The Last War? : Chapter 386

[Bernard Woolley]

With thanks to Jotun and Matt W for their contributions.

*

D+32

*

0931 hours GMT. KGB Headquarters, Lubyanka, Moscow, RSFSR.
Chairman Putin was livid. The emotional part of his brain wanted to flatten Berne and Zurich for what the Swiss government had done. Losing those accounts would seriously hurt the KGB’s covert operations across a large part of the world. Money from a number of other tax havens controlled by Western countries, such as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Isle of Man, had been moved to the Swiss accounts just before the start of the war. Putin had got some degree of satisfaction when the British had tried to seize assets in those particular locales and found the accounts had a token $1 in each. At least not every secret KGB account had been discovered. The Chinese had also not moved against accounts the KGB had in Hong Kong. The rational part of his brain knew that the Swiss were reacting to actions of the Soviet government and army. It was towards those responsible for his actions that he would direct his action.

Putin picked up a phone on his desk and called his assistant.

“Find the person in charge of the operation to track and stop the traitor from Defence. He is to go directly to Lefortovo. Once you have done that, call the prison and let them know that we are sending them an individual who has been found guilty of crimes against the State. They are to be executed immediately.
“Next thing I want you to do is to contact the senior KGB officer in the liberated portion of Austria. I want to speak to him in no more than an hour.”
“At once, Comrade Chairman, I will see to those tasks immediately.”

*

While Putin was waiting for the phone call from Austria, a minion brought in a message folder. He silently handed it over and waited for a response.

“They have done WHAT now!” Putin exploded.

He threw the folder and its contents at the minion, who worried for his safety. He had no desire to end up in the Lubyanka’s prison. Putin seemed to notice that the minion was still standing in front of him, quivering ever so slightly.

“Pick it up and put it back on my desk.” He said calmly. “You are in no danger, Comrade. I do not have messengers shot for doing their job. You may go.”
“Thank you, Comrade Chairman.

A very grateful minion picked up the folder and scattered papers, put them on the Chairman’s desk and departed as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Putin was thinking dark thoughts about what he was going to do to those responsible for the situation State Security found itself. His thoughts were interrupted by the phone on his desk ringing.

“Yes.” He said on picking up the handset.
“General Mikhailov for you, Comrade Chairman.”
“Put him through.”

There was a click on the line as the call was put through.

“General Mikhailov, this is Chairman Putin.”
“How can I help, Comrade Chairman?”
“It has come to my attention that members of the Soviet Army have been stealing from Swiss aid convoys heading for Vienna. The criminals have even included members of the Commandant's Service who should be preventing this sort of thing. Members of the Commandant's Service were also involved in an assault on a Swiss army officer.
“I am sure that you are aware of the recent actions of the Swiss Government in response to those crimes. I would like to know what you are doing about it?”

There was a pregnant pause, and Putin could hear Generál-mayór Mikhailov swallow heavily.

“We are aware of two different smuggling rings which are preying on the aid convoys. One of them is indeed formed of members of the Commandant's Service. Both rings are making money by stealing and selling items from the convoys. We were, uh, about to close in on both rings when we were informed by STAVKA that the army would deal with it themselves. I understand that the GRU will be dealing with the criminals.”
“Those criminals are ours, Comrade General.” Putin replied calmly, but with menace in his voice. “Their actions have had severe consequences for our worldwide operations. As a member of the Defence Council, I wield greater authority than anyone at STAVKA, bar the Defence Minister. If you know the identities of those who make up the smuggling rings, arrest them NOW. They are to be shot immediately after arrest, or if they ‘resist’. I would prefer them to be brought back to Moscow, but I want them dealt with before STAVKA can appeal to the Defence Minister.
“Call me back when it is done.”
“I serve the Soviet Union.” Mikhailov managed to say before Putin put the phone down.

He picked up the folder and looked at the report again. Damn those Swiss and damn those who had created this situation.


1046 hours. The Pentagon, Virginia, USA.
Major Andrew Gant, United States Air Force popped a chip into his mouth as he considered the latest problem to be given to ‘Red Team’. The news was only a few hours old, but already the ‘Brass’ had decided that it would be a good idea for the ‘Boys in the Basement’ to work it. The room was full of maps and charts with range circles drawn on them, a few had fallen on the floor, had curled up. Books, magazines, technical publications and copies of intelligence reports were piled up in a number of different parts of the room.

