Oh I agree that (a) you have to go to war with what you have (b) if (a) is not at least adequate, things will truly suck. Given what is going to happen, there will be a lot of finger pointing when CNN shows casualties piling up outside medical facilities and dying due to lack of T/O medical personnel. Naturally it has to somebody elses fault, not that of the politicians who underfunded/under reasourced before the crisis.
Slow Drift to War Europe 1984
- Thread starter Farmer12
- Start date
You just do the best you can and remember when the politicians are looking for heads. That they normally do that in from of the world in a committee meeting with the press watching. The people being questioned can point out that they has asked for the money and congress failed to appropriate it. That takes all the fun out a congressional investigation, especially if the congressman or Senator asking the nasty questions voted against those appropriations.
Ongoing Saturday night Barents Sea The Norfolk was about two hundred miles to the north not far away was the Trafalgar the two submarines represented the cutting edge of both navies submarine forces. The two subs had been on patrol since before the crisis had broken out the messages from home had been a mixture of reassurance and concern. The concern was that the two subs were the very tip of the spear of the NATO’s naval forces. Now the men listening at the two submarines hydrophones heard what sounded like a freight train of submarine heading out to sea. Both submarines dived deep and then slowed down to a crawl. They did not know if World War three was starting so, for now, they would sit wait and see. Hopefully message would arrive telling them what was happening.
The first came in at about ten pm and they were quickly ided as Alpha’s and from what they were hearing four out of seven Alpha’s assigned to the Northern Banner Fleets and the only Papa were head to sea. Then about an hour later the next wave arrived it was a mixture Novembers, Victors and Oscars that formed the second wave. Then the next wave made up mixture of Echo’s, Charlies and a only Mike in the Soviet navy. Then the surface ships with a diesel subs mixed in began to arrive. One attracted the attention of both sub commanders it was the Kirov and it passed less than a mile away from the Norfolk. The Captain had to admit to himself the chance of taking out the Kirov and surviving was low but if he knew that the war was on he would have gone for it. Both sub commanders were going to wait out the waves of subs and ships before sending a message to NATO. The count of the soviet sub going to sea was being gathered and then the ships heard on the hydrophones were tallied. It was about this time the two sub commanders realized that they had hot news that should be sent but to do so would be suicide that is if there was a war on. Independently the two captains decide to wait.
10pm London Margaret Thatcher was looking over the reports of the massive movement of Soviet warships heading to sea. It was had been a very long day and that day had stretched into the night. Suddenly she had a very bad feeling and she sat in an uncharacteristic quiet before looking around. Then she declared, **We are going to treat this like we will be at war for a very long time.** Turning her attention on the First Sea Lord she asked him, **First what ships does the Royal Navy in in reserve? **
The First Sea Lord Sir John Fieldhouse, did not look one bit surprised, he had been prepared for whatever the Iron Lady had to throw at him. He had the foresight, to bring a list of ships. Looking over the list he commented, **The Hermes is in relatively good condition and should be able to be returned to service without too much difficulty. The Tiger was in good condition in eighty-two but I would like to have her resurveyed. But the reasons for not bringing her back into service remain but she could be useful. the Antrim could be returned to commission but she might need some work. **
** The Kent, well
she needs to much work to be brought back into service without an extensive refit. So, she is very doubtful. The Londonderry is to be used as a training ship but would should be able to bring her back into service with relative ease. The Rhyl’s hull is badly compromised and therefore not suitable to be brought back into service. The Falmouth was to be decommissioned but we will keep her in service for the time being. The only other possibility is the Ashanti but she had been used as a harbor training ship for a number of years and as such it is doubtful that she could be returned to duty without an extensive refit if at all. But the bigger problem is manning the ship we may not have enough personal to man all of these ships. Not to mention the crews we do put together will not have the time to learn to work together and that in combat will be a killer. **
Margaret Thatcher listened to the list and she nodded her head, She replied, **As per your comments, We will keep the Falmouth in service like you planned. The Hermes, Antrim and the Londonderry will be brought back into service as soon as possible. The Blake is to be brought back into service after being given a good checkout and make sure she gets a quick refit. I remember the reasons for not bringing her back into service but she could be of use. As for the Kent and Ashanti will be last on the list for refit but I think it would be a good idea to have as many ships ready to fight as we can put to sea. The Rhyl if the hull is compromised, well we cannot put her back into service. Also get every ship possible that is in repair or refit back into fighting condition as soon as possible and call in everyone we have in the RNR. ** Thatcher then paused for a second before going on, **We will probably need every one of them and then some.
No one in the room said a word, the Iron Lady was not acting quite like herself and then she suddenly commented, **I know all of you are wondering what I am thinking and I will tell you I have a bad feeling about this whole crisis. I hope to god I am wrong but I want the United Kingdom to be ready come what may. Understood? ** Everyone in the room replied in the affirmative and then She looked at the British Army Chief of the General staff and she asked, **What can we do to make the Army a larger stronger fighting force in a short period of time? **
The Chief of the General staff had not expected a question like that since unlike the navy, they just did not have equipment just lying around. Well they did have those tanks were obsolete. But he was quick on his feet, **Well Prime Minister, we have three hundred or so Centurions in reserve but how many of them can be brought back into service. Well that will be the question and whether to keep those tanks in reserve until loses at the front require those tanks to be used on the front. As for the Saracen,s we have a number of them available, two or three hundred maybe. But like the Centurians those units are obsolete. **
Margaret Thatcher was not in the mood for what she considered negatism, ** The WARSAW PACT will be attacking with T-54/55’s right? ** The Chief of the General staff replied, **Well the WARSAW PACT does not care if then send their troops to their deaths in obsolete tank. But I do.** Margaret Thatcher studied the man carefully for a minute before replying. ** I also care but we should have those tanks and APC ready to be sent into combat. Also, if I am not mistaken it takes time to train a crew to operate a different tanks or APC’s.** The Chief of the General Staff agreed in the affirmative and then she commented. **That means using these tanks as a final option would not be a good idea. While having crews trained to operate these tanks would be? We could possibly can convert a few infantry battalions mechanized status. Remember this I want as many unit’s ready for combat as we can pull together. I don’t want to find out that we lost the war because we were a battalion short of tanks when we have two or three or maybe even four tank battalions worth of tanks sitting in some depot. My attitude is the same for the APC do I make myself clear. **
The Chief of the General Staff rapidly nodded his head, then he replied, **I can have some of my staff check with the depots to see just how many Centurions and Saracens we can bring back into service. ** Then a thought occurred to him something that one of his officers mentioned. He wanted to take the 5th Airborne brigade, then forming a second brigade from the two territorial airborne battalions the 4th battalion parachute regiment and the 15th and reforming the 1st Airborne division. and the officer had even suggested talking to the Canadians about attaching their Paratroop Regiment to the other two units an forming a new 1st Airborne Division. The Chief of the General Staff outlined the proposal and he gave credit to the junior officer who came up with the idea. Margaret Thatcher loved the idea.
Then it was the RAF’s turn and after seeing what had happened to the Chief of the General Staff they told Thatcher that they could check with the Americans about possible having some of the Phantoms that the Americans had recently removed from service sent to the United Kingdom. Now they also commented if they could find any of the Lighting fighters could be could be brought into service. They talked about attaching the jets to existing squadrons, that while it would stretch the support units. But the additional jets would allow the squadrons to remain combat effective for a longer period of time.
Margaret Thatcher was happy with the RAF’s suggestions as for seeing if the Americans would be willing to part with a few of their old phantoms she was very supportive of that idea. With plan being so similar to the plan with the Lightening being carried out. Since there were pools of pilots in the reserves that had flown both fighters the plans for the additional jets that part would not be a problem. Also unlike the navy which would have to put whole crews or the Army brand new units together adding on a few pilots and their jets to a squadron should not impair the combat effectiveness of the squadrons the jets were assigned to.
As for the Marines she was considerably more understanding when the commander explained that he wanted to form a replacement battalion from those reservists he had so that if the war did happen he could keep the three commandos as close to full strength as he could. He could use the reservist to replace combat losses if and when the war happened.
She did not ask for more commenting that for such a small service this was best she could expect and that she knew that they would do their duty when required. It was then that the service chiefs filed out of the room they all knew who had come out best in the fight to look good and that was the Royal Navy, the RAF had come out next the Royal Marines were next and the Army was dead last. The Chief of the General Staff was not happy and he resolved that the 1st Airborne was going to happen even no matter what. On the way, back to Ministry of Defense he allocated missions, one officer was in charge of checking on the Centurions and the organization of whatever units could be produced Another was told that the Saracens were his problem, his problems were not as great. He had the units already organized all he had to do was find drivers and organize a support unit of mechanics and a supply train for the battalion to keep the Saracen in fuel, munitions and spare parts. As for the Airborne the third officer was given that mission. Organizing a division especially a high profile unit like this he was not happy since if he failed well that could mean the end of his career.
For the Royal Navy the problem was finding the crews necessary to man the ships they were bringing back into service. This was not going to be easy and to find the right officer to command each of the ships was even harder. The RAF could get the pilots from the people currently in carrying out ground duties and bringing in reservist to fly the Jets. If the Americans proved to be helpful well then, they might get really stretched. The Marine leadership was the happiest they had a plan and the Prime Minister was not interfering.
