There was a sigh of relief among the officers. The slime suits, officially designated "OP-1 chemical protective suits," were a real horror to wear. The chemical masks weren't so bad. At almost the same instant, there was a collective reflex by the officers to check their gas masks. Several of the officers patted the bag on their left thigh. But most of the officers realized they had left their gas mask bags behind in their vehicles. Lousy gas discipline, they thought. Most of the officers began to worry that their men might have lost or thrown away their chemical gear.
Kasparov continued: "I said that you didn't have to wear the OP-1 suits. But you had damn well better have them ready. If we use gas, NATO may use gas. You should make certain to refresh your memory about gas procedures. Are there any questions so far?"
Captain Savin from the 2d Motor Rifle Battalion started with a question that was on everyone's mind: "What if our troops have lost their chemical defense gear?"
Chazov remembered seeing a number of chemical defense bags left behind at one of the other battalions' bivouac sites two nights before. He had cautioned his own platoon leaders about this, but he wasn't certain how much good it had done.
Chemical defense gear is a prominent part of a Soviet soldier's kit. The Soviet infantryman has far less equipment than the average NATO soldier: no sleeping bag, a very small rucksack, and only one cartridge belt. He is issued a chemical defense mask in a canvas bag to be worn over his left hip. The ammunition pouch is worn on the right hip. The OP-1 chemical defense suit is rolled up and carried on his back under the rucksack. These are a real nuisance when riding and fighting in a BMP. The interior of the vehicle is so cramped that the soldier can't leave his rucksack or slime suit on his back. And there's no space on the floor. There's a bit of space behind, on a ledge formed by the fuel tank and the back of the two rows of seats. But this is supposed to be reserved for the Igla air defense missile launcher. There is a space in front, on the ledge over the tracks, but if the kit is put there, the vehicle firing ports can't be used. There are no provisions for stowing the kit on the outside of the vehicle. There is a rolled tarp around the back of the turret, but that isn't big enough for the whole squad's gear. If the tarp is filled up with rucksacks and chemical masks, it blocks the two top roof hatches. In peacetime this doesn't really matter. The men are seldom in the BMP for more than a few hours at a stretch, and they seldom use the firing ports. But in war, extra belongings and spare parts accumulate and fill up the vehicle.
Most of Chazov's squads had loaded a lot of the more useless kits (meaning the gas masks and suits) into the tarp and put it on the rear roof. This wasn't the safest thing to do, but it got the junk out of the way. In some of the other companies, the chemical gear had been thrown away.
Kasparov had anticipated this problem. "You know as well as I how often we've drilled chemical defense into those blockheads! Those troops know that discarding state property is a punishable offense!"
Captain Savin interrupted: "Comrade Captain, I know that, and you know that. But we are at war. The troops have other concerns. What am I going to do? I can't send my company into action without masks. I mean if they stay in the BMPs they are all right. But those fucking nyemtsi have been fighting like bastards and we'll have to fight this one dismounted!"
Kasparov calmed down a bit. "Look, if the agent works as the front leadership expects, you ought to be able to roll into that town mounted up." Several of the officers looked very agitated. Chazov stood up.
"Comrade Captain, the front commanders haven't seen what those towns look like after our artillery finishes with them. The streets are all full of rubble. The nyemtsi are down in the cellars or in bunkers. We can't drive our BMPs over all that crap. It'll rip the tracks off. Besides, in close quarters the nyemtsi will start shooting at us with those damn panzerfaust. Have you seen what a panzerfaust does to an infantry squad shut up in a BMP? Burnt strawberry jam splattered all over the insides! Even if the gas works, we'll have to fight this one dismounted!"
The regimental commander, Colonel Rusak, was surprised by Chazov's outburst and by the surly attitude of his company commanders to the divisional staff officers. In peacetime this wouldn't be tolerated. But it wasn't peacetime. Rusak knew that several of these company commanders were decorated veterans of Afghanistan and had little patience for book-learned tactics.
Colonel Rusak got up. "OK, look boys, let's calm down. Comrade captain is here to get you prepared for the attack, not to instruct you veterani on tactics. We'll discuss the tactics for tomorrow's attack once he's finished briefing us on the chemical aspects of the attack."
Captain Kasparov returned to the center. "Look, Agent AC is nonpersistent. It evaporates really fast. It's lethal only in thick clouds. We're going to really have to plaster that town with bug spray to build up concentrations high enough to gas those nyemtsi. By the time you get into the town, the concentrations will be really low. You shouldn't have any problems. Watch out in the cellars. The gas will not disperse in confined areas. But it won't be bad up on the surface."
Savin interrupted again: "Can we count on a napalm strike before we go in, like we used to do in Afghanistan?"
Kasparov looked over to the two other officers who had accompanied him from headquarters. One of them, a stocky KGB security officer named Kaminskiy, nodded negatively: "You know as well as I do that getting tactical air support is very difficult." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Besides, we used to use a napalm strike to burn off persistent agents, not blood agents like AC. We really don't need it. As long as you don't breathe this stuff, you'll be all right. Well have a medical team at regimental headquarters for any of our own casualties."
"What about NATO? If we use this stuff, won't they?" asked Savin. Kasparov looked back at the KGB major, who got up and walked to the center of the room.
"Comrade officers, we at front headquarters feel that gas will give us a critical advantage in tomorrow's attack. You know we are behind schedule. This situation is the same along much of the battle line. We feel that the shock of the gas attack will help us breach the main enemy defensive belt. I am not supposed to mention this. It is very secret and you should tell no one.
We will be using other secret weapons tomorrow as well. Also, if you manage to secure your objectives, we plan to push a divisional mobile group through your sector to exploit our success. You can see how much depends on you. Overcome the resistance at Geiselhoring, and gain your objectives. The lead will then be taken by a fresh unit. You must keep these details in confidence from your men. But I thought you deserved to know. We at Front HQ expect that tomorrow will give us the breakthrough we've all been waiting for. The enemy is badly weakened. And tomorrow you will see a real demonstration of the power of the Soviet Army!"
The officers felt a bit cheered by the major's pep talk. Doubts would creep back in later. But for now, it was the matter of planning the details of tomorrow's attack with Colonel Rusak.
Chazov returned to his company at about 2100. It was already dark. The sentry was alert and issued the proper challenge. He was a soldier from Dudkov's old company who Chazov didn't recognize. He looked like a Tatar. "Is everything all right, soldier?"
"Yes, exactly so, Comrade Lieutenant!" the sentry replied.
"Soldier, let me see your gas-mask bag." The young soldier looked sheepishly at the sack and reluctantly unslung it from his shoulder. Chazov took it, and was surprised by its weight. Much too heavy for a gas mask! And a bit too much clanking noise for a gas-mask bag. Chazov unfastened the strap and spilled the contents out onto the ground. From the dim light of his flashlight he could see at least four RGN concussion grenades and two more RGO fragmentation grenades. There were four 30mm BG-15 grenades for the squad grenadiers, an extra clip of 5.45mm ammunition for the private's AKS-74 assault rifle, and a couple of boxes of 5.45mm ammunition. The tools of a good infantryman. But no gas mask.