“What sort of aircraft can fly over 1,000 nautical miles from a base in Siberia and has what seems to be the weapons and radar of a ‘Foxhound’?” He wondered out loud between crunching on chips. “Whatever it is can fly at high sub-sonic speed.”
“Only things that fit the range are the ‘Backfire’, ‘Blackjack’, or a ‘Bear’ variant’. It’s certainly not a ‘Foxhound’, ‘cause they can’t get out that far. Only way for the Soviets to manage that would be by sending out tankers first.” Captain Thomas Young, US Army replied.
“They don’t have the tankers spare to use them to send a single ‘Foxhound’ that far.” Gant observed. They also wouldn’t use a ‘Blackjack’ for this sort of mission; much too valuable. A ‘Bear’ is a possible, but too slow.”
“A modded ‘Backfire then?” Young wondered.

Gant sat bolt upright as a thought hit him.

“Where’s that Harpoon rule book?” He said, searching through the documents on his desk.
“Got it here.” Young said, pulling it out from under some navigational charts. “The ‘What-If’ section?”

Gant nodded.

“Here we go. Stats for what they call a Tu-22DP; DP stands for Dal'nego Perekhvata – long range interception.” Young read from the rule book. “Had the radar of the Mig-31 and carried AA-9 ‘Amos’ missiles in the bomb bay.”
“Would fit, Tom.” Gant observed. “Though the data that came in from that Fred and the Barney would suggest the AA-13 ‘Axehead’.”
“Agree with that, Andy.” Young said. “If the Soviets are going to develop a long-ranger interceptor it makes sense that they would use the latest kit. Question is, how did we miss this?”
“That’s an issue for another time. Something for the Intel community to answer.” Gant replied. “Now that we have identified the potential threat, how do we deal with it? MAC is now routing the Air Bridge to the south, but we can’t assume that the Soviets don’t have a way to expend the range of the ‘Backfire Interceptor’.”
“Trade weapons for fuel.”

Gant nodded.

“Yup. We have to work on the basis that the Pacific Air Bridge is still under threat. Atlantic too, though less so, as any ‘Backfire’ wanting to get to it would have to get through several BARCAPs.”
“So, we need something that can escort the Air Bridge or can loiter for a long time. I do remember the Brits looked at turning the Avro Vulcan into what was basically a flying SAM site with either AIM-54 or naval SAMs.” Young said.
“Yeah, I remember reading about that in a magazine a while back. You thinking along those lines, Tom?”

It was Young’s turn to nod.

“We could stick ‘Slammers’ on a Bone? Or AIM-152 if they would fit. The Bone’s radar is basically the APG-66, isn’t it?”

Gant shook his head.

“Well, yeah and no, Tom. The APQ-164 is an APG-66/68 derivative and has some parts commonality, but they are very different radars. The -164 doesn’t even have a ‘find the tanker’ mode at the moment. We’d need to fit a whole new radar and associated systems. That’s going to take time, maybe up to a year. Besides, I doubt SAC would be willing to part with any Bones.”
“Rules out my other idea of modifying a Buff with an APG-71, then. If SAC won’t part with active bombers, it’s not like we can go to AMARC. I checked and there are not many Golf models left there, and it would take serious time to bring one back from the desert.”

Gant dug through his desk again and brought out an old aviation magazine. He flicked through it until he reached an article he had marked with a sticky tab.

“Take a look at that.”
“Customs P-3s fitted with APG-66. You thinking about something similar?”
“Yeah, with the P-8 beginning to enter service the navy is bound to have some surplus. Fit them with a suitable radar, APG-68 if we’re going ‘Slammer’ or APG-71 if we want AIM-54.
“Yo, Sundown, you know people in the ASW community, don’t you?” Gant called across the room to another member of ‘Red Team’.

Lieutenant Commander Marcus ‘Sundown’ Williams looked up from the project he was working on.

“Sure, I can reach out. You wanting to hang air to air missiles on an Orion?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why stick to something small like ‘Slammers’, or AIM-54. I’ve been looking at seeing what we can hang on planes to counter Soviet hypersonic missiles. The conclusion I have come to is to hit the launch platform before they fire…”
“That’s great, ‘Sundown’, but how does it help us?”
“Air to Air Standard. Namely the ERAM variant. Can go Mach 3.5 and hit a target over 130 nautical miles away. That’s much better than the AIM-54 and I doubt the navy will kick any AIM-152 loose for a mission that’s just boring holes in the sky. On the other hand, there’s a ton of Standard missiles out there. But you want something quick, something you can use now?” [1]

Gant and Young nodded.

