An In-Depth History and Analysis of the Third World War
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 …
Continue reading "The Central Front Mobilization Race Part III"
Aboard Nightwatch 1600 Zulu (1205 Local) Debate over the surgical First Strike option presented by General Vuono continued on and Reagan’s advisers were divided over the prospect. Those in favor believed time was running critically short. Romanov was a loose cannon suffering from sleep deprivation, stress and did not appear to have full control of …
Continue reading "Hell Bent For Leather D+24 (2 August, 1987) 1605-1620"
0253 Zulu- Romanov’s hotline message is summarized for President Reagan and his advisers in the Situation Room by the MOLINK duty officer. The general secretary explains that a direct response to the ‘unprovoked NATO nuclear attack on a Soviet military base in the GDR’ will be launched within minutes. He does not understand the purpose …
Continue reading "The Morning’s Second Artificial Sunrise D+24 (2 August, 1987) 0253-0330 Zulu"
Mons, Belgium 1530 Zulu (1730 Local) Despite the trans-Atlantic distance between SACEUR’s wartime headquarters complex in the forest outside of Mons and Washington DC, President Reagan’s voice came through with a crispness and clarity that it seemed as if the leader of the free world was in a room next door. Communications, namely secure communications …
In his mind, President Reagan did not consider his order to move ahead with plans and preparation for the Kola Peninsula offensive to be final. The first US Marine would not come ashore for forty-eight hours. Reagan intended to exhaust every effort in bringing the war to a conclusion before then. The morning’s NSC meeting …
Continue reading "Politics of Armageddon: The Final Time Out D+22 (31 July 1987)"
NEACP-Primary landed back at Andrews AFB at 1303 hours local time, roughly twenty-five hours after the aircraft had departed from the base. As President Reagan and a contingent of his advisers and Cabinet secretaries deplaned, other senior members of the US government remained outside the District of Columbia and would remain so for the duration. …
At 1900 Zulu, President Ronald Reagan addressed a nation on the verge of complete panic, its citizens in urgent need of information. His speech was made over the radio since the E-4B did not carry the equipment necessary for him to make a television broadcast. Nonetheless, his words were carried by the major networks and …
Washington DC 1608 Zulu (1208 Local Time) Things were moving faster now. The first flight of helicopters were approaching the Pentagon, White House, and Capitol Hill. The Central Locator Service was activated and the locations of every person in the presidential line of succession were being confirmed and passed along to HMX-1. At each of …
Washington DC, 1600 Zulu (1200 Local Time) Upon receipt of a hotline message at the National Military Command Center, the contents are translated into English. Both copies are then transmitted to the White House Situation Room for distribution. This was the standard protocol followed in normal circumstances. In the case of this particular message, its …
Washington DC, 1205 Zulu (0805 Local Time) The morning phone conversation between President Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was scheduled for 8 AM in the US capital. It was 1 PM in London and Thatcher had just returned from Parliament following a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Commons and other …
Third World War 1987 