The first came in at about ten pm and they were quickly ided as Alpha’s and from what they were hearing four out of seven Alpha’s assigned to the Northern Banner Fleets and the only Papa were head to sea. Then about an hour later the next wave arrived it was a mixture Novembers, Victors and Oscars that formed the second wave. Then the next wave made up mixture of Echo’s, Charlies and a only Mike in the Soviet navy. Then the surface ships with a diesel subs mixed in began to arrive. One attracted the attention of both sub commanders it was the Kirov and it passed less than a mile away from the Norfolk. The Captain had to admit to himself the chance of taking out the Kirov and surviving was low but if he knew that the war was on he would have gone for it. Both sub commanders were going to wait out the waves of subs and ships before sending a message to NATO. The count of the soviet sub going to sea was being gathered and then the ships heard on the hydrophones were tallied. It was about this time the two sub commanders realized that they had hot news that should be sent but to do so would be suicide that is if there was a war on. Independently the two captains decide to wait.
10pm London Margaret Thatcher was looking over the reports of the massive movement of Soviet warships heading to sea. It was had been a very long day and that day had stretched into the night. Suddenly she had a very bad feeling and she sat in an uncharacteristic quiet before looking around. Then she declared, **We are going to treat this like we will be at war for a very long time.** Turning her attention on the First Sea Lord she asked him, **First what ships does the Royal Navy in in reserve? **
The First Sea Lord Sir John Fieldhouse, did not look one bit surprised, he had been prepared for whatever the Iron Lady had to throw at him. He had the foresight, to bring a list of ships. Looking over the list he commented, **The Hermes is in relatively good condition and should be able to be returned to service without too much difficulty. The Tiger was in good condition in eighty-two but I would like to have her resurveyed. But the reasons for not bringing her back into service remain but she could be useful. the Antrim could be returned to commission but she might need some work. **
** The Kent, well
she needs to much work to be brought back into service without an extensive refit. So, she is very doubtful. The Londonderry is to be used as a training ship but would should be able to bring her back into service with relative ease. The Rhyl’s hull is badly compromised and therefore not suitable to be brought back into service. The Falmouth was to be decommissioned but we will keep her in service for the time being. The only other possibility is the Ashanti but she had been used as a harbor training ship for a number of years and as such it is doubtful that she could be returned to duty without an extensive refit if at all. But the bigger problem is manning the ship we may not have enough personal to man all of these ships. Not to mention the crews we do put together will not have the time to learn to work together and that in combat will be a killer. **
Margaret Thatcher listened to the list and she nodded her head, She replied, **As per your comments, We will keep the Falmouth in service like you planned. The Hermes, Antrim and the Londonderry will be brought back into service as soon as possible. The Blake is to be brought back into service after being given a good checkout and make sure she gets a quick refit. I remember the reasons for not bringing her back into service but she could be of use. As for the Kent and Ashanti will be last on the list for refit but I think it would be a good idea to have as many ships ready to fight as we can put to sea. The Rhyl if the hull is compromised, well we cannot put her back into service. Also get every ship possible that is in repair or refit back into fighting condition as soon as possible and call in everyone we have in the RNR. ** Thatcher then paused for a second before going on, **We will probably need every one of them and then some.
No one in the room said a word, the Iron Lady was not acting quite like herself and then she suddenly commented, **I know all of you are wondering what I am thinking and I will tell you I have a bad feeling about this whole crisis. I hope to god I am wrong but I want the United Kingdom to be ready come what may. Understood? ** Everyone in the room replied in the affirmative and then She looked at the British Army Chief of the General staff and she asked, **What can we do to make the Army a larger stronger fighting force in a short period of time? **
The Chief of the General staff had not expected a question like that since unlike the navy, they just did not have equipment just lying around. Well they did have those tanks were obsolete. But he was quick on his feet, **Well Prime Minister, we have three hundred or so Centurions in reserve but how many of them can be brought back into service. Well that will be the question and whether to keep those tanks in reserve until loses at the front require those tanks to be used on the front. As for the Saracen,s we have a number of them available, two or three hundred maybe. But like the Centurians those units are obsolete. **
Margaret Thatcher was not in the mood for what she considered negatism, ** The WARSAW PACT will be attacking with T-54/55’s right? ** The Chief of the General staff replied, **Well the WARSAW PACT does not care if then send their troops to their deaths in obsolete tank. But I do.** Margaret Thatcher studied the man carefully for a minute before replying. ** I also care but we should have those tanks and APC ready to be sent into combat. Also, if I am not mistaken it takes time to train a crew to operate a different tanks or APC’s.** The Chief of the General Staff agreed in the affirmative and then she commented. **That means using these tanks as a final option would not be a good idea. While having crews trained to operate these tanks would be? We could possibly can convert a few infantry battalions mechanized status. Remember this I want as many unit’s ready for combat as we can pull together. I don’t want to find out that we lost the war because we were a battalion short of tanks when we have two or three or maybe even four tank battalions worth of tanks sitting in some depot. My attitude is the same for the APC do I make myself clear. **
The Chief of the General Staff rapidly nodded his head, then he replied, **I can have some of my staff check with the depots to see just how many Centurions and Saracens we can bring back into service. ** Then a thought occurred to him something that one of his officers mentioned. He wanted to take the 5th Airborne brigade, then forming a second brigade from the two territorial airborne battalions the 4th battalion parachute regiment and the 15th and reforming the 1st Airborne division. and the officer had even suggested talking to the Canadians about attaching their Paratroop Regiment to the other two units an forming a new 1st Airborne Division. The Chief of the General Staff outlined the proposal and he gave credit to the junior officer who came up with the idea. Margaret Thatcher loved the idea.
Then it was the RAF’s turn and after seeing what had happened to the Chief of the General Staff they told Thatcher that they could check with the Americans about possible having some of the Phantoms that the Americans had recently removed from service sent to the United Kingdom. Now they also commented if they could find any of the Lighting fighters could be could be brought into service. They talked about attaching the jets to existing squadrons, that while it would stretch the support units. But the additional jets would allow the squadrons to remain combat effective for a longer period of time.
Margaret Thatcher was happy with the RAF’s suggestions as for seeing if the Americans would be willing to part with a few of their old phantoms she was very supportive of that idea. With plan being so similar to the plan with the Lightening being carried out. Since there were pools of pilots in the reserves that had flown both fighters the plans for the additional jets that part would not be a problem. Also unlike the navy which would have to put whole crews or the Army brand new units together adding on a few pilots and their jets to a squadron should not impair the combat effectiveness of the squadrons the jets were assigned to.
As for the Marines she was considerably more understanding when the commander explained that he wanted to form a replacement battalion from those reservists he had so that if the war did happen he could keep the three commandos as close to full strength as he could. He could use the reservist to replace combat losses if and when the war happened.
She did not ask for more commenting that for such a small service this was best she could expect and that she knew that they would do their duty when required. It was then that the service chiefs filed out of the room they all knew who had come out best in the fight to look good and that was the Royal Navy, the RAF had come out next the Royal Marines were next and the Army was dead last. The Chief of the General Staff was not happy and he resolved that the 1st Airborne was going to happen even no matter what. On the way, back to Ministry of Defense he allocated missions, one officer was in charge of checking on the Centurions and the organization of whatever units could be produced Another was told that the Saracens were his problem, his problems were not as great. He had the units already organized all he had to do was find drivers and organize a support unit of mechanics and a supply train for the battalion to keep the Saracen in fuel, munitions and spare parts. As for the Airborne the third officer was given that mission. Organizing a division especially a high profile unit like this he was not happy since if he failed well that could mean the end of his career.
For the Royal Navy the problem was finding the crews necessary to man the ships they were bringing back into service. This was not going to be easy and to find the right officer to command each of the ships was even harder. The RAF could get the pilots from the people currently in carrying out ground duties and bringing in reservist to fly the Jets. If the Americans proved to be helpful well then, they might get really stretched. The Marine leadership was the happiest they had a plan and the Prime Minister was not interfering.
It will take several days for the nukes, if running at high speed, and a week or more for the diesel boats to get to the GIUK Gap. NATO's best shot at getting these boats is before they transit the gap. OTOH if these boats, of either type, are pushing it to get in positions to attack NATO major naval forces and/or convoys they will lighting up SOSUS and being tracked accurately. If the REFORGER convoys with equipment leave in the next few days, at least the first wave will make it to Europe before this wave of subs is in position.
This flush of the Soviet Navy is extremely dangerous. it is the equivalent of the mobilizations prior to WWI, once set in motion if you stopped it trying to restart was impossible without chaos. If th4e Soviets pull back from the brink, they have to bring back all these subs, there are some major issues with being able to turn around and restart this. The window to avoid disaster is closing rapidly. On top of this, this flush of the fleet was one of the major indicators that NATO would use to estimate that the Soviets were no shit going to go to war.