“There’s an understrength squadron of F-14 Tomcats up in Alaska, survivors from United States’ air wing. No reason that they can’t ride shotgun through the danger zone until we get a longer-term solution in place. Though, in my opinion the best counter is finding the base this f*cker came from and take it and any others like out on the ground. If it is a ‘Backfire’ variant, chances are it came from an existing ‘Backfire’ base.”
“Tomcats would work, thanks, ‘Sundown’. They have a good loiter time and no reason it could not be extended with tanker support. Like your other ideas too. I’ll kick both upstairs, see if the Brass like them.”

1103 hours GMT. Zurich, Swiss Confederation.
The stunningly attractive but severe-looking and serious receptionist in the foyer of the Bank Julius Bär & Co. AG main office looked up as the main entrance door opened and a quartet of men came in and approached her desk. Two were of approximate middle age and the other two were quite obviously close protection personnel, judging by their mid-priced suits, rubber soled dress shoes, and the small business suitcases they held in their hands – the receptionist had to keep up to date with security affairs and she knew those suitcases most likely held ready to use MP5Ks.

“Good morning, meine Dame,” one of the older gentlemen spoke in a slight Swiss German accent, obviously sticking to High German for the benefit of the three other men. “I am Gion Rüetli, vice head of the national banking authority in our Federal Banking Authority. Ahem. This gentleman,” He indicated the other middle-aged man. “Is Mr Schwertfeger of the Federal German Finance Ministry. Your house is to stand by and ready to render any and all assistance and co-operation to the Federal Republic of Germany in dissolving a number of accounts and transferring the funds to the West German government. Please see to it that the CEO and the head of the Administration Council be notified immediately.”

The receptionist blanched. A well-trained and skilled banker in her own right, she knew better than to argue.

“Yes, sir. One moment please.” She activated her console and headset and spoke quietly but urgently.

Five minutes later, Schwertfeger sat across from the bank’s two heads and quietly pushed across a piece of paper which listed better than a dozen accounts, including the access information.

“Gentlemen.” He said evenly, “Your government has agreed and decreed – the respective documents should arrive any minute or so your Finance Minister told me – that your august institution is to hand over the funds contained in the listed accounts to the Federal German government. NATO came into possession of incontrovertible evidence that literally every single Warsaw Pact secret service, along with an obscenely large number of highly placed government officials of said countries has numbered accounts in practically every tax haven in the world, not least the Swiss Confederation. The money held in the accounts of the secret services has been used to bankroll pretty much every Warsaw Pact intelligence operation on NATO soil since 1949, up to and including financial support to various terrorist organizations on every conceivable extremist spectrum, as well as peace movements and certain parties inimical to NATO and the West in general.
“Instead of making a very public and very unbecoming fuss, it was multilaterally decided that the accounts in question were to be quietly dissolved and their contents to be handed over to the respective governments, or to be monitored henceforth to pinpoint further enemy intelligence operations, kinetic and otherwise, and cut them off at the knees.

“Your country in general and the Swiss banks in particular have been passively complicit in dozens, maybe hundreds of civilian deaths since D-Day alone, and we are now demanding and extracting our…damage restitution.” He leaned back in his chair.

The two executives were white with barely suppressed anger. Schwertfeger coughed quietly.

“As I suspected. Your house has literal blood on its hands and all I can see in your faces is that you only think about how this is going to affect your bottom line. And of course, your personal bonuses. Now let us get down to brass tacks…”

Scenes like this were taking place in every single one of Switzerland’s famed banks at virtually the same time, as well as other famous tax havens. In one fell swoop, much of the Warsaw Pact’s ability to wage clandestine war behind the lines in Europe and the USA was severely curtailed.

1215 Hours GMT. Samarra East Air Base, Iraq.
Lieutenant General Mikhail Kurchatov stood on the tarmac on the Soviet side of the base, watching as two Il-76MD transport aircraft came in. Much to his surprise-and the fury of Colonel Nastin, his Chief of Staff and the senior Soviet Air Force officer in Iraq, the runways were fully lit. That wasn't the VVS' fault, as both the Iraqis and Soviets had tower operators, and the Iraqis were in charge of runway operations as well as most take-offs and landings. Both also heard the rumble of fighters, for the Il-76s had been escorted by MiG-29s, who then came into the traffic pattern themselves to land. Hopefully these MiGs were part of the air assets he had requested from Moscow, but he had no information as yet, as nothing had come from Moscow.

The first Il-76 taxied up and parked close to the General and Nastin, just as one of the MiGs came in and landed. After the rear clamshell hatch opened and the ramp came down, a VDV Major General came to him, with his divisional honour guard following. The man saluted Kurchatov and said:

“Major General Valeri Denisov, 117th Guards Air Assault Division, reporting, Comrade General.”
“Welcome to Iraq, General,” Kurchatov said, returning the salute. He introduced Colonel Nastin, then asked, “What do you have coming with you this early in the morning?”
“My Divisional Headquarters, reconnaissance company, and a company from the First Battalion, 346th Guards Air Assault Regiment.” Denisov replied. “Unfortunately, we're at a minimum when it comes to vehicles, apart from what's needed for heavy equipment and supplies.”

Kurchatov nodded. Since the division was a Mobilization-only unit, it was to be expected.

“Very good, General. And the rest of the airlift for this morning?”

He knew full well that the airlift would not go in daytime and would only go at night.

Denisov gestured to two more Il-76s that had just landed.

“The rest of the First Battalion should be here shortly, along with some of my air defence battalion and a company of ASU-85 assault guns.”

Being Guards Airborne himself, Kurchatov knew that bringing an airborne division with a minimum of heavy equipment and vehicles was still a serious undertaking. It would take a few days to bring the full division, and then he could think about where to commit them. Unless CENTCOM's X Corps had ideas... Before he could respond, a BMW four-door sedan arrived, an Iraqi flag flying from an antenna. General Tariq al-Hosseni, the Iraqi Defence Minister, got out.

“Minister,” Kurchatov saluted.
“General,” Hosseni replied with his own salute. “Congratulations on your promotion. And I see our Soviet allies have decided to join the fight.”
“That we have, Minister,” Kurchatov said, introducing General Denisov.
“Indeed. Well, is there a secure room where we can carry on this discussion? General Hamdani is relocating his headquarters from Basra to a more convenient location, since Basra may, and I emphasize may, become...untenable.”
“Of course, Minister.”


A few minutes later, in the Soviets' own secure conference room, the Soviets and Hosseni were pouring over a map of Southern Iraq, with the Iraqis' own dispositions marked, and the estimated ones for X Corps.

“Well, it took some doing, but I managed to convince President Saddam to allow a withdrawal north of the Euphrates,” Hosseni said.
“That had to have taken some effort,” Kurchatov observed.

He knew full well that Saddam often “retired” those who made suggestions that displeased him. Not unlike Stalin at times...

“It did, but if you go through Qusay?” replied Hosseni. “It works more often than not. He does have influence on his father.”
“Hmm,” Kurchatov noted. He and Nastin exchanged nods. Perhaps that can be useful later on... in Boris... But now, he got right to the point. “So, where does Hamdani want Soviet forces?”

Hosseni looked at the map. He decided on giving a brief summary before making his decision.

“Right now, with several reserve infantry divisions, and a heavy division from III Corps, Basra looks to be secure. We're moving 3rd Armored up to Kut to get them refitted, and 6th Armored is watching those Iranian dogs on their side of the border and at Faw.” Left unsaid was “Every counterattack has failed,” the Soviets noticed.
“I Guards Corps has the bulk of its forces on the north bank of the Euphrates, on both flanks of the Rumallah Causeway,” Hosseni continued, and we should have the full Corps on the north side of the river by tonight, Allah willing. At Nasiriyah, V Corps' Saladin (10th Armored) Division has crossed, with the 12th Armored now doing so. The only intact brigade from 51st Mechanized and the 54th Armored Brigade are the rearguard, and there are two infantry divisions-one Regular, one Reserve, to defend the city. Samawah has II Guards Corps either north of the river or just west of the city, along with a reserve infantry division.”

The Soviets all nodded. Nothing that they didn't know already, thanks to the advisory teams with Hamdani's headquarters as well at Corps level and below. They also knew that if the Coalition had the same airpower in theatre that had been present in 1991, the withdrawal would easily have turned into a rout, all over again. Once the sandstorm had lifted, that is. They also knew that the 10th Armored was the only full-strength division left in V Corps, while the RGFC's Adnan Division had been badly mauled, with the other RGFC divisions running at roughly 50-75% of normal. Some were capable only of defensive combat, while others, like the 1st “Hammurabi”, and the 6th “Nebuchadnezzar” Armored Divisions were still capable of offensive operations but had taken a beating. Any opportunity to refit and reorganize, with their replacement personnel and equipment north of the Euphrates, was to be taken and exploited.

