The Last War? : Chapter 395

[Bernard Woolley]

D+34

*

0011 hours GMT, 26th May. LÉ Orla, the Celtic Sea, off Cork.
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Sherry, Irish Naval Service was glad to be back at sea. His ship, the Peacock class Offshore Patrol Vessel, LÉ Orla (formerly the Royal Navy's HMS Swift) had recently spent a few days at the Haulbowline Naval Base, refitting and resupplying. But now, it was back at sea, taking up duties with NATO's Irish Sea Escort Force (ISEF).

*

The job of the ISEF was to protect merchant vessels using the Irish Sea to travel between the Republic of Ireland, the UK and France. It was split into two parts, the Northern Group (NORGRP), led by the Royal Navy, and the Southern Group (SOGRP), led by the Irish Naval Service. The RN would have rather commanded both groups itself, or given command to the Marine Nationale, as the INS had no experience of this sort of operation. However, now that Ireland was in NATO, political considerations meant that the country had to be allowed to have at least one multi-national command. Although, overall command of the ISEF lay with an RN commodore. [1]
The command staff for SOGRP had been drawn from the Naval Operations Command, with the captain who was Officer Commanding Naval Operations Command in appointed as Commander, Southern Group. The RN had used the staff and commander of its Northern Ireland Squadron, reinforced by personnel from elsewhere, as the command staff for the NORGRP. [2] The ISEF was primarily an Anglo-Irish organisation, although MN warships were rotated in and out of the Southern Group. Moreover, desipte the SOGRP being Irish led, there were almost as many British vessels assigned as Irish ones. The Irish Naval Service had struggled to provide enough ships to the group. With LÉ Eithne operating in the North Atlantic and the two vessels of the Róisín Class protecting the west coast of Ireland, that only left five vessels, which generally meant that three ships were available at any time. [3]

There was also the fact that the ships of the INS were not really suitable for the job of protecting merchant ships from the sort of threat they faced in the Irish Sea. They had, for example, no sonars (the only Irish ship so equipped was Eithne), or ASW weapons. The INS also had no mine warfare capability. Indeed, it was only around a month ago that the entire INS had been trapped in Haulbowline by Soviet mines. It had needed RN MCMV to clear the minefield. The government had ordered that a MCM capability be established, but that would take time, training and additional manpower. Thankfully, The RN and MN had enough warships available to take up the slack. The RN had assigned the elderly frigate HMS Hermione, and the corvettes HMS Loch Tarbert and the newly repaired HMS Pevensey Castle, along with the brand new OPV HMS Tamar. The last mentioned vessel was the last of the Batch 2 Tyne Class, and had been modified while fitting out. She had gained a hull mounted sonar and a Thinline towed array. The towed array needed a VDS system to get it to depth, which meant she could no longer land on a helicopter, though could still carry out HIFR. [4] The French had added MN Drogou and MN Commandant Bouan; though other MN ships did rotate in and out.

*

Today Orla was joining the escort of a convoy formed of ships that sailed from Dublin Port and Rosslare Harbour bound for Rotterdam. The escort group would take the merchant ships out into the Celtic Sea before handing over to other vessels in the western English Channel. The convoy escort was unusual in that it had more than one Irish naval vessel, the other being the elderly LÉ Aisling. HMS Tamar and MN Commandant Bouan completed the escort group. As the ship with the best command facilities, Orla would take over as senior escort once she joined the convoy.

“Vessel coming up to port, Sir.” The Officer Of the Watch reported.

Sherry was about to raise his binoculars, but there was no mistaking the approaching vessel – one of the Royal Navy's Black Swan Class MCM(H). He raised his binoculars and was able to read the pennant number M48, HMS Amethyst, the vessel he had visited some time back. She was evidently carrying out another 'route surveillance' sweep.

“Officer Of the Watch, send her our greetings and wish Amethyst luck.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”

A couple of moments her reply came back: 'Nice to see you again. Good luck to you too.'

*

Some distance to the south the ageing Tango class SSK, B-515, had been slowly moving north. He had been assigned the job of laying mines in the St. George's Channel. Replacing some that had been destroyed by RN MCMV. While most of his weapons load was made up of mines, he also had a few TEST-71 torpedoes, for self-defence and in case he came across any suitable ship targets. A patrolling Nimrod from RAF St. Mawgan had briefly detected B-515, but had lost him in difficult sonar conditions.

Running ahead of the convoy, Tamar had detected B-515 on her towed sonar array. She had summoned a Nimrod and an RN Merlin HM.1 was on its way from RAF Chivenor. Lt. Commander Sherry had ordered the convoy to turn away from the submarine. He would rather avoid contact with the Tango, leaving prosecuting it to other assets.

*

“Convoy commodore signalling, Sir.” The OOW reported. “He's concerned about the suspected submarine.”
“He's not the only one.” Sherry muttered under his breath. “Tell him we are monitoring its position and will keep him informed.” He ordered.

