After the Last War: Chapter 4
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2026 4:44 pm
With thanks to Louie.
*
D+100
*
1801 hours GMT. USS Salem, off Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.
Captain Theodore Leverett raised his binoculars to study the distant island. He could make out the beach and trees and not much else on what had become the Cuban equivalent of Taiwan. The remnants of the Raúl Castro regime had retreated to the island during the closing stages of the civil war and continued to style themselves as the legitimate government of the Republic of Cuba. The leaders of the new Free Republic of Cuba would have liked what they saw as rebels gone, but did not have the capabilities to deal with them militarily. Besides, they had enough on their plates as it was.
Without directly intervening, the United States Southern Command was sending ships and aircraft to the waters and airspace around the Isla de la Juventud. Both to gather intelligence and show presence. Moreover, there was a hope that the Raúl loyalists might be stupid enough to fire on the probes, giving the Americans an reason to intervene.
Leverett had been ordered to sail his heavy cruiser right up to the twelve-mile limit off the island to see if he got any reaction. According to current intelligence, the only heavy artillery that the 'Raúlista' forces had were D-30 130mm towed howitzers. They had a maximum range of 21.9 km, but only with a rocket assisted projectile. However, Leverett was not going to take any chances. Salem was now closed up at battle stations, ready to go to flank speed if necessary. If she was fired on, her captain had decided that the best course of action was to get out of range first, before considering whether to return fire.
The captain lowered his binoculars and turned away to reach for the mug of coffee that sat on the left arm of his chair. Very shortly after Salem had recommissioned a number of items of merchandise had become available to the crew, including mugs with the cruiser's crest on them. Leverett had also spotted a few items with the image of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as played by the very much not teenage Melissa Joan Hart on them. Something to do with her cat being called Salem, or something. It seemed a bit of a stretch to him...
“Flash from the shore!” One of the lookouts called out.
Before the sailor could give a bearing, a waterspout appeared several cables to port of Salem's bow.
“All ahead flank!” Leverett ordered. “Helm, steer towards that waterspout!”
“Aye, Sir!”
As the ship began to turn to port, there were more flashes from the the coast. This time the waterspouts bracketed the ship.
“Those are no damn D-30s!” Leverett muttered. “We'd be out of range by now!
“Guns, can you see where the enemy battery is?” He asked, deciding that he might need to change his plans, as the enemy's shooting was getting more accurate.
“Approximately, Sir.”
“We need better than, approximately, Guns. You have about a minute to get a good firing solution, but if you can't in that time I want you to open fire with H.E anyway.”
The cruiser's three turrets were already swinging to starboard. Although, it would not be long before No. I and then II would not be able to bare, as Salem pulled away from the coast and turned.
“Ready to fire, Sir.” The Gunnery Officer reported.
“Open fire!” Leverett ordered.
Salem's 8-inch guns spoke. Firing in anger on an enemy target for the first time since she had been commissioned in 1949. By the time the second and third salvo had been fired, the guns that had fired the first one were ready to fire a new one. The Gunnery Officer reported some secondary explosions and Leverett ordered that full broadsides be fired at the location.
“No I turret no longer able to bare on target, Sir.” The Gunnery Officer reported after the third broadside.
“Cease fire. We should be clear.” Leverett ordered. “All ahead two-thirds.” He ordered a moment later. “Signal Vinson that we have been fired on and in accordance with RoE have returned fire. No damage, or casualties to the ship, and enemy casualties unknown at this time. We're returning to the task force.
“Nice work, everybody. Some good shooting too, Guns.”
*
Shortly after the news reached USS Carl Vinson, the admiral ordered that a target damage assessment be made. A pair of TARPS equipped F-14B Tomcats VF-302 “Stallions”, with a suitable escort package, were launched from the carrier. They would bring back some 'interesting' pictures.
1810 hours GMT. H.Q I Canadian Corps, south of Nuremberg, FRG.
Newly promoted Major General Sean Maloney was very aware that he had only recently taken over command of 1st Canadian Division. His predecessor having been also promoted and appointed to command the new I Canadian Corps. Maloney's promotion was so recent that his new rank insignia stood out shiny against his uniform. Today he was attending what was only his third conference at corps H.Q. [1]
*
Maloney had taken over a division that had just undergone something of a re-organisation. The 5e Brigade Mécanisé du Canada had been removed from the division and assigned to the new 2nd Canadian Division. In its place had come the newly raised 10 Canadian Mechanised Brigade, which was something of a lash-up, having been formed from a mix of soldiers from Primary Reserve across Canada, members of the Supplementary Reserve and new recruits. The militiamen had come from units that were already effectively cadres, so the army had been forced to draw from almost every units that was still at home. It meant that unit cohesion was not as great as should have been, and the new sub-units had not had much of a chance to exercise. The brigade commander was also a little concerned about the level of training of the new recruits. On top of that the brigade was understrength and generally used older equipment taken from storage. It's armoured regiment used old Leopard C2s for example, and one of its infantry battalions had M113s of somewhat dubious vintage. Having seen them, Maloney had sworn that at least some of the vehicles had come from museum collections. It's other two infantry battalions had second-hand LAV III and Bison APCs respectively. Those vehicles had been hard used by their previous owners, and had needed a great deal of maintenance and cleaning to get them operational.
At least he was in a better position than his counterpart at 2nd Canadian Division. He really only had one effective brigade. It's other two brigades were still in the process of re-equipping for the mechanised role. I Canadian Corps itself was also not really fully operational. Canada had not fielded a corps since 1945 and was still feeling its way regarding how one worked. At least the cease-fire meant that there was time for training and for the various 'kinks' to be worked out.
*
Maloney took his seat alongside the commander of 2nd Canadian Division and the commanders of the other corps level sub-units. Like him, many of them had been relatively recently promoted.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” The corps commander, Lieutenant General Bruce Powe, said in greeting. “And lady.” He added in deference to the Colonel who was the commander of 1 Health Services Group. “Sorry to have this meeting so late in the day, but I have been in meetings with Ottawa, COMSOUTHAG, CINCCENT and even SACEUR all day. Now, firstly, I want to go over the readiness states of your units. Sean, why don't you kick things off?”
“Of course, Sir.” Maloney replied. “I would say that only two-thirds of my division is combat ready. 10 Brigade, and the associated units that came across with it are only really a brigade in name. It's understrength, inexperienced and has largely second-hand equipment that has already had a hard life. I'm really missing the 5th Brigade. On the plus side, the infantry in 1st Brigade is happy to be all Warrior. The LAV III is a good bit of kit, but you can put more armour on a Warrior. Even the crunchies like to be behind as much armour as possible!”
Powe nodded his head, acknowledging what Maloney had said. It matched the reports he had about 1st Division.
“How about you, Jacques?” He asked the commander of the 2nd Division.
“I'm almost in the opposite situation to Sean. Only the 5e Brigade is fully combat ready. Though 6 Brigade is close behind. At least it has combat experience. 9 Brigade is up to strength, but inexperienced, bar the battalion group that went to Guyana and they didn't do a lot. Both militia brigades are in the middle of absorbing and training on new equipment. My opinion at the moment is that if we have to go to war tomorrow, you should give 5e Brigade back to Sean. You would be better off with one fully up operational division, than two partially operational.”
“I'm glad I didn't suggest that, Jacques!” Maloney added with a chuckle. “Don't want to be seen as a poacher. However, Sir, I would agree with that.”
“If we do go back to war within the next thirty days, that is pretty much what I plan to do.” Lt. General Powe confirmed. “However, we have to have faith in our esteemed diplomats will continue to buy us enough time to train and make good most of our deficiencies.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“Any other major concerns?”
“I'm not happy with 9 and 10 Field Ambulances, Sir.” The commander of 1 Health Services Group said.
“Care to expand, Katherine?” Powe asked.
“To form 10 Field Ambulance, two medical companies; the 17 Winnipeg and 18 Thunder Bay; were taken from 9 Field Ambulance, which has weakened it.” The Colonel replied. “We have received some additional personnel from home, but only about half of them are military medics. The rest are recently recruited, or conscripted civilian medical personnel. Oh, they are competent at medicine, but not military medicine in the field.
