The Last War? : Chapter 400

[Bernard Woolley]

D+35

*

0034 hours, 27th May. GCHQ, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
The new day might be only just over half an hour old, but GCHQ was as busy as ever. Working as part of a larger machine with the NSA and the other members of FIVE EYES, along with the ELINT/SIGINT of other members of NATO, GCHQ was 'hoovering-up' masses of information.

“Rezerwuj hasło...Rezerwuj hasło...Hasło to KATYN. Powtarzam, hasło to KATYN.... Rezerwuj hasło...Rezerwuj hasło...Hasło to KATYN. Powtarzam, hasło to KATYN.”

“There it is again.” The analyst said to his supervisor. “Repeats itself twice, then waits for thirty seconds before starting again. It looks like it is being transmitted from the Polish Ministry of National Defence to all of their armed forces.”
“And it is in plain language?”
“It is. Not coded at all, just in Polish.” The analyst replied. “I don't speak it, but I do recognise the word Katyn. Bloody weird word for the Poles to use.”
“Maybe, maybe.” The supervisor said. “Depends on what it means.”

He picked up a phone on the analyst's desk.

“This is Hampshire. I need a Polish translator up here ASAP.”

*

“It's a pretty simple message.” The Polish speaking member of staff said after listening to the message. “It's says 'Stand-by for codeword. Codeword is KATYN. Repeat, codeword is KATYN.' Then it repeats. That's it.”
“Thank you. Go back to your desk, we'll call you if we need you.” The supervisor told her.

He turned back to the analyst.

“Keep listening to that frequency. If it starts transmitting anything different, or stops, let me know.”
“Got it.”

*

Very soon, the UK intelligence community was focussed on transmissions coming out of Warsaw. Closer attention was also now being paid to the Polish military. Alerted to something up, the American National Reconnaissance Office diverted several satellites. SAC was also requested to prepare for SR-71 overflights. The satellites did pick up that Polish Army units seemed to be on the move, operating under radio silence. Shortly after that, Polish TV and radio interrupted its normal programming and started to transmit a message to viewers and listeners, asking them to stay tuned for a message from Chairman of the Council of State and First Secretary Jaruzelski.

*

It was not only NATO and other allied SIGINT/ELINT organisations that picked up the broadcast. Soviet and other Warsaw Pact equivalents also heard it. H.Q of the Western TVD sent an enquiry to the Polish Ministry of National Defence, requesting an explanation. When no response came, they sent a message to their liaison staff at the Polish H.Q. Worryingly, no reply came from them either. So, the Soviet military attaché at the embassy in Warsaw was despatched to find out what was going on. He reported that he had been stopped at a Milicja checkpoint near the ministry and denied access, but that he could see that the military guard around the building had been strengthened. CINCWEST reported this to STAVKA and waited for Moscow to decide what to do.

0146 hours GMT. Rovaniemi Air Base, Lapland, Finland.
Wing Commander Ian Macalister eased his Typhoon FGR.2 down on the runway. Well, it was not a runway, but a highway strip immediately to the west of Rovaneimi Air Base. The Typhoon had been designed to operate from short and narrow runways if necessary, so the aircraft could handle the highway strip. Macalister still found it a little alarming to be landing on a runway that was quite so narrow. Once slowed, he taxied the Typhoon to the readiness area at the north end of the strip. A second Typhoon flown by his wingman followed a few moments later. Macalister had led a detachment of twelve Typhoons from No. 54 (F) Squadron, from Andøya Air Station in Norway to Rovaniemi. Some of his aircraft would be accommodated by the highway strip, while the rest would be given shelter on the base itself.