It was at times like this that Sherry wished that the Irish Naval Service had invested in even basic ASW weapons. He was of the opinion that his ship could have mounted at least one set of torpedo tubes aft. As it was only Tamar and Commandant Bouan had any ASW capability.

“Message from COMSOGRP, Sir, we are to detach Tamar and Commandant Bouan to join the hunt for the suspected submarine.”
“Acknowledge the message and request information on any other suspected submarines in the area.” Sherry ordered. “Copy the message to Commander, Western Approaches (South).
“Aye, aye, Sir.”

Sherry could not help but feel uneasy. Once the British and French escorts had departed, the convoy would not have any ships capable to detecting hostile submarines. Copying his response to COMWA(S) was a small act of rebellion. Perhaps the British admiral would overrule an order that he felt was unwise.

0135 hours. H.Q Joint Forces New Zealand, Trentham Military Camp.
The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand (COMJFNZ), Major General William 'Bill' Sykes, wondered if the commanders of the elements of the NZDF thought that there were unlimited resources back home. Take the latest message to cross his desk for example:

'From: Commander New Zealand Forces, East Timor
'To: H.Q JFNZ
'Subject: Reinforcements

'Request that in addition to recently received Battle Casualty Replacements, that at least one (1) additional reinforced infantry company, one (1) Hamel Gun battery & an additional Troop each of engineers, signals, logistics and health services. Additional MPs also requested to reinforce existing detachment. Also need at least twelve (12) personnel for Kiwi Troop of Ambrose Squadron.'

It was a short message, but the brigadier who served as Land Component Commander (New Zealand) had passed it on to Sykes. Any decision to send the requested reinforcements would need to come from him, although he would probably need to check with Chief of Army. At least, that was, if he agreed to the requests. Which he was not about to, at least not in full.
Where did Colonel Royle think he was going to find a reinforced infantry company going spare? He could probably form one from 5th Land Forces Group, but that would leave it at cadre strength when it came to infantry. And a Hamel Gun Battery? There was only one of them left spare and it was a toss up as to whether 2, or 3 Brigade would get it. The only other battery to have any L119 was the newly established training battery, which had a couple of them, plus some 25pdrs and mortars. The only other operational artillery batteries in the New Zealand Army had 81mm mortars. Additional L119 had been requested from Australia, but would not be delivered for quite some time.
Sykes was certainly not about to tap the army's Strategic Reserve (he would need CDF permission for that anyway). It represented the last real deployable force within the New Zealand Army and was not to be frittered away. [5] He did wonder what on earth Colonel Royle needed all the additional combat power for. The Indonesian forces in Timor had been defeated. The Australians, New Zealanders and Indians were now in the process of clearing up, which would explain the need for more engineers, logistics support and medics. But extra infantry, gunners and tankies? It did not make a great deal of sense.

Picking up the message, Sykes made his way to the office of the Land Component Commander. He knocked on his door and entered.

“Need a quick chat with you, Mike. A couple of things I need to ask you.” He said.
“I'll do my best, Sir.” Brigadier Michael Rose, LCC(NZ) replied. “Please sit down. Can I get you a coffee?”
“I'm fine thanks; had quite enough caffeine for a lifetime.” COMJFNZ said. “It's about this message from Andy Rose. Have we missed some up-tick of violence in Timor that needs all the combat power, or is he doing the classic thing of asking for the Moon when he only needs a fraction of what he's asked for?”
“I think it's the latter, Sir.” Rose opined. “He probably does need more Battle Casualty Replacements for his infantry, artillery battery and Kiwi Troop, but nothing like he's asked for. I would say he will need more engineers, loggies, medics and MPs, though.”
“I see. I shall leave the details in your hands and that of your staff, Mike, but he gets no more than 75 additional infantrymen, maximum, and he can whistle for an extra Hamel Gun battery. We're a bit short of engineers too, the ones we have left are training new engineers. We can send him the others though.”
“He won't like it, Sir.”

Sykes snorted.

“He can join the queue! The Commander of the Strategic Reserve has let me know that the O.C of I Company from the 3rd/1st is miffed we took away all but two of his NZLAV and gave them to the Wellington Mounted Rifles Company we're sending to South Korea. The Commander of our forces in the KTO wants us to send him a couple of air force C-130s. He doesn't seem to have noticed that all but two of our Hercules are already deployed, and that we need those aircraft at home! I'm also supposed to pull more Hornets and Skyhawks out of my rear end! The navy will be asking for a missile cruiser next!”

COMJFNZ made to get up, but remembered one other thing.

“Have you seen the list of additional Key Points we're supposed to guard?”

Brigadier Rose nodded.

