"Our mission is to scout this area for an air mobile assault. 'Ybu will notice that this area has no bridges. There is a rail bridge to the northwest at Bogen, and several bridges to the southeast around Deggendorf. We expect these areas to be heavily protected by the Germans. We expect the drop zones to be largely free of enemy troops. We will spend most of tomorrow scouting the area to check on enemy forces. Our job is to discover the enemy, not engage him. We will report back to the 4th Army staff tomorrow afternoon. If the area looks like we can secure it, they will send in an air assault battalion by choppers in the early evening.
"Now, if they do decide on the air assault, it will be our job to secure the landing zones. Isakov and Baladin will have the tough job: You two will have to secure the roads leading into the area and deal with any enemy vehicles. You will set up ambushes on the roads leading from the west from Straubing, and from the east, around Deggendorf. As soon as the Germans realize we're landing in their rear, they will try to stomp us out. The terrain here is very flat, so they can move their tanks and troop carriers across country if they wish. But they'll probably start by using the roads. It will be dark by then, and they won't want to risk going cross-country, You will hold the roadblocks until relieved by the air assault troops.
"Now, as far as weapons go. Everybody will carry the usual AKS-74s or AKS-74U carbines. But, I'm sure we are going to run into armor. So Pyotr Rushin will be issuing each of your platoons three Metis launchers.[31]
"You can either give each of your squads one of these, or you can give them all to one squad to form a tank-killer squad. Isakov and Baladin, you had better bunch them up in a special tank-killer squad. You two are the most likely to get hit by enemy tanks. In addition, everybody will be issued at least one RPG-22 antitank rocket.[32]
During the airdrop, we will also be dropping two canisters of antitank mines. This isn't an awful lot of mines, so you'll have to be careful where you place them.
"Now, as you can see, you're going to have a lot more hardware than usual. So each of your platoons will get three LuAZ-967 jeeps from the
company transport section, each with one driver. One of these should be assigned to your antitank squad, and the other two can be used to bring forward your supplies, mines, and other ammunition. You should not use these for scouting! They are for transport. When you land, keep your eye out for civilian automobiles and trucks. You should take some civilian vehicles. There are fairly good roads in the area, and the civilian vehicles will make you less conspicuous while you are reconnoitering.
"Now, in regard to uniforms. Everybody will wear normal Soviet battle dress. This is not a diversionary mission, it's a scout mission. So let's not play costume ball. I know several of you think you speak pretty good German. But I can assure you that nobody here speaks it well enough to be mistaken for a real German. So don't get cute and try to play 'lost German motorist' on the autobahn. If you can carry out your scouting faster using a car, fine. But don't get caught on the road.
"The Germans will probably have military police roadblocks set up. Deal with them quickly so they don't reveal our operation. Each squad has one SVD sniper rifle, and one night sight. Use them! But remember, we do not want to warn the Germans about our operation. So don't make any rash moves that will alert the German Army to our presence. Make sure you deal with the phone lines in your sector. You're bound to be spotted by German civilians, so make it impossible for them to warn the Army.
"We'll be making the jump at 0300 early tomorrow morning. Our departure time out of the airfield here will be at 0220. We will be jumping low, at 500 meters. Everybody gets one chute, no safeties. You all know that at that altitude, if the first parachute doesn't work, you'll never be able to use a second safety chute. Are there any questions?"
Isakov raised his hand. "Comrade Major, when the air assault troops arrive, what is our mission? Do we stay with them or regroup?"
"A good point, Misha. Look, we do not know how this mission is going to turn out. I think that once the air assault boys land, we will have a hell of a fight on our hands. Deggendorf and Platting are the major concentration points for the Bundeswehr and the U.S. Army in our sector. When they find out an air assault group has landed in their rear, they will try to rub us out before we can link up with our forces on the other side of the Danube. We can expect a heavy attack up Route 8 from the Platting-Deggendorf area. And we might get another attack from Straubing to the west. If the air assault boys can handle it, fine. We'll regroup. I'm sure the 4th Army has other missions for us. But if the fighting gets bad, the air assault battalion is going to need all the help it can get. And I'm sure they'll ask the army staff to keep our company under their command until the bridgehead has been achieved."
Lieutenant Varepa raised his hand next. "Comrade Major, what type of aircraft will we be using?"
"We'll be using An-26s," answered Danilov. There was a sigh of relief from the group. The Antonov An-26 was good and fast, and wouldn't make a big target like the An-12 or Il-76s that the normal airborne divisions usually used.[33]
"Gennadi Vinik will be jumpmaster, so he will assign you aircraft. At the moment, it looks like we will have eight aircraft. Well probably have one aircraft for each platoon, three for the vehicles, and two for the other supply canisters. If that's it for questions, get your platoons ready for action!"
Misha Isakov's platoon was stationed in one of the schoolrooms on the floor below. By now, they had finished a quick breakfast of bread and tea, and were milling around. The platoon had twenty men including Isakov. His deputy was a senior warrant office (praporshchik), Grigorii Varakin. Although he was called a warrant officer, Varakin's rank was more comparable to a senior sergeant in the British Army. The three squad leaders, Ivan Gudkov, Bohdan Donchuk, and Vladimir Konchin, were also praporshchiks. They were of the new generation of professional NCOs added to the Ground Forces in the late 1980s in the wake of the Gorbachev reforms. Varakin had been in the spetsnaz for six years, while the other squad leaders had each completed four years of duty. Each of the squad leaders had five men under him. These squads were smaller than normal motor rifle or paratrooper squads, but they were better trained.
The spetsnaz received high priority in recruitment, unlike regular Ground Forces branches. Political reliability and loyalty were demanded, and the majority of the troops were Russians or Ukrainians. You didn't find many Muslims or other minorities in the spetsnaz units, although there were exceptions. In the Far East facing China, units usually had Asian contingents, and units opposite Alaska had Inuit (Eskimo) troops. Athletic ability was a prime concern, and many of the troops had promising records in secondary school athletics. The squad leaders were often
recruited from the ranks of school captains of soccer and other sports, which provided an indication of leadership skills. Certain spetsnaz units used for diversionary missions had language requirements, but not the army-level companies like the 404th. The 404th Special Operations (Spetsnaz) Company was typical of these units. Its main mission was scouting and raiding. This company often acted as the spearhead for critical missions by army or front airmobile units. Or it could be used for special commando missions against critical NATO objectives.
31
Metis is the Soviet name for the antitank missile system called AT-7 Saxhorn in NATO. It is a small, lightweight system, about the same size as the U.S. Army's Dragon, or the new French Eryx.
32
The RPG-22 is a shoulder-fired, short-range antitank rocket, similar in appearance to the U.S. Army's M72 LAW or AT4 antitank rocket. The rocket is not guided, and is effective only at close range. It cannot penetrate the front armor of main battle tanks, but is effective if fired against the side or rear.
33
The An-26, code-named Curl by NATO, is a light turboprop transport aircraft. In its Aeroflot passenger version, it carries about fifty passengers. In the paratrooper role, it carries about twenty troops and their kit, or two to three small vehicles.