*

With the Finnish Air Force having taken heavy losses and with it being felt that Air Forces Northern Norway had sufficient aircraft, it had been decided to forward deploy some squadrons to Finland. Swedish Air Force squadrons from the Upper and Lower Norland Military Areas, but the deployment was as much about showing wider solidarity with the two new NATO members, as it was about military necessity. Jaguar GR.3A of 614 (County of Glamorgan) Squadron were already operating from highway air strips in northern Lapland and now 54 Squadron was joining them. A composite squadron of F/A-18C and D from VMFA-115 and VMFA(AW)-232 had deployed to Tampere Air Base. The marines would operate from the base itself and the associated highway strip at Pirkkala.

*

An Ilmavoimat Land Rover appeared, leading Macalister and his wingman from the readiness area to some hidden shelters. Once inside, he shut down both engines and opened the cockpit canopy. He was glad to be greeted by a familiar face from 54 Squadron's ground crew, some of whom had flown ahead.

“Good morning, Boss.” The Flight Sergeant said. “Welcome to Finland.”
“Thanks, Flight.” Macalister replied. “What's the story with reporting to base ops?”
“The Landy will take you over. A Colonel Stenman is in charge.”
“Thank again, Flight. Sure I will see you in a bit.”

While the two men were talking the remaining four Typhoons that would be accommodated around the highway strip had landed and been hidden away. The RAF ground crew, assisted by personnel from the Ilmavoimat refuelled them and made them ready to fly again.

The Land Rovers took the British pilots to base operations; it was a tight fit, but everyone made it onboard. The driver was fairly tight-lipped, answering any questions with monosyllabic answers. Whether that was because he did not speak much English, or because he just did not feel like talking neither Brit found out. While the other Typhoon pilots got refreshments, or sought out the 'facilities', Macalister reported to base ops.

“Wing Commander Ian Macalister, Commanding Officer 54 Squadron, reporting, Sir.”
“Good morning, Wing Commander. I am Colonel Kari Stenman, Commander of the Lapland Air Command. May I welcome you to Finland. You're arrival is certainly most welcome. I was down to Hawks for air defence until the Swedes reinforced us, but your Typhoons will certainly make a difference. You did not happen to bring a two-seat aircraft with you?”

Macalister shook his head.

“Sorry, Sir, we left our two-seater behind, along with two spare aircraft. Some of my pilots have caught some damn virus, otherwise we would have brought all of our aircraft with us.”
“Ah, never mind.” Stenman said. “Now, to business, I understand that your squadron is trained for multi-role missions, however, for the moment I want to use your aircraft to provide air defence. That will free up the Swedish Gripens to support the army and carry out interdiction missions.”
“That will suit us for the moment, Sir.” Macalister replied. “At least until we are properly settled in. We can get started to air defence immediately, but we will need to wait for additional munitions to arrive for us to be able to carry out air to ground missions.”
“Good, good.” The Ilmavoimat Colonel commented. “I understand that you should be able to use some of the missiles the Swedes have brought for their Gripens; Sidewinders and AMRAAM.”

The RAF Wing Commander nodded.

“Yes, Sir, if we need to. However, I hope that isn't necessary. I am hoping we can give the Soviets a bit of a surprise with our Meteors and ASRAAM.”
“I hope so too, Wing Commander. The Soviets have had things their own way for too long.”

0301 hours GMT. State House, Harare, Zimbabwe.
General Major Pavel Lebedev, the commander of the Commander of the Soviet Military Assistance and Training Mission, had not expected the summons to the State House at this time of the morning. However, the primary resident of said palace was getting rather erratic, especially after news of recent defeats had reached Harare. The most recent news had been of a virtual massacre to the south and west of Bulawayo. The ZNA's counter-attack on the South African offensive had been a bloody failure. From what information had reached Levedev, only the Presidential Guard Group and the Soviet motor-rifle battalion retained their cohesion. It seemed that the survivors from those two units were now the only thing between the South Africans and Bulawayo. It might be possible to reform the routed survivors from the rest of the ZNA into units capable of combat, but that would take time.

“If only that idiot had not sent most of the rest of his guards, the Parachute Regiment and Commando Regiment off on some witch hunt.” He muttered.