“We don't have the personnel to cover all of the existing ones properly, never mind these new ones, unless we cripple the training programme and use instructors and new recruits! Some of the K.Ps are not exactly what I would call 'Key' either. It's like the Minister has listened to every M.P who thinks their local petrol station needs to be guarded by a platoon of infantrymen! At least the air force and navy are taking most of the responsibility for their own K.Ps!”
“I think we need to make more use of the Home Guard, Sir.” Rose offered.

Sykes nodded.

“We'll have to, even if at least half of them won't have anything more lethal than a pickaxe handle. Irony is that the rural units, where there are fewer K.Ps, are better armed because a lot of them are farmers. I also hate having to justify why the Home Guard company guarding the Beehive and the surrounding area is almost as well equipped as the regulars. The government district is an obvious target and we need well equipped troops to guard it! At least that's something most of the politicians don't moan about.”

COMJFNZ got to his feet to leave.

“I want to get everyone together in two hours time to do a bit of brainstorming over our issues.” He said. “I'll see you then, Mike.”

0228 hours GMT. HMAS Kanimbla, the southern Philippine Sea.
Task Force SPEAR had turned away south from its patrol area to meet a large Australian/New Zealand convoy. The convoy was carrying the equipment for the Australian 4th Armoured Regiment and the 3/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment battle group, plus spare parts, ammunition and POL for the 3rd Brigade now in South Korea. At the centre of the convoy was HMNZS Gallipoli (L421), which carried the convoy commodore. The convoy had three RNZN escorts, HMNZS Leander (F75), HMNZS Taupo (P420), HMNZS Hawea (P422) and the replenishment ship HMNZS Endeavour (A11), plus two RAN frigates, HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06) and HMAS Paramatta (FFH 154). However, it was considered important enough that TF SPEAR would provide it with more than just distant cover.

Some changes in the formation of escorts had been needed once the convoy had rendezvoused with TF SPEAR. For example, Taupo and Hawea had moved out to the edge of the combined group, so that they could best operate their Thinline towed sonar arrays. The various frigates had taken up new positions around the high-value ships, while the destroyer HMAS Voyager was now ahead of Kanimbla.

*

Rear-Admiral George Johansen studied HMNZS Gallipoli as she moved into position to starboard of his flagship. One of her SH-2G(NZ) was visible on her flight deck, as was one of the NH-90 she was transporting to South Korea. He admitted to being slightly envious of his Kiwi counterpart, as Gallipoli had proper Flag accommodation, while that aboard Kanimbla was austere. Johansen's cabin was pretty bare with a rather basic, narrow bunk. Not at all what one might expect for an admiral.

“I'm glad they picked some fast merchies for the convoy.” He remarked. “We've got a lot of ocean to cross before we reach Busan and I'd rather get there as soon as possible.”

Johansen turned back to the Flag Plot.

“What's the latest intelligence on hostile subs?”
“There are at least half a dozen Soviet submarines suspected to be operating in the Philippine and China Seas, Sir. There are an unknown number of North Korean coastal submarines operating in the Yellow Sea, which could theoretically threaten us. The Japanese and South Koreans are working a couple of contacts, so the numbers we face could be reduced shortly.” Johansen's Flag Lieutenant replied.
“Well, let's not assume that.” Johansen told his staff. “I want to keep the convoy's speed up and make regular course changes. We're not going to make ourselves an easy target.
“Would be nice to have still had those Seppo Harriers, but we just can't support them for any length of time. However, I have requested some Harriers be detached to us when we're closer to Okinawa. We should get either Marine AV-8B, or JMSDF Chuhi.”
“The Chuchis are two-seaters, Sir.” The Kanimbla's Commander (Air) observed. “However, we've got plenty of room on the flight-deck. I just need to prepare my team to deal with larger aircraft.”

Johansen nodded in agreement.

“They probably won't fit on the lifts, but that shouldn't be an issue, as we'll keep them on alert on the flight-deck.” He declared.

*

Lieutenant Croft slowed his Merlin HM.51 down until it matched the speed of HMNZS Hawea. Croft's helicopter needed to refuel and the New Zealand vessel was the nearest. However, as the installation of a towed sonar array meant that he could not land on. Instead he would need to HIFR – Helicopter In Flight Refuelling.

“Left two.” Sub-Lieutenant Fleming said from the left-hand seat. “Hold it.”
“Roger.” Croft replied.

A messenger line was lowered from the Merlin down to the waiting sailors on Hawea, who attached it to a refuelling hose. The hose was hauled aboard the helicopter and plugged in. Croft felt the Merlin get heavier as fuel began to flow and he compensated to stop it from sinking. Once the fuelling was finished, the processed was reversed, with the hose being lowered on the messenger line. Once the line was back aboard Croft's helicopter and the door closed, he climbed away. Hawea had detected a sub-surface contact on her sonar and Croft had been given the task of investigating it further.