Kurchatov looked at the map. His orders from Moscow were that Soviet forces were not going under Iraqi command, but he also knew that in order to do what Moscow wanted, the Soviets would have to cooperate with their allies-even with the occasional unreliability the Iraqis demonstrated.

“So where do you want Soviet forces, Minister?”

Hosseni thought for a moment, then nodded. He firmly put his finger on a town along Highway 8, but also having a bridge across the Euphrates. “Right here. Al Khidhir. The Americans could've taken it in 1991 and gotten a bridgehead across the river, but they didn't. Here, it'll be different.” He looked at the Soviets.

“Can you put your Naval Infantry and two of your airborne regiments there? How you deploy is up to you. And I'll also have some heavy armour.”

Denisov looked up from the map.

“Heavy armour?”
“Yes, a brigade from the Baghdad Division. The 53rd Armored Brigade is Hamdani's Reserve, and he hasn't yet committed it to combat. I'll have him deploy the brigade close to the town, and you can coordinate with the brigade commander when you arrive. There are two problems though.”
“And those problems, Minister, are the Fedayeen and the Quds Militia,” Kurchatov noted. Those around the table noted it wasn't a question.

Hosseni nodded.

“Unfortunately. The Army doesn't have control over them, even in the field. For General Denisov's information, the Fedayeen used to be under Uday Hussein's control, but since his...demise, a General with clan ties to President Saddam has taken over. He may report to Qusay, but that is just rumour at this point. As for the Quds Militia? They are under the Baath Party. And the head of the Party in the area has control over them. They have gotten in the way of Army operations in the south, and I wouldn't expect them to do otherwise with your forces.”
“So, our forces are to do the best we can with them around?” Nastin asked.
“I am afraid so, Colonel,” Hosseni said. “That would be the best advice I can give.”

Denisov nodded, as did Kurchatov. Then the VDV General asked:

“And my third regiment?”
“Can you put them in An Nasiriya or somewhere close? General Kurchatov has briefed me on what needs to be done, and the sooner the Americans and their lackeys encounter organized Soviet combat forces, the better.”

Though he didn't add his relief in that if the American 4th Armored Division did redeploy, his own situation, both militarily and politically, would be greatly improved. Hosseni also knew that if a counterattack was ordered by Saddam-and it likely would be-that the 4th Armored was the unit most likely to meet it if the division wasn't sent to Europe.

“We can do that, Minister,” Denisov said. He looked at Kurchatov, who nodded approval.
“Thank you, General,” Hosseni said.

Kurchatov nodded.

“Thank you, Minister.” He then looked at Denisov. “As soon as possible, talk with your counterpart at the 92nd Marine Brigade. You'll be in command at Al Khidhir, and I'll send an advisory team to act as liaison with the brigade from the Baghdad Division.” Seeing Denisov nod, he continued. “Your regiment going to An Nasiriyah? They'll work through our advisors with V Corps Headquarters. And air cover? Moscow hasn't responded yet to our requests for additional aircraft, but we do have aircraft that came from Syria. You and your men will see Soviet aircraft overhead, Denisov. One way or another.”
“Yes, Comrade General,” said Denisov. He'd been wondering about that. Fighting under an American-controlled sky was something he wasn't looking forward to.

Kurhcatov then wrapped things up.

“Right, then. Moscow's given us a task that may seem difficult at best. But let's do that best to carry it out.”

1331 hours GMT. Near Grafenwöhr, FRG.
There were few occasions that Maréchal des logis-chef Artois missed the AMX-30B2, but track maintenance was one of them. Fitting a new track to a tank like the Leclerc. The task was really a three-man job, plus the tank’s driver. Given that the Leclerc only had a three-man crew, it either meant that the crew tired themselves out doing a job that needed an extra man, or, as Artois had decided to do, the peloton would pool manpower to change the tracks on the tanks that needed it. That option was only available when units stopped for planned maintenance, however. Artois did also miss having a fourth, junior, member of the crew who could be given all the ‘dogsbody’ tasks, like making him a decent cup of coffee.