His aide and driver pointedly made sure they did not hear his comment on the use of much of Zimbabwe's strategic reserve for a purge of the air force. Using men from 1 Presidential Guards Battalion and much of the country's Special Forces to arrest, torture and shoot senior and middle rank officers from the AFZ was hardly a profitable use of them. Especially, with a South African Army which would soon be ready to advance again. Who did Mugabe think he was? Stalin?

On his way to the State House, Lebedev noticed that the city looked denuded of military forces. Only a few weeks ago the army had been very much in evidence, providing additional security (or intimidating the opposition). Most of the armoured vehicles were gone and the soldiers he did see were older men, wearing the unit insignia of the Reserve Force Battalion based in Harare District. At the other end of the age scale were teenagers from the National Youth Service, the so-called 'Green Bombers'. Many of the older members of the NYS had already been mobilised into military service and had been used as 'canon fodder' ahead of regular units in the invasion of Botswana. Now the younger survivors had been armed and deployed on the streets of Harare. Lebedev did not think that either groups looked like they were particularly effective militarily. Putting someone in a uniform and giving them a rifle did not make them a soldier.
Things outside the State House looked much better. With only a single platoon from 1 Presidential Guards Battalion left, Lebedev had graciously agreed to 'lend' a company from the advisory group's NVA manned motor-rifle battalion. The East German BMP-2 and professional looking soldiers formed the outer perimeter around the State House, with the Zimbabwean guardsmen reduced to controlling access.

Lebedev's car was waved through the entrance, the guardsmen on duty saluting. The Soviet general was not impressed by the fact that nobody checked that the occupants of his car were genuine. As he exited his car, he was greeted by the senior CIO officer, who was in charge of the President's protection detail.

“The Comrade President will see you in a moment, Comrade General.” The man said. “He wishes you to witness something.”

Surrounded by members of 1 Parachute Regiment and some CIO officers, the Chief of Defence matched out of the State House. The general was in full uniform, complete with medals. The group marched over to a nearby wall and the paratroopers formed what was clearly a firing squad. One of the CIO officers offered the general a blindfold, which was refused. The general turned to face the firing squad and gave them a smart salute just before they shot him.

“Did that shock you, Comrade General?” The CIO officer asked Lebedev.
“No, we've shot quite a few of our generals, including Marshal Rybakov, the former Defence Minister.” The Soviet officer replied casually. “Failure cannot be tolerated.”
“That is good.” The Zimbabwean commented. “The President will see you now.”

Lebedev found the President in the Cabinet Officer with the First Vice President (his wife) and a few senior members of the government. He noticed that a few ministers, including the Minister of Defence, were missing.

“Good morning, General Lebedev!” The President beamed. “I am sorry to get you up out of bed so early.”
“That is quite alright, Comrade President. I am used to early starts.”
“Well, sit down, General, sit down. I have asked you to come here to ask you to take command of our military forces in the field. My own generals have not proven up to the task. Will you accept?”

Levedev was shocked, but kept a poker face.

“I will have to double check with my government, Comrade President, but I think I can accept on a provisional basis.”
“Excellent. I would like you to start at once!”
“Of course. I do have a question. Will I have command of the Special Forces and Presidential Guard?”
“If they are deployed in the field, yes. There are some forces deployed for internal security, they will remain under my direct command. Your senior air force officer will take over responsibility for command of our air force, reporting to you.”
“Thank you, Comrade President. I have one suggestion as my first act in command. I passed members of the Reserve Force Battalion and National Youth Service. May I suggest that the older members of the latter be integrated into the army's reserve force and the younger members, say, those seventeen and younger, be sent home?”

The President nodded.

“If you wish, General. That is within your authority.”

*

Back in his car, Lebedev felt rather shell-shocked. Rather than return to his headquarters, he would need to go to the embassy and seek confirmation of him taking command from Moscow. He jumped when someone else got into the car next to him. It was the army Chief of Staff.

