The Last War: 363.

[Bernard Woolley]

With thanks to Matt W.

*

D+26

2041 hours GMT. Keşan, Edirine Province, Turkey.
The town of Keşan sat just south of the north-south E87 and east-west E84 highways, making it a very important strategic location. Were Keşan to fall to the Soviets, it would cut the last remaining major highway linking Greek and Turkish Thrace.

The town was in the rear area of the Turkish Army’s 2 Corps, which had recently been roughly handled by Warsaw Pact troops and was now retreating down the E87 from Uzunköprü and to the southeast via minor roads and across country. The corps commander planned to make a stand near the village of Karapınar, but just in case the enemy was not held, the commander of the Turkish 1st Army had ordered that troops from XI Corps and those from the National Reserve released to him be concentrated just to the north of Keşan. Their job was to hold at all costs while 5th Corps prepared to launch a counterattack.

Troops from 15th and 28th Infantry Brigades were already digging in, along with locally based Jandarma. All able-bodied civilians in the area had also been engaged to help build defensive positions not only to the north of Keşan, but also to the east and west, with reserve positions to the south. The 28th Infantry Division and 14th Armoured Brigade from XI Corps were due to arrive around midnight, but the first NATO reinforcements had already arrived on the ground.

*

The frustration that Colonel Hill had been feeling just under a week ago had lifted. He was now almost feeling happy. Once news of the Soviet breakthrough had reached him, Hill had immediately decided to form the troops under his command into a Task Force. Without waiting for permission from senior officers, he had formed the American troops in transit in the area into two provisional companies, one a rifle company, the other a support company, giving him a battalion sized unit. Hill had also been very pleased when the British battle group from Cyprus had been placed under his command, along with a Turkish reserve infantry battalion and a half company of cavalry, formed of two platoons of M48 tanks and one of M113s. Task Force Hill had become, in effect, a small brigade. [1]

The Task Force had occupied part of the northern inner perimeter of Keşan itself. Taking up position along the southern bank of the Cevizlik Creek. If it came to it, the Task Force’s engineers would blow the bridges over the creek.

Colonel Hill would have preferred a uniform, all American, formation under his command. However, he was confident in the troops under his command. They would be able to hold their positions.

*

As he finished up helping to construct his Command Post, the Officer Commanding Falklands Company, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, Major Timothy ‘Tim’ Gardiner, did not quite share Colonel Hill’s confidence. It was not that he did not have confidence in his own men, or those of the battalion group that his company was attached to. He had the utmost confidence in his Gurkhas, especially, as well as the British infantry, engineers, and gunners. It was just that he had noticed that most of the Turkish defenders seemed to be not just second line, but third line troops.
Gardiner was sure that the Turks would fight, but most of their equipment was old, pretty much obsolescent, perhaps even obsolete. For example, he had not seen any tanks more modern than the M48, which would soon be facing Soviet T-64 and T-72 tanks. The major had a real fear that the enemy would go through the defenders of Keşan like a dose of salts.

As the largest rifle company in the battle group; Falkands Company had two additional platoons – an Assault Pioneer Platoon and a Support Platoon; Gardiner’s men had constructed and occupied a reserve position. If push came to shove, 1 Royal Anglian Battle Group would pull back to these positions. Any further retreat after that would be into Keşan itself. Perhaps that would not be a bad thing, as Gardiner was sure that his Gurkhas could tie up a much larger Soviet force in any urban battle.

2111 hours GMT. USS Kitty Hawk, The Arabian Gulf.
It had been a long day for the aircrews in CVW-5, and the rest of CENTAF. Offensive operations on the ground had picked up, with a corresponding increase in CAS and BAI. While the strategic strike tempo had been maintained, keeping up the pressure in Central Iraq, and to top things off, the Iranians had come in. Not quite the major offensive that everyone had been expecting, but Iranian air-assault troops and Marines had landed at Faw and were slowly grinding their way forward through some very determined Iraqi resistance. And at Iranian request, CENTAF had provided the air support-some airborne FAC-directed CAS, along with BAI. Navy, Air Force, Marine, and RAF aircraft had turned the Basra Road south to the Faw Peninsula into a junkyard of burned and blasted tanks, APCs, and trucks, but the Iraqis had kept coming. Only as dark came did the air activity wind down, but a brigade's worth of T-62s and BMPs had been left shattered.

For Commander Matt Wiser, it had been a busy day. Not counting a SUCAP, he had flown four strikes that day, with one CAS run north of Umm Qasr as that small port was becoming a major fight as Marines and the Australians were finding out. Not only was the Regular Iraqi Army more than willing to put up a fight, but they had been “stiffened” by some of the Regime's bullyboys from up north. Saddam Fedayeen, if he remembered an intel briefing right. It reminded him of what he'd read in college about Stalingrad, and the Soviets NKVD “Blocking Detachments.” Not a surprise, the history major that Guru was thought. Autocrats often think (and act) alike.

