Baltic Approaches D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part I

The Soviets controlled Gdansk. The shipyard was secure, as were other key areas of the port city. The outskirts though, remained unsettled. Pockets of Solidarity members and rebellious Polish military and police, who’d been ejected from the city, fight on into the morning. As the day carries on, the plight of the city becomes a …

Cracks Widen: Poland D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part II

burst of street protests and clashes with ZOMO teams, most Poles had retreated to the confines of their homes to monitor events. As the hours flashed by and the Polish government remained on the sidelines, factions of citizens were organizing themselves for future protests. The air of uncertainty that settled in across Poland was not …

Cracks Widen: Poland D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part I

For the first half of D+16 Gdansk was the center of activity in the People’s Republic of Poland. The landing by Soviet naval infantry was completed and the beachhead secure by 1000. Shortly thereafter, two columns of APCs supported by light tanks were moving into the city. The larger of the two columns had been …

Baltic Approaches D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part I

0000-0700 Hours 0015- Just after midnight, CINC-West learned that the GDR government was in the process of ordering all units of its armed forces to either halt in place or return to their installations at once. Immediate attempts to contact Potsdam, as well as division headquarters and airbases belonging to the East German military all …

The Politics of Global War: Poland Teeters D+14 Part III

Jaruzelski was heard by the majority of Poles, however, the final three minutes of his address was prematurely cut off in some areas of the country. This was due to attacks on transmitters, and other communications links by KGB and GRU officers who responded quickest to the frantic orders going out from the Soviet embassy …

The Politics of Global War: Cause and Effect D+13 (22 July, 1987) Part II

Two full weeks of war had all but removed the veil of uniform civility and compliance from the face of the Polish populace. The relationship between the Poles, and their Soviet overseers was nearing the point of extreme duress. The war showed every sign of continuing and growing in size and scope. Every night NATO …

Baltic Approaches D+12 (21 July, 1987) Part III

Predictably, security for the coming operation was airtight. So much so that the Northern Group of Forces (NGF) commander was not informed until late in the afternoon. A colonel from Marshal Ogarkov’s staff personally delivered the news. He’d boarded an Mi-17 helicopter and flew from Western TVD’s main command post at Legnica to the forward …