“Sorry to surprise you, Pavel.” He said. “I bet you did not expect to see me again!”
“No, Edzi, I had thought that you might have ended up against a wall somewhere.” The Soviet officer said dryly.

The Chief of Staff chuckled.

“No, Pavel, I was lucky. General Chiwenga took most of the blame on himself. Though the President also had the Minister of Defence, and the Commander of the National Army shot. I also would not like to be a senior officer in the air force. You heard about the defection?”

Lebedev nodded.

“The President went mad when he heard that what was left of 2 Squadron and their families defected to South Africa. He's having the entire air force purged from top to bottom.”
“Well, he's put me in charge of everything, except for forces deployed for internal security.” Lebedev declared.
“Well, good luck with that, Pavel. I wish you the best.” The Chief of Staff replied, before getting out of the car again.

0501 hours GMT. Arsenal de Toulon, Toulon, France.
When he had retired from the Marine nationale, Capitaine de frégate Louis Beaumont had thought that the days of early starts were behind him. Of course that was before mobilisation had returned him and thousands of reservists back into service. To his disappointment, Beaumont had not been posted to a seagoing warship, instead he had found himself appointed the Senior Naval Officer of the former aircraft carrier Clemenceau (R98), probably, he thought, because his last seagoing appointment had been aboard her. The carrier had been tied up at Toulon awaiting disposal, which had become something of a saga.
His initial orders had been to restore Clemenceau so that she could be used as an accommodation ship for mobilised naval reservists. One of the first jobs for said reservists was to clean up and restore the accommodation spaces aboard the carrier. They had also gotten a couple of auxiliary diesel generators working, reducing the need to draw hotel power from the shore. Now, Beaumont had been given a new job, one that required the presence of the carrier's senior engineer.

“They want us to do what, Chef?” The engineer, Capitaine de corvette Paul Baudin asked incredulously.
“You heard me, Bibendum.” Beaumont replied. “Our superiors have asked whether we can make the Old Girl seaworthy. Not as a carrier, but as an auxiliary transport; the Americans are apparently doing the same with some of their old carriers.”

Baudin had also been recalled from retirement, during which he had put on some weight around his middle. That had earned him the nickname 'Bibendum', after the mascot of the Michelin tyre company (aka the Michelin Man).

“Mon dieu.” Baudin muttered. “And I thought the age of miracles was over. Well, at least we still have both of our propellers; it was our spares that Grand Charlie got. I would want to get the Old Girl docked so that her hull can be inspected. I have had a chance to take a look at our machinery, two of the boilers could be made operational without too much difficulty. The others, pfff, maybe one of them is fixable, the others are junk. Steam turbines are in a similar state; I could get one up and running once the boilers are working and another will take a bit of time, but the others are shot.
“I just hope the Brazilians are enjoying all the spares that were stripped from this ship!” The engineer added, referencing the fact that Clemenceau had been cannibalised to keep her sister, Foch, now São Paulo, going.
“Let me know what spares you need and I will put a request in for them.” Beaumont told him. “I'm sure there will be some suitable spares kicking around somewhere. If not, well, I will just have to tell our superiors that we stay an accommodation hulk.”

0645 hours GMT. H.Q Finnish Army Group South, Hämeenlinna, Finland.
General Sir Nicholas Sumner was a very busy man, especially with the ongoing Operation LION in Zealand. However, he felt he had to take the time to visit his new subordinates in Finland and Sweden in person. After touching base with Admiral Jan Kaskeala, the FDF Chief of Staff at his wartime headquarters, Sumner had continued on to the H.Q of the Finnish Army Group South (FINAGS). [1]

“Good morning, General Sumner, it is a pleasure to meet you in the flesh at last.” Kenraaliluutnantti Anthon Nieminen, the commander of the Finnish Army Group South, said holding out his right hand in greeting.
“Likewise, Kenraaliluutnantti Nieminen.” Sumner replied, taking the Finn's hand and warmly shaking it. “I do hope I did not butcher your rank too much.”
“Ha! For a non-Finnish speaker, you did very well! Can I get you a cup of coffee, or maybe tea before we start the briefing?”
“I'll have whatever is available. I hear you Finns really like your coffee!”

