The Last War? : Chapter 385

[Bernard Woolley]

With thanks to Jotun.

*

D+32

0035 hours GMT. Near Zamiin-Uud, Mongolian People's Republic.
Major Fedot Shevtsov raised his binoculars to scan the nearby border with the People’s Republic of China. He commanded a reconnaissance unit attached to the headquarters of the 39th Combined Arms Army, the Soviet Army garrison in Mongolia. [1]
Shevtsov had already spotted some PLA Type 15 light tanks apparently carrying out manoeuvres on the Chinese side of the border. Now he was sure he had spotted another type of tanks. He strained his eyes. Yes! There they were! Six Type 99 tanks, the PLA’s latest generation Main Battle Tank. They had only started to enter service in 2001, yet here they were on the border with Mongolia.

“I need a helicopter.” He said to the Mongolian officer standing next to him.

*

Shevtsov pulled back the door of the Mongolian People’s Army Mil Mi-2 ‘Hoplite’. Looking through his binoculars he could pick out more PLA armoured and ‘soft skin’ vehicles. He was a little surprised that the Chinese did not seem to be bothering to conceal their deployment along the border with Mongolia. It would be simplicity itself for him to direct artillery, or an air strike. Then it hit him. The Chinese wanted to be seen, they were sending a message.

“We have company, Comrade Major.” The Mi-2’s pilot warned.
“I see it.”

A PLA Z-9W had taken up station almost in formation with the ‘Hoplite’, but on its side of the border. Shevtsov noticed that it was armed with anti-tank missiles and 23mm cannon. At least it was not an example of the new Z-10 attack helicopters he reflected. Though he would not be surprised if the PLA had included some in the deployment.

“The Chinese are scanning us with SAM radars.” The pilot commented. “Just search for the moment.”
“Keep on this course for another five minutes. Shevtsov ordered. “After that take us back to base. If they do lock us up with fire control radars, do what you have to in order to keep the aircraft safe.”

*

“I saw at least two regiments worth of armoured vehicles, Comrade General. I also spotted some artillery and supporting vehicles. Most of them were out in the open with no attempt to conceal them.” Major Shevtsov told the commander of the 39th Combined Arms Army an hour later. “Two regiments would suggest at least a division in the sector I was able to recce.”

The lieutenant-general nodded thoughtfully.

“They wanted to be seen, then. Who knows how much extra equipment and personnel they had hidden. Thank you, Comrade Major.”
“I serve the Soviet Union, Comrade General.” Shevtsov replied, coming to attention before leaving the general’s office.

Once Shevtsov had gone, the lieutenant-general picked up a phone on his desk and requested that a call be made to the commander of the Transbaykal Military District. He wanted to inform his superior of the intelligence and request that the air force perform overflights of the border region. He also ordered that his army be brought to a higher level of alert.


0105 hours GMT. Fliegerhorst Hopsten, Westphalia, FRG.
Eurofighter Typhoon 31+17 was taxiing into its hardened aircraft shelter, having finished yet another air defence mission over the front with his wingman, “Brian” Cohen.

Oberstleutnant “Morbus” Kobold shut off the engine and powered down the systems, only to be shaken awake by his crew chief. He had fallen asleep without realizing it.
Kobold looked at the SNCO and felt a wave of irrational anger so strong that he had to exert a major effort not to snap at the crew chief and utter a string of vile curses insulting his line of ancestry down to the seventh level.

He instantly held an apologetic hand up and simply said,

“Thank you, Karsten. I very nearly bit your head off for nothing.” He wondered about the flat tone of his voice. “Something ain’t right. At all.”

The Hauptfeldwebel gazed at the pilot sympathetically, having seen the flash of anger and deduced its source.

“No sweat, man. You aren’t the only one practically crawling through this on your nipples and gums by now. There hasn’t been a war in history yet with an optempo as high as this one, and it is slowly grinding us down…Thing is, we all need some time off. And a shrink. And a f***ing bender. Kopf an Masse and all that. Anyway, how’d it go?”

