stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 17, 2018 21:34:26 GMT
(264)December 1984: Oklahoma The 103rd Guards Airborne Division had an illustrious history. It was a Rifle division in the latter stages of the Second World War and successfully fought to capture Vienna from the Nazis. As part of the post-war Soviet Airborne, it had taken part in Operation Danube in 1968 to eliminate Czechoslovak resistance and then gone into Iran as the first wave of assault forces eleven years later of the joint invasion of both Afghanistan and Iran. For operations in the United States, the 103rd Guards Division had been the first on the ground in Texas where it had secured the airheads in & around Corpus Christi to open the way in for the Soviet Army. America had then become a graveyard for the paratroopers though. One regiment was lost on the Gulf Coast of Texas long before Houston was secured and for no gain at all; the later assault by the rest of the 103rd Guards Division to seize Houston’s airports as part of the destruction of US Marine Reservists hadn’t removed the stain of the earlier defeat around Lavaca Bay. A further defeat had come last month where most of one of the pair of surviving regiments had been defeated at Lawton here in Oklahoma. The Guards title had been stripped from the division with orders on that coming from Moscow despite protests from many. This was important, the title meant something, and the punishment for failure was extended to all of the serving men with that stripping of their valued designation. What was left of what was now the plain 103rd Division had held onto their airhead around Altus AFB when Pennsylvania national guardsmen had failed to dislodge them from what they’d taken. They held onto Altus through most of December. The main frontlines were back to the south on the Red River which ran between Oklahoma and Texas leaving those paratroopers here on their own far out in front. They controlled the captured airbase and the surrounding town though moving any further, taking any more ground to link up with the Soviet Army forces on the other side of the river, was impossible. The 103rd Division was told to hold on where they were pending later reinforcement, a time for that unspecified. They were to hold Altus open for air operations to keep them in the fight via supply runs and also allow for combat operations from arriving attack-fighters – a squadron of Su-17s had been planned to be sent – to take place as well. The American’s actions made fulfilling those tasks impossible. The 28th Infantry Division had seen one of its brigades get its behind whipped late last month when the first attempt had been made to retake Altus. The US II Corps, the national guardsmen’s parent command, wanted it taken less the Soviets there expand themselves either now or in the future further outwards. That would threaten their entire position on the Red River. The paratroopers inside Altus were to be overcome, even if it took the whole of the 28th Infantry to do so! Two of the division’s brigades, not all three, were used to squeeze and retake Altus. It took time because the approach was methodical and the 28th Infantry wasn’t able to use plentiful stocks of ammunition like would be needed to make it go quicker. Still, once underway, the task of beating the Soviets at their besieged airhead inside Oklahoma was one which the men from Pennsylvania set to achieve. They did what the Nicaraguans around Denver had failed to do there and shut off outside support for those trapped inside the pocket of resistance. Altus’ runways were shut when big artillery shells were fired at great distance when a couple of batteries of self-propelled M-107 guns were escorted by tanks to get close enough to bring their targets fully in range. The guns battered them with contact high-explosive fuses used alongside airburst shells as well to scatter shrapnel. There were also mobile SAM-launchers firing HAWK missiles which were escorted elsewhere outside the Soviet airhead and targeted approaching Soviet transports. Those big targets had to slow down to come in to land and it was then that they were engaged. The stocks of 175mm shells and SAMs were limited: the Americans could only hope that the Soviets didn’t realise how low their stocks were and shut down flight operations first. Thankfully, this worked out. A week of major losses with incoming transports as well as specially-trained airfield engineers saw the 103rd Division told that no longer would aircraft land inside their held perimeter. Drops of supplies would occur from high-flying aircraft using special parachutes to do this. Infantry supported by armoured vehicles and also tanks moved around the edges of Altus, taking lumps out of the Soviets. Sometimes the men from Pennsylvania got unstuck. They could run into ambushes, coming off with many casualties. These eased up as time went on. The Soviets inside started to run through the last of their ammunition. The airdrops of supplies got fewer and fewer and as the perimeter shrunk, more of the parachute-retarded containers landed outside. ‘Waste not want not’ became the mantra of the supply officers with the 28th Infantry. Everything that was in those captured containers was taken back to the divisional base. It may not be useful now, they might never have a need for it, but someone would. Using Soviet ammunition themselves to solve their own issues sounded great in practice yet it wasn’t feasible when it came to rifle magazines, belts of machine gun bullets and mortar shells which didn’t exactly fit their weapons. As said, someone else at another time would find all that useful, not the 28th Infantry as it kept on plugging away at pushing the Soviets backed deeper inside their occupied area. It all took time yet soon enough they were in sight of the airbase to the east of Altus. The town itself – a ruin if there ever was one – was left alone over to the west with the focus on retaking this facility. American intercepts caught excerpts of radio transmissions coming out. Decoding teams believed that the commanding general inside was informing his superiors of his situation and saying he could no longer hold. What came back were orders to stand and fight to the last man if necessary: no mention came now of reinforcement. On the back of these intercepts, II Corps put in a request up the chain of command on behalf of the 28th Infantry for a series of airstrikes to help bring about the end of this fight. The Soviets were out of SAMs and anti-aircraft artillery shells. The Twelfth Air Force had many other tasks yet eventually they released some aircraft. Forward controllers on the ground guided the attacks in, hitting what was necessary. Without air defences, the 103rd Division suffered gravely. Each bomb-run was followed up afterwards by more nibbling away at their perimeter. Christmas Eve for those in Altus under the assault was bad with intensive American attacks though on Christmas Day those eased off somewhat. December twenty-sixth saw renewed American action. This was the last full day of the Soviet Airborne being able to hold on. The next morning, there was contact made in person when the division’s acting commander – his general had been killed the day before in a bomb-run – went forward himself under a white flag and met with his opposite number from the 28th Infantry. A ceasefire was requested, pending a full surrender where the paratroopers would be able to ‘retain their honour’. The temptation to tell the 103rd Division’s colonel where his men could stick their honour after all that had been done to civilians and military prisoners inside the perimeter was there but the American general had his orders to avoid a final, bloody fight if the Soviets presented themselves. Before giving a response