Nieminen chuckled at the British understatement.

“I have some coffee. I just wish I could offer you some proper nokipannukahvit, but all we have is this instant stuff. At least I can offer you a korvapuusti.”

Sumner took the offered mug of coffee and cinnamon roll, before following Nieminen to the briefing.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.” Nieminen said to his staff. “We have a couple of guests with us this morning. “He added, referring to General Sumner and his aide. “So, let's give them a good show. Please carry on.”
“At 0305 hours GMT the commander of 1 Army Corps reported that his forces had completed operations to retake the Porvoo Defence Position. His troops are currently digging in and he had requested additional engineer resources to repair the defence positions.” The Operations Officer reported.
“See he gets what we can spare. We need to hold that position.”

Nieminem turned to Sumner.

“Holding that position pushes Soviet artillery back, so that they will now only be able to target Helsinki with short range ballistic missiles. Those two HIMARS you managed to get for us have made it hazardous for the Soviets to employ missiles, because we can hit them back pretty quickly.”
“I just wish I could get you more of them, or some MLRS, but those things are like gold dust.” Sumner replied.
“Sir, can I ask a question?” A junior member of Nieminem's staff said to Sumner.
“Of course.”
“Some of us are wondering whether and when we will be receiving ground reinforcements from the rest of NATO.” He said. “We are very grateful for the help from our Swedish neighbours and the aircraft squadrons, but other than the HIMARS detachment, no ground reinforcements from the rest of the alliance have arrived.”

Nieminem shot the man a look that said that such a question was not an appropriate one to ask of such a senior guest. Sumner, on the other hand, was not in the slightest bit offended.

“That is a good question, Captain.” He replied. “I wish I could give you a good answer. Operation LION is absorbing a lot of our resources. There are also very strong indications that the Soviets are building up for a renewed attack on northern Norway and Lapland. I have to maintain strong reserves to deal with that possibility. An additional Swedish mechanised brigade is on its way, however. Also, depending on how things pan out in Zealand and northern Norway, we may be able to release a Norwegian brigade to you, but I can't promise that. What I can say, is that the rest of the alliance is not blind to your hard and bravely fought defence, or deaf to your requests for further help. As a representative of the alliance, I ask that you hold on until we can get help to you, and I do have faith that you will.”
“Thank you, Sir.” The Finnish captain replied. “I'm sure we all appreciate your honesty and kind words.”

Nieminem cleared his throat meaningfully.

“Now, can we get on, ladies and gentlemen.”

*

“Thank you for such a good briefing, Anthon.” Sumner said to Nieminem an hour later in private.”
“I'm glad you appreciate it, Sir.”
“For my part, I hate to leave you and the Swedes fighting on your own. That captain was right to ask his question and I wish I had a better answer to give him and you. The Swedish Mechanized Brigade 33 should be with you within the next few days. I am hoping to release Norway's Brigade South to you once LION is concluded. Depending on requirements to garrison Zealand, some of the LION forces might become available too, but as I said in there, I have to be ready for a new attack in the High North.”
“How serious is that threat?” Nieminem wondered.
“Very.” Sumner said simply. “They have rebuilt and reinforced their Sixth Army. “Thankfully, there are only a few routes that the Soviets can attack up north. I do expect them to mount subsidiary attacks throughout Lapland and down here too, so as to stretch our resources.”
“And I thought I had problems!” Nieminem exclaimed. “What I do want to reassure you, Sir, is that I am confident that my forces can prevent a Soviet breakthrough. We may have to retreat, and we'll fight on the streets of Helsinki if we need to, but they won't defeat us.”
“Now that is the sort of talk I like to hear!” Sumner said with a smile. “Some proper 'we'll fight them on the beaches' spirit. I wish I had more to give you.
“I have taken up quite enough of your time, Anthon. I have another stop to make before I head back to my own H.Q. My thanks for your hospitality.”

