First Half of February, 2023

Happy Groundhog Day, everybody. Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning which means six more weeks of winter. If the coming weeks will be anything like the previous six, I think I can put away the rock salt and snowblower for the rest of the season. Winter has been a major bust so far …

Today’s Friend, Tomorrow’s Enemy D+24 And Beyond: Poland

After forty-plus years of submission to Moscow, Eastern Europe decoupled from the Soviet orbit in the aftermath of World War III. The wounds and trauma inflicted on the satellite states from 9 July through early August, 1987 served as a spark on the powder keg Eastern Europe had become in the previous decade. In retrospect …

Liberty In Peril Preview #3

Okay, folks. Here is the final preview for Liberty In Peril. The events in this timeline entry are from D+1 the second day of war. I realize the previous LIP preview entry covered D+2 so this is a bit of a retrograde and I apologize for that. But seeing as these are just previews and …

Post War Geopolitics: Unfinished Business

In early August of 1987 the Third World War came to an end. The guns fell silent, strategic forces came off their high alert statuses and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. In the final twenty-four hours of the war the planet teetered on the edge of the abyss with the United States …

Odds And Ends 21, January, 2023

Here we are once again on a January weekend. Which means NFL playoffs and since the Giants are playing this evening it is now officially Gameday. I’d apologize to the British and other European readers about how swept up us Americans get in playoff football, but I don’t think it’s necessary. You guys can relate, …

Liberty In Peril Preview #2

This is the second preview of Liberty In Peril. I put together a partial timeline from the third day of war to present. Again, this is not a finished product, just a sneak peek at what a Liberty post could look like if I go forward with the project. One more preview will be up …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part III

On 28 June, 1987 the Soviet general secretary informed the Ministry of Defense that Zapad ’87 was to commence on the first of July. A final decision on the date hostilities were to commence was not mentioned. Senior Soviet generals suspected Zapad would transition directly into a broader mobilization and from there to war. Marshal …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part II

In the early June, 1987 senior Soviet military leaders were being queried daily by the new leadership in the Kremlin about theater mobilization procedures. Specifically, General Secretary Romanov was most interested in the amount of time that the vaunted Soviet military would need to prepare for a conventional conflict in Europe. Chief of the General …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part I

Mobilization has played a key role in war planning for centuries. Only in the later half of the 19th Century, with the advent of railroads and industrialization, did it take on a new importance and standing. In Europe during the years leading up to World War I, Mobilization was transformed into nothing less than an …

Today’s Friend, Tomorrow’s Enemy D+24 And Beyond Part II

In the twenty-four-hour period following the destruction of the Kremlin and Lubyanka, the troika made up of Vladimir Dolgikh, Viktor Chebrikov and Sergei Akhromeyev took stock of the Herculean task before them. Foremost was affirming the temporary cessation of hostilities between the Soviet Union and United States, as well as her NATO allies. The first …