It took about ten minutes to fly to the approximate location of the contact. The Merlin dropped a pattern of sonobuoys to triangulate the position of the suspected submarine, followed by using its dipping sonar to get an exact position.

“Odd, she's not evading, but slowly moving away from us.” Sub-Lieutenant James 'Jimmy' Swanson, the Sensor Operator, said from the rear cabin. “I should have a class ID in a moment. Need you to reposition, Lara.”
“Got it, Jimmy.” Croft replied. “Just tell me where.”

The helicopter repositioned and Swanson lowered the dipping sonar again. He listened for a few minutes.

“Those stupid, silly b*stards!” He exclaimed.
“What have you got, Jimmy?” Croft asked.
“It's a Chinese Song class diesel boat, I'm sure of it.” Swanson replied. “Quiet sod, but not quiet enough.”
“I see what you mean by stupid b*stards!” Croft agreed. “They could have gotten themselves sunk!”

He thought for a moment.

“We've got some scare charges on board. Charlie, you up for dropping a few of them?” He asked the Petty Officer, Charlie Watts, who was the other rear crewman.
“Absolutely, Boss. Just put me above the silly b*gger and I'll do the rest.”
“Good man, I'll let Voyager know what we're doing.”

The scare charges were essentially large hand-grenades that were usually used during exercises, or like now, to let a submarine it had been detected and hopefully scare it off. The convoy could do without a PLAN submarine lurking near it, risking causing confusion.

Croft brought the Merlin to the hover above the last detected location of the Song class. The PO opened the port door, leaned out and dropped two scare charges. The charges sank for a new meters before detonating.

“Oh, she certainly heard those all right!” Swanson reported. “She's accelerating and moving off.”
“Give me a vector, Jimmy.” Croft said. “We'll drop a couple more just to be sure. You okay with that, Charlie?”
“No worries, Boss.”

Croft repositioned the Merlin again so that it was slightly ahead of the Song. Watts dropped a second pair of charges and Croft climbed away to allow Swanson to monitor things via the sonobuoys.

“She's coming up, Lara!” Swanson exclaimed. “Might see her in a moment.”

Croft slaved the Merlin's turret to the approximate location of the submarine. After a moment a stick like object appeared. A smoke float appeared on the surface a few seconds later.

“She's acknowledging the detection.” Croft remarked.

As he watched, the periscope disappeared.

“She's diving again, but moving off.” Swanson reported.
“Looks like she got the message.” Croft observed. “We'll keep an eye on her for a bit yet, just in case her captain decides to get a bit adventurous again.”

0246 hours GMT. Islington, Christchurch. New Zealand.
Captain George Maddocks, the Officer Commanding B Company, Christchurch Battalion (Canterbury and West Coast Regiment), New Zealand Home Guard, stepped out of the elderly re-manufactured Land Rover Series IIA (known as a 'Skippy' in New Zealand) after it had stopped by the entrance to the electrical sub-station. The sub-station was one of two that supplied Christchurch with electricity and was thus a vital part of the city's infrastructure. Until today it had only been guarded by a couple of civilian security guards, two police officers and a section of eight soldiers from the 2nd Canterbury and West Coast Battalion Group. Those Territorial soldiers were now being withdrawn, as they were needed to train new recruits and being replaced by members of the Home Guard.

*

Like most of the New Zealand Home Guard, the Christchurch Battalion was short of everything, from uniforms, to boots to firearms. It did, at least, benefit from being able to use the facilities at the nearby Burnham Camp to train. Interestingly, some of the battalion's outlying sub-units based in the rural area to the west of Christchurch were better armed than those in the city. The reason being that there were more gun owners in the country, who were armed with their own weapons. Ironically, that meant that priority for issuing of military weapons had gone to the urban sub-units. Maddocks' company of one-hundred and fifty, for example, had fifty Lee-Enfield No.4 rifles and four Mark III Sten guns, which were in remarkably good condition. As only part of the company was on duty at any one time, it was not quite as bad as it seemed. Although, some Home Guards still had to be armed with pickaxe handles in lieu of anything else.

*

Captain Maddocks returned the salute of the corporal who commanded the section of Territorial soldiers, after the latter had opened the pedestrian gate to the sub-station. Satisfied with the captain's identity, the corporal radioed for the main vehicle gate to be opened. The Land Rover drove through, followed by a pair of equally elderly Bedford RL lorries. Maddocks followed the corporal to the extemporised Command Post they had set up inside the main building. As usual when on duty he felt rather self-conscious wearing an old khaki holster that contained a Webley Mk IV revolver. He felt it made him look like Captain Mainwaring from Dad's Army. He was even called George!
Maddocks was also not really convinced that he was particularly proficient with the revolver. He had been issued with fourteen rounds of .38/200 ammunition along with the weapon and had been informed that was all the ammunition he would get for some time. Maddocks had fired four rounds to get a feel of the Webley, leaving him with ten rounds. Not even enough for a full reload. When he had asked for a speed-loader, the sergeant issuing the revolver had chuckled and said “calm down, Dirty Harry!” [6]

“I've lived in Christchurch all my life, Corporal and I didn't realise that the Islington sub-station was this big!”
“Yeah, it's big all right, Sir.” The JNCO agreed. “I'm not sure how anybody thought that eight of us, plus two coppers and a couple of security guards could hope to cover this place!”

