The Central Front: Command And Control On The Nuclear Battlefield D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part II

NATO’s retaliation for the nuclear attack against I NL Corps came in the form of two nuclear warheads targeted at two separate targets and delivered by a pair of US Army Pershing II medium-range ballistic missiles. The first and more valuable target was the Group Soviet Forces Germany’s wartime forward command bunker outside Stendal. This …

The Central Front: Command And Control On The Nuclear Battlefield D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part I

In the battlefield nuclear exchanges that took place early on D+24, command and control elements and links were among the earliest casualties in both the NATO and Soviet formations that were targeted. This occurrence was anything but a surprise. Both sides had anticipated and prepared for the eventuality. Contingency plans for combat operations in a …

West Berlin D+25 (3 August, 1987)

On the morning of 3 August, 1987, as dawn broke across the eastern sky, few residents of West Berlin were aware that a temporary ceasefire was now in place across Europe. NATO and Warsaw Pact military forces were no longer engaged in combat with one another. Or that US and Soviet governments had agreed to …

Galvin and Snetkov Come Together D+25 (3 August, 1987) Part II

Salzglitter, FRG 0703 Zulu (0903 Local) The Soviet Mi-17 flared and landed. The pilot powered down the engines. Once they ceased turning, Marshal Snetkov disembarked from the helicopter with three aides in tow. They moved while under the watchful eyes of an Apache helicopter. SACEUR and own two aides walked out from the trees and …

Galvin and Snetkov Come Together D+25 (3 August, 1987) Part I

Salzglitter, FRG 0655 Zulu (0855 Local) *Author’s Note: This post will require two parts so I thought I’d post Part I early. Second part will be up tomorrow night or sometime on Friday. * General Jack Galvin, US Army stood just inside of a tree line bordering a large tract of farmland that had been …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part III (Bravo)

Dusk fell upon the Central Front, bringing with it the first notes of a precarious pause on the North German Plain. Artillery rumbled sporadically in the distance, but nowhere near as concentrated as it had been earlier in the afternoon. The crack of tank cannons firing and small arms fire popped up periodically as well, …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part III (Alpha)

A military aircraft ostensibly designated and marked as a medical evacuation flight transported General Snetkov back to the Western Theater of Operations. The plane landed at a military airfield southeast of Berlin. From there he was transported amid heavy security to the Group Soviet Forces Germany peacetime headquarters complex at Wünsdorf. The buildings and surrounding …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II (Bravo)

1200-1800 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 1230- As most the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment halts near Gifhorn, air and armored cavalry reconnaissance patrols push ahead. They discover Soviet units dug in on the eastern side of the Elbe Lateral Canal. The regiment is awaiting the arrival of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division and a British Regiment promised …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II (Alpha)

0535-1200 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 0535- Operation Thunder Cloud resumes. 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division begin the drive to Phase Line Dodger. 0550- Heavy maneuver elements of the Dutch 5th Division spearhead the resumption of the Dutch attack northeast of Celle. As these units move, other elements of divisions from I NL …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part I (Bravo)

In an underground command bunker situated in the forest outside Mons, Belgium, Boris Snetkov’s NATO counterpart was sizing up the day ahead. General Jack Galvin, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) was taken aback by the date on the calendar. He realized this was the twenty-third day of war. In his mind it seemed more like …