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 …

Poland On The Last Day D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part II

D+24 continued on and the air of impending doom circulated around Poland. With the vast number of Soviet airbases, supply depots, headquarters and other military bases on Polish soil, an overwhelming majority of Poles expected their country to be next. News of additional nuclear explosions in the GDR and West Germany enhanced the panic. Shelters …

Poland On The Last Day D+24 (2 August, 1987)

It did not take long for word of Wunsdorf’s destruction to reach in Poland. Owing to time and circumstances, the first people to learn of the nuclear event were members of the Polish military stationed in and around Legnica. On the surface these Poles remained loyal to the Soviet Union and thus were trusted, albeit …

Death Knell Of The Pact D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part II

The other Warsaw Pact member-states saw the writing on the wall. As the Third World War continued along on a trajectory of perilous escalation as D+24 went on, some Pact governments were making desperate efforts to jettison affiliations to the Soviet Union in the hope it would spare their nations from nuclear fire. Others adopted …

As Ready As They Can Be D+24 (2 August, 1987) 0200-0250 Zulu

0205 Zulu- In Moscow, General Secretary Romanov selects a retaliatory response option, and the decision is finalized. It will be some 45 minutes until Western TVD completes the necessary preparations. In the meantime, Romanov turns to the handling an assortment of important tasks. The first of which is delaying the Politburo meeting until 0715. 0215 …

D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0401-0615 Zulu

Wedrzyn, Poland 0405 Zulu (0605 Local) Events were moving faster now. At the Western TVD wartime headquarters, the commanders of artillery and chemical troops arrived and were briefed on their new orders by Marshal Snetkov. After five minutes spent explaining the orders and timeline, as well as the quite lengthy restrictions attached to them, the …

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

Western TVD commander-in-chief General Boris Snetkov began D+22 at his command’s alternate wartime headquarters in western Poland, an area still under the control of Soviet forces. His first thought of the new day was the realization that the situation was not going to improve. If anything, it appeared destined to deteriorate further. What was uncertain …

Baltic Approaches D+22 (31 July, 1987) Part II

1400- The Danish attack commences. 1st and 2nd Brigades of the Jutland Division advance southeast from Bredebro. This division is in far better material shape than its West German counterpart to the east. The Danish sector of the front had been considerably quieter following the rebellion in Polish ranks. The division’s commander took advantage of …

Observations on the Ukraine Conflict- 28 March, 2022

After 30+ days of war, the situation on the ground in Ukraine is nothing short of a stalemate. The much-vaunted Russian land offensive built around maneuver and superior firepower never came to fruition. Instead, a poorly equipped, poorly-led Russian army crossed the border with minimal close air support and inferior communications backing it up. Then …

Gaming WWIII: Two Valuable Titles For Gaming Out The Situation In Eastern Europe 2022

This will be a very brief detour from D+20. 😊 I’ve received some texts and emails from readers in the last two days asking if I know of any commercial wargames currently on the market that would be good tools to game out what might come next in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The good news …