“I would say that of my units, that 1 and 6 Field Ambulance are full operational, 9 is partially operational and 10 should only really be used in an emergency.”
“How are you off for medical supplies, kit, vehicles etc.?” Powe asked.
“Drowning in the damned stuff.” The senior medic replied. “I can confidently say that pre-war planning for stockpiling medical supplies and equipment has worked. Moreover, now that the pharmaceutical companies are making what is needed, rather than what they think is profitable, we have a good supply coming in. Funny thing is, I hear there is a shortage of illegal Heroin because the world Opium supply has been cornered for medical use.
“I could do with some more armoured ambulances, but I have enough to be going on with. I do also think we need more helicopters for MEDEVAC, some CH-47s would be nice, but we don't have any of those thanks to the Mulroney Government.”
“Noted.” The corps commander said. “I'd love some Chinooks, but I can't see us getting any! Right, time to take a break, I think. There's what passes these for hot food and drink outside. See you back here in fifteen.”
*
Extract from briefing document to Defence Secretary (UK).
Allied Forces Central Europe
- BAOR
The headquarters of the 11th Armoured Division has been established in West Germany. The division, which is assigned to the Northern Army Group's reserve, is only partially operational. Only the Guards Armoured Brigade can be considered fully operational. Equipping that brigade has used most of the remaining Challenger 2 MBT and Warrior IFV remaining in storage. The two other brigades will be equipped with Challenger 1, Chieftain Mk.14 and FV430 Bulldog, until production of modern vehicles catches up. The 38 (Welsh) Armoured and 43 (Wessex) Armoured Brigades can only really be regarded as cadres at the moment, with none of their subordinate units up to strength in terms of personnel, or equipment. If necessary in an emergency, the Guards Armoured Brigade could operate as an independent brigade group.
The controversy over the formation of the Guards Tank Regiment, the name being objected to by the Royal Tank Regiment, has been resolved, partially due to the intervention of the Colonel-in-Chief of the RTR. [2]
Three 'line-holding' brigades are now active within 1 (Br) Corps. The brigades are 51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade, 25th Infantry Brigade and 16th (Irish) Infantry Brigade. They are formed of three to four light infantry battalions on rotation, supported by a single artillery regiment equipped with the L118 'Light Gun', with an attached anti-tank battery equipped with the MGM-157 EFOGM. These brigades, which man the fixed defences of the 'new border', currently report directly to corps H.Q. However, consideration is being given to forming a new divisional H.Q to control them. Were to this happen, it is likely that the new division would be designated the 8th Infantry Division.
The armoured infantry battalions of 1st Armoured Division have completed re-equipping with the FV520 Warrior 2. The infantry battalion of 4th Armoured Brigade, 3rd Armoured Division has also re-equipped. The remainder of that division's armoured infantry will start to re-equip shortly. 4th Armoured Division will start to re-equip with the FV520 next month.
Some reshuffling of commanders has taken place within BAOR. These are listed in Appendix B.
Allied Forces Northern Europe
- Denmark
As of today the UK Mobile Force and 5 Infantry Division have swapped identities. The divisional sized formation assigned to Land Forces Jutland (LANDJUT) will now be designated the 5th Armoured Division. It is currently a reinforced two-brigade formation. It is planned to bring it up to strength by attaching the 3rd Armoured Brigade when it returns from the Middle East. The former third brigade of the division, the Canadian 2nd Mechanised Brigade (formerly the Special Service Force) has departed to form part of the new 3rd Canadian Division, along with 8 Canadian Brigade Group. The 1st Battalion, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles has been detached from the division to serve under LANDJUT H.Q as a line-holding unit. It has also reverted to light infantry. The Gurkhas did take well to operating the Saxon APC, but a lack of technical experience meant that the vehicles have suffered increasingly unreliability. They have been passed to the 4th Battalion (V), The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot), which serves as a security unit for the Force Maintenance Area. The other Saxon APC equipped units of 5 Armoured Division have finished re-equipping with the FV430 Mk.3 Bulldog. The Saxons will be passed to some light infantry units that form part of 1 (Br) Corps.
- Norway
52nd (Lowland) Brigade (Mountain) is now operational as part of COMNON forces. The brigade has received training in mountain and arctic warfare. It had relieved 3 Commando Brigade, RM, allowing the latter brigade to be assigned to AFNORTH reserve. 52nd Brigade will serve as a garrison force, manning defences in northern Norway. Consideration is being given to deploying a second infantry brigade to Norway to replace 5th Airborne Brigade, which has also been withdrawn into reserve.
Strategic Reserve & Home Forces
- UK Mobile Force
As observed above, the UK's strategic reserve division now has the identity of the UK Mobile Force. It was felt that it was more appropriate to use that title for a formation that would indeed be used as a mobile 'fire-brigade', than it being assigned to a formation that is effectively static at the moment. The UKMF is currently a two-brigade force, with 16th Air Portable and 48th (Gurkha) Infantry Brigades under command. The Gurkha Brigade currently lacks an artillery regiment, however soldiers from the Brigade of Gurkhas as being trained in the use of the L118 in preparation for forming a Gurkha Artillery Regiment.
- Home Forces
Some Composite General Reserve companies and General Support Units have been disbanded, or amalgamated, with personnel being returned to the training system. It is planned that once enough National Service personnel have been trained that these CGR and GSU will be reformed. Many Home Defence units are also being used to assist with training new soldiers. This is also a temporary measure until the training system has expanded fully.
To make up for the deployment of the headquarters of 51st and 52nd Infantry Brigades, two new brigade H.Q have been formed to take their place in Scotland District. These are 64th (2nd Highland) and 65th (2nd Lowland) Brigades. The brigade numbers recall two 2nd Line Territorial infantry divisions that existed between 1914 and 1918/1919. A 64th Division also existed during the Second World War as a deception unit in India.
It can be confirmed that the formations lost when our West Berlin garrison had to surrender are well into the process of being reformed. Each was reformed from a cadre of personnel held back in the UK and regular reservists. To this has been added some transferees from sister units and pre-war volunteers. They will also shortly start to receive National Service soldiers. For the moment they will serve on Home Defence duties, however, it has been proposed that they be formed into new Berlin Infantry Brigade. Discussions are ongoing with the United States and France about creating a multi-national division formed of reformed units that were lost in West Berlin.
NATO Strategic Reserve
Discussions are continuing in Brussels over the potential formation of a First Allied Airborne Army Group, as part of NATO's Strategic Reserve. Any such formation would serve as an administrative formation reporting directly to SACEUR. It would control most, if not all, NATO airborne and air mobile formations. What forces any such army group might command is also under discussion.
Changes to army order of battle
Changes to the army's order of battle and deployments can be found in Appendix C. [4]
*
1915 hours. Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales.
“Right, that over there is your objective.” The SAS Warrant Officer 1 known to the men he was training as Jablonski said, pointing to the summit of Pen y Fan. “You have two hours to get yourselves up there and you can't use any paths.”
“What if we don't get up there in time, Sergeant-Major?” One of the trainees asked.
“The helicopter won't be there to bring you down, you'll have to walk back down. To make things 'interesting' you also have to get there before the Hunter Force, which will be training you.”
*
The Brecon Beacons were once again being used as part of training new recruits to UKSF. Having suffered casualties, the SAS and SBS needed fresh blood. However, the groups of soldiers Jablonski were training were not from the UK armed forces. They were drawn from the Polish Army's 1 Samodzielny Batalion Szturmowy, 48, 56 and 62 Kompania Specjalna, 6 Brygada Desantowo-Szturmowa, Polish Navy Divers and a small Special Forces unit called GROM. Jablonski had worked with them when he and fellow troopers from 23 SAS had been in Poland. The British troops had been 'officially' withdrawn from Poland and were now training some Polish troops back in the UK. The Poles wanted to expand and improve their Special Forces capabilities, hence sending men to Britain to be put through a version of the UKSF Selection Course, along with other training.
*
“Right, you have your maps and supplies. Time to get moving, the clock has started.”