Morbus sighed apathetically.

“Two solid kills, two probables. Yep, another two red stars to stencil on the fuselage.”

He was so drained he did not even care about the kills. He honestly had never given much of a hoot.

“That’s how many now? Twenty-six?” He asked rhetorically, knowing the exact number as well as his crew chief did.
“Yep. And another seventeen probables, most of those from that giant furball during the Surtur operation.”
“Hmph…that’ll take months to figure out. It was a Macross Missile Massacre if I have ever seen one outside anime…to be honest, I do not give shit. Help me out of this infernal contraption? I am knackered.”

Under much grunting and sotto voce cursing, the crew chief helped the pilot out of the cockpit and down the ladder.

“Thanks. See to Viconia, will you? She is starting to creak a bit. Same as myself, actually…”

31+17 was named after a character from two popular computer role playing games. The plane needed rest and refit just as much as her pilot did, maybe even more so. Each period of maintenance after a mission took longer than the one before it.

Morbus staggered out of the HAS and looked over the cratered and repeatedly damaged airfield. He had been in the thick of it literally since D-minus-zero, averaging more than one mission per day, with precious few breaks in between.

A “Wolf” (G-Wagen) brought him to Wing HQ where he would be debriefed and then hopefully be able to water and feed himself and then catch a few winks of sleep, colloquially called “mattress listening duty”. He knew it would not nearly be enough and dreaded the upcoming mission. As he climbed out of the Wolf, he was hit with a wave of tired despair mixed with rage and grief so strong he almost went to one knee, thinking about the friends he had lost and the lives he had taken. He slouched into the briefing room, slumped into a chair, barely holding it together.

His immediate superior, a Luftwaffe colonel, the Wing commander, took one hard but sympathetic look at his 2 i/c and simply said,

“Morbus, Junge, you look like shit warmed over twice…lose the G-suit and all the other stuff and crash in your quarters. This is not just an order, it is also a request by a friend. You are off the flying schedule until further notice. I’ll pitch in for you. The debriefing can wait. Brian can do it for the both of you. Now buzz off or I’ll have security detain you.”

Morbus just looked up, eyes brimming with unshed tears, nodded and wordlessly left for the equipment area where he turned in his equipment, from G-suit to MP7A1. That accomplished, he almost ran to his quarters, where he climbed into the shower, still fully dressed. He turned on the water and then sank down the wall of the shower, sobbing.

Ten minutes later, feeling somewhat cleansed from the inside, he emerged from his room, MMA gloves on his hands and in athletic attire, and went to the gym. He selected a punching bag as far away from the entrance as possible, put on a pair of headphones, turned up a playlist of aggressive death metal songs on his iPod and began going to town on the bag with fists, elbows, feet and knees.

He began slowly and then consciously conjured up all of his anguish, exhaustion and rage, increasing speed and power of his punches and kicks, until it sounded like a cheap kung fu movie. Ignoring the pain in his hands, shoulders and torso from the exertion, his body fighting to gather enough air, he kept hitting and kicking like a maniac, sweat and tears flying, until he literally collapsed, winded and gasping for breath.

He actually felt somewhat better, but he knew that this would only be a temporary reprieve. He staggered to his feet and walked back to his quarters for another shower. Finally, he lay back on his cot and was asleep before his head had finished settling into his pillow.