Maddocks, the Corporal, along with the platoon commander and platoon sergeant from the platoon that had been assigned guard duty for this shift were looking at a map of the sub-station.

“You've basically got responsibility for everything bordered by Brunner Street to the east, Pound Road to the west, Roberts Road to the north and Moffett Street, Mortlake Street and the trading estate to the south. The pylons beyond Pound Road are someone else's problem.” The Corporal continued. “We'll be taking most of our kit with us, Sir.” The Territorial Corporal said. “But, we'll leave the sandbags and other defence stores, and we've been authorised to leave a pair of Bren guns. They're in .303, by the way.”
“Well, at least its mostly open space to the west.” Maddocks observed. “I appreciate you leaving the stores and Brens, Corporal.”
“I've only got twenty men, Sir, not including myself and Sergeant Wallace.” The lieutenant who was the platoon commander pointed out.
“I'm well aware, Norman.” The Captain replied. “You'll just have to do the best you can. I'd base yourself and Sergeant Wallace here along with one section in reserve. Have another section guard the entrances. That leaves your other two sections free for mobile patrols; I'll send you a couple of more vehicles for that and you can keep the 'Skippy'.”

Lieutenant Norman Phillips, who had been picked for the job because he had served in the City of Christchurch Cadet Unit when he was younger, looked at the map before replying. He remembered being given a problem for he and his fellow cadets to solve when on an officer's course that was remarkably similar to this one. How to guard an important facility with only limited resources. Thinking about it, he could not see any faults with the Captain's suggestions.

“Works for me, Sir. If you can spare any further bodies, I would appreciate it, but I'm sure we'll manage.”
“Good stuff.” Maddocks replied. He turned to the one of the two cops, who had been silent so far. “Senior Constable, can you carry on doing what you were already doing?”

The Senior Constable nodded.

“No worries, Captain. We're basically here to nick anyone who trespasses on the site. We've got firearms locked up in our car, but we would need to radio for permission to arm.”
“That sounds fine.” Maddocks replied. “Any comments, Sergeant Wallace?”

Sergeant James 'Jim' Wallace, was the only man in the platoon with any real military experience. He had served as a regular soldier in the infantry. At 50, he was also the oldest man in the platoon.

“Like Lieutenant Phillips said, I would like more bodies, but we know that's not going to happen. I'd also like something more modern than a Sten Gun as my personal weapon, but that's also not going to happen, Sir. We need to control the entrances to the site, patrol its perimeter, while also keeping a reserve as a QRF. Your plan works for that.”
“Right, I'll leave you to get on with things. Last thing you need is me looking over your shoulder.” Maddocks declared. “If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact Company H.Q. Good luck, gentlemen.”

*

The dog walker, who had once been a kayaker called Cath, paused to watch the military vehicles depart from the sub-station site. She recognised the leading vehicle as a Unimog, followed by two elderly, wheezing, Befords. Walking on a little further, she could see down Ohau Drive to the entrance of the sub-station. She could see that there were now four soldiers with long rifles guarding the gate. On her previous walks she had only ever seen two soldiers at the gate, armed with F88s. The dog walker did not recognise the rifles of the new arrivals, but did notice that they had wooden furniture. That meant they were old. Her 'husband' would know more.

*

“Nice walk, Love?” The dog walker's 'husband' asked, once she had hung up her coat and fed the dog.
“Yes, thanks.” She replied. “The guards at the sub-station have changed and there are more of them.”
“Hmm. That may complicate things. Tell me about them.”

The dog walker described all she had seen, including the rifles. Her husband listened and then went off to find a history book. He flipped through the pages before finding a photograph of some New Zealand Army infantrymen from the Korean War.

“Did the rifles they had look like these?” He asked his 'wife'.

She nodded.

“Looks like it.”

Her 'husband' smiled and chuckled slightly.

“Those are Lee-Enfield rifles from the Last War. Means those soldiers you saw are Home Guards. They'll have minimal training compared to the Territorials who were guarding the sub-station before. As it happens, Davo from work has been at me to join them, even though we're both under thirty. What do you think, love?”

The dog walker thought for a moment.

“Sounds like a great idea. Our covers are strong enough to deal with any background checks and joining would strengthen our identities as patriotic Kiwis.” She replied. “Do they take women?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let's both join. If we're lucky, maybe we'll get assigned to one of our targets.”