The quartet Polish trainees shouldered their Bergen backpacks, picked up their weapons and set off. Jablonski reflected on the fact that at least the weather was not as unpleasant as it had been when he had done his selection. He turned away and walked towards another SNCO who had been watching the trainees depart.
“You and your lads ready to go, Dave?” He said, switching back to English.
“Absolutely, Boss.” Sergeant-Major David Garvie replied. “We'll beat them to the summit no sweat. Course, the poor sods won't know that we'll be a bunch of cheating bastards and use a cab to get up there. Though, if they don't hurry, the Paras will catch them and they won't like that!”
Jablonski chuckled.
“Aye, someone neglected to tell them the Paras will give them a kicking in those circumstances, and whatever happens, they're going straight to resistance to interrogation training after this. Poor buggers.”
The Hunter Force that would chase the trainees, whether British, or Polish, was drawn from The Parachute Regiment. As Jablonski had indicated, they delighted in roughing up any trainees they caught. Especially those who were ex-Paras, something that extended to paratroopers from the wider worldwide family. Anyone who was discovered to be a marine would also face a particularly hard time.
*
Even in July climbing Pen y Fan was no 'walk in the park'. Indeed, even though it was early evening, it was still warm and instead of being cold, the trainees were soon sweating. The 'Fan Dance', or 'Long Drag' as it was known, soon took its toll on them as they pushed themselves to make the two hour deadline. Moreover, the pressure from the Hunter Force pushed them on. They struggled on, drinking and eating while on the move. Finally, they reached the summit, satisfied that they had done so within the time limit and could take a brief rest before being picked up by helicopter.
“Hello, lads.” Sergeant-Major Garvie said cheerily. “Have a nice walk up the hill?”
The Poles were dumbstruck. They were sure they had made up up the mountain well before anyone else. Yet, here were half a dozen British soldiers waiting for them.
“Right, drop your guns and put your hands up.” He said, seriously, raising his C8 carbine, although making sure it was not pointing at anyone directly.
The Poles looked at each other, unsure if the Brit was serious.
“Are you deaf, or something? I know you speak English.” Garvie snapped. He turned to his men. “Help them out.”
Four of the SAS troopers stepped forward, striking the Poles in the stomach with the butts of their carbines. They pushed the four trainees to the ground, tied their hands and legs, before tying their limbs together, so that they were in a stress position. The finishing touch was a hood that was tied tightly around the neck, only just allowing the trainees to breath.
“Chopper is coming in, Boss.”
“Right, soon as it touches down, get the prisoners aboard.”
A Chinook HC.2A from No.7 Squadron, RAF, came thundering in. It hovered, lowering its rear ramp, so that it touched the ground, but while remaining airborne. The trainees were dragged aboard and roughly placed on the floor.
“Evening, lads.” WO 1 Jablonski said in greeting. “Told you the chopper would come for you if you made it up in time.”
One of the Poles questioned Jablonski's parentage. The nearest SAS trooper tapped him in the stomach with his right boot. Not hard enough to cause any injury, but enough to be painful.
“Did I say you could speak?” Jablonski growled. “Keep quiet until after we get where we are going. I'm sure you will tell us everything we want to know after that. Also, don't try to struggle, or mess us about during the flight. If you do, you may find yourself going for a flight of your own.”
To emphasise the Warrant Officer's warning, the Chinook was flying with its rear ramp down. Jablonski checked his watch, it should not be too long until they reached Credenhill, where the fun would really begin. He leaned back against the helicopter's fuselage, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
1945 hours GMT. Over Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
It was good to be back in 'Oz', Flight Lieutenant Simon Darkshade reflected as he turned his Hawk 127 towards North Sydney. The UK was nice, but it was not home.
*
The flight that Darkshade was part of was formed of one other Hawk and a pair of Mirage IIIO. They were routed to fly over Sydney Harbour, Cockatoo Island and Paramatta, keeping well clear of traffic heading to the airport, before turning back to the north and heading back towards RAAF Williamtown. Making sure that they passed over a number of coastal communities and Newcastle before reaching their base. The purpose of the sortie was to get the aircraft noticed by civilians on the ground, thus, the theory went, reassuring them that they were protected from any repeat of Canberra.
*
'BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!'
Darkshade's Radar Warning Receiver warned him that he was being scanned by an air search radar. He knew that the RAN had set up an SPS-40C radar as part of a 'FrankenSAM' battery salvaged from USS Goldsborough, which protected Sydney, so he was not too worried. Suddenly, the tone became continuous, indicating that he was being scanned by a a fire-control radar, specifically an AN/SPG-51G.
“What the f*ck.” He muttered. “Lead, this is Three, what are those jokers on the ground doing, over?”
“I'm on it, Three.” The voice of Squadron Leader Ian 'Spence' Spenser said from the Mirage that was leading the formation. “Stand-by.”
“Stand-by he says.” Darkshade muttered. “While the fish-heads decide whether they want to shoot us down, or not.”
There were a few nervous minutes of silence before Spenser came back on the radio.
“They're using us for practise. There aren't any live missiles loaded, over.”
“Nice of them to tell us!” Darkshade replied. “Made me a bit nervous for a bit.”
“Well, I'm sure we can arrange for you to have a change of pants when we get back to Billville, mate.” Spenser commented.
Darkshade smiled behind his oxygen mask and shook his head. 'Spence' was known for being quick off the mark when it came to humorous asides.
*
Lance-Corporal Paul Sutherland had watched the four RAAF aircraft pass overhead. He was sufficiently interested in military aviation to recognise the types. He continued to watch as they disappeared to the west. He had also overheard some heated discussions coming from the navy 'ops container'. Something about not warning the aircraft that they were using them as practise targets. He shook his head.
“Come on, guys.” He said to the half-section that he was leading. “Airshow is over. This patrol isn't going to get done if we stand around plane spotting.”
1831 hours GMT. Near Juanita, Guyana.
The last Venezuelan troops had been driven from Guyana, however the Guyana Defence Force and allied troops were continuing to patrol along the border. The Guyanese government had not allowed a counter-invasion to take place from its territory, but had authorised troops to cross up to two kilometres over the border.
As well as the GDF itself, allied forces consisted of two US infantry battalions, a pair of artillery batteries, and an LRSU company. The French added two battalions, one Foreign Legion, the other marines, which had been deployed from French Guiana. A small Commonwealth force consisting of B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and C Company, 92 Infantry Battalion, Canadian Army, remained. The majority of the Canadian contingent having been redeployed to West Germany. The British company group included a small detachment from BATSUB (who were absolutely not SAS) and a reinforced platoon drawn from the Royal Bermuda Regiment (which included sections from the Royal Montserrat Defence Force, Cayman Islands Regiment and the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment). The Guyana, with support from the UK, had also managed to persuade Jamaica and the Regional Security System to redeploy the military contingent of the force it had sent to Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana. The police and coast guard contingents had remained in Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Protection Force, as it had been dubbed, was being held back as a reserve, as none of the nations who had contributed were belligerents. If Guyana was attacked again, the CPF would help defend it, but it would not be used to invade anywhere. [4]
*
Sergeant Jason ‘Dustin’ Hoffman and his squad from Company C, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (LRSU), were one of a number of Guyanese and allied units patrolling along, and sometimes across, the border. The company had now been in country for over ninety days, so was very well acclimatised. Even so, the squad sized patrol still included a couple of soldiers from the GDF 31 Forces Squadron. The Guyanese soldier leading the patrol suddenly stopped, and held up his left arm, his hand clenched. Signalling everyone to stop and go to ground. Hoffman cautiously made his way forward.
“What is it, Cal?” He whispered.
“Can you not smell it, Dustin?” The Guyanese soldier asked.
Hoffman carefully smelled the air.
“Wood smoke, a lot of it. Coming from over there.” He indicated with his left hand.
“There's a small Amerindian village in that direction, just over two klicks from here. It straddles the border.”
“Right, let's go check it out. Keep your heads on a swivel, people.”
