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 …

D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0241-0400 Zulu

Moscow, USSR 0240 (0540 Local) General Secretary Romanov’s day started with an informal meeting of the Defense Council members in his Kremlin personal residence. The attendees were gathered in his quite comfortable study awaiting Romanov’s arrival. As they waited, the men exchanged news on the status of the war or relief and recovery operations in …

D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0215-0240 Zulu

*Authors Note: Shorter post today, unfortunately. Time has been at a premium this weekend. Next post will be up Tuesday. Happy Father's Day!* Moscow, USSR 0215 Zulu (0515 Local) The meeting was conducted at the rather modest, by the standards of Soviet elites, dacha of Vladimir Dolgikh in the Lenin Hills. Dolgikh and two other …

D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0030-0130 Zulu

Hildesheim, West Germany 1 August, 1987 0030 Zulu (0230 Local) He should’ve left for the rear two hours ago, General Crosbie Saint, US Army reminded himself sourly. The commander of NATO’s Northern Army Group had assured his superiors in Brussels that he would be back at his headquarters by midnight. Now, thirty minutes into the …

D+23 (1 August, 1987) 0005-0030 Zulu

Moscow, USSR 1 August, 1987 0005 Zulu (0305 Local) Viktor Chebrikov was not a man familiar with indecision. The sixty-four-year-old KGB Chairman’s career had been constructed on a foundation of swift, decisive action in times of high pressure. Now, when the fate of the State hung in the balance, Chebrikov waivered over a decision so …

A Brief Glance At NATO Battlefield Nuclear Forces D+23 (1 August, 1987)

NATO’s battlefield and theater nuclear weapons in Central Europe were practically untouched by the war. With the exception of a handful of failed Spetznaz and air attacks in the early hours of the conflict, Warsaw Pact forces had deliberately avoided targeting possible deployment areas and airbases containing nuclear weapon storage bunkers. It was planned to …

Book Review: One Second After Part II

At the conclusion of One Second After, the arrival of General Wright and his column of US Army troops and equipment sparked a wave of hope among the survivors in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Wright explained that he was leading his men to Asheville where he would assume the duties of military governor of Western …

Politics of Armageddon: “Millions Will Die…” D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II

The arrival of Western TVD’s commander in Moscow attracted little attention. The Soviet Union was engaged in a war for national survival and the unexpected appearance of a senior field commander in the capital city raised few eyebrows. General Snetkov was more at ease than he’d been on earlier trips to Moscow for the simple …

Politics of Armageddon: “Millions Will Die…” D+22 (31 July 1987) Part I

At 10 AM the Politburo convened again in the same Kremlin conference room it had been meeting in for the duration of the Third World War. This meeting was attended only by full members, to the surprise and alarm of some. Candidate members were not present, and their exclusion was blamed on scheduling conflicts and …

Politics of Armageddon: The Final Time Out D+22 (31 July 1987)

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 …