This flush of the Soviet Navy is extremely dangerous. it is the equivalent of the mobilizations prior to WWI, once set in motion if you stopped it trying to restart was impossible without chaos. If th4e Soviets pull back from the brink, they have to bring back all these subs, there are some major issues with being able to turn around and restart this. The window to avoid disaster is closing rapidly. On top of this, this flush of the fleet was one of the major indicators that NATO would use to estimate that the Soviets were no shit going to go to war.
The emptying of the harbors is as much a defensive move as it is an aggressive move. Announcing full mobilization makes large concentrations of ships and subs in main ports make them a target. So moving out of such massive areas makes sense. Also some of the submarines are going out to establish patrols area to protect the boomers from the NATO's nuclear attack boats. Others are taking up defensive positions. Others are heading to holding positions. The ships are not moving as fast they are leaving but at closer to standard cruising speeds. The West will not attack at once they will want to wait and see. So while the hearts are beating rapidly they will have time to consider what is going on. As for the Soviet Leadership the hardliners pushed for mobilizing everything but for the moment only the WARSAW pact is mobilizing while the various fleet are moving into defensive position.
Now the hardliners wait for the West to collapse in fear and handover the two assassin and at the same time force the NATO alliance to back down on the modernization of NATO's tactical nukes. NATO is not going to back down and then the hardliners will have egg on their face but it will be too late to retreat from this mobilization. The question was what will they do next and what will the West do in response. The situation is this is the Soviet Union does not start shooting the West is not likely to start shooting and then you have a stalemate. Then the question is what next.
Now the hardliners wait for the West to collapse in fear and handover the two assassin and at the same time force the NATO alliance to back down on the modernization of NATO's tactical nukes. NATO is not going to back down and then the hardliners will have egg on their face but it will be too late to retreat from this mobilization. The question was what will they do next and what will the West do in response. The situation is this is the Soviet Union does not start shooting the West is not likely to start shooting and then you have a stalemate. Then the question is what next.
The 12noon Japanese time 730pm Washington time
The Soviet submarine commanders ordered their ships to change course and head straight to Bougainville. But it took the intelligences officers a little while to figure out what was going at first, they thought it was a feint. But as time went on it became more apparent that the Soviets were definitely not headed to Camh Ranh Bay. Then after an hour or so it became apparent that the subs were definitely headed for Bougainville. Once the intelligence officers were certain what was happening they began to send out messages. Telling everyone what was happening and one of the Japanese officers commented that they had not yet seen the Frunze so how did they know that it was headed through the straits of Makassar and not headed for Bougainville since it made no sense to send the best of the Soviet Naval submarines in the Pacific to Bougainville. That thought would cause quite bit of indigestion in Allied intelligence circles.
Prime Minister Hawke received the news about the Soviet submarines change of course, that added comment on the possibility that the Soviets might have the Frunze and these submarines rendezvousing in the area around Bougainville. Add on the news that NATO was going to vote on whether to mobilize made things that much worse the fact that things were going so fast in Europe made it tough to consult with the Americans. That really gave him a case of indigestion, he immediately decided to call Reagan to if one he wanted the ANZUS alliance to mobilize when NATO did, but more importantly could he send reinforcements to Australia and New Zealand. Just what the Americans could send he had no idea but he knew that neither the Australian nor the New Zealand Navy had anything that could stand up against to the Frunze.
Ronald Reagan was relaxing for moment when the phone call from Prime Minister Hawke came in. The conversation went straight the point the mobilization of NATO, Reagan discussed with Prime Minister Hawke on what was going on and he apologized for not paying more attention to the Pacific. Prime Minister Hawke replied, **Your eyes are on where the fire is hottest. If concentrating on that means no World War Three keep it up. ** In a sad almost mournful tone Reagan replied, **All my concentrating has not produced any good results so far.** Then there was a rather awkward pause and then Reagan spoke in a more positive attitude. **But I am not going to let what has happened so far stop me from finding a solution. ** Hawke smiled to himself, Reagan was not a man who would allow himself to be kept down.
Then Hawke went his first question he asked if the United States would ask the ANZUS alliance to mobilize? Normally Reagan would have consulted his advisors and then made a decision, but today Reagan made an off the cuff decision. **No don’t mobilize and if you could do me a favor let Muldoon know that we don’t expect New Zealand to mobilize either. I still want to keep the crisis as localized as possible to Europe so for the moment I don’t want it to look like we are expanding the crisis. Even though I expect that we will be putting a lot of troops into Korea. But I do appreciate your asking me. I know it sound bad that I sort of lost track about the ANZUS alliance but I did. I will have someone give you and your people as well as Muldoon and his people a thorough briefing on what has happened and I will assign someone to keep you in the loop from now on. By the way make it clear to your press that the ANZUS alliance is not in Europe and it operates on its own priorities not Europe’s and furthermore the United States understands that. **Hawke agreed to make that message clear to the press and the people of Australia.
Then Hawke brought up the subject of the Frunze and that it was looking like the Frunze might be going in a different direction caught Reagan off guard. He had not received any warnings from the US Navy about the Frunze. What he did was listen to Hawke about the Frunze and that it may be headed in a different direction. Since he had not yet been briefed he had no real idea about what to do for the time being. Too much was happening for one man to keep track of and sooner or later it just might catchup with everyone.
What Hawke told Reagan that the Frunze was supposed to show up in the Makassar Strait sometime tomorrow but he if it did not a lot of his navy officers felt it might be headed east going around Australia and New Zealand nothing in either navy could stand up to the Frunze in open combat. Reagan agreed with Hawke and he told him that he would tell the Navy to come up with some reinforcements. Then Hawke asked, the La Jolla was supposed to do some training with the Australia and he wondered if the La Jolla could be kept in the South Pacific help against all the nuclear submarines that were headed toward the Soviet base in the Shortland island.
Reagan replied he would see what he could arrange but he asked Hawk to give him a couple of days to get it down. Hawke decided he done all he could do ended the call. Then Reagan called Cap Weinberger and the two men talked and then Weinberger called Lehman to have him speak to the CNO. Lehman decided that he himself would go to the Pentagon it would be a long weekend for Lehman. After that he called Secretary Schultz and told him about the call from Prime Minister Hawke. Schultz agreed with Reagan about not mobilizing the ANZUS alliance and agreed that the State Department and the Defense Department would get together and organize proper briefings for the ANZUS allies.
In Australia, Prime Minister Hawke called New Zealand he had a hot line number where he could be connected with Muldoon. Then the call was forwarded to another phone where Muldoon was doing some electioneering. The phone line was not secure but even if the Soviets or someone else was listening all they would hear was that the ANZUS alliance would not mobilizing at this time. But the ANZUS alliance would watch situation carefully. Once Muldoon came on the line the conversation was short. But the news made Muldoon quite happy, he had been getting question about what was going on in Europe now he could tell them that the ANZUS alliance would not be mobilizing. It was then that Hawke mentioned the two submarines and the convoy, Muldoon grunted and replied it the Soviets kept this up ANZUS would have no choice but to mobilize. Then Muldoon commented he had picked a hell of a time to hold an election. Comment that Hawke diplomatically did not comment on.
Then Hawke commented that he was going to have the military and intelligence specialists brief the leadership of the primary opposition parties. He also commented that Reagan was keeping the Democratic Party in the loop to. Muldoon considered what Hawke had said and he knew perfectly well that Hawke want he to do the same with Lange. In the end Muldoon agreed to make a quiet offer to Lange about having him and his party leadership briefed on the ongoing current crisis.
Then Prime Minister Hawk went outside his home to a crowd of Australian Reporters and he announced that after consulting with President Reagan it had been decided that the ANZUS alliance would not be mobilized at this time. He also stated firmly that Reagan had told him that he respected the fact that the ANZUS alliance was not part of NATO and that the ANZUS alliance would only mobilize if it was threatened by the Soviet Union. The Hawke then repeated his previous statement making it quite clear that whether the ANZUS alliance mobilized would be up to the Soviet Union.
Lange had been listening to the news off and on all day long including some comments that a group of Ambassadors coming out of a meeting with the President that made Reagan sound like he was some sort of anti-war hero. Then Hawke’s comments came through and that was the final straw, Lange was quite certain that Reagan’s policies had led to this crisis. He was positive that the people in Moscow who had attacked the Embassy while they were wrong. He believed that they were simply people who were afraid and over reacted.
He believed under no circumstances that New Zealand should mobilize. He, then went out and made a speech that made it clear to all that Lange was blaming Reagan’s policies for the crisis and that he did not believe the Soviet Union was a threat to New Zealand. Despite the base located in the Shortland Islands. He also stated that would oppose mobilizing the Armed Force of New Zealand and if they were mobilized he would demobilize them the day, he took control of the Office of Prime Minister of New Zealand. The crowd reacted with considerable enthusiasm.
Muldoon listened to the speech on the radio and he just sat and smiled, he was going to do what Hawke asked him to and offer Lange access to the current security briefings. But he would publicly announce the decision rather than consult with Lange. He would tell the reporters gathered outside and he would tell them that he would hold briefings on the current crisis with the leadership of all the parties in the House of Representatives. The briefings would put Lange on the spot, he would know about Soviet reinforcements that had already arrived and the one currently on the way. That put Lange on the spot and not Muldoon.