After that had come a strategic run to Diwaniyah and the POL storage, and seeing those fuel tanks go up had been very satisfying, with those big fireballs coming up. The SUCAP came, then another strategic run to Al Hindayah and taking down the Western RR Bridge-before a final BAI run southeast of Basra, and just across from the Iranian border and the Shatt-al-Arab. When he came back, he told the CO that was the last thing he'd expected to be doing flying a strike to help the Iranians. On two previous cruises prior to the Green Revolution in Iran? He'd anticipated flying strikes into Iran. Times had changed...

Now the VA-115 Exec was hoping for some shut-eye, for it wouldn't be long until 0430 and aircrew wakeup came, when there was a knock on his cabin door.

“Yeah? Come on in and show yourself. Door’s open!”

Commander John Compton, the Skipper, came in.

“XO, getting ready to turn in?”
“Yeah, Skipper, you could say that. Just checking up on the news.” Guru's laptop was still showing CNN's homepage. “Things are still dicey in Germany and in Turkey.”
“How's things back home?”
“Well, got an e-mail from Mom. She has my stuff all back from the Sheriff's Office after that burglar was shot. And she'll hang onto it until this is all over. And that's not all.”
“Oh?”
“Lisa's Mom said that they got invited to join the National League of Families.” Guru said.

The National League of Famlies was the largest advocacy group for POW-MIA families in the U.S. and had been founded during the Vietnam War to push for first, humane treatment and release of POWs, then the fullest accounting possible after the 1973 releases. [2]

“They joined.”
“Thought that was just limited to Southeast Asia families,” Compton noted. “Guess they changed.”

Guru nodded.

“They did. And since we've got more people on the POW-MIA lists since Korea, well....”
“Say no more, XO.” Compton said. “Well, I've got news, and it's good or bad, depending on your take.” He saw the XO nod, and then continued. “The DCAG is being sent stateside to take command of CVW-19.”

Captain Bryan Fuller was the Deputy CAG, and he had been flying just as much as the CAG had been since Day One-at least two missions a day if not more.

“And we're getting someone from NAVAIRPAC to fill his shoes.”
“Who?”
“Hear the name Captain Mark Gardner?”

Guru froze. That was the last person he'd expected to hear was coming aboard.

“Skipper, I thought I'd never hear that name again. I'll give you the good and the bad.”

Compton nodded.

“Lay it out, XO.”
“The good?” He's one of the best A-6 drivers there is. When he ran VA-52? That squadron won the McClusky Award.”

The C. Wade McClusky Award was presented every year to the best Medium Attack Squadron in the Navy and was named for the CAG who led the Enterprise Air Group at Midway.

“He flies an A-6 as if he's the Bandit in that Trans Am. Then there's the downside.”
“And that is?”
“I served under him when I did a nonflying tour at NAVAIRPAC. He's not a people person. He tolerates ROTC grads, doesn't like AOCS alumni-”
“What's that about, XO?” Compton asked.

Given that so many slots in Naval Aviation were filled by graduates of Pensacola, the XO being one, that was a surprise to him.

“Simple: you got a Reserve Commission upon Graduation instead of a Regular One. Though after five years, you got bumped up to a Regular, he didn't care. Just because you're a ninety-day wonder. And forget him about being helpful or concerned about enlisted sailors and any problems or concerns they may have. Just that what's required in the line of duty and that's it.”
“And I've seen enough assholes like that who think their trade-school ring entitles them to whatever they want in the Navy.” The CO observed, and the XO picked up a hint of disgust in the CO's voice. “Glad we had this talk, Guru. I'll let CAG know. Tell him about who we're getting.”
“Talk to Tony Carpenter, Skipper.” The XO advised. “He was in 52 when they won the McClusky. And there might be someone in 185 who's been with Gardner.”
“I'll do that, XO. You'd best report to your rack. Won't be that long until 0430.”
“Will do, Skipper, and as XO? You need to take your own advice. I don't want to come back from a strike and find out I just got promoted.”

Commander Compton nodded.

“I'll do that, XO, after I have that chat with CAG. You have a good night.”
“You too, Skipper.”

2135 hours GMT. Evendorf, West Germany.
It felt good to be out of the front-line, Lt. Colonel Thompson reflected. The Fife & Forfar Battle Group had been pulled out of the line, as 1 (NL) Corps relieved 2 (Br) Corps. I (GE) Corps had also taken advantage of the Soviet withdrawal to push forward. The Dutch were now holding a line just to the west of the Ilmenau and the Elbe-Seitenkanal, while the West Germans held a line just to the east of Celle.