0301 hours GMT. Mariel, Artemisa Province, Cuba.
The town from where in 1980, some 125,000 Cubans had left for the United States was now on fire. The 24th Infantry Division, now part of the Ejército Libre Cubano, or Free Cuban Army, supported by elements of the Mexican Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas (Parachute Riflemen Brigade) had advanced into Mariel. It faced fierce opposition from a polyglot force made up of elements of the 26th of July Division, Airborne Brigade, and both Cuban militia forces, the Milicias de Tropas Territoriales and Milicias Nacionales Revolucionarias.
Despite now being outnumbered by the ELC, the Cuban Revolutionary Army, or at least the part of its still loyal to Raúl Castro, was still fighting hard. The Western Army and now parts of the Central Army had gone over to the República Libre de Cuba (Free Republic of Cuba). The Eastern Army was still effectively neutral, as was the Cuban Revolutionary Navy. The Revolutionary Army Command, on the other hand, was still loyal to the Castro regime, as was much of the militia in the region surrounding Havana. [7]

*

The commander of the 24th Infantry Division lowered his binoculars and turned away from Mariel. He had spent his childhood in the city and had tears in his eyes.

“They would rather burn Mariel to the ground, than admit they are defeated, Colonel.” He said to the senior Mexican Army officer attached to headquarters. “We outnumber them, but the men of the 26th of July Division and the Airborne Brigade are better trained and equipped than mine. Their T-90s, for example, have made short work of any of our T-62s that have had the misfortune to get within range.”
“How can I help, Sir?” The Mexican officer asked.
“I need Close Air Support and I need you to make the artillery support they are getting go away, or at least suppress it. Can you do that?”

The Colonel nodded.

“My Forward Air Controllers are in touch with a number of aircraft. I can get you Close Air Support immediately. Dealing with the artillery may take a little longer, but we will get it done.”

*

Two USAF aircraft from the 162nd TAAS, an OA-7K and an A-7D, were orbiting to the west of the battlefield. The two-seater K model Corsair II carried a Forward Air Controller, while the D model was there to provide cover, although it too was armed with smoke rockets to mark targets. Once the Brazilian FAC on the ground made contact with the OA-7K, its back-seater started co-ordinating the dispatch of aircraft, handing them off to the ground FAC once they were closer to their targets. The first aircraft in were Força Aérea Brasileira A-1, followed by USAF F-16 and USN F/A-18. Finding the artillery that was supporting the Castro loyalists would take a little longer.

*

The pair of F-24A 'Mustang II' were circling to the east of Mariel. Their combination of advanced sensors and stealth made them ideal aircraft to search for the troublesome artillery.
At the height that he was flying his aircraft, Lieutenant Carlin knew that he would not be visible from the ground, unless someone just happened to focus a pair of powerful binoculars on the two F-24s, which was unlikely. However, he remained alert to any potential threats from ground defences.

“Gotcha.” Carlin muttered, spotting flashes below him.

He marked the position of the artillery battery and used the aircraft's data-link to pass the information on. While Carlin and his wingman continued their hunt, a flight of navy reserve A-6E barrelled in, dropping a load of CBU-78/B cluster bombs on the battery of 2A36 152mm towed howitzers.

Neither of the F-24A pilots witnessed the secondary explosions from the attack, they were too busy marking two more howitzer batteries and one equipped with the Luna-M rocket. While they directed some navy reserve F-14B to attack the two howitzer batteries, they attacked the rocket battery themselves. The Cubans had positioned the Luna-M so that hitting them with unguided bombs, or even the larger LGBs that the 'Bombcats' were carrying, would risk civilian casualties. On the other hand, the GBU-39/B that the Mustang II were carrying would keep that to a minimum.

Some AAA was now being fired into the air, as the Cuban defenders had guessed that something was guiding the attacks on their artillery. However, it was blind firing and nowhere near the Carlin and his wingman. Six Luna-M had been identified below the two F-24A and a single Small Diameter Bomb was assigned to each launcher. Once they had dropped their weapons, Carlin led the other F-24A on a wide loop around in case a re-attack was necessary. However, none was necessary. Although, one SDB had failed to detonate, it had still smashed into its target, destroying it.

Both aircraft still had weapons and fuel, so it was time to search for new targets. And even when the former were expended, so long as the pair still had the latter, they could still contribute to the mission before having to return to base to rearm.

*

The ELC soldiers in Mariel almost immediately felt the effects of both the Close Air Support and the suppression of the enemy's artillery. The CAS had a particularly bad effect on the members of the two militias, who fell back in some disarray from the positions they held. The soldiers of the 24th Infantry Division and the Mexican Paratroopers immediately took advantage of the gaps in the defences, and outflanked many of the defenders who remained. The Castro Loyalists were forced to fall back before they were cut-off, withdrawing to the east of Mariel. Unfortunately, the 24th Infantry Division was not able to pursue effectively, its soldiers were exhausted and it needed to resupply and reorganise.