“Whoever made this la foutaise should be shot or fired out of howitzer.” Artois muttered as he drank a brown liquid that claimed to be coffee. “Preferably both.”

His Father, who had owned a café, would spin in his grave if he could but see it. As it had been served while he was attending an escadron orders group Artois had to at least make a show of drinking some of it. However, he surreptitiously poured it out into the grass while nobody was looking. He noticed one of the other peloton commanders doing the same and smiled slightly.

‘Not just me, then.’ He thought.

“We are lucky to be fighting in this part of West Germany, gentlemen, as we know it well from exercises at the American training area.” Commandant Jacques Alfonse, the chef d'escadrons, had been in the middle of saying while Artois was thinking dark thoughts about his coffee. “We certainly know it better than the Soviet and Czech troops we are facing. Our first objective will be to cut Autobahn 93, which the enemy has been using as a supply route. Once the division has consolidated its position along the autobahn, the next objective for us will be Floss.”

Alfonse continued the briefing, outlining what the rest of the regiment and division would be doing, outlining what opposition they would likely face and answering questions from the peloton commanders. As the meeting broke up, Alfonse indicated that Artois should stay for a moment.

“How are things going, chef?”
“Can’t complain, Sir. I’ve got a good bunch of lads. The guy who took over command of the Lieutenant’s tank has settled in well.” Artois replied.
“Good, good.” The chef d'escadrons commented. “Now, here’s the thing, a peloton should really be commanded by a lieutenant, rather than a chef. Even someone of your experience.”

‘Oh, here we go.’ Artois thought. ‘He’s going to parachute in some wet behind the ears enfant just out of Saint-Cyr.’

“Therefore, the Colonel has decided that you should be made an acting Lieutenant.” Alfonse said, handing over the appropriate insignia. “Normally one has to go to Saint-Cyr, but in wartime things are different. Congratulations, Lieutenant Artois.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Artois replied, slightly surprised, looking down at the insignia for a moment. “It is an honour, and I will not let you, the Colonel, or the regiment down.”
“I have every faith in you, Lieutenant.”

*

As Artois’ peloton advanced, he was reminded of a reason why he did not miss the AMX-30. While the 1èr Division Blindée had been resupplying the 12e Division Légère Blindée had continued the attack. The division, which in peacetime was a training formation, had been counter-attacked by a Soviet tank division. The counterattack had been held, but the 3e Régiment de Chasseurs, which was equipped with the AMX-30B2 Brennus and AMX-10P, had been badly hit. The regiment had effectively been put out of action. While the Brennus variant of the AMX-30B2 had reactive armour, it did little to improve the tank’s resistance to fin rounds. In order to reach the start line Artois’ peloton had to pass a number of burned out AMX-30 and AMX-10P. Many of the vehicles were still on fire and there had not been time to recover all of the bodies. It was a grim sight, but the war had to continue.

1425 hours GMT. SHAPE (Forward), near Mons, Belgium.
General Sumner had been glad that he had been able to borrow a MV-22B Osprey from the US Marines. It had allowed him to fly directly from his own headquarters at Kolsås in Norway to SHAPE (Forward).

“Afternoon, Nick, good to see you.” DSACEUR, General Alexander said, as Sumner emerged from the Osprey. “General Baker is just finishing up a conference call with the NAC. He’ll join us in a moment.”
“Good to see you, Tom.” Sumner replied. “Never envy him that. Too many people asking too many idiotic questions.”

DSACEUR chuckled.

“Come on, let’s get a decent brew while we’re waiting.”

*

“Good afternoon, General Sumner, sorry to drag you all this way in person.” General Baker said a while later. “Did you get that Soviet railway gun, by the way?”
“Yes, Sir, we did. Additional aerial recce, and air strike by the Swedes and two HIMARS did the job nicely. Thank you for the additional resources. Seems a pity really, given the historical nature of the gun.”

SACEUR grunted.

“I’m not sure the Finns would see it the same way.” He commented. “Anyway, that’s not why I asked you to fly down here. I want to ask about LION and don’t want to trust our conversation to even a secure link. How close are you to being ready?”
“The last assets are in place; I just need permission to go. I’m confident that the Soviets have not noticed the movement of marine forces to southern Norway. The major amphibious ships are still up north, as are enough marine units to make it look like they are all still there. However, the longer we delay the chances grow that the Soviets spot the landing craft we have assembled in southern Norway and Sweden. Somebody is also bound to notice that the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions are not where they are supposed to be. LION is like OVERLORD. The longer we delay, the greater the chances of failure.” Sumner replied.
“What do you rate the chances of success?”
“Seventy-five to eighty percent, but then, I am conservative.”