0215 hours GMT. Extract of note from MFA (PRC) to MER (USSR).
“The People’s Republic of China wishes to express its deep concern about the safety of its fraternal comrades in the Mongolian People’s Republic, given that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics continues to station military forces within the territory of the Mongolian People’s Republic. The People’s Republic of China believes that there is a very real danger that citizens of the Mongolian People’s Republic could be put at risk by the continued presence of military forces of the USSR within their country. It is likely that the military of the United States of America and its allies could attack Soviet forces within the Mongolian People’s Republic and other facilities used by Soviet forces. As the Mongolian People’s Republic is, like the People’s Republic of China, a neutral nation, the presence of military forces of a belligerent within its territory is contrary to international law. The People’s Republic of China is also concerned that Soviet forces currently stationed within the Mongolian People’s Republic could be used to carry out military operations against other belligerents.
“To avoid any risk to citizens of the Mongolian People’s Republic and so that both that nation and the USSR upholds its obligations under international law, the People’s Republic and China proposes the following:

“1. All Soviet military forces, including advisors and training teams be immediately withdrawn from the territory of the Mongolian People’s Republic.
2. The government of the USSR publicly declares that it will respect the neutrality of the Mongolian People’s Republic and will not use its territory to carry out any military operations.
3. The government of the USSR will refrain from permanently stationing military forces within the territory of the Mongolian People’s Republic for the next five years.
4. In order to protect the neutrality and territory of the Mongolian People’s Republic, a peacekeeping force drawn from the People’s Liberation Army will be stationed within the territory of the Mongolian People’s Republic.

“The People’s Republic of China requires a response from the government of the USSR within forty-eight hours of the receipt of this note. Should no response be forthcoming or should the government of the USSR not agree to the very reasonable proposals, the People’s Republic of China reserves the right to take such further action as it deems necessary.”

0325 hours GMT. Permanent Mission of the USSR to the UN in New York.
“Russians out! Russians out! Russians out!”

Even though the angry protest was being kept well back from the mission their shouts could still be heard within the building. The NYPD would have liked to have completely blocked off East 67th Street at its intersections at Lexington and 3rd Avenues. However, that would have also blocked off two companies of the FDNY, based in a firehouse opposite the mission. Not to mention a number of businesses and residences. Instead, they had put up crowd barriers at each intersection and were only allowing pedestrians and vehicles with business in the street to pass.

In truth the NYPD would have preferred it if the Soviet diplomats had been expelled along with all of their other colleagues in America. However, the Permanent Mission was accredited to the United Nations, rather than the United States. That resulted in the rather odd situation where diplomats from countries in a state of war with each other were still in residence in the USA. Further complicating matters was the fact that the mission also included three other sites, the Soviet Mission Residency, the Killenworth Mansion and the Elmcroft Estate. The Soviets had closed down the latter two, concentrating their staff in the 67th Street building and the residency. That still meant that the NYPD and the Diplomatic Security Service had to escort Soviet diplomats between the two remaining sites and the UN Building.

Today the ambassador had meetings with his Swiss and Chinese counterparts. He knew what the meeting with the Swiss ambassador was about; their foreign minister had already made it clear how annoyed the Swiss government was about certain Soviet actions. Moscow had passed instruction to their permanent representative to the UN to speak to the Swiss representative and try to persuade them to have their government reverse its decision to freeze certain Soviet bank accounts. What the permanent representative of the PRC wanted was a mystery. The Chinese had not stated what the meeting was about. Which was often par for the course when it came to the PRC.

*

“Russians! Out! Out! Out!”

The hostile shouting sounded even louder as the ambassador got into his official car. He reflected for a moment that at home the OMON would have very quickly dispersed the protestors in a way that would have made them regret they were ever born.

The NYPD had pushed the protestors back a short distance by the time the motorcade swept out of the garage under the Soviet mission. But the police had no intention of pushing them back to a point that the Soviet ambassador would not be able to see or hear them. With NYPD RMPs leading and tailing, and with some unmarked vehicles carrying DSS agents between them and the Soviet vehicles, the motorcade began its journey to the UN building. Motorcycle officers from the NYPD Highway Patrol preceded it, making sure the route was clear and blocked intersections as needed.