0735 hours GMT. The Kremlin, Moscow, RSFSR.
“Get Jaruzelski on the phone now!” The General Secretary thundered. “I want to speak to the damn Гандон right now!

The rest of the Defence Council jumped and made sure they were not making eye contact with the General Secretary. When he got that angry it usually ended up with people being sent to count trees in Siberia, shot, or worse, sent to Siberia, then shot.

“If he is 'busy', or 'unavailable', remind the Poles that we have significant military and security forces in their country. I will be more than happy to send some of them to his office to speak to the Сука in person.”

The underling nodded, and hurried out of the room.

“I'm going to hang that Polish Ублюдок by his balls when we get hold of him!” He declared to the Defence Council.
“Might we be acting a little precipitously?” The Minister for Foreign Affairs wondered. “At the moment we only have that recorded message that was being broadcast from Warsaw. Comrade Jaruzelski has not made his broadcast...”

The General Secretary shot the Minister a look that shut him up immediately. However, before he could say anything, two functionaries hurried into the room, wheeling a television. While one plugged it in, the other turned to the Defence Council.

“Comrades, we have picked up this live broadcast from Polish State Television. It started five minutes ago. It is in Polish, but with subtitles in Russian.”

The second functionary turned the television on, the image of General Jaruzelski appeared on the screen after a moment.

“Choć nie żywimy urazy do zwykłych towarzyszy z kraju naszego wschodniego sąsiada, nie możemy już dłużej prowadzić wojny, do której nieco ponad miesiąc temu zmusił nas rząd sowiecki.”

There was complete silence in the room, other than the droning of the Polish leader on the television.

“Radzieckie siły zbrojne działały nie jako sojusznicy, lecz jako siła okupacyjna. Zabijały i raniły polskich obywateli oraz podeptały polską suwerenność. Tak dłużej być nie może!
“Dlatego z ciężkim sercem muszę ogłosić, że Rzeczpospolita Polska ze skutkiem natychmiastowym występuje z Układu Warszawskiego. Oświadczam również, że Rzeczpospolita Polska staje się odtąd państwem neutralnym. Nie opowiemy się po żadnej ze stron w tej wyniszczającej wojnie. Wszelkie siły zbrojne Związku Radzieckiego oraz państw Układu Warszawskiego muszą rozpocząć wycofywanie się z terytorium Polski w ciągu czterdziestu ośmiu godzin od momentu tego wystąpienia.
“Polskie siły zbrojne zostaną skierowane do ochrony naszej suwerenności i neutralności, a w razie potrzeby – użyte do wyegzekwowania naszych żądań, by obce wojska opuściły nasze terytorium.”

That part of his speech provoked a gasp from the Defence Council.

“That Ублюдок!” The Defence Minister exclaimed.

The General Secretary 'shushed' him, as Jaruzelski was still speaking.

“...dlatego nie jestem właściwą osobą, by kierować Polską w tej nowej erze. Niniejszym ogłaszam zniesienie urzędu Pierwszego Sekretarza oraz Przewodniczącego Rady Państwa. Niniejszym przywracam urząd Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Moim następcą na tym stanowisku będzie...”

There was another gasp, followed by swearing by the members of the Defence Council as Jaruzelski finished his sentence.

“I want that Сука in front of me, or his head on my desk within forty-eight hours!” The General Secretary thundered to the Defence Minister.
“I can have a task force from the 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade on its way to Warsaw within 12 hours. If the Comrade Chairman is amenable, I would like to request support from the 11th Group of Directorate 'A'.”

Directorate 'A' of the KGB Special Purpose Centre, better known as the 'Alpha Group', was the Soviet Union's premier Special Operations unit. Originally formed as a counter-terrorist unit, the 'Alpha Group' had also been involved in foreign operations, including the overthrowing of the government of Afghanistan, as part of Operation 'Storm-333'. It had also been involved in violent crack-downs in the Soviet Union in the early '90s.