to what the Soviets wanted, he asked about the KGB inside the perimeter: where were they and what did they think about the surrender? Killed in the fighting or by their own hands, the Soviet colonel said with a straight face. That was a lie: the last of them had been shot that morning on charges of mutiny and fermenting rebellion. All that was a matter for others. The 28th Infantry’s general accepted the Soviet’s offer. A ceasefire occurred and then several hours later, a full surrender took place. Three and a half thousand Soviet paratroopers, two thirds of them carrying wounds, marched out and into captivity while national guardsmen moved in. Radios, documents and some vital equipment had been destroyed by the Soviets before the Americans could get a-hold of them but there was no trouble from the defeated enemy. The KGB men who’d taken their own lives were found… they’d apparently shot themselves with their hands bound behind their backs and hoods secured over their heads. None of the Pennsylvanian national guardsmen had ever seen anything like that before and all who witnessed such a sight would have stories to tell for many years. The loss of Altus and the 103rd Division wasn’t a fatal blow for the Soviets. The assault into Oklahoma last month had been meant to seize airheads Altus and Lawton in coordination with a crossing of the Red River. The latter had failed when the II Corps, aided by the US VII Corps over in Texas, had forestalled the Soviet Twenty–Eighth Army; Lawton’s initial seizure had seen a strong American counterattack to retake the airport there. The men had Altus had received all of those messages to hold on yet no one was going to come to their aid even if they’d made it into the New Year. Once there, they were left to their doom. They’d been dismissed as failures and left in-place so as to keep American attention on them. Now that they were finished, this did free up the national guardsmen who’d overcome them yet that was expected. The Soviets correctly knew that straight after Altus was retaken, the Americans weren’t about to drive south and begin liberating what parts of Texas were under occupation. Things would be different come 1985 though: that was something that the two opposing sides knew very well. Until then, the frontlines on the Red River stayed where they were. Occasional heavy exchanges of fire took place and raids were conducted going both north and south too. Still, the Red River defined the frontlines in Oklahoma. There were Soviet troops still on the northern side, cluster around their salient north of Burkburnett, but they were dug into defensive positions and unable to either be dislodged or move. Casualties mounted but the stoppage of big offensive moves continued.
Well another small but useful allied victory, aided in part by the stupidity of the Soviet higher command, although the supply situation was probably more important. However it sounds like even some of the Soviet units are starting to suffer morale problems and facing a growing doubt over their future. It could be that the actual invasion of the US could fall apart in the next few months. Although securing some sort of stability in central America and even more importantly helping their allies elsewhere could still be a long and dangerous task, presuming the wheels don't come off the Soviets very quickly with some regime change. Even if that occurred there's going to be a hell of a lot of chaos and instability to at the very least try and screen off so it doesn't spread further. Not least in China.
With the KGB men didn't you realise that was a special skill they were trained for. 
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amir
Chief petty officer
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Post by amir on Oct 18, 2018 2:55:15 GMT
James, the winter is certainly not dull! Great writing as always.
I wonder how the US and Allies will exploit the capture of an elite (if disgraced) Soviet formation? Much propaganda hay to be made of the vulnerability of the Soviet’s to a second line American national guard formation on top of the reports of survivors from the Nicaraguan massacre.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 18, 2018 8:41:25 GMT
James, the winter is certainly not dull! Great writing as always. I wonder how the US and Allies will exploit the capture of an elite (if disgraced) Soviet formation? Much propaganda hay to be made of the vulnerability of the Soviet’s to a second line American national guard formation on top of the reports of survivors from the Nicaraguan massacre.
Think its definitely something they should try although a lot depends on who they target. It sounds like the LaCom forces in the US are very restricted in terms of access to news so it could be difficult to get information to them and they might be reluctant to believe such reports that they do get. Leaflet drops aren't going to be practical in many places due to Soviet AA capacity and the fact as well the US AF would rather be dropping munitions on enemy forces.
As such some way of getting reports to the civilian populations back home might be more effective, especially with details from individual captives, although they could be reluctant due to the fear of what happens to their families after such betrayal. [Possibly one way around this might be to simply report the names of the captives, which both lets their families know their been captured, i.e. the invasion seems to be failing and implicitly that the rest of the force is dead. Which might cause anger at their deaths by their families and also concerned by others about new conscripts being taken and possibly causing unrest and attempted desertions.
Of course this means that they also really need to offer the people of those countries the hope of something better than if we [the US] win we're going to come and stomp on you for invading us. Which could be politically difficult both in terms of internal US opinion and also given what some of those people have done both in the US and elsewhere. .
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Post by lukedalton on Oct 18, 2018 13:48:05 GMT
Of course this means that they also really need to offer the people of those countries the hope of something better than if we [the US] win we're going to come and stomp on you for invading us. Which could be politically difficult both in terms of internal US opinion and also given what some of those people have done both in the US and elsewhere. .
maybe someone muster enough moral and political courage to stop the cycle of violence: Americans : You damned latinocommie, you hate us and our freedom, why? Whyyyyy?Most of south and central america : Well we will not hate you so much, if you have not invaded us every other monday to put your own pet dictators and treated as a colony Americans: you have raped and pillaged everywhereMost of south and central america: you want your list? |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 18, 2018 14:45:09 GMT
Of course this means that they also really need to offer the people of those countries the hope of something better than if we [the US] win we're going to come and stomp on you for invading us. Which could be politically difficult both in terms of internal US opinion and also given what some of those people have done both in the US and elsewhere. .
maybe someone muster enough moral and political courage to stop the cycle of violence: Americans : You damned latinocommie, you hate us and our freedom, why? Whyyyyy?Most of south and central america : Well we will not hate you so much, if you have not invaded us every other monday to put your own pet dictators and treated as a colony Americans: you have raped and pillaged everywhereMost of south and central america: you want your list?