Muldoon almost hoped that Lange would refuse but he doubted he would be that lucky. That would make Lange look like a fool and he was no fool. Then again given Lange’s criticism of the handling of the current crisis by Reagan anything was possible. With that Muldoon called his defense minister who was in the Wellington and he order the man to prepare a briefing for the Leadership of the various parties in the House of Representatives and Bob Jones of the New Zealand Party.
The minister of defense was happy to gather the information and then Muldoon announced that with the ongoing crisis in Europe his government would brief the leadership of the various parties in the House of Representatives as well as Bob Jones of the New Zealand Party but the government would have to consult with the various parties involved to get everyone to agree on a date of the briefing. A lot of that would depend on Lange if he decided to put off the briefing or even to not attend. Muldoon would not put that past Lange since he firmly believed that Reagan was the root of all discord. Lange just might not attend the briefing since he could tell the world he did not need to attend the briefing since the whole crisis was Reagans fault. Muldoon wanted that to happen then he could attack Lange for not taking this crisis seriously.
Moscow Gorbachev was thinking about what Gromyko had told him after he had confessed that he had believed he had made a serious mistake today in supporting the mobilization so easily and so early. He had been thinking more about becoming the next First Secretary of the Party. Than realizingly he had made one more step to World War III. Gromyko replied **If that is true they can just put on your gravestone, To be or not to be First Secretary. **
The Soviet submarine commanders ordered their ships to change course and head straight to Bougainville. But it took the intelligences officers a little while to figure out what was going at first, they thought it was a feint. But as time went on it became more apparent that the Soviets were definitely not headed to Camh Ranh Bay. Then after an hour or so it became apparent that the subs were definitely headed for Bougainville. Once the intelligence officers were certain what was happening they began to send out messages. Telling everyone what was happening and one of the Japanese officers commented that they had not yet seen the Frunze so how did they know that it was headed through the straits of Makassar and not headed for Bougainville since it made no sense to send the best of the Soviet Naval submarines in the Pacific to Bougainville. That thought would cause quite bit of indigestion in Allied intelligence circles.
Prime Minister Hawke received the news about the Soviet submarines change of course, that added comment on the possibility that the Soviets might have the Frunze and these submarines rendezvousing in the area around Bougainville. Add on the news that NATO was going to vote on whether to mobilize made things that much worse the fact that things were going so fast in Europe made it tough to consult with the Americans. That really gave him a case of indigestion, he immediately decided to call Reagan to if one he wanted the ANZUS alliance to mobilize when NATO did, but more importantly could he send reinforcements to Australia and New Zealand. Just what the Americans could send he had no idea but he knew that neither the Australian nor the New Zealand Navy had anything that could stand up against to the Frunze.
Ronald Reagan was relaxing for moment when the phone call from Prime Minister Hawke came in. The conversation went straight the point the mobilization of NATO, Reagan discussed with Prime Minister Hawke on what was going on and he apologized for not paying more attention to the Pacific. Prime Minister Hawke replied, **Your eyes are on where the fire is hottest. If concentrating on that means no World War Three keep it up. ** In a sad almost mournful tone Reagan replied, **All my concentrating has not produced any good results so far.** Then there was a rather awkward pause and then Reagan spoke in a more positive attitude. **But I am not going to let what has happened so far stop me from finding a solution. ** Hawke smiled to himself, Reagan was not a man who would allow himself to be kept down.
Then Hawke went his first question he asked if the United States would ask the ANZUS alliance to mobilize? Normally Reagan would have consulted his advisors and then made a decision, but today Reagan made an off the cuff decision. **No don’t mobilize and if you could do me a favor let Muldoon know that we don’t expect New Zealand to mobilize either. I still want to keep the crisis as localized as possible to Europe so for the moment I don’t want it to look like we are expanding the crisis. Even though I expect that we will be putting a lot of troops into Korea. But I do appreciate your asking me. I know it sound bad that I sort of lost track about the ANZUS alliance but I did. I will have someone give you and your people as well as Muldoon and his people a thorough briefing on what has happened and I will assign someone to keep you in the loop from now on. By the way make it clear to your press that the ANZUS alliance is not in Europe and it operates on its own priorities not Europe’s and furthermore the United States understands that. **Hawke agreed to make that message clear to the press and the people of Australia.
Then Hawke brought up the subject of the Frunze and that it was looking like the Frunze might be going in a different direction caught Reagan off guard. He had not received any warnings from the US Navy about the Frunze. What he did was listen to Hawke about the Frunze and that it may be headed in a different direction. Since he had not yet been briefed he had no real idea about what to do for the time being. Too much was happening for one man to keep track of and sooner or later it just might catchup with everyone.
What Hawke told Reagan that the Frunze was supposed to show up in the Makassar Strait sometime tomorrow but he if it did not a lot of his navy officers felt it might be headed east going around Australia and New Zealand nothing in either navy could stand up to the Frunze in open combat. Reagan agreed with Hawke and he told him that he would tell the Navy to come up with some reinforcements. Then Hawke asked, the La Jolla was supposed to do some training with the Australia and he wondered if the La Jolla could be kept in the South Pacific help against all the nuclear submarines that were headed toward the Soviet base in the Shortland island.
Reagan replied he would see what he could arrange but he asked Hawk to give him a couple of days to get it down. Hawke decided he done all he could do ended the call. Then Reagan called Cap Weinberger and the two men talked and then Weinberger called Lehman to have him speak to the CNO. Lehman decided that he himself would go to the Pentagon it would be a long weekend for Lehman. After that he called Secretary Schultz and told him about the call from Prime Minister Hawke. Schultz agreed with Reagan about not mobilizing the ANZUS alliance and agreed that the State Department and the Defense Department would get together and organize proper briefings for the ANZUS allies.
In Australia, Prime Minister Hawke called New Zealand he had a hot line number where he could be connected with Muldoon. Then the call was forwarded to another phone where Muldoon was doing some electioneering. The phone line was not secure but even if the Soviets or someone else was listening all they would hear was that the ANZUS alliance would not mobilizing at this time. But the ANZUS alliance would watch situation carefully. Once Muldoon came on the line the conversation was short. But the news made Muldoon quite happy, he had been getting question about what was going on in Europe now he could tell them that the ANZUS alliance would not be mobilizing. It was then that Hawke mentioned the two submarines and the convoy, Muldoon grunted and replied it the Soviets kept this up ANZUS would have no choice but to mobilize. Then Muldoon commented he had picked a hell of a time to hold an election. Comment that Hawke diplomatically did not comment on.
Then Hawke commented that he was going to have the military and intelligence specialists brief the leadership of the primary opposition parties. He also commented that Reagan was keeping the Democratic Party in the loop to. Muldoon considered what Hawke had said and he knew perfectly well that Hawke want he to do the same with Lange. In the end Muldoon agreed to make a quiet offer to Lange about having him and his party leadership briefed on the ongoing current crisis.
Then Prime Minister Hawk went outside his home to a crowd of Australian Reporters and he announced that after consulting with President Reagan it had been decided that the ANZUS alliance would not be mobilized at this time. He also stated firmly that Reagan had told him that he respected the fact that the ANZUS alliance was not part of NATO and that the ANZUS alliance would only mobilize if it was threatened by the Soviet Union. The Hawke then repeated his previous statement making it quite clear that whether the ANZUS alliance mobilized would be up to the Soviet Union.
Lange had been listening to the news off and on all day long including some comments that a group of Ambassadors coming out of a meeting with the President that made Reagan sound like he was some sort of anti-war hero. Then Hawke’s comments came through and that was the final straw, Lange was quite certain that Reagan’s policies had led to this crisis. He was positive that the people in Moscow who had attacked the Embassy while they were wrong. He believed that they were simply people who were afraid and over reacted.
He believed under no circumstances that New Zealand should mobilize. He, then went out and made a speech that made it clear to all that Lange was blaming Reagan’s policies for the crisis and that he did not believe the Soviet Union was a threat to New Zealand. Despite the base located in the Shortland Islands. He also stated that would oppose mobilizing the Armed Force of New Zealand and if they were mobilized he would demobilize them the day, he took control of the Office of Prime Minister of New Zealand. The crowd reacted with considerable enthusiasm.
Muldoon listened to the speech on the radio and he just sat and smiled, he was going to do what Hawke asked him to and offer Lange access to the current security briefings. But he would publicly announce the decision rather than consult with Lange. He would tell the reporters gathered outside and he would tell them that he would hold briefings on the current crisis with the leadership of all the parties in the House of Representatives. The briefings would put Lange on the spot, he would know about Soviet reinforcements that had already arrived and the one currently on the way. That put Lange on the spot and not Muldoon.
Muldoon almost hoped that Lange would refuse but he doubted he would be that lucky. That would make Lange look like a fool and he was no fool. Then again given Lange’s criticism of the handling of the current crisis by Reagan anything was possible. With that Muldoon called his defense minister who was in the Wellington and he order the man to prepare a briefing for the Leadership of the various parties in the House of Representatives and Bob Jones of the New Zealand Party.