To the south the 70th Mechanised Division, which had just taken Artemisa, found itself being counter-attacked by an unexpected enemy – the Soviet Brigade, reinforced by elements of the 90th Mechanised Division. The Soviets, unobserved by American forces, had managed to slip away from Guantanamo Bay over several days. Withdrawing to their base at San Antonio de las Vegas. Part of the Cuban 90th Mechanised Division had also been persuaded to join them, forming a powerful armoured reserve.

The Soviet Brigade had been weakened by fighting around the perimeter of Guantanamo Bay, however when combined with elements of a Cuban division, it was able to form a force strong enough to stop the 70th Mechanised Division and push it back several kilometres. The commander of the Western Army was forced to commit part of his reserve, the 78th Armoured Division, which was able to stabilise the line and regain two kilometres of lost ground.

While fierce fighting was taking place to the west and south-west of Havana, momentous events were taking place elsewhere that would change the Cuban Civil War. The commander and majority of troops from the Central Army had been persuaded to declare for the República Libre de Cuba. Its divisions were soon beginning to advance on the capital. There was no way that the Revolutionary Army Command and what militias were still loyal to the Castro government could stop an advance by both the Western and Central Army, especially when the Eastern Army had decided to remain neutral. To make matters worse, some militia units within Havana itself mutinied, defecting to the Free Republic of Cuba.

With fighting spreading to the streets of the capital itself even Raúl Castro knew that his government's time was up. But, where to flee, sorry, temporarily retreat to? Venezuela was out, it was too far, being invaded itself and the Americans were sure to intercept any flights between Cuba and there. American control of the air around Cuba also ruled out the possibility of flying to anywhere else in Central America. There was one much closer destination, where Castro was still sure of a warm(ish) welcome – the Isla de la Juventud. A temporary capital could be established at Nueva Gerona, where his government could hold out until either the Cuban people realised they wanted him back, or he was restored to power by a Soviet victory. To distract the Americans and their Cuban traitor puppets from his withdrawal from Havana, Castro ordered the remaining aircraft from the air force to sortie; whether many actually took off was immaterial; and sent instructions to a more distant Cuban military units to carry out previously briefed operations.

***

[1] The Commander, Irish Sea Escort Force (COMISEF) reported to the Joint Allied Command, Western Approaches. NORGRP ships would, while at sea, report to Commander Western Approaches (North) and SOGRP to Commander Western Approaches (South).

[2] Northern Group vessels operated out of Belfast Harbour, HMNB Clyde and Liverpool. Southern Group vessels operated from Haulbowline, HMNB Devonport, Falmouth and Pembroke Dock/Milford Haven.

[3] An order of battle for the Irish Naval Service can be found here.

[4] The upgrade to Tamar is similar to that carried out by the RNZN on its Tyne class vessels.

[5] Details of NZDF deployments can be found here.

[6] The fictional Captain Maddocks is quite fortunate in being issued 14 rounds. During the Second World War, revolver users in the British Army and Home Guards were issued just 12 rounds, with 3 of those rounds to be used for practice. See Clarke, Dale, 'Britain's Final Defence – Arming the Home Guard, 1940 – 1944' (Stroud 2016), p.111.

[7] A Cuban order of battle can be found here.

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[Eaglenine2]

Well that sound fun for the New Zealand? Why Commander New Zealand Forces, East Timor need a additional infantry company plus?

[jemhouston]

I'd should say they're scrapping the bottom of barrel, but barrel was scrapped clean last week.

[MFOM]

the irish naval service is either going to get very lucky or they are going to get a very harsh lesson on the cost of not being minimally prepared for any threat.

[Matt Wiser]

Fast on the draw again! BZ as usual, my friend, and so to business:

The Irish Navy is finding out that neutrality had a price. And there's still quite a few Soviet subs lurking around... A TEST-71 can certainly ruin one's day.

The Kiwis have reached the bottom of the barrel and found nothing left to scrape. And there's a deep-cover GRU or KGB team lurking by a target....

Chinese sub poking around an ANZAC convoy.. Being sunk due to a misidentification is certainly a real possibility. The Allied Defense Attaches in Beijing need to warn the Chinese that such things need to be avoided, not just from the Allied side, but the Chinese as well.

The Cuban Civil War isn't over just yet. Not surprised Raoul's setting up shop on the, well, smaller island. F-14s doing bomb dropping? TTL they were still dedicated to either air-to-air or TARPS recon.

Good work, and get with 396!

[Lordroel]

Thanks for giving me a good read while I am holiday.

[Bernard Woolley]

Well that sound fun for the New Zealand? Why Commander New Zealand Forces, East Timor need a additional infantry company plus?