Baker thought for a moment.

“If I give the order now, how long until you have boots on the ground?”
“Well, if I can send the codeword from here, Sir, troops from the Southern Force will start to land on Zealand in the early hours of tomorrow morning.”

SACEUR looked down at a document that contained the Order of Battle for LION while he made his final decision. [2]

“The order is given, General Sumner. If there is anything else you need over and above what you have asked for already, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Sir. I believe we have everything we need. However, I may need to request additional air support at short notice. Can my air commander contact COMAAFCE directly for that?”
“Of course.”
“Other thing is that comes to mind, Sir, is that if things go pear shaped, I may need to request reinforcements from your reserve in a hurry.” Sumner said.
“Send any requests directly to me, or General Alexander if I’m unavailable.” Baker replied. “You’ll get what you need.”

*

The codeword ‘UMBRELLA’, a word randomly chosen by a computer, was broadcast from SHAPE (Forward) to HQAFNORTH and all units involved in Operation LION. Over the next few hours troops began to board aircraft and landing craft alongside supplies, heavy equipment and vehicles. Standing fighter patrols were reinforced to make sure no enemy reconnaissance aircraft detected the preparations. Moreover, an ASM-135B ASAT equipped F-15C took off from CFB Goose Bay in Newfoundland. It’s target, a Soviet reconnaissance satellite that would pass over the area where LION was due to take place. To distract Soviet air defences a C-17A flying over southern Germany released a large number of decoys from its rear cargo hatch. The decoys would simulate a large air raid and when combined with radar and communications jamming, and chaff corridors, the Soviets would hopefully be totally confused.

Even with all of the careful preparations, LION would still be something of a gamble. A lot of military planners at SHAPE would have liked to have waited longer. Perhaps not launching it until the situation in West Germany had stabilised. However, an opportunity to liberate a NATO capital city could not be ignored.

***

[1] Essentially what in @ became the AIM-174B Gunslinger

[2] LION Order of Battle:

Southern Force
COMLANDZEALAND
- (US) 82nd Airborne Division (+)
-- Canadian Airborne Regiment
Amphibious Group
- (UK) 41 Commando, RMR (+)
-- (TO) Company, Royal Tongan Marines
-- (TO) Company, Royal Tongan Marines
- (NL) 2nd Amphibious Combat Group, RNMC (+)
-- (SE) Company, 5th Amphibian Battalion
- (DE) 1. Seebataillon
- (DK) Detachment, Frømandskorpset
Follow On Force
- (DK) 1st Zealand Brigade (+)
-- (SE) Armoured Squadron
- (DK) 2nd Zealand Brigade
- 8th Canadian Brigade Group

Northern Force
COMSONOR
Airmobile Group
- (US) 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) (-)(+)
-- (SE) Airmobile Infantry Brigade 12
-- (SE) Army Aviation Brigade 1
- (US) 10th Armoured Cavalry Regiment (Light)
II MEF
- (DK) Detachment, Frømandskorpset
- (US) 2nd Marine Division (-)(+)
-- (UK/NL) 3 Command Brigade (+)
- (DK) 3rd Zealand Brigade
- (SE) 13. Division
-- Artillery Regiment 3
-- Panzer Brigade 8
-- Panzer Brigade 9 (from Western Military Area)
-- Mechanized Brigade 15 (from Western Military Area)

Reserve
- (FR) 11e Division Parachutiste (-)
- (SE) 3. Division
-- Artillery Regiment 2
-- Infantry Brigade 17
-- Infantry Brigade 45
-- Infantry Brigade 47

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[Eaglenine2]

Nice update
Eh question The VDV division what the mission plan for it?

[jemhouston]

Towards the end of the B-1 production run, Rockwell was pushing for another 100 plane build, this group equipped with AWG-9 radar and 24 Phoenix missiles for NORAD. That might producing the transport stream.

I swear in my B-47/B-52 book, there's a drawing of B-47 with a radar dome on it for NORAD. That was equipped with missiles also.

[James1978]

Good chapter.

The KGB chairman is not a happy man.