All too true unfortunately and generally both sides see the other's crimes but not their own.  |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
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Post by James G on Oct 18, 2018 19:17:53 GMT
(264)December 1984: Oklahoma The 103rd Guards Airborne Division had an illustrious history. It was a Rifle division in the latter stages of the Second World War and successfully fought to capture Vienna from the Nazis. As part of the post-war Soviet Airborne, it had taken part in Operation Danube in 1968 to eliminate Czechoslovak resistance and then gone into Iran as the first wave of assault forces eleven years later of the joint invasion of both Afghanistan and Iran. For operations in the United States, the 103rd Guards Division had been the first on the ground in Texas where it had secured the airheads in & around Corpus Christi to open the way in for the Soviet Army. America had then become a graveyard for the paratroopers though. One regiment was lost on the Gulf Coast of Texas long before Houston was secured and for no gain at all; the later assault by the rest of the 103rd Guards Division to seize Houston’s airports as part of the destruction of US Marine Reservists hadn’t removed the stain of the earlier defeat around Lavaca Bay. A further defeat had come last month where most of one of the pair of surviving regiments had been defeated at Lawton here in Oklahoma. The Guards title had been stripped from the division with orders on that coming from Moscow despite protests from many. This was important, the title meant something, and the punishment for failure was extended to all of the serving men with that stripping of their valued designation. What was left of what was now the plain 103rd Division had held onto their airhead around Altus AFB when Pennsylvania national guardsmen had failed to dislodge them from what they’d taken. They held onto Altus through most of December. The main frontlines were back to the south on the Red River which ran between Oklahoma and Texas leaving those paratroopers here on their own far out in front. They controlled the captured airbase and the surrounding town though moving any further, taking any more ground to link up with the Soviet Army forces on the other side of the river, was impossible. The 103rd Division was told to hold on where they were pending later reinforcement, a time for that unspecified. They were to hold Altus open for air operations to keep them in the fight via supply runs and also allow for combat operations from arriving attack-fighters – a squadron of Su-17s had been planned to be sent – to take place as well. The American’s actions made fulfilling those tasks impossible. The 28th Infantry Division had seen one of its brigades get its behind whipped late last month when the first attempt had been made to retake Altus. The US II Corps, the national guardsmen’s parent command, wanted it taken less the Soviets there expand themselves either now or in the future further outwards. That would threaten their entire position on the Red River. The paratroopers inside Altus were to be overcome, even if it took the whole of the 28th Infantry to do so! Two of the division’s brigades, not all three, were used to squeeze and retake Altus. It took time because the approach was methodical and the 28th Infantry wasn’t able to use plentiful stocks of ammunition like would be needed to make it go quicker. Still, once underway, the task of beating the Soviets at their besieged airhead inside Oklahoma was one which the men from Pennsylvania set to achieve. They did what the Nicaraguans around Denver had failed to do there and shut off outside support for those trapped inside the pocket of resistance. Altus’ runways were shut when big artillery shells were fired at great distance when a couple of batteries of self-propelled M-107 guns were escorted by tanks to get close enough to bring their targets fully in range. The guns battered them with contact high-explosive fuses used alongside airburst shells as well to scatter shrapnel. There were also mobile SAM-launchers firing HAWK missiles which were escorted elsewhere outside the Soviet airhead and targeted approaching Soviet transports. Those big targets had to slow down to come in to land and it was then that they were engaged. The stocks of 175mm shells and SAMs were limited: the Americans could only hope that the Soviets didn’t realise how low their stocks were and shut down flight operations first. Thankfully, this worked out. A week of major losses with incoming transports as well as specially-trained airfield engineers saw the 103rd Division told that no longer would aircraft land inside their held perimeter. Drops of supplies would occur from high-flying aircraft using special parachutes to do this. Infantry supported by armoured vehicles and also tanks moved around the edges of Altus, taking lumps out of the Soviets. Sometimes the men from Pennsylvania got unstuck. They could run into ambushes, coming off with many casualties. These eased up as time went on. The Soviets inside started to run through the last of their ammunition. The airdrops of supplies got fewer and fewer and as the perimeter shrunk, more of the parachute-retarded containers landed outside. ‘Waste not want not’ became the mantra of the supply officers with the 28th Infantry. Everything that was in those captured containers was taken back to the divisional base. It may not be useful now, they might never have a need for it, but someone would. Using Soviet ammunition themselves to solve their own issues sounded great in practice yet it wasn’t feasible when it came to rifle magazines, belts of machine gun bullets and mortar shells which didn’t exactly fit their weapons. As said, someone else at another time would find all that useful, not the 28th Infantry as it kept on plugging away at pushing the Soviets backed deeper inside their occupied area. It all took time yet soon enough they were in sight of the airbase to the east of Altus. The town itself – a ruin if there ever was one – was left alone over to the west with the focus on retaking this facility. American intercepts caught excerpts of radio transmissions coming out. Decoding teams believed that the commanding general inside was informing his superiors of his situation and saying he could no longer hold. What came back were orders to stand and fight to the last man if necessary: no mention came now of reinforcement. On the back of these intercepts, II Corps put in a request up the chain of command on behalf of the 28th Infantry for a series of airstrikes to help bring about the end of this fight. The Soviets were out of SAMs and anti-aircraft artillery shells. The Twelfth Air Force had many other tasks yet eventually they released some aircraft. Forward controllers on the ground guided the attacks in, hitting what was necessary. Without air defences, the 103rd Division suffered gravely. Each bomb-run was followed up afterwards by more nibbling away at their perimeter. Christmas Eve for those in Altus under the assault was bad with intensive American attacks though on Christmas Day those eased off somewhat. December twenty-sixth saw renewed American action. This was the last full day of the Soviet Airborne being able to hold on. The next morning, there was contact made in person when the division’s acting commander – his general had been killed the day before in a bomb-run – went forward himself under a white flag and met with his opposite number from the 28th Infantry. A ceasefire was requested, pending a full surrender where the paratroopers would be able to ‘retain their honour’. The temptation to tell the 103rd Division’s colonel where his men could stick their honour after all that had been done to civilians and military prisoners inside the perimeter was there but the American general had his orders to avoid a final, bloody fight if the Soviets presented themselves. Before giving a response to what the Soviets wanted, he asked about the KGB inside the perimeter: where were they and what did they think about the surrender? Killed in the fighting or by their own hands, the Soviet colonel said with a straight face. That was a lie: the last of them had been shot that morning on charges of mutiny and fermenting rebellion. All that was a matter for