The patrol found that the village had been burned to the ground, the remains of some of the huts still smouldering. Hoffman spotted some movement in the trees and began to raise his rifle, he stopped as an Amerindian man stepped out into the clearing. He looked frightened for a moment until he spotted the two Guyanese soldiers and relaxed. The senior Guyanese, Cal, spoke to him in the local dialect.
“He says that Venezuelan soldiers forced them to leave their village before burning it. The accused the villagers of spying for us. He managed to hide and got away.”
“Does he want to come with us?”
Cal asked and the man shook his head.
“He says no. This is his home, he will wait for his people to come home. I think he's a bit optimistic, to be honest.”
“His call.” Hoffman observed. “Okay, guys, let's document this fully before we move on.”
Hoffman's patrol was not the only one to find Amerindian villages that had been burned. It seemed that there had been a systematic policy by retreating Venezuelan troop to destroy any villages on, or near the border and remove the population. There was no sign that all of the villagers had been killed, although a few bodies, perhaps of those who had resisted, were found. Each patrol, as Hoffman's had done, carefully documented what they found, and buried any bodies.
2045 hours GMT. Outside Magdeburg, DDR.
It was still light as Sergeant Mark Caplan and his patrol finished their last preparations. However, it should be dark enough for their purposes by the time they were ready. Caplan and the three other SAS troopers finished up their initial preparations by covering their faces with camouflage cream. Done, they made their way up a communications trench towards the front-line. This sector was held by 6th (Hamilton) Battalion (V), The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), part of 51st (Highland) Brigade. Having already reported to battalion H.Q, Caplan sought out the platoon C.P from the area that his patrol was going to depart from.
The platoon Command Post was in a dugout that had been constructed from a pre-prepared frame buried in the ground, with the earth dug out used to bury it again. Turf had been placed back over the top to provide as much concealment as possible. Caplan had to descend a couple of steps from the level of the trench and push aside a couple of sheets. These served to maintain a black-out and keep out, or reduce the amount of poisonous chemicals that could enter the C.P.
“I'm Sergeant Caplan. I'm looking for Lieutenant Whitelaw.”
“That would be me.” A man in his early thirties said from the rear of the C.P.
“Sir, I'm here to let you know that my patrol is about to set out.”
“Right.” The subaltern replied. “You know where you're going, have the latest password etc.?”
“Yes, Sir. Got it all at your battalion H.Q.”
“Great stuff. I won't hold you back any, Sergeant. Good luck and don't restart the war all on your own!”
“I'll try not to, Sir. I'll see you in a few hours.”
*
Now that it was dark the four SAS troopers were able to climb out of a forward Observation Post and make their way carefully through the British barbed wire before entering 'No-Man's Land'. The British Army had chosen to only lay anti-tank mines at the moment, though scatterable anti-personnel mines were on stand-by in case of any attack. The Warsaw Pact, on the other hand, had laid both kinds of maps and one of jobs that had been assigned to Caplan's patrol was to map the enemy minefield. Thankfully the Soviets and East Germans had been in a hurry when laying the mines and they were visible. That said, it still took an hour of careful probing to make it through the minefield to the enemy wire. The patrol found a gap in the wire and split into two pairs to make their way to their targets.
Caplan and Trooper Edwards headed towards what was believed to be a T-55 tank, which was dug in to support the East German troops holding this section of their front-line. They spotted two men in tanker's coveralls and helmets standing in a trench, smoking. One had what looked like a folding-stock variant of an AK slung over his shoulder. Neither was particularly alert. On getting close to the tank, Caplan noticed that it was actually a T-54, not that it really mattered. He climbed up onto the turret while Edwards kept watch. The commander and loader's hatches were locked in the overhead cover position. Evidently the occupants who Caplan could hear snoring inside wanted some ventilation, but not at the expense of getting wet if it rained. He carefully extracted two plastic ampoules from his pocket and dropped one into each hatch, before carefully climbing back down. He paused for a moment and painted 'Spetsnaz' in red paint on the side of the tank in Cyrillic using a spray can he had brought with him. Back in the '80s, some SAS troopers had managed to paint 'SAS' on a US Bradley during an exercise, which had inspired Caplan. Though, in this case he wanted to leave some doubt as to who had done the deed. Maybe it was a Soviet Spetsnaz unit that was responsible.
They rendezvoused with the other pair of troopers, who had dropped similar ampoules into what they had identified as a forward company H.Q and a few dugouts. The four troopers carefully avoided several sentries and climbed back out of the forward trench, making their way back to British lines.
*
“So, did you achieve your objectives, or can't you tell me?” Lieutenant Whitelaw asked a while later.
“Oh, we achieved all our main ones, plus the bonus mission.” Caplan replied. “The Ossies should be enjoying the bonus in a little while.”
The Field Telephone in the C.P buzzed, as if on queue.
“It's the O.P for your, Sir.”
Whitelaw took the offered handset.
“Lieutenant Whitelaw.” He said into the handset, before listening for several minutes. “Well, keep an eye on them.”
He gave the handset back and turned to Caplan.
“What did you do to them? My O.P just reported seeing two soldiers jumping out of that tank like it was on fire. They can also hear a lot of activity going on. Some sort of secret weapon, or Hereford Jedi-Mind Trick?”
Caplan laughed.
“No, nothing like that, Sir. Just some good old-fashioned stink bombs.” He said. “Won't do them any harm, but it will stink up that tank and the dugouts we dropped them into.”
Whitelaw chuckled.
“Ya cheeky buggers. I'll be doubling my guard tonight, just in case they try something similar in retaliation.”
“Oh, I think they'll be busy tonight, Sir.” Caplan replied with a wink. “I'll head on off now. Thank for your help.”
***
[1] An Order Of Battle for I Canadian Corps can be found here.
[2] With the complete recall of all Reservists the Household Cavalry and Brigade of Guards found that they had an over abundance of personnel, far beyond what was needed for BCR. The Guards Division put forward a request to use some these personnel to re-form a sixth Guards Regiment. They based this on the last Regiment formed with Household Cavalry and Guards personnel at the end of the Great War, The Guards Machine-Gun Regiment, which had been disbanded in February 1920. Just as the Royal Tank Regiment had been formed as the Heavy Branch of the Machine-Gun Corps, the Guards Division chose the new title as The Guards Tank Regiment which could trace its existence back to The Guards Machine-Gun Regiment (6th Regiment of Foot Guards).
The Royal Tank Regiment protested (half-heartedly) at the use of the word “Tank” in the title (to commemorate the 6th Guards Tank Brigade) and the request to wear the black beret (which was used in World War II by numerous RAC Regiments and the Guards Armoured Battalions). However the Guards influence prevailed, Queen Elizabeth II was personally brought into the discussion as she was Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Tank Regiment. It is thought that her personal influence was the key factor in securing the Royal Tank Regiment’s acquiescence and a Royal Warrant was issued.
The Guards Tank Regiment would be the armoured battalion of the newly formed Guards Armoured Brigade (to commemorate the Guards Armoured Division. The Brigade would use the “Ever-Open” Eye patch as its TRF.
Regimental Cap-badge:
Updated version of the Guards Machine-Gun Regiment badge, incorporating seven points for the five Guards Regiments and two Household Cavalry Regiments
Beret: Black with a Guards ribbon behind the badge.
[3] See revised British Army orbat here.
[4] Order of Battle, allied forces in Guyana:
- (US) 4-21st Infantry Regiment (Light)
- (US) 1-65th Infantry Regiment – PR National Guard
- Company C, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (LRSU)
- (US) A and B Battery, 3-15th Field Artillery Regiment - USAR: M119 105mm Towed
- (French) 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie
- (French) 9e régiment d'infanterie de marine
- (CA) Commonwealth Contingent
-- (UK) B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (+)
-- - Platoon, Royal Bermuda Regiment (+)
-- - BATSUB Det.
-- (CAN) C Company, 92 Infantry Battalion, Canadian Army
- Caribbean Protection Force
-- (JA) A Company, The Jamaica Regiment (-)(+)
-- (BAR) Special Operations Company, The Barbados Regiment (-)(+)
-- (A&B) Platoon, The Antigua and Barbuda Regiment
-- (T&T) Platoon, The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment
*
D+100
*
1801 hours GMT. USS Salem, off Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.