The minister of defense was happy to gather the information and then Muldoon announced that with the ongoing crisis in Europe his government would brief the leadership of the various parties in the House of Representatives as well as Bob Jones of the New Zealand Party but the government would have to consult with the various parties involved to get everyone to agree on a date of the briefing. A lot of that would depend on Lange if he decided to put off the briefing or even to not attend. Muldoon would not put that past Lange since he firmly believed that Reagan was the root of all discord. Lange just might not attend the briefing since he could tell the world he did not need to attend the briefing since the whole crisis was Reagans fault. Muldoon wanted that to happen then he could attack Lange for not taking this crisis seriously.
Moscow Gorbachev was thinking about what Gromyko had told him after he had confessed that he had believed he had made a serious mistake today in supporting the mobilization so easily and so early. He had been thinking more about becoming the next First Secretary of the Party. Than realizingly he had made one more step to World War III. Gromyko replied **If that is true they can just put on your gravestone, To be or not to be First Secretary. **
A CALL TO ARMS Chapter 8
8am Berlin 24 June Mobilization Day
Those East German Army units whose officers were loyal to the newly designated government, began to move into strategic locations in the city of Berlin while the Red army looked on. The commander of the Red Army in German had been unhappy about the decision of the Politburo to remove the current leadership of East Germany. The claims that some of the members were supporters of a reunited Germany he felt were lies. But he knew better than to say anything about it. The coup went on without interference and with an the occasional bit of aid from various Red Army units.
12 Noon Moscow The whole Politburo was waiting to hear what the NATO alliance would do in response to the mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. Gorbachev was looking around at the faces of the men who lead the Soviet Union. He paused to consider the faces of his rivals for the position of First Secretary. Grishin had boasted yesterday that the NATO alliance would be intimidated by the mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. Gorbachev was pretty sure that he was wrong but he had made the mistake of not challenging him about what he had said. He had in fact voted for the WARSAW PACT’S mobilization. Now if the NATO alliance mobilized he would be just one of many but the problem would be he could not challenge Grishin about his comment. He could hear Grishin reply, **You voted for mobilization so you must have agreed with what I said at the time. **
Romanov on the other hand had voted for mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. But he could claim that he had been sure that NATO would mobilize in response so his demand for full mobilization would be fulfilled and he could claim he had been right all along. No, was not going to be a good day, Chernenko had arrived just a few minutes ago. He had heard what had happened on Saturday and he was furious that the KGB and Militia had lost control of the crowds. That fury had apparently given him the strength to be here and from what he was saying it looked like he would push for the full mobilization of the Soviet Military. Why Gorbachev was not sure but he sounded like he wanted the crisis to escalate.
Chernenko was in a very bad mood the KGB had lost control of the protests and the Politburo had not responded with the proper vigor to the fighting that had broken out on Friday night. That act of aggression should have been met with the strong reaction, at the same time the crisis would heat up a bit more and then after a couple of week the Anti-War protestors would force the NATO alliance to give in to the demands of the Soviet Union. He had decided on forcing the NATO alliance to make a humiliating retreat from its modernization of their nuclear force. He was also going to make sure that Germany would never rise up to be a threat to the Soviet Union. Two invasions in less than one century was enough. Chernenko, was sure that only from a position of strength would they be able to make sure it never happened again.
For the moment though he would hold back from mobilization since the Politburo had previously made the decision to fully mobilize the armed forces of the Soviet Union until after NATO decided to mobilize its forces. The reason that Chernenko was waiting to mobilize was simple enough. He had heard quite a few complaints about his decision to send the subs and convoy to Bougainville without consulting the rest of the Politburo, STAVIK or the Central Defense Committee. For the moment, he was holding back on doing anything that looked like he was trying to rule the Soviet Union by himself. He wanted no one to be commenting about the Soviet Union’s descent into one-man rule. That would not be allowed by the other members of the Politburo.
10 AM Athens Greece While the sixteen members of the NATO alliance gathered, The Prime Minister of Greece had been in consultation with President Mitterrand. Mitterrand had managed to convince Prime Minister Papandreou that not supporting the mobilization of the NATO alliance could have repercussions especially in the form of foreign aid and as well as bank loans to Greece. Mitterand, made it quite clear if you don’t support the vote to mobilize don’t come looking for any more money from France, Germany, UK or the USA.
Papandreou was furious at being blackmailed, but at the same he needed the money, to carry out his planned social programs. What was worse was the hard-core support of the NATO alliance mobilization by Turkey meant that Greece if she held out, could end up friendless and all alone with a hostile Turkey eyeballing them. The idea of turning to the Soviet Union for help was a nonstarter and not realistic since they were not likely to loan Greece the kind of money he needed to carry out the programs he wanted. He also had concerns about the briefing he had received which had told him about the spy ring in Germany.
But in the end, he decided to support the motion to mobilize. Mitterrand told Papandreou he would say nice things about in during the next press conference. Papandreou was not happy but he had no desire to have the biggest powers in Europe unhappy with him. He needed the loans to do what he felt he needed to do for Greece so he decided to back the mobilization of NATO.
1030am Brussels Belgium The members of the North Atlantic Council file in the German Ambassador had polled the members to see what their position would be Italy, Portugal and Spain were nervous about supporting mobilization but they all had agreed to the only hold out was Greece. But at the same time the Soviet mobilization of the WARSAW PACT did not give them many options. Arguments of the other members for the moment kept those three countries in line. While the United States stayed pretty much on the sidelines, letting West Germany, United Kingdom and France do the heavy lifting. The Americans decision not to play the two hundred pound, gorilla could in the long term help the alliance hold together at a later date.
France had told the German Ambassador that the Greeks were on board so that meant a solid display of unity. The French Ambassador commented that once the Soviets realized that NATO was united they would have to back down the German Ambassador was not so certain but only time would tell. First the Ambassadors from the various countries stood up and gave speech, out of fairness it had been decided to have the members speak in alphabetical order. The American ambassador sat back and waited, Greece’s announcement that they would support mobilization gained the attention of the rest of the ambassadors making them feel a lot more comfortable about voting yes.
When Italy stood up there was a brief holding of breaths but Italy announced its support with reservations. Portugal’s ambassador comments were short and to the point also in support. When Spain’s turn came the Ambassador was brief and to the point, he was personally opposed to the mobilization but orders were orders so he simply announced Spain’s support of for the mobilization of NATO. The American ambassador simply stood up and announced the United States support and right after that it was moved and seconded to vote on the measure. Then the member nations of NATO voted to mobilize the armed forces of the alliance in a display of solidarity and unity. Now it was time for NATO to hold its breath and see how the Soviet Union reacted to NATO’s decision to mobilize its forces.
1130AM The Ambassadors gathered together in a large briefing room in front of a huge mass of reporters and announced their decision. Then the various ambassadors were speaking from reporters from their respective countries and many of those questions were hostile. Many in the press Corp were on the side of the Peace Movement and as a result were not happy about what they considered a march to war. No matter who started it.
1:30PM MOSCOW
In Moscow the waiting was over NATO’s decision to mobilize, caused quite a bit of argument as the soft liners told the hard liners that they had misled the rest of them. The fact that the NATO alliance had decided to stand up to their pressure not back down. For Chernenko there were no problems after the arguing died down he stood up and in a wheezy voice stated that in his mind full mobilization of the Soviet Union was imperative. The Politburo argued for a little while longer but in the end, it was obvious that short of a humiliating retreat in front of the whole world full mobilization would happen. But for the moment the invisible divisions the one only mobilized in the most dire of situation would not be mobilized for the moment.
2:30 PM MOSCOW Within the hour Romanov and Ogarkov were standing in front of a group of reporters from the world and they announced the full mobilization of the entire Soviet military.
8am Berlin 24 June Mobilization Day
Those East German Army units whose officers were loyal to the newly designated government, began to move into strategic locations in the city of Berlin while the Red army looked on. The commander of the Red Army in German had been unhappy about the decision of the Politburo to remove the current leadership of East Germany. The claims that some of the members were supporters of a reunited Germany he felt were lies. But he knew better than to say anything about it. The coup went on without interference and with an the occasional bit of aid from various Red Army units.
12 Noon Moscow The whole Politburo was waiting to hear what the NATO alliance would do in response to the mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. Gorbachev was looking around at the faces of the men who lead the Soviet Union. He paused to consider the faces of his rivals for the position of First Secretary. Grishin had boasted yesterday that the NATO alliance would be intimidated by the mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. Gorbachev was pretty sure that he was wrong but he had made the mistake of not challenging him about what he had said. He had in fact voted for the WARSAW PACT’S mobilization. Now if the NATO alliance mobilized he would be just one of many but the problem would be he could not challenge Grishin about his comment. He could hear Grishin reply, **You voted for mobilization so you must have agreed with what I said at the time. **
Romanov on the other hand had voted for mobilization of the WARSAW PACT. But he could claim that he had been sure that NATO would mobilize in response so his demand for full mobilization would be fulfilled and he could claim he had been right all along. No, was not going to be a good day, Chernenko had arrived just a few minutes ago. He had heard what had happened on Saturday and he was furious that the KGB and Militia had lost control of the crowds. That fury had apparently given him the strength to be here and from what he was saying it looked like he would push for the full mobilization of the Soviet Military. Why Gorbachev was not sure but he sounded like he wanted the crisis to escalate.
