D+23 (1 August, 1987) 2300-2359 Zulu

Note #1-All events in this entry take place in Central Europe in the CEST Central European Summer Time) time zone. Zulu+2. Zulu time is displayed with local time in parenthesis. Since it is after midnight, the date in the CEST time zone is 2 August, 1987, but still 1 August for Zulu time. 2304 (0104 …

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 (0640 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 …

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

A military aircraft ostensibly designated and marked as a medical evacuation flight transported General Snetkov back to the Western Theater of Operations. The plane landed at a military airfield southeast of Berlin. From there he was transported amid heavy security to the Group Soviet Forces Germany peacetime headquarters complex at Wünsdorf. The buildings and surrounding …

The Central Front D+22 (31 July 1987) Part II (Bravo)

1200-1800 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 1230- As most the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment halts near Gifhorn, air and armored cavalry reconnaissance patrols push ahead. They discover Soviet units dug in on the eastern side of the Elbe Lateral Canal. The regiment is awaiting the arrival of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division and a British Regiment promised …

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

0535-1200 Hours, NORTHAG Sector 0535- Operation Thunder Cloud resumes. 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division begin the drive to Phase Line Dodger. 0550- Heavy maneuver elements of the Dutch 5th Division spearhead the resumption of the Dutch attack northeast of Celle. As these units move, other elements of divisions from I NL …

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 …

Germany ’87 vs Ukraine ’22: Ground Operations

When it came to planning the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military went back to the late 20th Century. Experiences gained and tactics developed in Syria, Georgia and Chechnya were going to be of limited value in Ukraine. This was going to be a more traditional type of war fought against a large, well-equipped opponent. …

The Central Front D+20 (29 July, 1987) Part III

As III Corps awaited the arrival of West German and British brigades, activity along the rest of the front ebbed and flowed through the remainder of the morning and early afternoon. Probes became a regular occurrence as formations on both sides wrestled with the realization that the anticipated NATO attack had failed to materialize. For …

The Central Front D+19 (28 July, 1987) Part I

The opening hours of D+19 in Germany were marked by a series of small unit engagements along the length of the front. As the morning went on, the size and scope of the battles rose. Contact and engagements of company and battalion size broke out in sectors where the lines had been rather stationary, such …