The ambassador was deep in concentration, reading a brief on the position of the Swiss government when a loud ‘thump’ made him jump. Something had bounced off the roof of the car. Suddenly that first ‘thump’ was joined by several others as stones, bricks and a variety of rotten fruit and vegetables rained down on the motorcade from above. On spotting the vehicles leaving, some protestors had managed to get the word to others who had guessed its route and taken to suitable rooftops.

“Speed up! Gets us out of here!” The ambassador yelled at the diver.
“I am trying, Comrade Ambassador!”

The protestors had been smart in that they had waited a moment for the police motorcycles and leading RMPs to pass before starting their assault. They also did not really want to attack their own police officers. It, therefore, took a moment for the escort to realise the Soviet vehicles were under attack, as were the unmarked vehicles of the DSS. The trailing police vehicles dropped back to avoid the hail of missiles, and it took a suspicious few extra minutes before the leading escorts sped up.

By the time police officers reached the roofs of the buildings the attacks had come from the protestors were long gone. As nobody had been hurt, the NYPD did not pursue the perpetrators with any vigour.

*

The ambassador was furious as he inspected the mission’s vehicles in the underground carpark at the UN. His limousine’s bodywork had numerous dents on the roof and hood. One of the other mission vehicles had a cracked windscreen.

“I fully intend to lodge a complaint with the Secretary General about this!” He fumed to the UN official standing beside him. “This was a deliberate attack by the United States against my person. At the very least, I will demand compensation for damage to our vehicles!”

0403 hours GMT. Trieste, Italy.
Generale di Brigata Alberto Bertorelli lit a cigarette, looked to the south and contemplated his position. He could see the glow of fires burning in the Zona Industriale Est, where Soviet long-ranged artillery fire had set some fuel tanks alight. Plucked from a desk job at the headquarters of the Tuscan-Emilian Military Region, Bertorelli had been put in command of the rather grandly named Trieste Defence Command.
Despite its rather impressive name, the Trieste Defence Command was formed of a heterogenous group of NATO units that had just happened to be in the city, or surrounding area, when the command had been formed. Some reinforcements had come from the Northeastern and Tuscan-Emilian Military Regions, primarily reserve and some recruit training units. The police in the command’s area (Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato and Guardia di Finanza) had also been placed under its command. Bertorelli had gotten the impression that he had been given units that high command considered expendable.

The command had preciously little artillery – two batteries, 40 Battery, 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment equipped with the OTO Model 56 and a battery of 8th Heavy Field Artillery Group "Marmore" equipped with the M114. The command also had almost no armoured vehicles, the closest it had to tanks were seventeen FV101 Scorpions of the Spanish Army’s BRC II. Which had formerly been attached to the Allied Mobile Force (Land). Though, things were about to change on that front.
Bertorelli had been informed that the Reggimento San Marco and Amphibious Troops Brigade "Serenissima" were being held back to reinforce Trieste, if needed. He got the impression that “if needed” was doing a lot of lifting there. As he stubbed his cigarette out and stepped back into his Command Post, Bertorelli was reminded of a saying in English about not being able to make bricks without straw. He also cursed whoever decided to disband the old Trieste Military Command in 1986. Had it still existed, there would have been no need to improvise the TDC. At least one of the positive legacies of the old command was that a lot of the equipment, weapons and ammunition stored for its units remained in warehouses and Bertorelli had made sure that they were issued.

“Any news?” He asked his overworked staff.
“Enemy armoured vehicles have been spotted advancing along the H5 towards the border crossing at Valico Rabuiese.”
“Hell!” Bertorelli exclaimed.

The assumption, based on intelligence reports, had been that the Soviets would try to cut off Trieste from the rest of Italy, by cutting the two coastal autostradas. Instead, it now looked like they were going to attack the city from the south. Bertorelli had positioned his troops on that basis.

“What a mistake to make.” He muttered. “Are the M60s ready to go?”
“Eight tanks are operational, Sir.”