Chernenko was in a very bad mood the KGB had lost control of the protests and the Politburo had not responded with the proper vigor to the fighting that had broken out on Friday night. That act of aggression should have been met with the strong reaction, at the same time the crisis would heat up a bit more and then after a couple of week the Anti-War protestors would force the NATO alliance to give in to the demands of the Soviet Union. He had decided on forcing the NATO alliance to make a humiliating retreat from its modernization of their nuclear force. He was also going to make sure that Germany would never rise up to be a threat to the Soviet Union. Two invasions in less than one century was enough. Chernenko, was sure that only from a position of strength would they be able to make sure it never happened again.
For the moment though he would hold back from mobilization since the Politburo had previously made the decision to fully mobilize the armed forces of the Soviet Union until after NATO decided to mobilize its forces. The reason that Chernenko was waiting to mobilize was simple enough. He had heard quite a few complaints about his decision to send the subs and convoy to Bougainville without consulting the rest of the Politburo, STAVIK or the Central Defense Committee. For the moment, he was holding back on doing anything that looked like he was trying to rule the Soviet Union by himself. He wanted no one to be commenting about the Soviet Union’s descent into one-man rule. That would not be allowed by the other members of the Politburo.
10 AM Athens Greece While the sixteen members of the NATO alliance gathered, The Prime Minister of Greece had been in consultation with President Mitterrand. Mitterrand had managed to convince Prime Minister Papandreou that not supporting the mobilization of the NATO alliance could have repercussions especially in the form of foreign aid and as well as bank loans to Greece. Mitterand, made it quite clear if you don’t support the vote to mobilize don’t come looking for any more money from France, Germany, UK or the USA.
Papandreou was furious at being blackmailed, but at the same he needed the money, to carry out his planned social programs. What was worse was the hard-core support of the NATO alliance mobilization by Turkey meant that Greece if she held out, could end up friendless and all alone with a hostile Turkey eyeballing them. The idea of turning to the Soviet Union for help was a nonstarter and not realistic since they were not likely to loan Greece the kind of money he needed to carry out the programs he wanted. He also had concerns about the briefing he had received which had told him about the spy ring in Germany.
But in the end, he decided to support the motion to mobilize. Mitterrand told Papandreou he would say nice things about in during the next press conference. Papandreou was not happy but he had no desire to have the biggest powers in Europe unhappy with him. He needed the loans to do what he felt he needed to do for Greece so he decided to back the mobilization of NATO.
1030am Brussels Belgium The members of the North Atlantic Council file in the German Ambassador had polled the members to see what their position would be Italy, Portugal and Spain were nervous about supporting mobilization but they all had agreed to the only hold out was Greece. But at the same time the Soviet mobilization of the WARSAW PACT did not give them many options. Arguments of the other members for the moment kept those three countries in line. While the United States stayed pretty much on the sidelines, letting West Germany, United Kingdom and France do the heavy lifting. The Americans decision not to play the two hundred pound, gorilla could in the long term help the alliance hold together at a later date.
France had told the German Ambassador that the Greeks were on board so that meant a solid display of unity. The French Ambassador commented that once the Soviets realized that NATO was united they would have to back down the German Ambassador was not so certain but only time would tell. First the Ambassadors from the various countries stood up and gave speech, out of fairness it had been decided to have the members speak in alphabetical order. The American ambassador sat back and waited, Greece’s announcement that they would support mobilization gained the attention of the rest of the ambassadors making them feel a lot more comfortable about voting yes.
When Italy stood up there was a brief holding of breaths but Italy announced its support with reservations. Portugal’s ambassador comments were short and to the point also in support. When Spain’s turn came the Ambassador was brief and to the point, he was personally opposed to the mobilization but orders were orders so he simply announced Spain’s support of for the mobilization of NATO. The American ambassador simply stood up and announced the United States support and right after that it was moved and seconded to vote on the measure. Then the member nations of NATO voted to mobilize the armed forces of the alliance in a display of solidarity and unity. Now it was time for NATO to hold its breath and see how the Soviet Union reacted to NATO’s decision to mobilize its forces.
1130AM The Ambassadors gathered together in a large briefing room in front of a huge mass of reporters and announced their decision. Then the various ambassadors were speaking from reporters from their respective countries and many of those questions were hostile. Many in the press Corp were on the side of the Peace Movement and as a result were not happy about what they considered a march to war. No matter who started it.
1:30PM MOSCOW
In Moscow the waiting was over NATO’s decision to mobilize, caused quite a bit of argument as the soft liners told the hard liners that they had misled the rest of them. The fact that the NATO alliance had decided to stand up to their pressure not back down. For Chernenko there were no problems after the arguing died down he stood up and in a wheezy voice stated that in his mind full mobilization of the Soviet Union was imperative. The Politburo argued for a little while longer but in the end, it was obvious that short of a humiliating retreat in front of the whole world full mobilization would happen. But for the moment the invisible divisions the one only mobilized in the most dire of situation would not be mobilized for the moment.
2:30 PM MOSCOW Within the hour Romanov and Ogarkov were standing in front of a group of reporters from the world and they announced the full mobilization of the entire Soviet military.
1245 PM Fulda Gap
Chuck Peterson watching one of his platoon sergeants look over the gear of a squad with a nervous looking squad leader following behind. Platoon Sergeant Biggs had done a tour in the 196th infantry brigade in Vietnam 70 to 71. He was no ball of fire but he was competent and reliable, Chuck remembered a company commander commenting on another NCO, he might not be the best NCO I ever had but I know that day in and day out he would do what’s expected of him and that was Biggs. Biggs stopped for a minute as he looked over a stack of gear, then he squatted down and he studied it carefully then after a minute or so he moved on. Chuck smiled Biggs had once commented that even if you don’t find anything wrong it does not hurt to look like you may have just to keep them on their toes.
Then a runner showed up from the command track, with a message, the man did not salute since they were in a tactical situation. But he sort of came to attention, then he told Chuck, the Colonel wants to see you it looks like something is up. The First Sergeant was waiting for him with a jeep and he told Chuck, **Sir they moved the Battalion HQ last night to another location. I have been there so let me take you there. ** Chuck nodded his head and the two of them took off. The First Sergeant commented that the Brigade commander dropped by yesterday afternoon and the first question out of his mouth was why had the battalion commander left his HQ in the same location for five days in a row.
**So last night the HQ was moved and from now on I’ll bet that it will be moved every couple of days for at least awhile. ** Chuck smiled but he said nothing the truth was that Rodney had been grossly negligent in not moving the HQ at least every couple of days. The Russians were not fools and they could by radio triangulation figure out where the battalion headquarters was at. Then it was a simple matter of shelling the location and taking out the battalion HQ. Then the conversation moved on to what was up the Chuck had heard on the Radio that NATO was holding a meeting to vote on a motion to mobilize. The odds were that the motion had passed. When they arrived something new had been added to the mix of personal at Battalion HQ. An officer from the local Territorial Army was now attached to the battalion for purposes of liaison. That made sense since with the mobilization of the German Territorial Army. Lt.
Col Rodney was not a happy man last night he had his ass chewed by the brigade commander for not moving the battalion HQ around more, so that the Soviets could not lock into it. As far as Rodney was concerned the first weeks of his new command had been not a total disaster but it was close to being one. He had planned on standard normal command period with no serious fuckups so that his patrons could point to his lack of failure as a success. That way he could get his next promotion and be one step closer to becoming a general. But this damned crisis was screwing it up. The one thing that Rodney had learned in the last few days was that his XO and S3 were first class officers. So as time went on he let them more or less run the unit. He planned on giving a short moral boosting speech and that was it.
For Chuck, the actual briefing was short and to the point. Not only was the WARSAW PACT was being mobilized now the Soviet Union was mobilizing the rest of their forces. There was a real danger that the Soviet just might head west. The XO and the S3 made it abundantly clear that this battalion was on the frontlines and if the Soviets did head west the only thing between the Soviet Army and them was the 11th Armored Calvary. Everyone needed to be in their toes and ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Then the briefing talked about a few new directives and a briefing on the current situation. The one major complaint was the shortage of transportation to ship supplies from the army depots to the front lines. It was not as of yet critical but if a real war broke out the ability to ship all the fuel, ammunitions as well as all the other supplies would be quite impossible. Chuck had noticed that the battalion commander had stayed in the background and the officers he had the best opinion of in the battalion HQ were doing most of the thinking.