Captain Theodore Leverett raised his binoculars to study the distant island. He could make out the beach and trees and not much else on what had become the Cuban equivalent of Taiwan. The remnants of the Raúl Castro regime had retreated to the island during the closing stages of the civil war and continued to style themselves as the legitimate government of the Republic of Cuba. The leaders of the new Free Republic of Cuba would have liked what they saw as rebels gone, but did not have the capabilities to deal with them militarily. Besides, they had enough on their plates as it was.
Without directly intervening, the United States Southern Command was sending ships and aircraft to the waters and airspace around the Isla de la Juventud. Both to gather intelligence and show presence. Moreover, there was a hope that the Raúl loyalists might be stupid enough to fire on the probes, giving the Americans an reason to intervene.
Leverett had been ordered to sail his heavy cruiser right up to the twelve-mile limit off the island to see if he got any reaction. According to current intelligence, the only heavy artillery that the 'Raúlista' forces had were D-30 130mm towed howitzers. They had a maximum range of 21.9 km, but only with a rocket assisted projectile. However, Leverett was not going to take any chances. Salem was now closed up at battle stations, ready to go to flank speed if necessary. If she was fired on, her captain had decided that the best course of action was to get out of range first, before considering whether to return fire.
The captain lowered his binoculars and turned away to reach for the mug of coffee that sat on the left arm of his chair. Very shortly after Salem had recommissioned a number of items of merchandise had become available to the crew, including mugs with the cruiser's crest on them. Leverett had also spotted a few items with the image of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as played by the very much not teenage Melissa Joan Hart on them. Something to do with her cat being called Salem, or something. It seemed a bit of a stretch to him...
“Flash from the shore!” One of the lookouts called out.
Before the sailor could give a bearing, a waterspout appeared several cables to port of Salem's bow.
“All ahead flank!” Leverett ordered. “Helm, steer towards that waterspout!”
“Aye, Sir!”
As the ship began to turn to port, there were more flashes from the the coast. This time the waterspouts bracketed the ship.
“Those are no damn D-30s!” Leverett muttered. “We'd be out of range by now!
“Guns, can you see where the enemy battery is?” He asked, deciding that he might need to change his plans, as the enemy's shooting was getting more accurate.
“Approximately, Sir.”
“We need better than, approximately, Guns. You have about a minute to get a good firing solution, but if you can't in that time I want you to open fire with H.E anyway.”
The cruiser's three turrets were already swinging to starboard. Although, it would not be long before No. I and then II would not be able to bare, as Salem pulled away from the coast and turned.
“Ready to fire, Sir.” The Gunnery Officer reported.
“Open fire!” Leverett ordered.
Salem's 8-inch guns spoke. Firing in anger on an enemy target for the first time since she had been commissioned in 1949. By the time the second and third salvo had been fired, the guns that had fired the first one were ready to fire a new one. The Gunnery Officer reported some secondary explosions and Leverett ordered that full broadsides be fired at the location.
“No I turret no longer able to bare on target, Sir.” The Gunnery Officer reported after the third broadside.
“Cease fire. We should be clear.” Leverett ordered. “All ahead two-thirds.” He ordered a moment later. “Signal Vinson that we have been fired on and in accordance with RoE have returned fire. No damage, or casualties to the ship, and enemy casualties unknown at this time. We're returning to the task force.
“Nice work, everybody. Some good shooting too, Guns.”
*
Shortly after the news reached USS Carl Vinson, the admiral ordered that a target damage assessment be made. A pair of TARPS equipped F-14B Tomcats VF-302 “Stallions”, with a suitable escort package, were launched from the carrier. They would bring back some 'interesting' pictures.
1810 hours GMT. H.Q I Canadian Corps, south of Nuremberg, FRG.
Newly promoted Major General Sean Maloney was very aware that he had only recently taken over command of 1st Canadian Division. His predecessor having been also promoted and appointed to command the new I Canadian Corps. Maloney's promotion was so recent that his new rank insignia stood out shiny against his uniform. Today he was attending what was only his third conference at corps H.Q. [1]
*
Maloney had taken over a division that had just undergone something of a re-organisation. The 5e Brigade Mécanisé du Canada had been removed from the division and assigned to the new 2nd Canadian Division. In its place had come the newly raised 10 Canadian Mechanised Brigade, which was something of a lash-up, having been formed from a mix of soldiers from Primary Reserve across Canada, members of the Supplementary Reserve and new recruits. The militiamen had come from units that were already effectively cadres, so the army had been forced to draw from almost every units that was still at home. It meant that unit cohesion was not as great as should have been, and the new sub-units had not had much of a chance to exercise. The brigade commander was also a little concerned about the level of training of the new recruits. On top of that the brigade was understrength and generally used older equipment taken from storage. It's armoured regiment used old Leopard C2s for example, and one of its infantry battalions had M113s of somewhat dubious vintage. Having seen them, Maloney had sworn that at least some of the vehicles had come from museum collections. It's other two infantry battalions had second-hand LAV III and Bison APCs respectively. Those vehicles had been hard used by their previous owners, and had needed a great deal of maintenance and cleaning to get them operational.
At least he was in a better position than his counterpart at 2nd Canadian Division. He really only had one effective brigade. It's other two brigades were still in the process of re-equipping for the mechanised role. I Canadian Corps itself was also not really fully operational. Canada had not fielded a corps since 1945 and was still feeling its way regarding how one worked. At least the cease-fire meant that there was time for training and for the various 'kinks' to be worked out.
*
Maloney took his seat alongside the commander of 2nd Canadian Division and the commanders of the other corps level sub-units. Like him, many of them had been relatively recently promoted.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” The corps commander, Lieutenant General Bruce Powe, said in greeting. “And lady.” He added in deference to the Colonel who was the commander of 1 Health Services Group. “Sorry to have this meeting so late in the day, but I have been in meetings with Ottawa, COMSOUTHAG, CINCCENT and even SACEUR all day. Now, firstly, I want to go over the readiness states of your units. Sean, why don't you kick things off?”
“Of course, Sir.” Maloney replied. “I would say that only two-thirds of my division is combat ready. 10 Brigade, and the associated units that came across with it are only really a brigade in name. It's understrength, inexperienced and has largely second-hand equipment that has already had a hard life. I'm really missing the 5th Brigade. On the plus side, the infantry in 1st Brigade is happy to be all Warrior. The LAV III is a good bit of kit, but you can put more armour on a Warrior. Even the crunchies like to be behind as much armour as possible!”
Powe nodded his head, acknowledging what Maloney had said. It matched the reports he had about 1st Division.
“How about you, Jacques?” He asked the commander of the 2nd Division.
“I'm almost in the opposite situation to Sean. Only the 5e Brigade is fully combat ready. Though 6 Brigade is close behind. At least it has combat experience. 9 Brigade is up to strength, but inexperienced, bar the battalion group that went to Guyana and they didn't do a lot. Both militia brigades are in the middle of absorbing and training on new equipment. My opinion at the moment is that if we have to go to war tomorrow, you should give 5e Brigade back to Sean. You would be better off with one fully up operational division, than two partially operational.”
“I'm glad I didn't suggest that, Jacques!” Maloney added with a chuckle. “Don't want to be seen as a poacher. However, Sir, I would agree with that.”
“If we do go back to war within the next thirty days, that is pretty much what I plan to do.” Lt. General Powe confirmed. “However, we have to have faith in our esteemed diplomats will continue to buy us enough time to train and make good most of our deficiencies.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“Any other major concerns?”
“I'm not happy with 9 and 10 Field Ambulances, Sir.” The commander of 1 Health Services Group said.
“Care to expand, Katherine?” Powe asked.
“To form 10 Field Ambulance, two medical companies; the 17 Winnipeg and 18 Thunder Bay; were taken from 9 Field Ambulance, which has weakened it.” The Colonel replied. “We have received some additional personnel from home, but only about half of them are military medics. The rest are recently recruited, or conscripted civilian medical personnel. Oh, they are competent at medicine, but not military medicine in the field.