Amongst the weapons, ammunition and vehicles in storage had been fourteen M60A1 tanks waiting to donate their turrets to border defences. Like the Finns before them, the Italians had found one of the best ways to deliver a turret to its destination was to use the tank it was attached to. Four tanks had been found to be runners and with a judicious bit of cannibalisation, four further tanks had been made operational. Thankfully, amongst the reservists assigned to the TDC, there were quite a number of soldiers with experience of the M60A1.

“Get them ready to move, along with BRC II. However, I don’t want to commit our reserves until we get confirmation that the advance along the H5 is the main attack.”

*

The village of Crociata sat right on the border with what had been Yugoslavia and was now (in theory) in the Republic of Slovenia. As the road that ran through the village was a minor one, the border was not routinely staffed by the customs and immigration agencies of either country. Occasionally the Guardia di Finanza would mount checks of some vehicles crossing the border if it received reports of smuggling. But most of the time the locals on both sides of the border were left alone by law enforcement and officialdom.

Once the now former Yugoslavia had been invaded by the USSR, a permanent detachment from the Guardia di Finanza had been sent to Crociata. The border had also been closed, rather permanently. A concrete block had been placed to prevent any vehicular traffic from crossing over from Slovenia. As it had become clear that Trieste was under threat, the village had been evacuated and a detachment of army reservists of approximately company strength had been dispatched to reinforce the Guardia di Finanza.

Finanziere scelto Lombardi raised his AR70/90 as he heard the approaching sound of what could only be armoured vehicles. He flinched as he heard an explosion, followed by a second a short distance away. Black, oily smoke could soon be seen rising above the trees. Followed by four Italian soldiers, two of them holding the sighting systems of Panzerfaust 3 LAW rockets, running down the verge of the road for all they were worth. They had crossed the border, taking up position in an abandoned house a couple of hundred meters away by a bend in the road. They had let the first Soviet armoured vehicle, a BMP-2, pass, before engaging the next two vehicles, a pair of T-72s. Both tanks had been knocked out, blocking the road. The BMP-2 had attempted to turn around to engage the Italian infantrymen but had gotten stuck on the narrow road.

Lombardi lowered his rifle and made sure that the safety was set to ‘S’. He did not want to accidentally shoot friendly troops. The soldiers dodged around the end of the concrete block before flopping down on the verge, utterly exhausted. A couple of other soldiers handed them bottles of water and clapped them on the back.

Soviet retaliation was not long in coming. The house that the quartet of soldiers had occupied was first shot up by motor riflemen and 125mm HEAT rounds, before being flattened by artillery fire and mortars. Smoke had barely begun to clear from the destruction of the house before Soviet artillery fire was hitting Crociata, smashing houses and ripping up trees. Thankfully, Italian casualties were low, as the defenders had dug themselves in deep.

With the road blocked for the moment, Soviet tanks turned off and advanced through a field filled with young trees. Too late, they realised it ended in a dead end amongst mature trees and a ditch that had been deepened and filled with barbed wire by the defenders. As the tanks and BMPs tried to find a way through the trees they were assailed by LAW rockets and Molotov Cocktails. Motor riflemen who debussed from the BMPs were shot down by machine-gun fire and accurate rifle fire.

*

Realising that his attempt to bull through the border at this point had failed, the Soviet regimental commander halted the attack and reorganised his forces for a second, better organised attempt. This time there would be careful preparations, reconnaissance would be better and as many Italian defensive positions would be identified as possible.

*

Finanziere scelto Lombardi ejected an empty magazine from his rifle, loaded a new one and dropped down, resting his back against the concrete block on the border. Before joining the Guardia di Finanza, he had done his military service, so he had trained for combat. However, it had not really prepared him for the sudden violence of warfare, and he felt drained and slightly shocked. Realising that his throat felt like sandpaper he drained a litre bottle of water in a few gulps; every defender had been issued with a canteen of water, but were drinking from plastic bottles of water, keeping the canteens in reserve. He was almost immediately sick, vomiting until his stomach was empty. A sympathetic colleague handed him a second bottle of water; this time his drank it more slowly.