Both of those corps had been brought back up to strength, resupplied and were fresh. 1 (Br) and III (US) Corps had now been pulled back into reserve to allow the same thing to be done to them.

Having been in action for several days almost non-stop, Thompson was not surprised to see that his battle group’s armoured vehicles all showed signs of battle-damage and general wear and tear. Almost every vehicle was now being worked on by its crew, while a few were having more serious damage worked on by REME mechanics. While this was being carried out the Colonel had asked the RSM to find out just how much ‘buckshee’ kit his men had acquired. Not because he wanted to confiscate it, but because he wanted to regularise it so that the battle group could, for example, officially indent for ammunition for the extra GPMGs and Browning HMGs it now found itself with.
Thompson also hoped to be able to bring his battle group back up to strength. In terms of personnel, he was not too concerned, but he was down in numbers when it came to vehicles. For example, he had been forced to amalgamate 5 and 6 Troop in B Squadron, as 6 Troop had lost two Challengers to mine strikes, while 5 Troop had suffered one disabled by enemy tank fire. His attached infantry company was down to two oversized platoons of five Warriors each, rather than four, for similar reasons.

Thankfully, there had not been any serious casualties and it was generally just the case that the two troops and infantry platoon needed new, or repaired vehicles. Brigade had already informed Thompson that there were two chances of him getting new vehicles – slim and none, so he would have to depend on the skills of the REME to repair the damaged vehicles.

Thompson had decided to inspect one of the damaged Challengers from 6 Troop, which had been brought to the battle group laager by a tank transporter. The TM-62M anti-tank mine had blown off the right-hand track, along with two of the roadwheels on that side of the tank. The crew had been left shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

“How she looking, Sergeant?” Thompson asked the senior REME mechanic working on the tank.
“Just need to get a couple of new roadwheels on ‘er, Sir, then put the track back on. We checked the hull and she’s as sound as a bell.”
“How long?”

The sergeant thought for a moment.

“Be done by midnight, Sir.” He said. “I certainly don’t want to be welding for too long after it gets dark.”
“Let me know if your lads need anything, Sergeant.”

Satisfied that the damaged vehicles were in good hands, Thompson made his way back to his Command Post. On his way he was intercepted by Warrant Officer II Douglas Wood, the Regimental Sergeant Major.

“Got that list you asked for, Colonel.” The RSM announced. “I’m certain I’ve identified almost all of the additional items the lads have acquired.”
“Almost all, Mr. Wood?” Thompson queried.

The RSM smiled slightly.

“Never underestimate the ingenuity of the average squaddie, Colonel.” He replied. “I’m sure there are a few bits and pieces I’ve missed because someone has hidden them just in case they get confiscated. Does remind me, Colonel, I do have something for you.”

Wood unslung the rifle he was carrying and handed it to Thompson. Allowing the latter to notice for the first time that it was an L22A2 carbine variant of the SA80. They were fairly rare and generally only issued to regular regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps. Even then, the majority of L22A2 had been issued to the Army Air Corps.

“Found it lying unattended.” Wood said. “Since I suspect it was pinched from ‘Teeny Weeny Airways’, nobody admitted to knowing anything about it. Therefore, knowing you have armed yourself with nothing more than a pistol, I decided it was my duty to give it to you, Colonel.”
“Thank you, Mr Wood.” Thompson replied. “I shall make sure I take proper care of it.”
“You’re more than welcome, Colonel.
“Just one other thing, while it’s very nice to be out of the firing line for a while, is there any news from brigade about when we’ll be getting back into action?”

Thompson shook his head.

“At the moment, Sarn’t-Major, you know as much as I do. My understanding is that we’re going to be held in reserve for at least the next few days.”

2248 hours GMT. Outside Didymoteicho, Greece.
“Target tank! Load hard core!” Captain Zelensky snapped.
“Target tank. Hard core loaded.” The T-64’s gunner confirmed.
“Fire!”

The 125mm cannon cracked, firing a ‘fin’ round at a Greek M60A3TTS. A more modern Western tank might have survived the hit, but the Soviet round went through the Patton’s armour like the proverbial hot knife through butter. The Patton’s ammunition cooked off, flames shooting out of its hatches and from under the turret ring.

*
Zelenzky’s company, along with a couple of platoons of BMP-2s, had been given the task of stopping a Greek counterattack that had developed on the right flank of the regiment’s advance. Evidently the Hellenic Army hoped to cut the E85 behind the advancing Soviet Army. Unfortunately, the Greek force was not able to break through the Soviet defence as of yet.