Berlin, East Germany
In East Germany the most hardline of the political factions had taken control and they were in the process of purging the unreliable elements, while engaging in the settling of old scores. As they went about taking care of their primary enemies the less important enemies considered their moves. The change of government was announced on TV the arrests appeared for all to see the idea was simple enough intimidation to keep the rest in line. The accusations that the people arrested were revisionist supporters of a reunited Germany. A united Germany that under Helmut Kohl control, would once again be a threat to their neighbors. The only problem was that the stories reached the West German side of the border. A good many of the STASI operatives, who were handling the East German spy rings wondered if it would be a good idea to return home especially since a good many of the agents in West Germany had friends, allies or patrons who were among the accused traitors
Brussels Belgium
In Brussel another STASI agent recognized the face of his primary patron and being dragged handcuffed into STASI Headquarters. The leaders of the Coup had broadcast this arrest and others in the belief that they would intimidate their opponents. His friend was dead man and so probably was his family but for the moment the agent was still free and he had no desire to go home now. He and his patron had been loyally served the STASI, for most of their lives as informants in their youth and as operatives when they left college. Now all that loyal service meant nothing. He decided to find a hole to hide in and think on what had happened and then decide what to do. But before he did that he would pick up classified NATO information that would be sitting in a dead drop. He had something to show to the Americans when he negotiated his defection. He had always wanted to go to Rio de Janeiro and with a few million US dollars he could comfortably retire there.
NATO headquarters Brussels the announcement that the Soviet Union was ordering a full mobilization of its forces really did not catch anyone by surprise. The ambassador from Spain promptly stood up and blamed the Americans, Germans, French and British for leading them into this dangerous situation. The ambassador’s intemperate comments stirred up reactions from both the Italian and Greek ambassador. But the German ambassador reacted like a volcano, noting that right now people were dying in East Germany. Not to mention the Soviet had organized the demonstrations that ended up in the destruction of American embassy. As well as the German embassy being vandalized and its diplomatic personal assaulted and the attack on and the death of the British ambassador. Add on that the Soviets had mobilized the WARSAW PACT right after they violated the sanctity of those embassies. His comments received a rumble of agreement from most of the rest of the ambassadors in the room. That caused the ambassador from Spain to hesitate and made the Italian and Greek ambassadors decide that for the moment to be more careful of their comments.
At the same time, the neutral government of Austria decided that they should mobilize their forces. This decision was simply to carry out since the Austrian military were holding their yearly June training session a three-week long training program for their Reservist Units. Austria announced that while Austria was absolute neutral and that the mobilization of its forces purely a defensive move. While Yugoslavia also announced its neutrality but it was for the now not carrying out a full mobilization. The problem was that if they did mobilize it might give some of the member states of the Federated Republic some ideas about going their own way. For now, Yugoslavia would stay on the sidelines. Sweden announced its neutrality but she also stated that she would not tolerate any violation of her neutrality. But for there would be now no mobilization. Finland made an announcement of Neutrality but went no further.
8 am Washington DC
Ronald Reagan woke up and he sat up in bed, since he had not work up by someone else meant the NATO had voted to mobilized. If they had the orders he had given to start REFORGER once it had been approved by NATO were being carried out. If NATO had failed to support the mobilization of NATO’S forces he was to be awaken. Reagan was uncertain exactly what the reaction of the Soviet Union would be and only time would tell. But first he would shower shave brush his teeth and dress. One should always take the time to look Presidential. Then he would walk out and hear all the latest news. When Reagan stepped out of his bedroom his chief of staff James Baker, his daily briefer and the man with the football as well as assorted Secret Service men were all waiting for him. James Baker, spoke first, **Mr. President, NATO voted to mobilize and in reply the Soviet Union has declared a full mobilization of its forces. The democrats are having a hissy fit and the press is screaming bloody murder. **
Reagan nodded his head as they headed to his office, he responded that none of what was happening came as a real surprise. Once they were in the President’s office he signed the order he had prepared the previous day ordering the full mobilization of entire American military. With that done he was gone to speak to the press and let them know that his administration was still looking for a peaceful solution to the current crisis. Then he would go to breakfast and watch TV. He was going to see what was being said on Meet the Press, Face the Nation and The Week. Then he would go over and see what was going on CNN. Its twenty-four hour news cycle was giving it a lot of exposure on the cables channels and it was making it a new powerhouse in the news industry.
The Sunday morning news shows were alive with comments some were very incendiary in opposition to the president. While the Republicans were generally supportive, the fact the WARSAW pact had mobilized first did take some of the wind out of the sails of Reagans opponents. Mondale was on Meet the Press attempting to look presidential commenting on the attack on the US embassy in Moscow and the Soviet Mobilization first of their WARSAW pact forces. Now the complete mobilization of the Soviet Union’s military had been declared in reaction to Nato’s mobilization. He made several comments critical of the handling of the crisis by Reagan but he had to admit that the Soviets had not made things any easier with as he phrased it their over reactions. He went on to say he just could not understand what was going on inside the Kremlin. Reagan had to admit that he was still wondering about that one.
Then right after he was done a military analyst come on to talk about a potential Soviet attack in the next few days. The analyst dropped wet blanket on that idea stating until East Germany was secure and they could reposition the additional forces they had mobilized there would be peace. He estimated that it would take anywhere from a two-weeks to month before the Russians would be ready to move. He also went on to state that the toppling of the current East German Government by a new government was also a signal that nothing would be happening militarily for a while. With the supply lines immediately behind the frontline units of Warsaw Pact open to attack by stray East German Insurrectionist. He felt the Soviets would wait until the lines of supply were secure and the additional units had arrived.
Hart was on Face the Nation and he was giving Reagan and his policies a good raking over the coals. He spent most of his time criticizing Reagan with little or no condemnation of the Russian. His comments of why can’t we give peace a chance. The commentator who then asked a surprisingly blunt question that why had the Soviet Union mobilized the WARSAW pact after those angry mobs of Muscovites had attacked the embassies. Especially since NATO had done nothing about mobilizing anyone after the Friday night skirmishes. Hart did not have a good explanation for that except to criticize Reagans policies some more. Reagan smiled to himself, the American people did not like back biters and weaklings to Reagan, Hart was both.
Mondale was playing his cards better. But Reagan was confident he could beat either one in the next election. Especially when the crisis came to an end and their dire prediction did not come true. Reagan was sure that his of calm cool and collected leadership in the crisis would in the end re-elect him.
Chuck Peterson watching one of his platoon sergeants look over the gear of a squad with a nervous looking squad leader following behind. Platoon Sergeant Biggs had done a tour in the 196th infantry brigade in Vietnam 70 to 71. He was no ball of fire but he was competent and reliable, Chuck remembered a company commander commenting on another NCO, he might not be the best NCO I ever had but I know that day in and day out he would do what’s expected of him and that was Biggs. Biggs stopped for a minute as he looked over a stack of gear, then he squatted down and he studied it carefully then after a minute or so he moved on. Chuck smiled Biggs had once commented that even if you don’t find anything wrong it does not hurt to look like you may have just to keep them on their toes.
Then a runner showed up from the command track, with a message, the man did not salute since they were in a tactical situation. But he sort of came to attention, then he told Chuck, the Colonel wants to see you it looks like something is up. The First Sergeant was waiting for him with a jeep and he told Chuck, **Sir they moved the Battalion HQ last night to another location. I have been there so let me take you there. ** Chuck nodded his head and the two of them took off. The First Sergeant commented that the Brigade commander dropped by yesterday afternoon and the first question out of his mouth was why had the battalion commander left his HQ in the same location for five days in a row.
**So last night the HQ was moved and from now on I’ll bet that it will be moved every couple of days for at least awhile. ** Chuck smiled but he said nothing the truth was that Rodney had been grossly negligent in not moving the HQ at least every couple of days. The Russians were not fools and they could by radio triangulation figure out where the battalion headquarters was at. Then it was a simple matter of shelling the location and taking out the battalion HQ. Then the conversation moved on to what was up the Chuck had heard on the Radio that NATO was holding a meeting to vote on a motion to mobilize. The odds were that the motion had passed. When they arrived something new had been added to the mix of personal at Battalion HQ. An officer from the local Territorial Army was now attached to the battalion for purposes of liaison. That made sense since with the mobilization of the German Territorial Army. Lt.
Col Rodney was not a happy man last night he had his ass chewed by the brigade commander for not moving the battalion HQ around more, so that the Soviets could not lock into it. As far as Rodney was concerned the first weeks of his new command had been not a total disaster but it was close to being one. He had planned on standard normal command period with no serious fuckups so that his patrons could point to his lack of failure as a success. That way he could get his next promotion and be one step closer to becoming a general. But this damned crisis was screwing it up. The one thing that Rodney had learned in the last few days was that his XO and S3 were first class officers. So as time went on he let them more or less run the unit. He planned on giving a short moral boosting speech and that was it.
For Chuck, the actual briefing was short and to the point. Not only was the WARSAW PACT was being mobilized now the Soviet Union was mobilizing the rest of their forces. There was a real danger that the Soviet just might head west. The XO and the S3 made it abundantly clear that this battalion was on the frontlines and if the Soviets did head west the only thing between the Soviet Army and them was the 11th Armored Calvary. Everyone needed to be in their toes and ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Then the briefing talked about a few new directives and a briefing on the current situation. The one major complaint was the shortage of transportation to ship supplies from the army depots to the front lines. It was not as of yet critical but if a real war broke out the ability to ship all the fuel, ammunitions as well as all the other supplies would be quite impossible. Chuck had noticed that the battalion commander had stayed in the background and the officers he had the best opinion of in the battalion HQ were doing most of the thinking.
Berlin, East Germany
In East Germany the most hardline of the political factions had taken control and they were in the process of purging the unreliable elements, while engaging in the settling of old scores. As they went about taking care of their primary enemies the less important enemies considered their moves. The change of government was announced on TV the arrests appeared for all to see the idea was simple enough intimidation to keep the rest in line. The accusations that the people arrested were revisionist supporters of a reunited Germany. A united Germany that under Helmut Kohl control, would once again be a threat to their neighbors. The only problem was that the stories reached the West German side of the border. A good many of the STASI operatives, who were handling the East German spy rings wondered if it would be a good idea to return home especially since a good many of the agents in West Germany had friends, allies or patrons who were among the accused traitors
Brussels Belgium
In Brussel another STASI agent recognized the face of his primary patron and being dragged handcuffed into STASI Headquarters. The leaders of the Coup had broadcast this arrest and others in the belief that they would intimidate their opponents. His friend was dead man and so probably was his family but for the moment the agent was still free and he had no desire to go home now. He and his patron had been loyally served the STASI, for most of their lives as informants in their youth and as operatives when they left college. Now all that loyal service meant nothing. He decided to find a hole to hide in and think on what had happened and then decide what to do. But before he did that he would pick up classified NATO information that would be sitting in a dead drop. He had something to show to the Americans when he negotiated his defection. He had always wanted to go to Rio de Janeiro and with a few million US dollars he could comfortably retire there.
NATO headquarters Brussels the announcement that the Soviet Union was ordering a full mobilization of its forces really did not catch anyone by surprise. The ambassador from Spain promptly stood up and blamed the Americans, Germans, French and British for leading them into this dangerous situation. The ambassador’s intemperate comments stirred up reactions from both the Italian and Greek ambassador. But the German ambassador reacted like a volcano, noting that right now people were dying in East Germany. Not to mention the Soviet had organized the demonstrations that ended up in the destruction of American embassy. As well as the German embassy being vandalized and its diplomatic personal assaulted and the attack on and the death of the British ambassador. Add on that the Soviets had mobilized the WARSAW PACT right after they violated the sanctity of those embassies. His comments received a rumble of agreement from most of the rest of the ambassadors in the room. That caused the ambassador from Spain to hesitate and made the Italian and Greek ambassadors decide that for the moment to be more careful of their comments.
At the same time, the neutral government of Austria decided that they should mobilize their forces. This decision was simply to carry out since the Austrian military were holding their yearly June training session a three-week long training program for their Reservist Units. Austria announced that while Austria was absolute neutral and that the mobilization of its forces purely a defensive move. While Yugoslavia also announced its neutrality but it was for the now not carrying out a full mobilization. The problem was that if they did mobilize it might give some of the member states of the Federated Republic some ideas about going their own way. For now, Yugoslavia would stay on the sidelines. Sweden announced its neutrality but she also stated that she would not tolerate any violation of her neutrality. But for there would be now no mobilization. Finland made an announcement of Neutrality but went no further.
8 am Washington DC
Ronald Reagan woke up and he sat up in bed, since he had not work up by someone else meant the NATO had voted to mobilized. If they had the orders he had given to start REFORGER once it had been approved by NATO were being carried out. If NATO had failed to support the mobilization of NATO’S forces he was to be awaken. Reagan was uncertain exactly what the reaction of the Soviet Union would be and only time would tell. But first he would shower shave brush his teeth and dress. One should always take the time to look Presidential. Then he would walk out and hear all the latest news. When Reagan stepped out of his bedroom his chief of staff James Baker, his daily briefer and the man with the football as well as assorted Secret Service men were all waiting for him. James Baker, spoke first, **Mr. President, NATO voted to mobilize and in reply the Soviet Union has declared a full mobilization of its forces. The democrats are having a hissy fit and the press is screaming bloody murder. **
Reagan nodded his head as they headed to his office, he responded that none of what was happening came as a real surprise. Once they were in the President’s office he signed the order he had prepared the previous day ordering the full mobilization of entire American military. With that done he was gone to speak to the press and let them know that his administration was still looking for a peaceful solution to the current crisis. Then he would go to breakfast and watch TV. He was going to see what was being said on Meet the Press, Face the Nation and The Week. Then he would go over and see what was going on CNN. Its twenty-four hour news cycle was giving it a lot of exposure on the cables channels and it was making it a new powerhouse in the news industry.
The Sunday morning news shows were alive with comments some were very incendiary in opposition to the president. While the Republicans were generally supportive, the fact the WARSAW pact had mobilized first did take some of the wind out of the sails of Reagans opponents. Mondale was on Meet the Press attempting to look presidential commenting on the attack on the US embassy in Moscow and the Soviet Mobilization first of their WARSAW pact forces. Now the complete mobilization of the Soviet Union’s military had been declared in reaction to Nato’s mobilization. He made several comments critical of the handling of the crisis by Reagan but he had to admit that the Soviets had not made things any easier with as he phrased it their over reactions. He went on to say he just could not understand what was going on inside the Kremlin. Reagan had to admit that he was still wondering about that one.
Then right after he was done a military analyst come on to talk about a potential Soviet attack in the next few days. The analyst dropped wet blanket on that idea stating until East Germany was secure and they could reposition the additional forces they had mobilized there would be peace. He estimated that it would take anywhere from a two-weeks to month before the Russians would be ready to move. He also went on to state that the toppling of the current East German Government by a new government was also a signal that nothing would be happening militarily for a while. With the supply lines immediately behind the frontline units of Warsaw Pact open to attack by stray East German Insurrectionist. He felt the Soviets would wait until the lines of supply were secure and the additional units had arrived.
Hart was on Face the Nation and he was giving Reagan and his policies a good raking over the coals. He spent most of his time criticizing Reagan with little or no condemnation of the Russian. His comments of why can’t we give peace a chance. The commentator who then asked a surprisingly blunt question that why had the Soviet Union mobilized the WARSAW pact after those angry mobs of Muscovites had attacked the embassies. Especially since NATO had done nothing about mobilizing anyone after the Friday night skirmishes. Hart did not have a good explanation for that except to criticize Reagans policies some more. Reagan smiled to himself, the American people did not like back biters and weaklings to Reagan, Hart was both.
Mondale was playing his cards better. But Reagan was confident he could beat either one in the next election. Especially when the crisis came to an end and their dire prediction did not come true. Reagan was sure that his of calm cool and collected leadership in the crisis would in the end re-elect him.
Battalion HQ in one place for 5 days? Wow. When I was in the Royal Canadian Regiment in the 80s, the HQ wasn't in a place more than 6 to 12 hours. Max, fours hours straight sleep at a time was standard. Mind you now I can sleep almost anytime anywhere. The wife really hates me for that 
Even when I went to 1 Can Div HQ as a lineman, we were moving at least every 24 hours, sometimes 12. Either picking up from the last place or placing at the future. Quite a few 72 hour days there.
Even when I went to 1 Can Div HQ as a lineman, we were moving at least every 24 hours, sometimes 12. Either picking up from the last place or placing at the future. Quite a few 72 hour days there.
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The bad news is that regimental CO is a complete idiot. The good news is that he seems to have decided to let his XO and S3 run things. The bad news is that doing that can cause confusion when folks go to him for a decision or are slow in responding to something from the XO/S3 because it is a CO thing. Best case scenario is he is relieved by his boos before the fighting starts, second best is he is wounded (or killed) in the first barrage and removed from command that way.
Your quite right but I wanted to show a problem that the American military had which was careerism. Officers getting their ticket punched once they had enough punches they could go up in rank. At that time there was a serious concern with officer who were only interested in looking go not doing good. The real question in terms of the time line is whether the officer in question. Learned his lesson or not that is the question.
Part of the time line will be about the Canadian Army and some of the problems it faced. Hopefully you will approve.
Part of the time line will be about the Canadian Army and some of the problems it faced. Hopefully you will approve.
James G
Gone Fishin'
I'd like to offer any help I can do if you need it with the Canadians at a later date. I believe Kessock knows more than me on this subject, and I am only a fiction writer, but my offer is genuine. I've done loads of Cold War research on the Canadians and like this story very much; will be very happy to assist!
James G: Thank you for the offer and I will take you up on it. I have an outline about what I know about the Canadian Army and I will write up a briefing going over various units of the Canadian Army. What I know about the units strength and various missions. You can read it and tell me what is right and what is wrong. It may take a day or so, as I am on vacation and I have certain plans that have priority. I will tell you that while I know the information about the Canadian Army is out there it sort of like pulling teeth to find it. Or at least that is my experience.
Not impossible, but also not that simple either. US Phantoms had different engines, weapons, electronics suites and pilot equipment from the UK Phantoms. They required basically a separate support chain, and that would affect combat effectiveness. Beyond that, by the early 80's the US had already picked through the best of the stored Phantoms for their own use - the remainder required extensive refurbishment as the RAF found out when they acquired 15 of them in real life in 1984. It wasn't a quick process.
There also weren't that many Lightnings lying around unused in a potentially flyable condition by the early 80's, again most of them having been combed through to support the two remaining operational squadrons.