“Of course, Comrade Marshal. 11 Group is at your disposal.” The Chairman of the KGB replied. “As are any resources of State Security which are in Poland. We should be able to tell you where Jaruzelski and his so-called successor are within twelve hours at the maximum.”
“We must also move to take control of all the apparatus of government within Poland.” The General Secretary declared. “We will put our own people in charge and if we have to turn the country into a Soviet republic in all but name, so be it.” He paused for a moment and looked at the Defence Minister. “Comrade Marshal, it may be necessary to temporarily go on the defensive in Germany and Austria until we have dealt with the Polish traitors.”
“That would be wise, Comrade General Secretary.” The Defence Minister agreed. “Our main supply lines run through Poland and until we have secured them, I would not recommend major offensive operations. We can also employ the mobilisation units that are current in transit through Poland, or are about to be, as part of our efforts to take control.”
“We will need someone to take command, Comrade General Secretary.” The Defence Minister said.
“Who do you have in mind?”
“Marshal Belikov.”

The General Secretary chuckled.

“Well, I suppose it will give him a real job to do!” He said. “Very well, Marshal Belikov shall have the task of bringing Poland to heel. He may use all necessary force and all means to do so.”

***

[1] Order of Battle of FINAGSOUTH can be found here.

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[Eaglenine2]

Looks like Poland is getting interesting.

[Bernard Woolley]

Now that was a quick comment! I hadn't even finished posting the accompanying pics!

[Cihatari]

Looks like Poland is getting interesting.

Understatement of the timeline.

This is where events get out of Soviet control.

Happy 400th Jan!

[James1978]

Good chapter!

I do so love translation apps. That was fun!

Random question. What is the peacetime establishment of RAF fighter/attack squadrons?

The geopolitical intrigue and mental gymnastics needed to explain southern Africa in TLWverse boggles the mind.

At this point, (D+35), "NATO ground reinforcements" other than company-sized "We Helped!" detachments are easier said than done.
How much effort have General Sumner /AFNORTH made to get units out the the US National Reserve? You can't get what you don't ask for, but you can also certainly lose what you thought you were getting if someone else needs it more before you get it.

In that vein, how much of the forces committed to LION does COMAFNORTH actually "own" as opposed to be lent by SACUER. I have a sneaking suspicion AFNORTH won't get to keep the US XVIII Corps, and COMNON might wants those marines back.

Keep up the good work!

[jemhouston]

The Polish hunting season on Russians is open and no bag limit. If Poland goes, what about the Baltic States and Ukraine?


I'm slightly disappointed by the Soviet Defense Minister use of profanity. I always thought the Russian language had more choices than that.

[MFOM]

Don't speak polish but the word neutrality looks similar in polish. So Poland are trying to drop out and demand all belligerent forces leave, I hope their timing is not premature and I hope NATO won't be too cynical, after All motor rifle troops crushing poles are not troops that can be deployed on the front line

[Matt Wiser]

Woo-Hoo! 400 now... BZ as usual, and so on to business:

So the Poles are trying to quit the war? There will be a lot of Soviets (KGB, MVD, and Ground Forces) coming in to secure the LOCs, Soviet bases, and the major cities. Along with attempting another Storm-333 in Warsaw. There might even be a jump by 106th Guards Air Assault Division (home station Ryazan) on targets outside Warsaw. No doubt plans from 1980-81 are being dusted off and prepared, and when executed? Hungary in '56 will look like a Church Social.

The Finns have been doing well, and things in AFNORTH are going to heat up.

So Clemenceau is coming out of her long rest, or so the French Navy hopes.

Things in Africa are getting...interesting.

Nice job again, and get with 401!

[Lordroel]

Good update and a happy 400th.

[Jotun]

First and foremost, congratulations on chapter 400!

Things are going to be quite exciting in Poland. That was my attempt at Brit style understatement…

Seriously, the Soviet countermeasures (sending Alpha Group and other SOF plus certainly paratroopers for a bit of regime change) are so obvious and predictable that I would be surprised and disappointed if the Polish armed forces did not set a trap for just that operation. And the Polish government being anywhere BUT in Warsaw.

Militaries plan for EVERYTHING. so the Poles will have taken a hard, close look at how the Red Army took Kabul, and extrapolated what a similar operation would look like with Warsaw and the Polish government as targets. And the Poles had more than 25 years to fine tune their possible response.

That said: WARSZAWO WALCZ!
Ahem.

Elsewhere in Poland, hostilities should be flaring up as soon as the Kremlin's orders to take over reach the in-country Soviet forces,.

The Soviet command structure in country, especially the top echelons, and all of the KGB detachments, are going to face lots of kinetic attention. The Poles would be complete fools if KATYN did not incorporate such actions, since the USSR with absolute certainty will NOT sit idle for 48 hours.



Concerning the situation in Finland, I, too, think that the rest of NATO would be hard pressed to send more than symbolic support.

However.

The almost legendary ability of the Soviet Union to win hearts and minds throughout the world‘s neutrals might lead to other actors lending a hand. Brazil maybe…Smoking Snakes 2 - Electric Boogaloo? And/or Colombia. Light infantry mostly, maybe some armor, depending on how long The Pause is going to last.

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

WICKED !!!
Sadly, my Chrome browser seems unable to grok the Polish announcement...

[James1978]

WICKED !!!
Sadly, my Chrome browser seems unable to grok the Polish announcement...

Per Google Translate (Polish to English)

“While we bear no ill will toward the ordinary people of our eastern neighbor, we can no longer wage the war into which the Soviet government forced us just over a month ago.”

“Soviet armed forces acted not as allies, but as an occupying force. They killed and wounded Polish citizens and trampled upon Polish sovereignty. This state of affairs cannot continue!
“Therefore, with a heavy heart, I must announce that the Republic of Poland is withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact with immediate effect. I also declare that the Republic of Poland is henceforth a neutral state. We shall not take sides in this devastating war. All armed forces of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations must begin withdrawing from Polish territory within forty-eight hours of this announcement.
“Polish armed forces will be deployed to protect our sovereignty and neutrality and, if necessary, used to enforce our demands that foreign troops leave our territory.”

“...therefore, I am not the right person to lead Poland in this new era. I hereby announce the abolition of the offices of First Secretary and Chairman of the Council of State. I hereby restore the office of President of the Republic of Poland. My successor in this position will be...”

[Paul Nuttall]

Oh boy.....

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

Thank you.
I'd tried several ways to coax Chrome to auto-translate, as it used to, 'Some Updates Ago'.
{Spit !!}
--
Yikes !!
Yes, that is unlikely to prompt a calm, reasoned, measured response from Kremlin.
"Bring me their heads !!" will so be the knee-jerk reaction.

Oh, and perhaps a parallel purge of KGB etc who failed to notice this political tsunami developing...

[jemhouston]

Oh, and perhaps a parallel purge of KGB etc who failed to notice this political tsunami developing...

Poland and NATO should be that lucky.

[Bernard Woolley]

Quick response, so first, thanks, everybody. Now, I have a question for you all. What official name did General Jaruzelski give Poland and what was the country known as during the Communist period?

[Jotun]

Quick response, so first, thanks, everybody. Now, I have a question for you all. What official name did General Jaruzelski give Poland and what was the country known as during the Communist period?

The translation app I used showed "Republic of Poland" several times. IIRC, that was Poland's official name before Germany and the USSR rolled in in 1939.
Communist Poland was the Polish People's Republic.

[Bernard Woolley]

Give that man a coconut! Republic of Poland is the name given to the Second Republic and today's Third Republic.

[Jotun]

So the name change back is ALSO a middle finger toward Moscow the size of Ostankino Tower...