others. The 28th Infantry’s general accepted the Soviet’s offer. A ceasefire occurred and then several hours later, a full surrender took place. Three and a half thousand Soviet paratroopers, two thirds of them carrying wounds, marched out and into captivity while national guardsmen moved in. Radios, documents and some vital equipment had been destroyed by the Soviets before the Americans could get a-hold of them but there was no trouble from the defeated enemy. The KGB men who’d taken their own lives were found… they’d apparently shot themselves with their hands bound behind their backs and hoods secured over their heads. None of the Pennsylvanian national guardsmen had ever seen anything like that before and all who witnessed such a sight would have stories to tell for many years. The loss of Altus and the 103rd Division wasn’t a fatal blow for the Soviets. The assault into Oklahoma last month had been meant to seize airheads Altus and Lawton in coordination with a crossing of the Red River. The latter had failed when the II Corps, aided by the US VII Corps over in Texas, had forestalled the Soviet Twenty–Eighth Army; Lawton’s initial seizure had seen a strong American counterattack to retake the airport there. The men had Altus had received all of those messages to hold on yet no one was going to come to their aid even if they’d made it into the New Year. Once there, they were left to their doom. They’d been dismissed as failures and left in-place so as to keep American attention on them. Now that they were finished, this did free up the national guardsmen who’d overcome them yet that was expected. The Soviets correctly knew that straight after Altus was retaken, the Americans weren’t about to drive south and begin liberating what parts of Texas were under occupation. Things would be different come 1985 though: that was something that the two opposing sides knew very well. Until then, the frontlines on the Red River stayed where they were. Occasional heavy exchanges of fire took place and raids were conducted going both north and south too. Still, the Red River defined the frontlines in Oklahoma. There were Soviet troops still on the northern side, cluster around their salient north of Burkburnett, but they were dug into defensive positions and unable to either be dislodged or move. Casualties mounted but the stoppage of big offensive moves continued.
Well another small but useful allied victory, aided in part by the stupidity of the Soviet higher command, although the supply situation was probably more important. However it sounds like even some of the Soviet units are starting to suffer morale problems and facing a growing doubt over their future. It could be that the actual invasion of the US could fall apart in the next few months. Although securing some sort of stability in central America and even more importantly helping their allies elsewhere could still be a long and dangerous task, presuming the wheels don't come off the Soviets very quickly with some regime change. Even if that occurred there's going to be a hell of a lot of chaos and instability to at the very least try and screen off so it doesn't spread further. Not least in China.
With the KGB men didn't you realise that was a special skill they were trained for.
A special skill indeed! As to the wider situation you describe, erm... well some/much of that might possibly be soon due to start coming about. James, the winter is certainly not dull! Great writing as always. I wonder how the US and Allies will exploit the capture of an elite (if disgraced) Soviet formation? Much propaganda hay to be made of the vulnerability of the Soviet’s to a second line American national guard formation on top of the reports of survivors from the Nicaraguan massacre. Thank you. They will play it up for all that it is worth. The 28th Division may not like the 'second-line formation' description (!) but it is true; another NG unit in the update below will show the problem of using reservists (especially ill-equipped ones) on the frontlines of this war.
Think its definitely something they should try although a lot depends on who they target. It sounds like the LaCom forces in the US are very restricted in terms of access to news so it could be difficult to get information to them and they might be reluctant to believe such reports that they do get. Leaflet drops aren't going to be practical in many places due to Soviet AA capacity and the fact as well the US AF would rather be dropping munitions on enemy forces.
As such some way of getting reports to the civilian populations back home might be more effective, especially with details from individual captives, although they could be reluctant due to the fear of what happens to their families after such betrayal. [Possibly one way around this might be to simply report the names of the captives, which both lets their families know their been captured, i.e. the invasion seems to be failing and implicitly that the rest of the force is dead. Which might cause anger at their deaths by their families and also concerned by others about new conscripts being taken and possibly causing unrest and attempted desertions.
Of course this means that they also really need to offer the people of those countries the hope of something better than if we [the US] win we're going to come and stomp on you for invading us. Which could be politically difficult both in terms of internal US opinion and also given what some of those people have done both in the US and elsewhere. .
Soviet information control is almost complete though there are some gaps. People can talk face-to-face too. It is all something anticipated yet hard to deal with.It would have been better to have allies in this fight such as Eastern Euro nations where control would be better over them than recently-turned communist Central American nations. The leaflet drop actually worked though not in the way intended: loo roll was a latter use for the paper full of propaganda at how terrible the regimes of those countries were. Getting an effective message to those people in those countries, and having them react, in the US' interests too... that is all a challenge of serious magnitude! |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
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Post by James G on Oct 18, 2018 19:18:55 GMT
(265)
December 1984: Texas, North and East
Large areas of Texas were not under foreign occupation and these lay towards the northeastern side of the Lone Star State. Part of this area had only recently been liberated during November during an offensive stretching from Waco down the Interstate-35 corridor. The aim had been to reach Austin, a task which had been too much to achieve. Fort Hood had come back under American control and that huge military site, one abandoned ahead of its capture first by the Americans and then in turn the Cubans, was full of national guardsmen as part of their defensive position to make sure what territory had been liberated wouldn’t once again fall into enemy hands. There were more national guardsmen across the wider area of Texas which was free of occupation. It was these part-time reservists who had fought here on the attack and in defence when the regular US Army was either tied up elsewhere or had suffered crippling defeats early on. There were regulars alongside them though. The US VII Corps – which had come back from West Germany – held onto ground north of Dallas–Fort Worth and there were now increasing numbers of professional soldiers being attached to national guard formations to the south of them. Combat and staff officers as well as specially-trained personnel who fulfilled technical roles had been assigned to the US VI & VIII Corps. Some negative comments had been passed by national guardsmen on this: weren’t they trusted to carry on doing what they had been and fight better than the US Army had? There were remarks made from some of those attached elsewhere like this: couldn’t the National Guard send their own men? All this was the beginning of a process planned to properly commence starting next year where newly-raised forces of the US Army would join with the national guard in number directly before eventually taking over their positions. The same personnel now assigned early would be here for that take-over.
One of those national guard units in Texas which had come from afar like the rest was the 86th Armored Brigade from Vermont. It was part of New Jersey’s 50th Armored Division and positioned in the general area around Lampasas, west of Fort Hood and deep forward up on the Edwards Plateau. Cuban forces were their opponents whom they were instructed to fight when engaged though not to undertake forward offensive operations against them for the time being due to the general supply situation. The 86th Brigade in the main consisted of men from Vermont with the tankers, support units and the staff all being from that state. An infantry component had been attached to them from out of Massachusetts but the brigade remained Vermont-dominated. They’d come a long way to get here, fighting when on the attack back last month, but been instructed to come to a stop and hold their ground for the winter. Winter in Texas was vastly different from how it was up in Vermont. There was no snow, just a much cooler climate than was usually seen during a Texan summer: to the 86th Brigade this was summer! Staying still and not attacking forward in any big actions didn’t have the best of effects upon them. It was the same with many other American units spread across the frontlines where they were told to hold fast because going forward couldn’t be supported. It affected morale and while this was understood by generals who briefed the politicians about it, nothing could be done for now. When the new stocks of ammunition came from factories supposed to be pumping them out at a tremendous rate, then they’d go on the attack once again. Until then, they waited.
Cuban tanks showed up unexpectedly in the middle of the month. From seemingly out of nowhere (that wasn’t the case; later analysis of reconnaissance showed a pattern of failure to detect this), a regiment of Cuban armour struck towards Lampasas and the 86th Brigade around it. These weren’t Cubans who’d previously fought in Texas, men from the broken Cuban Second Army, but men who’d recently been shipped over from their home country. From bases around Havana where Castro had wanted to keep them – they and their parent division was part of a sort-of Pretorian Guard around the Cuban capital – before having his arm twisted, the 11th Armored Regiment came to Texas and struck against the Americans. Over eighty up-armoured T-62 tanks came forward, converging of Lampasas from several directions. The Americans saw them coming far too late. The 86th Brigade was meant to have patrols out and covered too at distance by air support to stop anything this happening. That all failed. With haste, the Americans tried to fight back. They rushed to get their own tanks in action, the M-48A5s which they had brought with them from Vermont, but time wasn’t on their side. Air support as screamed for by the Americans and rather quickly there were aircraft in the skies above. However, these weren’t from the US Air Force as requested. Soviet Sukhoi-25 Frogfoot attack-fighters (an aircraft in many ways similar to the American A-10) struck at the defenders of Lampasas. A couple of Cuban tanks were mistakenly engaged by those Frogfoots when misidentified as American but this couldn’t stop the victory which was won. Much of the 86th Brigade was destroyed, fighting through a terrible afternoon and a horrendous night. An attempt was made to withdraw, one which only brought confusion and a Cuban pursuit. If any of these men, Americans or Cubans, had been here back in September, they could have felt déjà vu with the whole thing.
The attack by the 11th Regiment was very successful and they wiped out much of the 86th Brigade, especially its combat strength more than the rear-area units which managed to escape. The 50th Armored moved more tanks forward, joined by the 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment as well. They were in-place soon enough to defend Fort Hood and therefore access down off the Edwards Plateau to the north-south running I-35 corridor. There was confidence that they would be able stop what was regarded as part of a bigger Cuban attack to do just that: get back down onto lower ground and then start rolling up the whole of the VIII Corps. Such a continued operation wasn’t underway though. There was nothing behind the 11th Regiment, not even the rest of its parent division. American air reconnaissance, joined by patrols on the ground sent forward on very dangerous missions, took several days to confirm this. Only then did it start to become apparent what the Lampasas attack had been all about. The Soviets had sent those Cuban tanks into action to eliminate a forward salient of American forces which was far inside their supply lines running north. With Lampasas retaken, the road network around it was freed-up. Highway-281 – which ran through Lampasas – was now open again to the Soviets. They could move forces and supplies up from the wider San Antonio area through Central Texas again. There were other roads yet they’d been hurt by the earlier loss of Lampasas and wanted it back. Those national guardsmen from Vermont had been unlucky to be where they were and in the way of this, a minor distraction for the Soviets who’d used the Cubans to get rid of their presence.
American air attention was directed to move westwards once this was all understood. That wasn’t the end of the matter though. What was left of the 86th Brigade was pulled back into the rear and the brigade commander (one of the first to get safely back into the rear) was relieved of command along with several of his staff. There were other consequences throughout the 50th Armored and the VIII Corps too when it came to more personnel relived of their duties. Eyes had been taken off the ball, mistakes made and laziness had set in the Cubans had been beaten once before and it was believed that they wouldn’t dare come back. Lampasas had been a forward position and the men who had died there shouldn’t have. It would be some time before the 86th Brigade was back in action and when that came, most of its fighting strength would no longer be national guardsmen.
Lampasas wasn’t the only fight through December. Other short but lethal engagements took place all along the frontlines. VII Corps, fresh from its November victories around Gainesville and then near Sanger, continued to keep fighting against the parts of the Soviet Twenty–Eighth Army facing them with small-scale attacks made between the two that didn’t cease. Nearby, VI Corps kept the Soviets from getting anywhere near Fort Worth and thus closer to Dallas behind though their fighting was less intensive overall in comparison to the fighting to their north. Then there was the rest of the VIII Corps, those who didn’t get involved in the fight for and fallout from Lampasas, who continued to try to edge closer to Austin if they could (an impossible task) though also fight skirmishes with more Cubans all along the face of the Balcones Escarpment which the Edwards Plateau was behind.
Then there were the repeated strikes against Dallas–Fort Worth, ones made from distance. The urban area saw a big evacuation from there of locals and refugees at the beginning of the month organised by FEMA off to sites in Arkansas ready for those made homeless by war. There still remained many civilians who were there when the missiles and the bombs came. Short-range ballistic missiles were fired at the military airbases of Carswell AFB and NAS Dallas along with the airports. Not all of them hit their targets, targets which were surround by parts of the two cities. The only defence against these missiles was to try to hit their launch vehicles before they were fired as there were no American anti-missile defences: locating those launch vehicles when they were far off and under camouflage in occupied territory wasn’t an easy task in any way. Adding to the missiles were the air raids, bombing runs which the Soviets made when they managed to get these through the American fighter screen. One of those raids which got through managed to see high-explosive bombs put into Air Force Plant 4, where General Dynamics were building F-16s here in Texas. There was already a process underway of shifting production to Georgia of these aircraft but they were still being made in Fort Worth too. That would no longer be the case. Air Force Plant 4 was shut for good when successfully hit like it was. Too close to the frontlines anyway, the air situation had been a serious concern beforehand and a fear of an attack like this had become real. Soviet success at ending production of such aircraft at the factory in Texas was a serious blow for the United States, one far bigger than getting rid of a brigade of national guardsmen at a small town which a highway ran through.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 19, 2018 0:26:59 GMT
James
Well some complacency that cost the 86th dearly and by the sound of it has helped the Soviet supply lines. Also the loss of the F-16 plant is a blow but then its bloody far forward for construction to be safely continued. Hopefully it will shake up some of the units that have become a bit too over-confident.
Of course the bad thing about deploying an elite unit meant to safeguard the regime to the front line is that its no longer in the capital to defend the regime. Cuba isn't likely to see Castro overthrown in the near future I fear but if/when problems occur he could really regret having been pressurised to send that force away.
On the propaganda about communist losses I was thinking of either: a) There could well be some US radio programmes, either normal ones or equivalents of the BBC world service or Radio Free America which provided their not totally jammed off the airwaves are probably been listened to by a lot of people despite orders from the regime, or probably in some cases because the regime has been telling them not to listen.
b) Possibly via 3rd party neutral powers informing organisations in the LaCom countries something along the line of "after the destruction of unit X the following prisoners were taken..." which while painted as an humanitarian step not only lets those families know that the war isn't going the way their local governments are saying and a lot of other families with people in that unit "What's happened to my son, husband etc" with the implied suggestion he's dead.
Steve
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James G
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Post by James G on Oct 19, 2018 17:54:00 GMT
James
Well some complacency that cost the 86th dearly and by the sound of it has helped the Soviet supply lines. Also the loss of the F-16 plant is a blow but then its bloody far forward for construction to be safely continued. Hopefully it will shake up some of the units that have become a bit too over-confident.
Of course the bad thing about deploying an elite unit meant to safeguard the regime to the front line is that its no longer in the capital to defend the regime. Cuba isn't likely to see Castro overthrown in the near future I fear but if/when problems occur he could really regret having been pressurised to send that force away.
On the propaganda about communist losses I was thinking of either: a) There could well be some US radio programmes, either normal ones or equivalents of the BBC world service or Radio Free America which provided their not totally jammed off the airwaves are probably been listened to by a lot of people despite orders from the regime, or probably in some cases because the regime has been telling them not to listen.
b) Possibly via 3rd party neutral powers informing organisations in the LaCom countries something along the line of "after the destruction of unit X the following prisoners were taken..." which while painted as an humanitarian step not only lets those families know that the war isn't going the way their local governments are saying and a lot of other families with people in that unit "What's happened to my son, husband etc" with the implied suggestion he's dead.
Steve
That was certainly the problem there: too much 'we have won already' when they really haven't. Cuba still had forces around the capital awaiting an invasion more than a coup to be fair. The US Marines are in Florida and there are US Army forces in Alaska all poised to drive back mainland invasion which will never come. But, yes, Castro will not want to see units like that leave just in case he needs them to stop someone overthrowing him. Moscow's demands keep coming though. Those are some good ideas on the wider propaganda war. On my next world tour, I might incorporate this. It is something needed I think. |
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James G
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Post by James G on Oct 19, 2018 17:54:36 GMT
(266)
December 1984: Louisiana
General Schwarzkopf’s US V Corps had close to half of its strength formed from national guard units at the end of last month though through December, the balance towards regular elements of the US Army in terms of numbers tilted towards the latter. No significant combat reinforcement came to the American force along the Sabine River facing the Soviets who were over on the other side of that waterway across in Texas. Instead, Schwarzkopf received several thousand additional personnel joining units of the V Corps, men who were previously injured in the early stages of the war. These were personnel who’d been hurt in the fighting and evacuated to the rear where they had been treated for those wounds. Men who had incurred bone fractures, concussions, certain burn injures and such like had been released from medical care – many others hadn’t and wouldn’t see any more of this war – to return to the fight. These were often men from units eventually destroyed in battle through Texas. The men which the V Corps received had been with combat units such as the 1st Cavalry, 2nd Armored and 3rd Armored Divisions plus support elements which had been part of the disestablished Fifth United States Army. Upon being released from medical care, there had been initial ideas to see them sent to the training formations getting ready to field the Army of the United States (ARUS) next year yet a change in that plan had seen them returned to the front now. The US VII Corps up in North Texas received some of them too, doing so because as like Schwarzkopf’s command this other corps was towards the very top of priorities for supply and reinforcement (the very top had first been the US XVIII Corps but was now the US XI Corps: those fighting around Denver and through Colorado).
This all mattered greatly. Where the V Corps was on that list of priorities meant that in addition to the men brought into to fill out gaps and replace the dead & other injured who’d been lost from units under command now, Schwarzkopf was also receiving large deliveries of supplies. This allowed the fight to continue during the winter here near the Gulf Coast. The V Corps was mainly in Louisiana though maintained bridgeheads on the other side of the Sabine across in Texas. Significant military actions could take place, just short of real offensive operations as the supplies only stretched so far. Orders coming down from Texas Command through the Third US Army told Schwarzkopf that these were to be ‘restrained’ due to the bigger picture. This wasn’t something that could be disobeyed though at the same time there was flexibility available. The 24th Infantry Division – Schwarzkopf’s former command – extended their bridgehead around the city of Orange. The Georgian national guardsmen with the division were used to hold the positions facing south and west while the regulars pushed northwards to reach the line of Interstate-10 which ran lateral up ahead. The highway bridges going over the Sabine were long down and the stretch of the interstate full of abandoned & burnt-out civilian vehicles, making it not useable for now, but it was something for the future once cleared and repairs. An opportunity to attack had come due to American monitoring of Soviet movements nearby where their weakened units were trying to rearrange themselves and during that, Schwarzkopf had his men strike. Victory was won after a short two-day fight where the size of the Orange bridgehead was increased by near fifty per cent. What Schwarzkopf wanted to do in addition, and what the First Army refused to see take place, was for the 5th Infantry Division to go back to Kirbyville. Only part of that formation was on the Texan side of the Sabine, concentrated around Burkeville and Buckhorn when in the Lone Star State. Before the Geneva-organised moratorium on any more use of chemicals, one of the division’s brigades had been heavily-targeted by the Soviets with gas when in Kirbyville and retreated back from there further to the east and nearer to Louisiana. Going forward again, when additional men were added to secure the communications network around that town with its road & rail links, was denied from above. The additional men were deemed by Schwarzkopf to be able to do that: First Army said no. Come New Year, yes but before then the beefed-up 2nd Brigade (hit by gas before) along with the 1st Brigade and Louisiana’s 256th Brigade were to stay where they were either side of the Louisiana-Texas state-line. Schwarzkopf had to follow his orders on this.
Back over in Louisiana, the support elements of the V Corps, which would be needed before Schwarzkopf could do anything further than extending his bridgeheads, remained reforming as much as possible. The supply, transportation, communications, vehicle maintenance units and so on had suffered many loses when the V Corps had been fighting elsewhere in Texas and the 3rd Armored had been lost trying to stop the Soviets from getting their tanks to really destroy them. Those returning soldiers joined these units as well, adding to service-personnel who’d been discharged from service before the war and officers on who’d been staff courses or liaison duties elsewhere. There were still equipment shortages yet everyday these got less as deliveries occurred of what could be spared for a high-priority force like the V Corps.
This build-up ready to support the fighting troops once they went back on the offensive once again took place in the southwestern corner of the state yet across the whole of Louisiana there was a major military presence. There were flight operations being conducted from Barksdale AFB, England AFB and NAS New Orleans. Twelfth Air Force strikes were made into Texas, focusing especially on getting through enemy fighters trying to stop hits being made against the ongoing presence of shipping using captured port facilities along the coast. The Soviets responded in kind with their own air attacks made into Louisiana. They focused on trying to hit those airbases as well as going after bridges over the Red River to cut communications and the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant too. The latter was a hive of activity, nothing like what was seen in World War Two during the plant’s heyday but still very busy. The plant avoided getting seriously hit by Soviet air strikes yet there were some close calls and many US Air Force aircraft were lost in those. Elsewhere, the Soviets went after the Port of New Orleans too. Connections to the outside world afar from here were cut but New Orleans connected inland along the Mississippi River up deep into the American heartland. Movement of shipping up and down this river had always been important and continued during wartime. Wartime production through the Mid-West was connected down the course of the river into Louisiana. Two big attempts were made to hit New Orleans and the second of those did manage to get through where major damage was done there. Getting back out for those aircraft wasn’t easy though and several were brought down making sure than another raid like this wouldn’t take place for a while.
Louisiana’s Gulf Coast consisted of its wetlands, a significant swampy area. December brought the usual heavy rains to the area. Under that weather, instances of fighting took place with sudden engagements taking place at various points. Soviet raiding forces were inserted by air (parachute drops or helicopters dashing forward) and also on small boats coming from Texas. V Corps was tied up with the Sabine River mission and included the majority of Louisiana’s national guard on-strength. Other national guardsmen were present though along with some Green Beret teams as well, all in defence to stop these raids from achieving their aim. That aim was to establish a forward presence on the ground inside any sheltered areas of the Louisiana Wetlands to conduct deeper operations later. When located, the forward sites were attacked along with encountered patrols. It was not a pleasant fight for anyone involved. It went on though with no end in sight unless the V Corps was able to move forward into Texas proper in 1985 to take the fight back to the Soviets there instead.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Oct 19, 2018 20:13:08 GMT
(266)December 1984: Louisiana General Schwarzkopf’s US V Corps had close to half of its strength formed from national guard units at the end of last month though through December, the balance towards regular elements of the US Army in terms of numbers tilted towards the latter. No significant combat reinforcement came to the American force along the Sabine River facing the Soviets who were over on the other side of that waterway across in Texas. Instead, Schwarzkopf received several thousand additional personnel joining units of the V Corps, men who were previously injured in the early stages of the war. These were personnel who’d been hurt in the fighting and evacuated to the rear where they had been treated for those wounds. Men who had incurred bone fractures, concussions, certain burn injures and such like had been released from medical care – many others hadn’t and wouldn’t see any more of this war – to return to the fight. These were often men from units eventually destroyed in battle through Texas. The men which the V Corps received had been with combat units such as the 1st Cavalry, 2nd Armored and 3rd Armored Divisions plus support elements which had been part of the disestablished Fifth United States Army. Upon being released from medical care, there had been initial ideas to see them sent to the training formations getting ready to field the Army of the United States (ARUS) next year yet a change in that plan had seen them returned to the front now. The US VII Corps up in North Texas received some of them too, doing so because as like Schwarzkopf’s command this other corps was towards the very top of priorities for supply and reinforcement (the very top had first been the US XVIII Corps but was now the US XI Corps: those fighting around Denver and through Colorado). This all mattered greatly. Where the V Corps was on that list of priorities meant that in addition to the men brought into to fill out gaps and replace the dead & other injured who’d been lost from units under command now, Schwarzkopf was also receiving large deliveries of supplies. This allowed the fight to continue during the winter here near the Gulf Coast. The V Corps was mainly in Louisiana though maintained bridgeheads on the other side of the Sabine across in Texas. Significant military actions could take place, just short of real offensive operations as the supplies only stretched so far. Orders coming down from Texas Command through the Third US Army told Schwarzkopf that these were to be ‘restrained’ due to the bigger picture. This wasn’t something that could be disobeyed though at the same time there was flexibility available. The 24th Infantry Division – Schwarzkopf’s former command – extended their bridgehead around the city of Orange. The Georgian national guardsmen with the division were used to hold the positions facing south and west while the regulars pushed northwards to reach the line of Interstate-10 which ran lateral up ahead. The highway bridges going over the Sabine were long down and the stretch of the interstate full of abandoned & burnt-out civilian vehicles, making it not useable for now, but it was something for the future once cleared and repairs. An opportunity to attack had come due to American monitoring of Soviet movements nearby where their weakened units were trying to rearrange themselves and during that, Schwarzkopf had his men strike. Victory was won after a short two-day fight where the size of the Orange bridgehead was increased by near fifty per cent. What Schwarzkopf wanted to do in addition, and what the First Army refused to see take place, was for the 5th Infantry Division to go back to Kirbyville. Only part of that formation was on the Texan side of the Sabine, concentrated around Burkeville and Buckhorn when in the Lone Star State. Before the Geneva-organised moratorium on any more use of chemicals, one of the division’s brigades had been heavily-targeted by the Soviets with gas when in Kirbyville and retreated back from there further to the east and nearer to Louisiana. Going forward again, when additional men were added to secure the communications network around that town with its road & rail links, was denied from above. The additional men were deemed by Schwarzkopf to be able to do that: First Army said no. Come New Year, yes but before then the beefed-up 2nd Brigade (hit by gas before) along with the 1st Brigade and Louisiana’s 256th Brigade were to stay where they were either side of the Louisiana-Texas state-line. Schwarzkopf had to follow his orders on this. Back over in Louisiana, the support elements of the V Corps, which would be needed before Schwarzkopf could do anything further than extending his bridgeheads, remained reforming as much as possible. The supply, transportation, communications, vehicle maintenance units and so on had suffered many loses when the V Corps had been fighting elsewhere in Texas and the 3rd Armored had been lost trying to stop the Soviets from getting their tanks to really destroy them. Those returning soldiers joined these units as well, adding to service-personnel who’d been discharged from service before the war and officers on who’d been staff courses or liaison duties elsewhere. There were still equipment shortages yet everyday these got less as deliveries occurred of what could be spared for a high-priority force like the V Corps. This build-up ready to support the fighting troops once they went back on the offensive once again took place in the southwestern corner of the state yet across the whole of Louisiana there was a major military presence. There were flight operations being conducted from Barksdale AFB, England AFB and NAS New Orleans. Twelfth Air Force strikes were made into Texas, focusing especially on getting through enemy fighters trying to stop hits being made against the ongoing presence of shipping using captured port facilities along the coast. The Soviets responded in kind with their own air attacks made into Louisiana. They focused on trying to hit those airbases as well as going after bridges over the Red River to cut communications and the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant too. The latter was a hive of activity, nothing like what was seen in World War Two during the plant’s heyday but still very busy. The plant avoided getting seriously hit by Soviet air strikes yet there were some close calls and many US Air Force aircraft were lost in those. Elsewhere, the Soviets went after the Port of New Orleans too. Connections to the outside world afar from here were cut but New Orleans connected inland along the Mississippi River up deep into the American heartland. Movement of shipping up and down this river had always been important and continued during wartime. Wartime production through the Mid-West was connected down the course of the river into Louisiana. Two big attempts were made to hit New Orleans and the second of those did manage to get through where major damage was done there. Getting back out for those aircraft wasn’t easy though and several were brought down making sure than another raid like this wouldn’t take place for a while. Louisiana’s Gulf Coast consisted of its wetlands, a significant swampy area. December brought the usual heavy rains to the area. Under that weather, instances of fighting took place with sudden engagements taking place at various points. Soviet raiding forces were inserted by air (parachute drops or helicopters dashing forward) and also on small boats coming from Texas. V Corps was tied up with the Sabine River mission and included the majority of Louisiana’s national guard on-strength. Other national guardsmen were present though along with some Green Beret teams as well, all in defence to stop these raids from achieving their aim. That aim was to establish a forward presence on the ground inside any sheltered areas of the Louisiana Wetlands to conduct deeper operations later. When located, the forward sites were attacked along with encountered patrols. It was not a pleasant fight for anyone involved. It went on though with no end in sight unless the V Corps was able to move forward into Texas proper in 1985 to take the fight back to the Soviets there instead. Great update James. Nice to General Schwarzkopf and his V Corps take the fight back to the Soviets. |
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stevep
Fleet admiral
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Post by stevep on Oct 19, 2018 20:49:55 GMT
James
Well limited attacks but mainly on hold for the minute. Sounds like the US is planning something early in the new year.
Using such returning casualties, who have recent combat experience, for beefing up existing front line units gives them full strength faster but does mean that the new units being created will be a bit slower and probably weaker without those veterans. Depends on how quickly the US can win as to which is the best option. Plus whether those new units might be needed elsewhere later on, depending on the duration of the war and of US deployments.
Steve
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crackpot
Petty Officer 1st Class
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Post by crackpot on Oct 20, 2018 13:42:19 GMT
I can’t imagine pockets of Soviets having a good time fighting on the bayous of Louisiana. What the National Guard doesn’t get, the gators and good ol’ boys will.
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Dan
Warrant Officer
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Post by Dan on Oct 20, 2018 18:04:55 GMT
"Hey Bubba, what's commie speak for 'you ain't gonna need them teeth boy'!"?
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lordbyron
Warrant Officer
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Post by lordbyron on Oct 20, 2018 18:34:16 GMT
Congrats at going over 450k words, James G, and waiting for more...
The Soviets will have a bad time of it in the bayous...
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