*

‘CLANG!’

Something had smashed into the turret of Zelenzky’s with some force, shaking the T-64BV1K violently. Rocking it back on its suspension. Zelenzky banged his head against the back of his seat and was momentarily stunned. Despite this he instinctively fired the tank’s smoke grenades.

“Gunner, Driver! Report!” Zelensky snapped once he had recovered his senses.
“The fire control computer has gone down. I am re-booting it, Comrade Captain. I am... okay.” The gunner reported, sounding a little shaky.
“No damage down here, Comrade Captain. The engine is still running.” The driver replied.

Zelensky frantically searched for whatever had shot at them. Through his tank’s thermal sights, he could see a Greek M60 that had its gun pointed at him. The enemy tank was repositioning, evidently trying for a flank shot against the T-64’s thinner side armour. Knowing he only had a few seconds to respond, Zelensky used the commander’s override to traverse the turret.

“Gunner! Target tank! Load Hard Core!”

There were a painful few seconds as the automatic loader loaded a ‘fin’ round into the breach. Zelensky kept his eye on the Greek tank and winced as he saw a flash from its gun.

“Hard core loaded! Target identified!” The gunner reported.

Zelensky realised that he still had his eyes tightly shut. For some reason the 105mm ‘fin’ round fired at them had missed.

“Fire...? Fire!”

Whatever had led to the Greek tank missing cost its crew their lives as Zelensky’s gunner was bang on target. The ongoing exchange of fire had left vehicles on both sides wrecked, although the Greeks had gotten the worst of it. Zelensky could sense that he had an opportunity.

“All call signs, this is Black Swan, advance! Repeat advance!”

Caught in the process of reforming, the Greeks were caught unprepared and were thrown back by the Soviet advance. The short-thrust cost Zelensky four tanks and a pair of BMPs knocked out, or disabled, but it pushed the Greeks into a hasty retreat.

“Black Swan, Black Swan, this is Red Queen. Halt your company immediately. You do not have any authority to mount a counterattack. Return to your previous positions, over.”
“Red Queen, Black Swan, acknowledged. Returning to previous positions.”

Zelensky bit his tongue as he silently cursed his battalion commander. Could the fool not see that continuing the attack for a few more kilometres would eliminate the threat to the flank of the advance?

2348 hours GMT. Waitangi, the Chatham Islands.
“In your own time!” Warrant Officer I Major Brian Wilson called out to the six members of his platoon on the improvised firing range. “Watch and shoot! Watch and shoot!”

There was a ragged volley of shots as the Home Guardsmen opened fire with their L1A1 rifles. When he had agreed to command the Chatham Islands Home Guard, Wilson had requested two things. One of them was that they needed ‘proper’ military weapons. The army had supplied six old L1A1 rifles and a single L4A4 Bren gun, with the promise of more as soon as they became available. The only other ‘modern’ weapons on the island were a Remington Model 7 and Bushmaster M4A3 held in the small armoury of the police station.

*

Wilson had managed to recruit a platoon of twenty-eight men and women; the new Military Service Act did make service in the Home Guard compulsory for those between 35 and 50, however, Wilson did not see the point in taking on more people than could be adequately equipped and trained. As it was, including suitable civilian firearms, he could only arm fifteen members of his platoon. With the issue of enough camouflage jackets in NZDPM with webbing and ‘floppy’ hats, the platoon looked at least somewhat military. However, the platoon had to continue to wear their own clothes when it came to trousers and suitable footwear.

Wilson had decided that the SLRs and Bren gun would be held centrally and issued to the ‘on duty’ section. Which meant that everybody was to be trained in their use in preparation for the issue of further rifles. If the whole platoon was ever called out, the ‘off duty’ sections would report with their own weapons. Those without their own rifles, or shotguns would man platoon H.Q.

The other thing that Wilson had requested was an instructor to help with firearms and general training. A Sergeant Simon ‘Si’ Sheppard from Burnham Military Camp had volunteered for the job. Sheppard had been a gunner of all things before becoming a training instructor but was well versed in teaching small arms skills and basic field craft.

*

The shooting tailed off and stopped as the six Home Guardsmen finished firing off the ammunition that they had been issued for the practise shoot. Each man or woman made their rifles safe and ejected the magazine.

“Check your weapon is safe!” Wilson ordered.

He had observed that everybody had already done so, but it was better to be safe, than sorry.

“Stand-up and step back! Next section forward!”

As the next group took their places, Wilson reflected that Sheppard should really have been doing this, but the sergeant had been called away to take delivery of some new ‘equipment’. What that actually was, the message from Burnham had not said. Wilson rather hoped it was a delivery of more rifles.

