th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery: M109A6, ASLAV HVM
- 20th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (-)(+)
-- 16 Battery (Sandham's Company), 26 Field Regiment: AS-90
-- 17 (Corunna) Battery, 26 Field Regiment: AS-90
-- A Battery, 3 Sultan of Oman’s Artillery: AS-90D
- 3rd Field Regiment (Territorial) RNZA (-)
-- 31(B) Battery: L119
-- 32(E) Battery: L119
Engineer Group
- 1st Combat Engineer Regiment: M104 HAB
- 6th Engineer Support Regiment (-)
- BATUS Squadron, Royal Engineers (+)
-- Field Troop: FV430, FV103
-- Armoured Troop: AVLB, AVRE, CET
-- Engineer Troop (Oman): FV103, M728
Signals Group
- 1st Signals Regiment (-)
- 7th Signals Regiment (Electronic Warfare) (-)
(AUS) 16th Aviation Brigade (-)(+)
- 1st Aviation Regiment
-- 161st Reconnaissance Squadron (+): AH-1V Taipan
--- A Flight, 162nd Reconnaissance Squadron: AH-1V Taipan
-- A Squadron: S-70A
--- Det. C Squadron: CH-47D
- (UK) 29 (BATUS) Flight, AAC: Gazelle AH.1
(AUS) 1st Brigade (-)
- 1st Armoured Regiment: M1A1SA, M88
- 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment: M2A2
- 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment: M2A2
- 1st Combat Signals Regiment
- 1st Combat Service Support Battalion
(UK) 3rd Armoured Brigade
- The Royal Horse Guards/Dragoons (Blues and Royals) (-): CVR(T)
- 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards Battle Group
-- 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards: Warrior
-- C Squadron, 17th/21st Lancers: Challenger 2
- 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment Battle Group
-- 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment: Warrior
-- B Squadron, 17th/21st Lancers: Challenger 2
- 1st Armoured Regiment (Oman) Battle Group
-- 1st Armoured Regiment: Challenger 2E
-- 2x Troops, Medium Reconnaissance Regiment: FV101 Scorpion
-- A Company, Muscat Regiment: Desert Warrior
(NZ) New Zealand 3rd Land Force Group (+)
- New Zealand Scottish Regiment: (-)
-- 1st Squadron, New Zealand Scottish Regiment: NZLAV
-- 2nd Squadron, New Zealand Scottish Regiment: NZLAV
- 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry: NZLAV
- 2nd, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment: M113A3
-- A (Canterbury and West Coast) Company
-- B (Nelson and Marlborough) Company
-- C (Otago and Southland) Company
-- Support Company
- (KW) Reserve Independent Tank Battalion: Chieftain Mk.5K

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[jemhouston]

A welcome surprise. People are reaching deep to see what can be dug up.

[Bernard Woolley]

Thanks very much and very true.

I also wanted to remind everyone that while 'pew-pew', 'KABOOM' & 'BLAM' are exciting, a lot of war consists of meetings and briefings.

[Lordroel]

First and only time i can say i am on Team Iran.

[Johnnie Lyle]

That ended on an ominous note!

[Bernard Woolley]

First and only time i can say i am on Team Iran.

Quite unusual given current events.

That ended on an ominous note!

Well, we do know a certain someone is a spy.

[Jotun]

Interestingly, what she just learned is not THAT hard to find out by other means.

I liked Gazprom-Gerd being professional.

[Bernard Woolley]

Might be harder to find the details of COBALT, though. The source of the information is also important.

[Eaglenine2]

Question had the 4th Armored had gotten into Kuwait? Would it be easier to get the 38th to Germany then 4th to Germany?

[Jotun]

Might be harder to find the details of COBALT, though. The source of the information is also important.

She is using snail mail in wartime…

[Bernard Woolley]

Question had the 4th Armored had gotten into Kuwait? Would it be easier to get the 38th to Germany then 4th to Germany?

4 AD is indeed in the KTO at the moment. Redeploying it from there to Europe would mean withdrawing it from combat, backloading it into ships (which would need to be assembled), then having those ships sail to Europe. The 38th ID is probably going to end up with AFSOUTH.

She is using snail mail in wartime…

Arguably more secure. I would guess that staff in the bunker would not be allowed to send emails. I think that in 2024 we often forget that snail mail often wasn’t. The Royal Mail, for example, could get a 1st Class letter to anywhere in the U.K. the day after it was posted. I would guess that Deutsche Bundespost/Deutsche Post was as efficient. RM still promises to deliver 1st Class the next day. Now I’m wartime, the post might be slower, but probably still fairly efficient.

[Matt Wiser]

Nice chapter! BZ as usual, my friend, and so on to business;

The Kiwis need those SH-2s back operational ASAP; They'd best hope that the old Wasp doesn't go up against an SSN or SSGN...

Sending in armor to Faw means the Iranians are serious for this operation. Don't be surprised if some G-5 fire gets tossed the Iranians' way to go for those bridges, and it's still possible some Iraqi AF air as well. Because the man in Baghdad is going to be demanding that Faw be retaken or at least isolated. Or else...

You forgot one other unit under the Multinational Division: Regimental Landing Team 24 and the 15th MEU, USMC. The latter is likely still mopping up in Umm Qasr, while the former may be busy in Zubayr and Shoiabah AB...

Old-fashioned mail. Still a good way to get in touch with one's handler and to pass on and receive things.

Good work, and get with 377!

[Bernard Woolley]

The Wasp can carry a single Mk.46 torpedo. That makes it a threat to any SSN. In @ AFAIK it’s one of only a handful of helicopters to have dropped a live torpedo on a hostile submarine.

I would hope that Iraq sends as many of its reserves against Fawn as it can. Means fewer troops fighting coalition forces. Chieftains are very good in defence, btw.

Mail is a reliable method of communication. In the world of electronic communication (even in 2005) it can be overlooked.