“3rd Shock Army has been upgraded and now consists exclusively of four armoured divisions, giving them a force of over 1,200 tanks.”
“3 SA will also fight on a narrower front, Comrade General Secretary, enabling them to slice through the Northern Army Group’s meagre defences,” interrupted Obraztsov.
Zavarin continued. “20 GA, currently surrounding Berlin, and 8 GA have been upgraded from three motor rifle divisions to two motor rifle divisions and two armoured divisions. This takes their tank force from just under 300 to over 700 tanks each.”
Baskov thumped the desk. “NATO will not be able to stop us. Our forces will be far too strong. What about our Intermediate Strategic Reserves?”
Obraztsov responded. “The Baltic Military District has three tank, six motor rifle and two airborne divisions; Belorussian Military District, ten tank and four motor rifle divisions along with one airborne division; and the Carpathian Military District has four tank and eight motor rifle divisions.”
“Excellent, excellent, Marshal Obraztsov.” Baskov was clearly excited at the size of the forces available to him, knowing that, behind all of those forces, they still had the deep strategic reserve. “How will you be using our airborne and Spetsnaz?”
Obraztsov referred to his briefing notes. “Our GSFG Spetsnaz forces will, in the main, be used to support 3 SA operations. They will help to capture key bridges, attack and disrupt communications centres, and play havoc with NATO’s supply and reinforcement routes. The Central Group of Force’s Spetsnaz will be used to support 1 GTA.” He shuffled his notes until he came across the one he needed next. “Our airborne forces have an equally important role to play. 7th Guards Airborne Division will land south of Hanover, securing bridges in that area of the River Leine and causing disruption amongst the enemy’s rear. 76th Guards Airborne Division will later drop west of Hanover, supporting 3 SA’s push west. 35th Air Assault Brigade will attack near Braunschweig; 83rd Air Assault Brigade at Peine; 104th Guards Airborne Division at Minden. It will create a major panic. 106th Guards Airborne Division will support 1 GTA in the south, attacking bridges in the area of Wurzburg, along with 31st Air Assault Brigade landing west of the Fulda Gap.”
Baskov laughed. “Ah, they will have over forty thousand elite troops in their rear area. It will cause chaos, will it not?”
“Yes, Comrade General Secretary,” the generals chorused as one, Zavarin adding, “There will be so many airborne divisions, helicopter assault troops and Spetsnaz behind their front line, they will never be able to consolidate a defensive position, Comrade General Secretary.”
“An opportunity that our Operational Manoeuvre Groups can exploit,” added Obraztsov.
“Yes,” responded Baskov thoughtfully. “We will have an opportunity to see how much damage they can do.”
“Is the date for the attack still 5 July, Comrade General Secretary?”
“Yes, Marshal Obraztsov, yes, it is. By tying it in with our annual exercise, we can have our troops in position for a quick strike.”
“Won’t the Americans and their NATO allies increase their preparedness, Comrade General Secretary?”
“No, Colonel General Zhiglov. We hold a large exercise in Europe every year and every year they have done nothing. This time it will be the same level of indifference.”
“Will we be inviting observers as usual, Comrade General Secretary?”
“Yes General It is part of the agreement we have with them. We are obliged to. But…” his bushy eyebrows scrunched together as he responded with a sly smile, “…it’s what we let them see that counts.” He slapped the desk, a deep laugh reverberating from deep down inside, his assembled officers joining in. Their confidence was absolute. “What about our new tanks, Marshal?”
Marshal Dolzhikov pulled a sheet of paper from the portfolio in front of him, adjusted his glasses and responded. “Obiekt 219, the T-80. We now have over a thousand tanks in service, Comrade General Secretary. They have been introduced into our elite formations where they will be needed most.”
“Thank you, Marshal Dolzhikov, but have the teething problems been resolved?” Asked Army General Zavarin.
Dolzhikov looked up at him sharply. “All new tanks have to go through a period of improvement and modificstion. The T-80Bs are performing admirably.”
“Yes, yes, Marshal Dolzhikov,” interrupted Baskov. “But will the new armour be fitted?”
“Yes, Comrade General Secretary. They will have Kontakte ERA-Explosive Reactive Armour for protection.”
“All is well, General Zavarin,” added Baskov, smoothing Zavarin’s obviously ruffled feathers. “What about T-64s?”
“We now have over 9,000,” continued Dolzhikov. “We also have 9,000 T-72s, and production has already been ramped up for both models. In total, the army has over 50,000 tanks at its disposal, more than enough for it to carry out its task.”
Baskov nodded. “Continue with your brief, Marshal Obraztsov.”
“To summarise, Comrade General Secretary, the Northern Group of Forces, with 1 PVA and the 5 GE will target Hamburg, Schleswigholstein and Denmark protecting the western TVD’s right flank. 3 SA, 2 GTA and 20 GA will strike through Braunschweig, Hanover, Emden and Osnabruck, hooking left into the Netherlands and Belgium. In the centre, 3 GE, 8 GA and 1 GTA will push for Duisburg, Aachen, Bonn and Saarbruken, and will hook right, trapping the NATO forces in the north.”
“Giving the Germans a taste of their own medicine, eh, Marshal?”
“Yes.”
“And in the south?”
“That will be left to the 1 CSLA and 4 CSLA to occupy Baden and Wurtenburg.”
Baskov sat back with a satisfied sigh and turned to his KGB Chairman. “Yuri, we need to know what the enemy is up to. Equally important is our own counter-intelligence.”
“I agree, Comrade General Secretary. We will do our bit.”
“Well then, gentlemen, we meet again tomorrow, this time with our Eastern European allies. We will all meet for dinner later tonight. Thank you.”
Recognising they were dismissed, the generals pushed back their chairs, gathered their papers and left.
Chapter 10
The Lieutenant Colonel sat down at the head of the table in the oblong-shaped conference room on the second floor of the brick barrack block. The furniture was sparse but serviceable and served the needs of the occupants of the room. The briefing was about to start.
“Well, Colin, slides ready?”
“Nearly, sir,” responded the SO2 G2 Intelligence, Major Colin Archer as he picked up the slides one by one from the carousel confirming there were only two that had been put in upside down. He would remember to speak to the chief clerk once the briefing was over.
“Here’s your copy of the intel report,” informed Major Bill Castle, SO2 G3 Operations, as he handed out the top secret document: one for Lieutenant Colonel Stevens SO1 G2 Intelligence, one for Colin Archer and one for himself.
All three were staff officers with 1 British Corps (1 Br Corps) based in Ripon Barracks, Bielefeld, part of BAOR, British Army of the Rhine.
“Thanks, Bill.”
“Ready, Colonel,” informed Major Archer as he made his way to the end of the table and sat down opposite Bill Castle, with the colonel to his right.
“Take us through your briefing, Colin. Then we can go through this op order,” Colonel Steven said, tapping the top secret document clipped inside a pink cover with a red diagonal stripe across it.
Archer pressed the button on the remote that was linked to the projector at the other end of the table, and the carousel noisily rotated one slot and a slide clattered down in front of the projector’s lamp. The crest of the British Army of the Rhine, an heraldic shield with golden crossed swords on a red background and thick blue cross, flashed up on the whitewashed wall. He pressed the controller again. Clack, click, clack, the old slide was pushed up into the carousel which then moved forward one slot before dropping the next one down. This time it revealed a picture of the sleeve patch of a Russian motor rifle soldier: a shield-shaped, red patch of felt with a yellow border, yellow five-pointed star, and a yellow hammer and sickle in the centre.