Why not? As Brigadier Rose opined, he's doing the classic thing of asking for the Moon when he only needs a fraction of what he's asked for. If you ask for more than you need, you may actually get something close to what you actually want. It's how wage negotiations used to go - unions asked for the Moon, employers offered small beer and they met in the middle.

I'd should say they're scrapping the bottom of barrel, but barrel was scrapped clean last week.

The No.4 and Sten Mk.III can still kill you.

the irish naval service is either going to get very lucky or they are going to get a very harsh lesson on the cost of not being minimally prepared for any threat.

We'll see. The RoI's neutrality has always been very different to that of the (former) armed neutrality of Sweden and Finland, or that of Austria and Switzerland. Comes from being on the periphery of Europe, with the perception that there are no real threats and, being next door to a more powerful country that is generally benevolent since independence. IMVHO, after having a bloody War of Independence, followed by a Civil War that made the former look like a tea party, along with the threat of Republican terrorism, probably soured the RoI to having a strong military beyond peacekeeping and anti-terrorism. That the Irish Army had an actual mutiny in 1924, when the government tried to reduce numbers after the Civil War, must have left a mark when it came to how the military was viewed going forward.

The Irish Navy is finding out that neutrality had a price. And there's still quite a few Soviet subs lurking around... A TEST-71 can certainly ruin one's day.

As said above, the INS is suffering from the Irish attitude to what neutrality is, as opposed to how other European countries have.

The Kiwis have reached the bottom of the barrel and found nothing left to scrape. And there's a deep-cover GRU or KGB team lurking by a target....

Bit harsh on those Home Guardsmen! Points to those who spot where the deep-cover agents previously appeared in the TLWverse.

Chinese sub poking around an ANZAC convoy..

While it is understandable that the PLA-N would like to gather intelligence, it isn't the greatest idea. The SSN is rather lucky that the Merlin has a pretty sophisticated sonar system.

The Cuban Civil War isn't over just yet. Not surprised Raoul's setting up shop on the, well, smaller island.

The Fat Lady has certainly not sung yet. Although, those military forces still neutral are likely to make a decion one way or another is/when the ELC takes Havana.

F-14s doing bomb dropping? TTL they were still dedicated to either air-to-air or TARPS recon.

Well, yes and no.
To quote from Chapter 312

Both Grafton and Tarkington were regular naval aviators, Grafton having been appointed to CVWR-30 back in January, with orders to ‘get the air wing ready for war’. One of his first decisions had been to reassign the commander of VF-301, who he felt was not up to the job and had requested that Commander Tarkington be reassigned from VX-23 ‘Salty Dogs’ to take over. It had not been easy to pry the experienced RIO away, especially since he had been involved in the evaluation of the F-25B Hellcat II, but Grafton had influential friends at the Pentagon.

“Don’t get too bent out of shape, Toad, you’ll still have Delta model Phoenixes, but there are a lot of calls on Slammer stocks. Including, from places with, you know, actual enemy fighters to worry about.
“Way things are with Cuba at the moment, I’ll probably start seeing if I can stick iron bombs on the Tomcats and make you guys do some proper work for a change.”

While the CAG was checked out on the Tomcat and flew it regularly, his naval aviation career had started on the A-6 Intruder. He would always be a medium attack pilot at heart.

“Yeah, yeah, CAG.” Tarkington replied laughing. “I know what you always say – ‘Fighter Pilots make movies; Bomber Pilots make history’. But Fighter jocks, even us humble RIOs still get all the chicks!”

Basically, ‘Cool Hand’ Grafton has carried out his threat.

Good work, and get with 396!

Thanks and will do!

Thanks for giving me a good read while I am holiday.

Glad to hear that. Enjoy your holiday!

[jemhouston]

Depending on how well the No.4 and Sten Mk.III have been maintained, they might kill the user.

[James1978]

Good chapter!

If the F-22s have been dragooned into dropping bombs, F-14s crews can do it too.

If memory serves, this isn't the first time PLAN subs have been lurking around foreign naval groups.

The whole Free Republic of Cuba is . . . interesting. A while back I went down the rabbit hole of how Cuban "elections" work and how cabinet ministers work their way up through the system. After that, my impression is that in TLWverse, "Cuban reformer" probably means Yakolev/PRC style communism focused on growing the economy. They are all still Communists, but probably just agree than Raul is an Renko-style ass who will lead the country to ruin. If Fidel were still in charge and was the one to give the order to "liberate" Guantanamo Bay, I think most of them would have fallen in line. And the more time that passes, the more the rank and file are going to ponder the question of just what happened to Fidel. If they conclude that Raul took him out, that's more likely to turn units against Raul than any notion of a "Free" Cuba.

One small nitpick. The Tango-class B-515 was already mentioned in the story as being with the Soviet Pacific Fleet in Ch.256.

Keep up the good work!

PS, did you get the Romania stuff I sent?