I'd be shocked if the Office of Naval Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence Agency can't figure out what the Soviets did.
As far as the boys in the basement, I wonder how much longer that Admiral is going to be able to keep his personal red team F-15 pilot and company grade Ranger officer before someone decides they'd make great replacements.

About that scene in Zurich. Are the Germans acting on behalf of NATO in seizing those accounts, or are they planning to keep all the money for themselves?

Always nice to see the French!

So, uhh, as far as LION and the US 2nd Marine Division, were they able to sneak both 2nd and 4th MEB down south?

Edit to add: I'd still love to know how the Soviets got that railway gun so close to Helinki in the first place.

Keep up the good work!

[James1978]

Now that the TU-22DP has been canonically mentioned/theorized . . .

We're talking about something that had been theorized in fiction and war games since, what, the late 1970s to mid 1980s? And NATO intel might have caught wind of an actual Tu-22M2 based program in the 1980s. And then . . . nothing, for 15 years.

During the TTW, I'm sure that intel folks were on the lookout for an A2A Backfire, and held their breath when the shooting started that Ivan didn't sneak one past them. And then . . . nothing, for over 30 days. I think that once no A2A Backfires appeared in the opening rounds, there was a collective sigh of relief and everyone moved on to more urgent matters. After all, Ivan has had over 15 years to build an A2A Backfire. Surely if they'd have built the thing, they'd have used it. Surely. So, no, I'm not going to castigate the folks running the Air Bridge.

In TLWverse, the current production version of the Tu-22M is the Tu-22M4. I'm guessing that any Tu-22DP is based on the Tu-22M4.
Based on the raid staged out of Adak, the Tu-22M4 has an unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,400mi (3,862km)

The boys in the Pentagon basement think they're dealing with something with at least a 1,000nm combat radius. That's 1,150mi / 1,852km.

For the sake of discussion, I'm using Yelizovo air base on Kamchatka as my start point.

This is what 1,000nm (1,852km) from Yelizovo looks like:

Yelizovo (1,000nm).jpg

This is what 2,400mi (3,862km) from Yelizovo looks like:

Tu-22DP - 3,860km (a).jpg

The three paths, from North to South are:
* McChord AFB => Yokota
* Travis AFB => Yokota
* Hickam AFB => Yokota


When the A2A Backfire never showed up in the first few days, the MiG-31 probably became the reference threat. There, we're looking at a subsonic combat radius of 1,400km. Let's look at how that compares to 3,860km.

MiG-31 vs. Tu-22DP.jpg

So if the Air Bridge was running (mostly) outside of the MiG-31s subsonic combat radius and we account for the USAF/JASDF BARCAP as you get closer to Japan, then everyone was doing their job and nobody is getting reassigned to Thule or Shemya.

I can't seem to add any more attachments, but if anyone thinks that anything once mooted in Jane's or Aviation Leak and Space Mythology, but never seen in the wild, is what the route of the Air Bridge should have been based on, let me know.

[Matt Wiser]

A new chapter! Nicely done, and BZ as usual, my friend. Always glad to help out. So to business:


Comrade Putin is very unhappy to say the least. Some people are going to be lucky just by being shot. No doubt he'll find more suspects and have them subjected to "Rigorous Interrogation" before they are shot... The Comrade Chairman will also have a fit when he finds out the frozen money has been moved into NATO hands.

Getting ready to hit Zealand beaches. The big questions are how big a fight is it going to be, and what can the Soviets do about it?

I see the Tu-22DP has finally been mentioned.. By the way, I have those same rules. Nobody at Scott, Yokota, or McGuire is going to be shoveling snow at Thule anytime soon. They were doing their jobs based on the information available to them.

The Soviet airborne and Naval Infantry in Iraq have one mission: force CENTCOM to keep the 4th Armored in-theater. Setting things up so that a unit from the Gulf States gets a beating at the hands of the Soviets will make them scream high, loud, and repeatedly for 4th AD to stay.

As James said, good to see the French in action.

Good work again, and get started with 387!

[clancyphile]

A Harpoon rule book providing the answer!

Love it!

[Eaglenine2]

Question does French Armored Squadrons kept their Protection platoons mounted on VABs?

[Jotun]

About that scene in Zurich. Are the Germans acting on behalf of NATO in seizing those accounts, or are they planning to keep all the money for themselves?

I may not have been succinct enough, it is not only ze Germans who turn up at various banks in various places with dodgy tax laws...