“I would say that of my units, that 1 and 6 Field Ambulance are full operational, 9 is partially operational and 10 should only really be used in an emergency.”
“How are you off for medical supplies, kit, vehicles etc.?” Powe asked.
“Drowning in the damned stuff.” The senior medic replied. “I can confidently say that pre-war planning for stockpiling medical supplies and equipment has worked. Moreover, now that the pharmaceutical companies are making what is needed, rather than what they think is profitable, we have a good supply coming in. Funny thing is, I hear there is a shortage of illegal Heroin because the world Opium supply has been cornered for medical use.
“I could do with some more armoured ambulances, but I have enough to be going on with. I do also think we need more helicopters for MEDEVAC, some CH-47s would be nice, but we don't have any of those thanks to the Mulroney Government.”
“Noted.” The corps commander said. “I'd love some Chinooks, but I can't see us getting any! Right, time to take a break, I think. There's what passes these for hot food and drink outside. See you back here in fifteen.”
*
Extract from briefing document to Defence Secretary (UK).
Allied Forces Central Europe
- BAOR
The headquarters of the 11th Armoured Division has been established in West Germany. The division, which is assigned to the Northern Army Group's reserve, is only partially operational. Only the Guards Armoured Brigade can be considered fully operational. Equipping that brigade has used most of the remaining Challenger 2 MBT and Warrior IFV remaining in storage. The two other brigades will be equipped with Challenger 1, Chieftain Mk.14 and FV430 Bulldog, until production of modern vehicles catches up. The 38 (Welsh) Armoured and 43 (Wessex) Armoured Brigades can only really be regarded as cadres at the moment, with none of their subordinate units up to strength in terms of personnel, or equipment. If necessary in an emergency, the Guards Armoured Brigade could operate as an independent brigade group.
The controversy over the formation of the Guards Tank Regiment, the name being objected to by the Royal Tank Regiment, has been resolved, partially due to the intervention of the Colonel-in-Chief of the RTR. [2]
Three 'line-holding' brigades are now active within 1 (Br) Corps. The brigades are 51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade, 25th Infantry Brigade and 16th (Irish) Infantry Brigade. They are formed of three to four light infantry battalions on rotation, supported by a single artillery regiment equipped with the L118 'Light Gun', with an attached anti-tank battery equipped with the MGM-157 EFOGM. These brigades, which man the fixed defences of the 'new border', currently report directly to corps H.Q. However, consideration is being given to forming a new divisional H.Q to control them. Were to this happen, it is likely that the new division would be designated the 8th Infantry Division.
The armoured infantry battalions of 1st Armoured Division have completed re-equipping with the FV520 Warrior 2. The infantry battalion of 4th Armoured Brigade, 3rd Armoured Division has also re-equipped. The remainder of that division's armoured infantry will start to re-equip shortly. 4th Armoured Division will start to re-equip with the FV520 next month.
Some reshuffling of commanders has taken place within BAOR. These are listed in Appendix B.
Allied Forces Northern Europe
- Denmark
As of today the UK Mobile Force and 5 Infantry Division have swapped identities. The divisional sized formation assigned to Land Forces Jutland (LANDJUT) will now be designated the 5th Armoured Division. It is currently a reinforced two-brigade formation. It is planned to bring it up to strength by attaching the 3rd Armoured Brigade when it returns from the Middle East. The former third brigade of the division, the Canadian 2nd Mechanised Brigade (formerly the Special Service Force) has departed to form part of the new 3rd Canadian Division, along with 8 Canadian Brigade Group. The 1st Battalion, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles has been detached from the division to serve under LANDJUT H.Q as a line-holding unit. It has also reverted to light infantry. The Gurkhas did take well to operating the Saxon APC, but a lack of technical experience meant that the vehicles have suffered increasingly unreliability. They have been passed to the 4th Battalion (V), The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot), which serves as a security unit for the Force Maintenance Area. The other Saxon APC equipped units of 5 Armoured Division have finished re-equipping with the FV430 Mk.3 Bulldog. The Saxons will be passed to some light infantry units that form part of 1 (Br) Corps.
- Norway
52nd (Lowland) Brigade (Mountain) is now operational as part of COMNON forces. The brigade has received training in mountain and arctic warfare. It had relieved 3 Commando Brigade, RM, allowing the latter brigade to be assigned to AFNORTH reserve. 52nd Brigade will serve as a garrison force, manning defences in northern Norway. Consideration is being given to deploying a second infantry brigade to Norway to replace 5th Airborne Brigade, which has also been withdrawn into reserve.
Strategic Reserve & Home Forces
- UK Mobile Force
As observed above, the UK's strategic reserve division now has the identity of the UK Mobile Force. It was felt that it was more appropriate to use that title for a formation that would indeed be used as a mobile 'fire-brigade', than it being assigned to a formation that is effectively static at the moment. The UKMF is currently a two-brigade force, with 16th Air Portable and 48th (Gurkha) Infantry Brigades under command. The Gurkha Brigade currently lacks an artillery regiment, however soldiers from the Brigade of Gurkhas as being trained in the use of the L118 in preparation for forming a Gurkha Artillery Regiment.
- Home Forces
Some Composite General Reserve companies and General Support Units have been disbanded, or amalgamated, with personnel being returned to the training system. It is planned that once enough National Service personnel have been trained that these CGR and GSU will be reformed. Many Home Defence units are also being used to assist with training new soldiers. This is also a temporary measure until the training system has expanded fully.
To make up for the deployment of the headquarters of 51st and 52nd Infantry Brigades, two new brigade H.Q have been formed to take their place in Scotland District. These are 64th (2nd Highland) and 65th (2nd Lowland) Brigades. The brigade numbers recall two 2nd Line Territorial infantry divisions that existed between 1914 and 1918/1919. A 64th Division also existed during the Second World War as a deception unit in India.
It can be confirmed that the formations lost when our West Berlin garrison had to surrender are well into the process of being reformed. Each was reformed from a cadre of personnel held back in the UK and regular reservists. To this has been added some transferees from sister units and pre-war volunteers. They will also shortly start to receive National Service soldiers. For the moment they will serve on Home Defence duties, however, it has been proposed that they be formed into new Berlin Infantry Brigade. Discussions are ongoing with the United States and France about creating a multi-national division formed of reformed units that were lost in West Berlin.
NATO Strategic Reserve
Discussions are continuing in Brussels over the potential formation of a First Allied Airborne Army Group, as part of NATO's Strategic Reserve. Any such formation would serve as an administrative formation reporting directly to SACEUR. It would control most, if not all, NATO airborne and air mobile formations. What forces any such army group might command is also under discussion.
Changes to army order of battle
Changes to the army's order of battle and deployments can be found in Appendix C. [4]
*
1915 hours. Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales.
“Right, that over there is your objective.” The SAS Warrant Officer 1 known to the men he was training as Jablonski said, pointing to the summit of Pen y Fan. “You have two hours to get yourselves up there and you can't use any paths.”
“What if we don't get up there in time, Sergeant-Major?” One of the trainees asked.
“The helicopter won't be there to bring you down, you'll have to walk back down. To make things 'interesting' you also have to get there before the Hunter Force, which will be training you.”
*
The Brecon Beacons were once again being used as part of training new recruits to UKSF. Having suffered casualties, the SAS and SBS needed fresh blood. However, the groups of soldiers Jablonski were training were not from the UK armed forces. They were drawn from the Polish Army's 1 Samodzielny Batalion Szturmowy, 48, 56 and 62 Kompania Specjalna, 6 Brygada Desantowo-Szturmowa, Polish Navy Divers and a small Special Forces unit called GROM. Jablonski had worked with them when he and fellow troopers from 23 SAS had been in Poland. The British troops had been 'officially' withdrawn from Poland and were now training some Polish troops back in the UK. The Poles wanted to expand and improve their Special Forces capabilities, hence sending men to Britain to be put through a version of the UKSF Selection Course, along with other training.
*
“Right, you have your maps and supplies. Time to get moving, the clock has started.”