*

“What the actual f*ck!” Wilson exclaimed on seeing the ‘delivery’.

Having been unloaded from MV Southern Tiare the objects in question, two Ordnance QF 25-pounders, plus a pair of ammunition limbers, were now sitting on the quayside. Crates of 25-pounder ammunition were still being unloaded.

“What are we supposed to do with these?” He continued.
“A shore battery they told me, Boss.” Sergeant Sheppard. “Something to stop another raider sailing into the harbour.”
“What sort of crew does one of them take, Si?” Wilson asked, gesturing towards the nearest 25-pounder.”
“Normally six.”
“So, we’d need twelve people at least.” The Warrant Officer mused. “You familiar with them?”

Sheppard nodded.

“I’ve fired them on ceremonial occasions, and anyway they left me a manual.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.” Wilson muttered. “Okay, Si, you’re the gunner, what would you recommend?”
“First thing we need to do is find a couple of vehicles capable of towing them, since the army, in its wisdom hasn’t sent us any.” Sheppard replied. “A normal Ute should do if we look for the more powerful models.
“Secondly, we need to identify a couple of good locations where we can site them to cover the entrance to the harbour. I’d also see what other locations there are around the island that we could position a gun if need be.”
“Well, I know a few people with suitable Utes, so that’s sorted.” Wilson said. “Think I know of a few placed we could place the guns. I’m going to put you in charge of our new Gun Troop, including training the new gun crews.”

Sheppard smiled.

“Suits me, Boss. After all gunnery is funnery. Before I get started, I’m going to check the paperwork on the ammo and cartridges. See if we’ve been sent anything ‘exciting’.
“Oh, in all the excitement, I forgot to mention that there are a few of crates of what must be small arms and ammo. Haven’t had a chance to check on them.”

This bit of apparent good news made WO I Wilson’s ears prick up. Artillery he felt was a bit over the top, but more small arms was something he thought was welcome.

He found the crates where Sheppard had indicated where the had been unloaded. The ammunition boxes were labelled as 7.62x51 NATO and interestingly 9x19mm NATO. There was also one box marked as containing .303 British, which was handy, as a few members of the platoon, Wilson included, had rifles chambered in that calibre. The first crate that the Warrant Officer opened contained a very welcome L4A4 ‘Bren’ gun. The second had four L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles; from the wooden, rather than synthetic, furniture the rifles had, they were quite old, but looked sound. It was the last crate that contained the biggest surprise – inside were two L2A3 Sterling Sub-Machine Guns and a pair of Inglis Browning High-Power pistols. Wilson had used the very similar L9A1 during his service, so was familiar with them. The crate also contained empty magazines for both weapon types.

He was already thinking of how he could use the new weapons. When combined with the existing military and civilian small arms, Wilson could now arm twenty-five members of his twenty-eight-person platoon. The Sterlings would be best issued to those assigned as Number 2 to the Bren gunners. The pistols to some of those assigned to man platoon H.Q when mobilised, which included a couple of short women who were not ideally built to carry rifles. Wilson just wished a few more weapons had been sent so that he could at least retire the three shotguns, never mind the variety of civilian rifles. But he could not afford to do that quite yet. [3]

2358 hours GMT. The Kremlin, Moscow, RSFSR.
“…The barrage of Soviet missiles that hit London has caused the worst lost of life and damage since the Blitz in the Last War.” The BBC reporter said on the TV screen, burning buildings visible behind him.

The view changed to a montage of news reports taken from other Western European news organisations, showing similar damage in cities like Paris, Bonn, Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, Oslo, Amsterdam, and Brussels. Plus, countless others.

“…The fires started by what are believed to have been Russian submarine fired cruise missile have burned for nearly three days, despite the commitment of the full resources of multiple fire departments. Including significant resources from the Boston Fire Department.
“I spoke to Fire Chief Lester Brooks of the Paradise Volunteer Fire Department a few minutes ago. He assured me that the fire has been contained and…”

‘CLICK!’

The General Secretary turned off the television and put the remote control down on the table in front of him. He turned to the rest of the Defence Council sitting around the table. At the far end were some senior air force and navy officers who had been invited to attend.

“I want to see more of that, Comrades.” He said enthusiastically. “We need to continue to bring the cost of the war home to peoples of the West. They will soon let their leaders know they want the war to end. But what we need most of all is to bring the war home to the Americans again! Just look at the amount of airtime their news reporters have given to a small town, not much more than a village, being struck by a mere two missiles! If you watch their news, you would be forgiven for forgetting that a war is going on in Europe!”

The General Secretary fixed his gaze on the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, who was sitting at the far end of the room.

“Comrade Fleet Admiral, just how did we hit this small town, this, what’s it called, Paradise? A ridiculous name!”
“We cannot say for certain, Comrade General Secretary, as we are out of contact with the submarine responsible, but we think it was an accident.” The CINC replied. “I had my staff play around with some targeting co-ordinates and it was possible, depending on the exact launch position, to make a minor error that would see the missiles hit this town rather than, say, the port of Boston.”
“Ha! So, it was an accident!” The General Secretary said with a laugh. “Well, I want to make sure that the captain and crew of the submarine get what is coming to them!”

The Defence Minister and Fleet Admiral looked alarmed.

“Don’t worry, Comrades. If they make it home, I intend to see that they are decorated! But, to return to the main point, we need to hit America again! Even if their people do not demand peace, they will demand that they be defended. Tying up military forces that they will not be able to use elsewhere.
“Comrade Marshal, how soon could you repeat our previous attacks on North America?” He asked the Defence Minister.
“Comrade General Secretary, that question be best answered by Comrade General Papivin of Long-Range Aviation.” Every face turned to the air force officer, who was sitting next to the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy.

If the general was nervous about speaking to the General Secretary, he did not show it.

“If you give the order now, Comrade General Secretary, I could execute a repeat attack within forty-eight hours. That is, if you want it to be a conventional attack. I could execute a strategic attack using my alert aircraft, plus the aircraft we have in reserve within twelve hours. Less if you wish me to just use my alert aircraft.” Papivin said calmly, without emotion.

There was silence for a moment.

“I don’t think we are at the stage of a strategic attack, Comrade General.” The General Secretary said, a slight smile on his face. “We simply need to repeat the previous bomber attacks.”
“In that case, Comrade General Secretary, I need permission to take some aircraft off nuclear alert and rearm them for this mission.” Papivin stated.
“Why?”
“To replace losses from the previous attack, Comrade General Secretary.” The commander of Long-Range Aviation stated. “And from ongoing operations against Europe and Japan. If I could also borrow some bombers from the navy, it would help a great deal. I do also have one more request.”
“Name it.” The General Secretary said.

Papivin paused for a moment.

“Please let my planners choose targets with true military and strategic value. Our missile stocks are getting dangerously low and most of those expended in the recent attacks were not employed against targets of utility. Beyond an attempt to cow the enemy’s civilian population.”

There was a general sharp intake of breath around the table at the implied criticism of the leadership. The Chairman of the KGB decided to fill the awkward silence before the General Secretary lost his temper.

“General Prapivin is correct, Comrade General Secretary. Experience from the Last War along with our most recent intelligence suggests that terror attacks on their own are ineffective. Indeed, they can be counterproductive.
“State Security officers in place in the countries attack report that not only is anger for the attacks being directed at us, but many of our agents are also breaking off contact with us.” Putin paused to take a piece of paper from the folder he had on the desk. “To quote this highly placed agent in the West German government: ‘I helped you because I thought you were the future, that the Soviet Union had the hope for all mankind. Now I see that you are just like the Fascists who murdered my paternal grandparents and the Imperialists who killed my maternal grandmother.’
“I can read some more reports if the council wishes.”

The General Secretary waved his right hand dismissively.

“That will not be necessary, Comrade Chairman. Out of interest, what did happen to that particular agent?”
“She had an unfortunate accident, Comrade General Secretary. She fell out of a fifth-floor window.”
“I see.
“Very well, Comrade General, I will see that any political interference is kept to a minimum.” The General Secretary stated. “However, you will still include some targets approved personally by this council.”

As the meeting broke up, Chairman Putin smiled contentedly. He seemed to be successfully manipulating the General Secretary in the direction he wanted. Putin knew fine well that any attack on the United States would bring retaliation from Strategic Air Command. If it was like the last one, it would be immensely damaging, which would give him further evidence that the General Secretary was mismanaging the war. It would bring him just that little bit closer to replacing them. As to the attacks on civilian targets that he had opposed, well, he was not really concerned. Once he was in charge and made sure that missile stocks had been replenished, he would certainly restart them.

***

[1] Order of Battle:

Task Force Hill
- H.Q
-- Cavalry Company (-): M48A5T1, M113
- Provisional Artillery Battalion
-- Battery B, 1-86th Field Artillery Battalion: M119
-- 5 Gibraltar Field Battery, RA: L118
-- Turkish Artillery Battery (from AMF(L)): M101
- Provisional Engineer Company
-- X1 Troop, 62 Cyprus Support Squadron Royal Engineers
-- X1 Platoon, A Company, 101st Combat Engineer Battalion
-- X1 Platoon, Turkish Pioneer Platoon
- 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain) (-) (+)
-- Company A
-- Company B
-- Company P (Provisional)
-- Weapons Company (Provisional)
- 1 Royal Anglian Regiment (-) (+)
-- A Company
-- C Company
-- Support Company
-- Falklands Company, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles (+)
--- Platoon HQ.
--- X3 Rifle Platoons
--- Assault Pioneer Platoon
--- Support Platoon: Javelin ATGW, GPMG (SF), HMG
- Turkish Infantry Battalion (Reserve)

[2] Information on the League can be found here.

[3] The Chatham Islands Home Guard has, as of 18th May 2005, the following weapons:

2x Ordnance QF 25-pounders
2x L4A4 ‘Bren’ guns
10x L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles
2x L2A3 Sterling SMG
2x Pistol No.2 Mk.1* Browning Hi-Power
1x Lee-Enfield Rifle No.4 Mk.2
3x Lee-Enfield ‘sporter’ in .303inch
1x No.8 cadet rifle in .22 LR
2x double-barrel 12-gauge shotguns
1x single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun
1x Tikka M65 in 7mm Remington

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[Cihatari]

Putin, 5D chess playing and unfortunate 5th 1st floor open window accidents, hmmm that will end well?

Zelenzky on his Grecian vacation with extreme prejudice. Ukrainian family history? Nascent comedy career stifled?

[jemhouston]

How does Comrade Putin propose to restock the missiles when they use Western Components since the product of the Glorious Worker's Paradise are crap?

How hard would it be to bypass the safeties on Comrade Putin's private elevator?

[Eaglenine2]

Question where does 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)'s A and D Company came from?

[James1978]

Question where does 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)'s A and D Company came from?

Vermont National Guard.

If you're asking where in Vermont, I did not get into that level of detail in the US Army ORBAT.

[James1978]

Good chapter!

The Soviets seem to be doing comparatively well in the Southwestern TVD at the moment, at least on the ground. What does the situation look like in the air?

Why do I get the impression that the TLWverse 2005 Iraqi Army is a better/more capable army that the 1991 "battle hardened" one? And not just because they haven't had the crap bombed out of them for a month.

We know that stocks of JASSM/Storm Shadow class weapons are getting quite low, but what are SAC's stocks of AGM-86C/D and AGM-129C looking like?

Keep up the good work!

[Eaglenine2]

Question where does 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)'s A and D Company came from?

I mean In Colonel Hill Task Force there was a provisional rifle company along with a support company the A and D companies were already there in Turkey where Colonel Hill's original troops?

[Matt Wiser]

Good chapter, my friend. BZ as usual, and so to business:

The Soviet Army was not known for exercising tactical initiative at lower levels. A Divisional Commander could, and maybe Regimental, but below that, not so much. Hence Captain Zelensky being ordered to pull back, even though he was winning.

Some Iraqi units are more than willing to fight, with the RGFC, then the Regular Army heavy divisions heading that list. Some others, though, need to be properly motivated. Thus the Saddam Fedayeen being used-at Saddam's orders-as a Soviet-style "Blocking Detachment." In Faw, it's Regular Army, and they don't need much motivation to fight Iranians. Umm Qasr, though, is Saddam Fedayeen right there, and those guys, as in OTL, will put up as stiff a fight as possible.

Captain Gardner is based on the Enterprise (CV-6) Skipper from Nov '43 to Jul '44: He was a good officer "who made good decisions, but was very sure of himself, and had very little interaction with enlisted personnel beyond what line of duty required." The Big E's crew was very relieved when Gardner relinquished command and the new Skipper was much more personable and easier to work with-both junior officers and sailors felt. CAG will have a few words with the Captain and remind him such attitudes are not tolerated in the command.

Always good to be out of the line, even if it's for just two or three days. And "Moonlight requisitioning" is alive and well, I see.

The Kiwis on that island are closing the barn door after the livestock have run off... Oh, well, best to be prepared in case Ivan does come calling again.

Bombers over North America again, and SAC will return the favor. Again. While the KGB Chairman is playing the game.

Good work again, and get with 364!

[James1978]

Question where does 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)'s A and D Company came from?

I mean In Colonel Hill Task Force there was a provisional rifle company along with a support company the A and D companies were already there in Turkey where Colonel Hill's original troops?

See Chapter 339:

Colonel Henry ‘Lauryn’ Hill, deputy commander of 86th Vermont Infantry Brigade (Mountain) was a very frustrated man. He had arrived in Turkey two days ago along with the advanced party of the brigade H.Q on his way to join Task Force Yankee. As well as preparing for the arrival of the brigade, he was also to take over command of a reinforced TF Yankee.

However, Hill, his small H.Q, two infantry companies from 1-172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Battery B of 1-86th Field Artillery Battalion and a platoon from 101st Combat Engineer Battalion had been dumped at a military airfield outside Istanbul. The aircraft transporting them having been reassigned to ‘more important’ tasks while they were refuelling.

I'm assuming that those two infantry companies are A/1/172nd and D/1/172nd.

I guess Hill's "original troops" are those in TF Yankee in eastern Turkey and those mentioned above.

EDIT
Hold on a second . . . technically, D Co. is the anti-tank company in a light infantry/airborne battalion.
Yea, I'm just gonna leave this one to Bernard.

[Louie]

Regarding 3-172 Inf (MTN) in 1986:
HHC- VT
A Co.- VT
B Co.- ME
C Co.-NY
CSC- NH

Attached is MTN INF Bn T/O &E from 1997

MTN INF BN 1997 (1).jpg

[Matt Wiser]

I'll bet any amount of money that those officers just carrying pistols are going to "find" M-4 carbines one way or another....

[Eaglenine2]

Is 1-172nd Infantry Regiment equipped as a Mountain Battalion or Light infantry battalion?

[Bernard Woolley]

Zelenzky on his Grecian vacation with extreme prejudice. Ukrainian family history? Nascent comedy career stifled?

Captain Zelenzky is a Zelenzky not the Zelenzky.

How does Comrade Putin propose to restock the missiles when they use Western Components since the product of the Glorious Worker's Paradise are crap?

Like any other leader of a dictatorship - by telling the manufacturers to make more, or else.

Good chapter!

Thanks, appreciate that.

What does the situation look like in the air?

In a word, confused. In NATO's AFSOUTH region Blue Air is strong enough to protect ground forces from serious air attack. However, Red Air is also strong enough to make it difficult for NATO interdiction aircraft to operate without escort.

We know that stocks of JASSM/Storm Shadow class weapons are getting quite low, but what are SAC's stocks of AGM-86C/D and AGM-129C looking like?

SAC has enough of both to carry out a repeat of MOSCOW MULE if it was called on to do so. However, after that it would need to replenish.

Yea, I'm just gonna leave this one to Bernard.

Honest answer? I was in a rush last week to get this chapter finished and posted because I was going away on Friday and would not get back until yesterday. It was an error I didn't spot. It should be Company B, not D!

Keep up the good work!

Will do my best!

Good chapter, my friend. BZ as usual, and so to business:

Thanks very much.

Hence Captain Zelensky being ordered to pull back, even though he was winning.

The modern Russian Army seems to have the same reputation, as did the pre-1917 Imperial Russian Army. Some things just never change, it seems.

And "Moonlight requisitioning" is alive and well, I see.

The British Army has a long and (dis)honourable tradition of 'Buckshee' kit.

The Kiwis on that island are closing the barn door after the livestock have run off... Oh, well, best to be prepared in case Ivan does come calling again.

To be caught out once, is understandable. Twice would be careless.

Bombers over North America again, and SAC will return the favor. Again. While the KGB Chairman is playing the game.

We'll just need to see what happens this time.

Good work again, and get with 364!

Thanks again and will do!

[trekchu]

Ah yes, Strategic Transfer of Equipment to Alternate Locations.

[Matt Wiser]

Under illumination of moonlight.

[jemhouston]

Under illumination of moonlight.

In confusion there is profit.

[Jotun]

I am very late to the party, as is becoming all too common - say sorry - but one thing sticks with me.
The Soviet leadership absolutely and repulsively gleefully goes for civilian targets, peeing away precious not-so-precision-guided munitions for little gain. The Brit population did not crack during the Blitz, and more importantly, not even the Japanese population after the horrific firebombing of Tokyo et al., and the German population after pretty much every city over 100k inhabitants ate at least one bomber stream‘s ordnance did really crack. The Soviets must know that. Is terrorizing civilians hardwired in them? Or are they simply projecting their complete disdain for human lives on everybody?

Concerning their weaponry, all it takes is a few disgruntled Ukrainians, Balts, Tajiks, Belarusians etc. with access to one of the giant fabrication complexes to shut them down in the manner of that tank construction behemoth a chapter or three back. Hm. Maybe somebody in warhead design or construction messes with the circuits and a couple dozen cruise missiles go boom on separation from their aircraft, thus serving as a force multiplier and taking out a few bombers and their crews? I think a Backfire or Blackjack would be vaporized if several hundred pounds of high explosive went off directly under the bomb bay.

Jan, may I play with that idea?

[Bernard Woolley]

Go for it!