0445 hours GMT. Over the North Pacific.
The Soviet aircraft had taken off from Vozdvizhenka Airfield two hours ago. It had now just finished up topping up its fuel from an Il-78 tanker before turning northeast and heading off on its mission. The aircraft and a few others like it had been in development and even with the team responsible for it working around the clock since the outbreak of war, it had only now become ready for its first mission.

*

Captain Eduardo ‘Ed’ Gonzales yawned before reaching down for his cup of coffee. Flying a C-5D across the north Pacific, part of the ‘Air Bridge’ to Japan and South Korea, was not exactly the most exciting of jobs. Gonzales was a pilot in the 301st MAS(A), 349th Military Airlift Wing (Associate), USAF Reserve. The wing was carrying out its war time job of supporting the regular 60th Military Airlift Wing by providing additional personnel. Gonzales’ eight-man crew for this sortie was a mix of reservists like him and regulars from the 75th MAS. [2]

*

The ‘Air Bridge’ across the Pacific was formed of a mix of USAF transports and CRAF aircraft in both passenger and freighter variants, such as the 747 and MD-11. Amongst the American planes were some from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Providing fighter escorts for the transport aircraft was not really practical, given the ranges involved, though Barrier CAPs were in place to cover the approach to Japan and South Korea.

*

“Not keeping you awake are we, Ed?” Captain James ‘Jimmy’ McBain commented from the right-hand seat.

Gonzales chuckled.

“Nah, just getting a bit bored. This is hardly much different from flying a United 747 from LAX to Narita. Other than I get paid less for it!”
“PAX complain a bit more though!” The first Flight Engineer commented. “Am I right?”
“Yeah.” Gonzales agreed. “No good-looking stews on this…”

‘BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!’

The sound of the Galaxy’s Radar Warning Receiver interrupted the conversation.

“What the f*ck! We’re being illuminated by a hostile airborne radar!” Gonzales exclaimed.
“What?” McBain wondered. “But we’re in the middle of nowhere!”
“RWR display says it’s a ‘Flashdance’.” A puzzled Gonzales said. “But a ‘Foxhound’ wouldn’t have the range to get out here!”
“Well, tell that to whatever owns that radar!” McBain replied.

‘BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!’

“Sh*t, we have a lock on.” Gonzales commented. “I’m disengaging the autopilot. Jim, keep an eye on the throttles. Bob, see if you can raise Yokota. I doubt they’ll be able to get any fighters out here, but at least they’ll be able to get a warning out.”

Gonzales picked up the interphone handset.

“AC to Loadmasters, if you’re not already, strap yourselves in. We’re being tracked by a bandit, and we may need to do some hard manoeuvres.” He replaced the handset and turned back to the rest of the cockpit crew. “I’m going to turn us southeast and open out the range to the hostile. Keep your eyes open for any other aircraft.”

‘DEEDEEEDEEEEEDEEEEE!’

“Oh, God! A launch!
“Jim, give me max thrust and give me a hand with the controls. The rest of you hold on and shout out if you see anything!”

Gonzales turned the C-5D as tightly to port as he dared, levelled off and pushed the nose down, descending as fast as was safe. The Galaxy rapidly broke through the clouds and the Pacific Ocean became visible, soon filling the cockpit windows. Gonzales and McBain waited as long as they could before levelling out.

“We’ve broken lock.” The first Flight Engineer reported.
“Thank, God.” McBain commented.
“Thank our RWR, ECM and a good bit of flying, Jim!” Gonzales replied. “I’m going to keep us low for a few more minutes before beginning a slow climb. Let’s throttle back to cruise; we’re burning fuel like it’s going out of fashion.”

*

A second C-5D and a C-17A also flying in the ‘stream’ had also detected the hostile lock-on in time to take evasive action. However, four CRAF aircraft, two 747F, a 767 and an MD-11, were not so lucky. With no way of detecting they were under attack, the civilian aircraft were blown out of the sky. An urgent warning from Yokota Air Base reached the ‘stream’ a few minutes later, ordering all aircraft to take a more southerly route. Which, it was hoped, would make them safer from whatever had just attacked the ‘Air Bridge’.

A JASDF E-767 picked up a target around three hundred kilometres from the location of where the air-bridge had been attacked. Heading northwest at just under the speed of sound. USAF and JASDF fighters were directed to attempt an intercept. But it was soon clear that they did not have the fuel to reach the bandit.

***

[1] Order of Battle as follows:

39th Combined Arms Army
- 2nd Guards Tank Division (Choybalsan, Mongolia)
- 51st Tank Division (Bulgan, Mongolia)
- 12th Motorised Rifle Division (Boganur, Mongolia)
- 41st Motorised Rifle Division (Choyr, Mongolia)

See link or more information.

[2] When augmented from 7 to 8, a C-5 Galaxy crew consisted of the following:
- Aircraft Commander
- 2 First Pilots
- 2 Flight Engineers
- 3 Loadmasters

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[MFOM]

Project 701?

[Bernard Woolley]

That would be telling!

Seriously, though, it's a [CENSORED].

[Jotun]

Project 701?

Or something like it.
Why do I have a feeling the US will counter it with either some kind of B-1 armed with AIM-152 or Jan lets The Old Dog have its appearance.

[Lordroel]

Great update as always, never expected to see that China hidden agenda is posabile starting a war with the Soviet Union wich would put China in a strange position of not only being a communist country at war with another communist country but also to have to deal with North Korea a communist country at war with a country at war with the Soviet Union.

[Jotun]

Great update as always, never expected to see that China hidden agenda is posabile starting a war with the Soviet Union wich would put China in a strange position of not only being a communist country at war with another communist country but also to have to deal with North Korea a communist country at war with a country at war with the Soviet Union.

There are few to no things in the world a communist hates more than another communist with a slightly different interpretation of communism.

[James1978]

Good chapter!

Mongolia must be an interesting story in TLWverse. In @, the USSR and the PRC signed an agreement on the reduction of Soviet forces in Mongolia in February 1989, with the withdrawal of 39th Army announced in May 1989 - both pre-POD. I guess the USSR somehow reasserted itself in Mongolia similar to how they did in Eastern Europe?

Maintenance and crew fatigue are taking their toll on air power.

Nice to see the Soviets still have a few tricks up their sleeves. I think I know what it is.

Keep up the good work!

[Eaglenine2]

Looks like the world is getting more interesting

[Lordroel]

Looks like the world is getting more interesting

This is going to be the end of the war, China joining in can not end well, unless the Soviet Union does a Red Dawn 1984 here.

[James1978]

Great update as always, never expected to see that China hidden agenda is posabile starting a war with the Soviet Union wich would put China in a strange position of not only being a communist country at war with another communist country but also to have to deal with North Korea a communist country at war with a country at war with the Soviet Union.

I suspect the PRC has no intention of starting a war, but are testing the waters in the hopes of expanding their sphere of influence. Go back far enough, and you find that Mongolia is up there with Taiwan as territory the PRC considers part of China. Remember, TLWverse 2005 PRC isn't as strong economically as the @ 2005 PRC.

Something else to consider. Leveraging the USSR out of Mongolia may be in the PRC's interest, but NATO was probably fine with four fresh Soviet divisions + attachments just sitting in Mongolia.

As an aside, the @ design history of the Z-10 helicopter is interesting - it's based on a Kamov design. And if the Z-10 is already in active service, and not still in testing . . . well, somebody helped them out, a lot.

And the Type 15 really got shifted left.

[Lordroel]

Something else to consider. Leveraging the USSR out of Mongolia may be in the PRC's interest, but NATO was probably fine with four fresh Soviet divisions + attachments just sitting in Mongolia.

But if the Soviets are kicked out of Mongolia as they do not need another front, those 4 fresh Soviet divisions + attachments can go either to Korea ore to Germany.

[James1978]

Something else to consider. Leveraging the USSR out of Mongolia may be in the PRC's interest, but NATO was probably fine with four fresh Soviet divisions + attachments just sitting in Mongolia.

But if the Soviets are kicked out of Mongolia as they do not need another front, those 4 fresh Soviet divisions + attachments can go either to Korea ore to Germany.

Anywhere facing NATO really.

Probably not Korea. The Soviet-DPRK border is only 11km long with one rail bridge across the Tumen River. Now I suppose in TLWverse there could be an additional bridge built, and maybe pontoon bridges once the shooting started. But with the PRC officially "neutral", that's a vulnerable supply line. And I'm betting the rail bridge was dropped early on.
But the Soviet Far East in general? Maybe.

The real wrinkle? What does Mongolia want?

[Lordroel]

The real wrinkle? What does Mongolia want?

Do they have anything to say about what they want, they have been a Soviet Puppet state for so long i wonder if they can be neutral as what China wants, also will China want them neutral ore a more pro-Mongolia government in power.

[Lordroel]

0403 hours GMT. Trieste, Italy.
Generale di Brigata Alberto Bertorelli

“What a mistake to make.” He muttered. “Are the M60s ready to go?”

His father/grandfather will be proud

[jemhouston]

Project 701?

Or something like it.
Why do I have a feeling the US will counter it with either some kind of B-1 armed with AIM-152 or Jan lets The Old Dog have its appearance.

One can always use an Old Dog.

The Chinese are making life difficult for Moscow without firing a shot. They just froze 'Soviet forces in the area. I'm not sure if Moscow can reinforce, but that doesn't matter.

I'm really surprised the Soviet Ambassador's car with something stinky in addition to rocks.

Thanks for the update.

[Jotun]

It looks a lot to me that the PRC is being too clever for its own good. Europe is getting wise that the PRC is likely planning to get more than just a foot in the door post-war, and now they have begun pissing off the USSR.

They haven‘t really read their Sunzi, have they?

[MFOM]

The Soviets maintained a huge force in Siberia and the far east while they have suffered losses in operations against Japan and naval losses the bulk of the army has not been engaged though the majority were c and b their readiness has surely been increased over the last few weeks so perhaps the Chinese are making a premature move, it wouldn't be the first time the soviets dealt a blow to a power in that part of the world while the focus of the world was further west. From a NATO point of view it ties down divisions and airpower for the soviets and maybe perhaps they wouldn't loose any sleep if the pla got a bit of a bloody nose

[Belushi TD]

Another possibility is that the Chinese are waving the flag to keep the soviet far eastern forces at home. They may have made the decision that NATO weakened and triumphant is a better choice than the USSR weakened and triumphant, particularly since the Soviets are the ones on their border.

Belushi TD

[Matt Wiser]

Good to see a new chapter! BZ, my friend, and so to business:

Chinese are up to something.... They likely don't want to get into their own war with the Soviets as they would like to be able to exploit the postwar world to their advantage.

I'll agree with the view that NATO would rather have the 39th Army right where it is instead of on troop trains headed West.

The strain on pilots and other aircrew is likely intense. Unlike WW II, Korea, or SEA, you're in for the duration. No such thing as a "Combat Tour." I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of R&R Centers will be set up so that those approaching burnout can take some time off. The Soviets and their lackeys, though... Different story.

This NATO border is about to get a little active...Comrade Renko will be pleased that there's some areas where Soviet forces are moving forward.

I think I know what the mystery Soviet aircraft is....

Good work, and get with 386!