The quartet Polish trainees shouldered their Bergen backpacks, picked up their weapons and set off. Jablonski reflected on the fact that at least the weather was not as unpleasant as it had been when he had done his selection. He turned away and walked towards another SNCO who had been watching the trainees depart.
“You and your lads ready to go, Dave?” He said, switching back to English.
“Absolutely, Boss.” Sergeant-Major David Garvie replied. “We'll beat them to the summit no sweat. Course, the poor sods won't know that we'll be a bunch of cheating bastards and use a cab to get up there. Though, if they don't hurry, the Paras will catch them and they won't like that!”
Jablonski chuckled.
“Aye, someone neglected to tell them the Paras will give them a kicking in those circumstances, and whatever happens, they're going straight to resistance to interrogation training after this. Poor buggers.”
The Hunter Force that would chase the trainees, whether British, or Polish, was drawn from The Parachute Regiment. As Jablonski had indicated, they delighted in roughing up any trainees they caught. Especially those who were ex-Paras, something that extended to paratroopers from the wider worldwide family. Anyone who was discovered to be a marine would also face a particularly hard time.
*
Even in July climbing Pen y Fan was no 'walk in the park'. Indeed, even though it was early evening, it was still warm and instead of being cold, the trainees were soon sweating. The 'Fan Dance', or 'Long Drag' as it was known, soon took its toll on them as they pushed themselves to make the two hour deadline. Moreover, the pressure from the Hunter Force pushed them on. They struggled on, drinking and eating while on the move. Finally, they reached the summit, satisfied that they had done so within the time limit and could take a brief rest before being picked up by helicopter.
“Hello, lads.” Sergeant-Major Garvie said cheerily. “Have a nice walk up the hill?”
The Poles were dumbstruck. They were sure they had made up up the mountain well before anyone else. Yet, here were half a dozen British soldiers waiting for them.
“Right, drop your guns and put your hands up.” He said, seriously, raising his C8 carbine, although making sure it was not pointing at anyone directly.
The Poles looked at each other, unsure if the Brit was serious.
“Are you deaf, or something? I know you speak English.” Garvie snapped. He turned to his men. “Help them out.”
Four of the SAS troopers stepped forward, striking the Poles in the stomach with the butts of their carbines. They pushed the four trainees to the ground, tied their hands and legs, before tying their limbs together, so that they were in a stress position. The finishing touch was a hood that was tied tightly around the neck, only just allowing the trainees to breath.
“Chopper is coming in, Boss.”
“Right, soon as it touches down, get the prisoners aboard.”
A Chinook HC.2A from No.7 Squadron, RAF, came thundering in. It hovered, lowering its rear ramp, so that it touched the ground, but while remaining airborne. The trainees were dragged aboard and roughly placed on the floor.
“Evening, lads.” WO 1 Jablonski said in greeting. “Told you the chopper would come for you if you made it up in time.”
One of the Poles questioned Jablonski's parentage. The nearest SAS trooper tapped him in the stomach with his right boot. Not hard enough to cause any injury, but enough to be painful.
“Did I say you could speak?” Jablonski growled. “Keep quiet until after we get where we are going. I'm sure you will tell us everything we want to know after that. Also, don't try to struggle, or mess us about during the flight. If you do, you may find yourself going for a flight of your own.”
To emphasise the Warrant Officer's warning, the Chinook was flying with its rear ramp down. Jablonski checked his watch, it should not be too long until they reached Credenhill, where the fun would really begin. He leaned back against the helicopter's fuselage, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
1945 hours GMT. Over Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
It was good to be back in 'Oz', Flight Lieutenant Simon Darkshade reflected as he turned his Hawk 127 towards North Sydney. The UK was nice, but it was not home.
*
The flight that Darkshade was part of was formed of one other Hawk and a pair of Mirage IIIO. They were routed to fly over Sydney Harbour, Cockatoo Island and Paramatta, keeping well clear of traffic heading to the airport, before turning back to the north and heading back towards RAAF Williamtown. Making sure that they passed over a number of coastal communities and Newcastle before reaching their base. The purpose of the sortie was to get the aircraft noticed by civilians on the ground, thus, the theory went, reassuring them that they were protected from any repeat of Canberra.
*
'BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!'
Darkshade's Radar Warning Receiver warned him that he was being scanned by an air search radar. He knew that the RAN had set up an SPS-40C radar as part of a 'FrankenSAM' battery salvaged from USS Goldsborough, which protected Sydney, so he was not too worried. Suddenly, the tone became continuous, indicating that he was being scanned by a a fire-control radar, specifically an AN/SPG-51G.
“What the f*ck.” He muttered. “Lead, this is Three, what are those jokers on the ground doing, over?”
“I'm on it, Three.” The voice of Squadron Leader Ian 'Spence' Spenser said from the Mirage that was leading the formation. “Stand-by.”
“Stand-by he says.” Darkshade muttered. “While the fish-heads decide whether they want to shoot us down, or not.”
There were a few nervous minutes of silence before Spenser came back on the radio.
“They're using us for practise. There aren't any live missiles loaded, over.”
“Nice of them to tell us!” Darkshade replied. “Made me a bit nervous for a bit.”
“Well, I'm sure we can arrange for you to have a change of pants when we get back to Billville, mate.” Spenser commented.
Darkshade smiled behind his oxygen mask and shook his head. 'Spence' was known for being quick off the mark when it came to humorous asides.
*
Lance-Corporal Paul Sutherland had watched the four RAAF aircraft pass overhead. He was sufficiently interested in military aviation to recognise the types. He continued to watch as they disappeared to the west. He had also overheard some heated discussions coming from the navy 'ops container'. Something about not warning the aircraft that they were using them as practise targets. He shook his head.
“Come on, guys.” He said to the half-section that he was leading. “Airshow is over. This patrol isn't going to get done if we stand around plane spotting.”
1831 hours GMT. Near Juanita, Guyana.
The last Venezuelan troops had been driven from Guyana, however the Guyana Defence Force and allied troops were continuing to patrol along the border. The Guyanese government had not allowed a counter-invasion to take place from its territory, but had authorised troops to cross up to two kilometres over the border.
As well as the GDF itself, allied forces consisted of two US infantry battalions, a pair of artillery batteries, and an LRSU company. The French added two battalions, one Foreign Legion, the other marines, which had been deployed from French Guiana. A small Commonwealth force consisting of B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and C Company, 92 Infantry Battalion, Canadian Army, remained. The majority of the Canadian contingent having been redeployed to West Germany. The British company group included a small detachment from BATSUB (who were absolutely not SAS) and a reinforced platoon drawn from the Royal Bermuda Regiment (which included sections from the Royal Montserrat Defence Force, Cayman Islands Regiment and the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment). The Guyana, with support from the UK, had also managed to persuade Jamaica and the Regional Security System to redeploy the military contingent of the force it had sent to Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana. The police and coast guard contingents had remained in Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Protection Force, as it had been dubbed, was being held back as a reserve, as none of the nations who had contributed were belligerents. If Guyana was attacked again, the CPF would help defend it, but it would not be used to invade anywhere. [4]
*
Sergeant Jason ‘Dustin’ Hoffman and his squad from Company C, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (LRSU), were one of a number of Guyanese and allied units patrolling along, and sometimes across, the border. The company had now been in country for over ninety days, so was very well acclimatised. Even so, the squad sized patrol still included a couple of soldiers from the GDF 31 Forces Squadron. The Guyanese soldier leading the patrol suddenly stopped, and held up his left arm, his hand clenched. Signalling everyone to stop and go to ground. Hoffman cautiously made his way forward.
“What is it, Cal?” He whispered.
“Can you not smell it, Dustin?” The Guyanese soldier asked.
Hoffman carefully smelled the air.
“Wood smoke, a lot of it. Coming from over there.” He indicated with his left hand.
“There's a small Amerindian village in that direction, just over two klicks from here. It straddles the border.”
“Right, let's go check it out. Keep your heads on a swivel, people.”
The patrol found that the village had been burned to the ground, the remains of some of the huts still smouldering. Hoffman spotted some movement in the trees and began to raise his rifle, he stopped as an Amerindian man stepped out into the clearing. He looked frightened for a moment until he spotted the two Guyanese soldiers and relaxed. The senior Guyanese, Cal, spoke to him in the local dialect.
“He says that Venezuelan soldiers forced them to leave their village before burning it. The accused the villagers of spying for us. He managed to hide and got away.”
“Does he want to come with us?”
Cal asked and the man shook his head.
“He says no. This is his home, he will wait for his people to come home. I think he's a bit optimistic, to be honest.”
“His call.” Hoffman observed. “Okay, guys, let's document this fully before we move on.”
Hoffman's patrol was not the only one to find Amerindian villages that had been burned. It seemed that there had been a systematic policy by retreating Venezuelan troop to destroy any villages on, or near the border and remove the population. There was no sign that all of the villagers had been killed, although a few bodies, perhaps of those who had resisted, were found. Each patrol, as Hoffman's had done, carefully documented what they found, and buried any bodies.
2045 hours GMT. Outside Magdeburg, DDR.
It was still light as Sergeant Mark Caplan and his patrol finished their last preparations. However, it should be dark enough for their purposes by the time they were ready. Caplan and the three other SAS troopers finished up their initial preparations by covering their faces with camouflage cream. Done, they made their way up a communications trench towards the front-line. This sector was held by 6th (Hamilton) Battalion (V), The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), part of 51st (Highland) Brigade. Having already reported to battalion H.Q, Caplan sought out the platoon C.P from the area that his patrol was going to depart from.
The platoon Command Post was in a dugout that had been constructed from a pre-prepared frame buried in the ground, with the earth dug out used to bury it again. Turf had been placed back over the top to provide as much concealment as possible. Caplan had to descend a couple of steps from the level of the trench and push aside a couple of sheets. These served to maintain a black-out and keep out, or reduce the amount of poisonous chemicals that could enter the C.P.
“I'm Sergeant Caplan. I'm looking for Lieutenant Whitelaw.”
“That would be me.” A man in his early thirties said from the rear of the C.P.
“Sir, I'm here to let you know that my patrol is about to set out.”
“Right.” The subaltern replied. “You know where you're going, have the latest password etc.?”
“Yes, Sir. Got it all at your battalion H.Q.”
“Great stuff. I won't hold you back any, Sergeant. Good luck and don't restart the war all on your own!”
“I'll try not to, Sir. I'll see you in a few hours.”
*
Now that it was dark the four SAS troopers were able to climb out of a forward Observation Post and make their way carefully through the British barbed wire before entering 'No-Man's Land'. The British Army had chosen to only lay anti-tank mines at the moment, though scatterable anti-personnel mines were on stand-by in case of any attack. The Warsaw Pact, on the other hand, had laid both kinds of maps and one of jobs that had been assigned to Caplan's patrol was to map the enemy minefield. Thankfully the Soviets and East Germans had been in a hurry when laying the mines and they were visible. That said, it still took an hour of careful probing to make it through the minefield to the enemy wire. The patrol found a gap in the wire and split into two pairs to make their way to their targets.
Caplan and Trooper Edwards headed towards what was believed to be a T-55 tank, which was dug in to support the East German troops holding this section of their front-line. They spotted two men in tanker's coveralls and helmets standing in a trench, smoking. One had what looked like a folding-stock variant of an AK slung over his shoulder. Neither was particularly alert. On getting close to the tank, Caplan noticed that it was actually a T-54, not that it really mattered. He climbed up onto the turret while Edwards kept watch. The commander and loader's hatches were locked in the overhead cover position. Evidently the occupants who Caplan could hear snoring inside wanted some ventilation, but not at the expense of getting wet if it rained. He carefully extracted two plastic ampoules from his pocket and dropped one into each hatch, before carefully climbing back down. He paused for a moment and painted 'Spetsnaz' in red paint on the side of the tank in Cyrillic using a spray can he had brought with him. Back in the '80s, some SAS troopers had managed to paint 'SAS' on a US Bradley during an exercise, which had inspired Caplan. Though, in this case he wanted to leave some doubt as to who had done the deed. Maybe it was a Soviet Spetsnaz unit that was responsible.
They rendezvoused with the other pair of troopers, who had dropped similar ampoules into what they had identified as a forward company H.Q and a few dugouts. The four troopers carefully avoided several sentries and climbed back out of the forward trench, making their way back to British lines.
*
“So, did you achieve your objectives, or can't you tell me?” Lieutenant Whitelaw asked a while later.
“Oh, we achieved all our main ones, plus the bonus mission.” Caplan replied. “The Ossies should be enjoying the bonus in a little while.”
The Field Telephone in the C.P buzzed, as if on queue.
“It's the O.P for your, Sir.”
Whitelaw took the offered handset.
“Lieutenant Whitelaw.” He said into the handset, before listening for several minutes. “Well, keep an eye on them.”
He gave the handset back and turned to Caplan.
“What did you do to them? My O.P just reported seeing two soldiers jumping out of that tank like it was on fire. They can also hear a lot of activity going on. Some sort of secret weapon, or Hereford Jedi-Mind Trick?”
Caplan laughed.
“No, nothing like that, Sir. Just some good old-fashioned stink bombs.” He said. “Won't do them any harm, but it will stink up that tank and the dugouts we dropped them into.”
Whitelaw chuckled.
“Ya cheeky buggers. I'll be doubling my guard tonight, just in case they try something similar in retaliation.”
“Oh, I think they'll be busy tonight, Sir.” Caplan replied with a wink. “I'll head on off now. Thank for your help.”
***
[1] An Order Of Battle for I Canadian Corps can be found here.
[2] With the complete recall of all Reservists the Household Cavalry and Brigade of Guards found that they had an over abundance of personnel, far beyond what was needed for BCR. The Guards Division put forward a request to use some these personnel to re-form a sixth Guards Regiment. They based this on the last Regiment formed with Household Cavalry and Guards personnel at the end of the Great War, The Guards Machine-Gun Regiment, which had been disbanded in February 1920. Just as the Royal Tank Regiment had been formed as the Heavy Branch of the Machine-Gun Corps, the Guards Division chose the new title as The Guards Tank Regiment which could trace its existence back to The Guards Machine-Gun Regiment (6th Regiment of Foot Guards).
The Royal Tank Regiment protested (half-heartedly) at the use of the word “Tank” in the title (to commemorate the 6th Guards Tank Brigade) and the request to wear the black beret (which was used in World War II by numerous RAC Regiments and the Guards Armoured Battalions). However the Guards influence prevailed, Queen Elizabeth II was personally brought into the discussion as she was Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Tank Regiment. It is thought that her personal influence was the key factor in securing the Royal Tank Regiment’s acquiescence and a Royal Warrant was issued.
The Guards Tank Regiment would be the armoured battalion of the newly formed Guards Armoured Brigade (to commemorate the Guards Armoured Division. The Brigade would use the “Ever-Open” Eye patch as its TRF.
Regimental Cap-badge:
Updated version of the Guards Machine-Gun Regiment badge, incorporating seven points for the five Guards Regiments and two Household Cavalry Regiments
Beret: Black with a Guards ribbon behind the badge.
[3] See revised British Army orbat here.
[4] Order of Battle, allied forces in Guyana:
- (US) 4-21st Infantry Regiment (Light)
- (US) 1-65th Infantry Regiment – PR National Guard
- Company C, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (LRSU)
- (US) A and B Battery, 3-15th Field Artillery Regiment - USAR: M119 105mm Towed
- (French) 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie
- (French) 9e régiment d'infanterie de marine
- (CA) Commonwealth Contingent
-- (UK) B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (+)
-- - Platoon, Royal Bermuda Regiment (+)
-- - BATSUB Det.
-- (CAN) C Company, 92 Infantry Battalion, Canadian Army
- Caribbean Protection Force
-- (JA) A Company, The Jamaica Regiment (-)(+)
-- (BAR) Special Operations Company, The Barbados Regiment (-)(+)
-- (A&B) Platoon, The Antigua and Barbuda Regiment
-- (T&T) Platoon, The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment
