James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 26, 2019 7:03:42 GMT
Great update. More on the ME tomorrow guys. The good colonel will not enjoy the flyby.
|
|
raunchel
Commander
Posts: 1,795
Likes: 1,182
|
Post by raunchel on Mar 26, 2019 14:11:31 GMT
The war coming to Syria is going to lead to all sorts of issues there. And this time, the mass of refugees will find it much harder to make their way out. At the same time, there will be far less forces available to help deal with groups like IS.
And most importantly, my daughter would be stuck there and I wouldn't even know her. So I also couldn't do something stupid like spend a ton of money on mercenaries like prof. Turner did.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 26, 2019 14:45:36 GMT
The whole region is ripe for conflict. Ongoing insurgency in Iraq as the US not only withdraws but is rather 'distracted' elsewhere. Libya at war with the Christian West and now Israel fighting Syria. As well there are all those oppressive regimes sitting on tinderboxes.
Edit: erm... I think I mean something else than a tinderbox but the phrase escapes me!
|
|
dunois
Petty Officer 2nd Class
Posts: 42
Likes: 42
|
Post by dunois on Mar 26, 2019 18:13:59 GMT
The whole region is ripe for conflict. Ongoing insurgency in Iraq as the US not only withdraws but is rather 'distracted' elsewhere. Libya at war with the Christian West and now Israel fighting Syria. As well there are all those oppressive regimes sitting on tinderboxes. Edit: erm... I think I mean something else than a tinderbox but the phrase escapes me! Powder kegs ;-)
|
|
forcon
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 988
Likes: 1,739
|
Post by forcon on Mar 26, 2019 18:21:35 GMT
One-Hundred-Seven
World War III was now a conflict that was truly global. Syria had entered the fighting yesterday after a series of Israeli airstrikes, and Libya had been drawn into the fighting several days before. Israel was now a member of the Coalition, fighting in the Middle East. Yesterday’s airstrikes against Syria had been met with some muted criticism from several European nations, but there little in the way of real condemnation. Russian troops were in Syria in small numbers and in itself this, in the eyes of many, made Syria a cobelligerent of Moscow’s. Syria’s deliberate retaliation against civilian targets within Israel had only worsened matters, with the government of Israel declaring that it would respond with “total force” against the Assad Regime.
This promise was carried out early in the morning on August 16th. Israeli F-16s & F-15s attacked Syria from the south, striking known headquarters of Assad’s Republican Guard formations. Syrian air defence batteries launched dozens of missiles into the dawn sky, backed by a handful of Russian weapons systems. While Syrian losses were relatively heavy, only one Israeli F-16 was shot down, while a pair of other jets were damaged. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and CENCTOM under General John Allen, US Marine Corps, both asked the Administration for permission to engage Syrian forces alongside the Israelis. This was given almost immediately. Washington was seeing the chance to knock Russian allies down while the Russian Armed Forces were defeated.
Though the political will did not exist for a costly American-led invasion of Syria that would have similar results to the war in Iraq, Biden the Pentagon was more than obliged to allow the Israeli’s to take the lead and send troops to support Tel Aviv. The John C. Stennis aircraft carrier battle group was headed westwards towards Libya and her mission would not be changed. However, numerous American aircraft resided at Romanian and Bulgarian facilities, and the British government would allow its airfield at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to be used by the Americans as well. F-16s belonging to the Air National Guard’s 323rd Air Expeditionary Wing flew from Romania down over the Black Sea and into Syrian airspace, bombing Tartus once again. The strike did little more than bounce the rubble left behind by the Israeli attack yesterday, but it was an important show of support by the United States to its key Middle Eastern ally.
Syrian and Israeli ground forces clashed in the Golan Heights. The Syrian Arab Army’s First Corps, stationed in northern Syria near the Israeli frontier, moved into the mountains with surprising speed. With three mechanised and armoured divisions, equipped with Soviet-made T-72s, the First Corps was a deadly threat to Israel. The Syrian Arab Army had seen Russian advisors operating in support of it for the past two years, with much progress being made in terms of training and doctrine. Nevertheless, Israel was equipped with a far more modern military, with first-class training and near total air superiority. Opposing the Syrian corps was Israel’s Northern Command, with four divisions, including the over-strength 36th Armoured Division. Israeli fighters immediately engaged Syrian forces moving through the mountains, with their bombs guided in by commandos on the ground. The eastern and western sides of Highway-81 would be the site of some of the heaviest fighting in the Middle East in decades. The Syrian 5th Mechanised Division made a push along the road and through the surrounding desert, attempting to open up the path for follow-on forces behind. Their attempt was blocked by the Israeli 36th Armoured Division. With their Merkava MBTs the Israelis vastly outgunned their opponents, although the Syrians fought with unusual vigour and tenacity. It would be deemed the Battle of Ortal.
Fighting continued with the Israeli’s launching a counterattack which effectively destroyed the 5th Mechanised Division. Heavy casualties were suffered by the Syrians, with nearly half of the division killed or captured. It wasn’t an easy victory for the Israeli Defence Forces either; they’d suffered over one hundred killed, about half of that number occurring when a logistical unit was bombarded by accurate Syrian artillery fire. With reinforcements moving in from the remainder of the country, the Israeli Northern Command’s troops went southwards towards Syria. How far they were going to go had not yet been decided, but options were planned for the full-scale invasion and occupation of Syria, or at least for the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
US troops began landing in Israel. These were light formations whose usefulness in the high-intensity battlefields in Europe was questionable. General Petraeus, while being noticeably guarded about the deployment of his units elsewhere, could offer no real objection to the formation of Task Force David’s Shield. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, stationed in Italy, went off to Israel later in the day, deploying to the country by C-130 aircraft. Joining them soon would be members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a small but formidable force. A brigade from the 10th Mountain Division was to be peeled off and sent into battle in Israel behind the paratroopers and marines. Soon, US troops would be fighting alongside the Israelis as Coalition troops entered Syria. Meanwhile, Libya was suffering under an intense aerial bombardment. The use of French warplanes and American carrier-based strike aircraft meant that few of the aircraft that were needed in Poland were being sent away to hit Libya instead, but nonetheless the airstrikes being carried out against Gadhafi’s regime were devastating. A smaller number of Spanish jets were involved in the airstrikes, but much of the Spanish Air Force was away in Poland or providing air defence against potential attacks against the homeland by Russian cruise missiles. The political support for the expanding of operations against Libya was near unanimous within NATO after the hostage takings of embassy staff, with such a thing being seen as chillingly ruthless as well as totally unacceptable. The desire was there for the world to he shown that this was just not publicly acceptable, and would be responded to with extreme force despite the threats to the safety of the hostages that Tripoli continued to make. US Army Green berets infiltrating from Niger guided in airstrikes and carried out small-scale ambushes of their own against Libyan troops. French Special Forces would soon be joining them in Libya.
French Mirages & Rafales, Spanish Air Force and US Navy Hornets & Super Hornets, and US Air Force B-1Bs & B-52Hs flew sorties to knock out Libya’s air defence infrastructure and air force before moving onto more strategic targets. Bombs fell all across the country, including on Tripoli itself. From within their prison yard, the NATO embassy staff taken as hostages could feel and see the fireballs rising into the sky. Tripoli International Airport was bombed by F/A-18s, but its runway was deliberately left open; all of this was part of a deception plan that would be vital in the future. Meanwhile, French, Spanish, and Portuguese troops along the Mediterranean were being readied for an operation which would oust Gadhafi’s regime for good; though it had not yet been scheduled, a decision had been taken first in Paris and then in Brussels that Libya was to be invaded and occupied.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon was working on a plan to extract the hostages. Operation Midnight Talon, it was called, and it would be almost as audacious as the failed Operation Eagle Claw back in 1980. This mission, which drew inspiration from the raid on Entebbe, was to be sophisticated but plausible. Special Operations Command had been allowed to take over the planning of the mission to avoid inter-service confusion and to prevent the squabbling which had doomed the failed Tehran rescue mission all those years ago. This extended down to officers within the ranks of the 75th Ranger Regiment, Delta Force, and the Marine Raider Regiment. The generals would simply approve the plan written for them by lt.-colonels, majors, and captains with those elite commando units. There was a full Delta Force squadron that could be used for the mission, along with a battalion of Rangers and a significant number of Marine Corps commandos. The US Air Force would contribute its 352nd Special Operations Wing, and help had been offered by the French & British SAS units. However, SOCOM felt that this mission was best left within the United States’ command structure to avoid international confusion.
With that being said, an infiltration route into Libya was needed. Going in over the coast would be too obvious, USAF officers said, with the Libyans being able to identify transport aircraft or helicopters. This would lead them to suspect that a rescue mission was occurring and compel the Libyans to either move or execute the nearly five hundred hostages they held. Instead, the US Air Force reasoned, a back door into Libya had to be used. This would be through Egypt. The involvement of the Egyptians in such a mission was controversial, with many in the DOD disliking the idea. Nevertheless, CIA reports told the Biden Administration that tensions between Egypt and Libya were currently running high over numerous disputes, and that the Egyptians would be willing to help out if approached correctly. Many even expected Egypt to jump into the fighting on the Coalition’s side, seeing an opportunity for the government, waning in popularity, to gain support through a foreign adventure that it was sure to win. Egypt as yet remained neutral, but when approached the Egyptian Army was willing to allow Special Operations Command to stage for Operation Midnight Talon in their country. The rescue mission was given a date, one which many thought was too soon. August 22nd would see American commandos entering the lion’s den.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 26, 2019 21:17:13 GMT
I can't wait for Midnight Talon to occur.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 26, 2019 22:06:18 GMT
The whole region is ripe for conflict. Ongoing insurgency in Iraq as the US not only withdraws but is rather 'distracted' elsewhere. Libya at war with the Christian West and now Israel fighting Syria. As well there are all those oppressive regimes sitting on tinderboxes. Edit: erm... I think I mean something else than a tinderbox but the phrase escapes me! Powder kegs ;-) I still don't know what I meant but that wasn't it! Anyway, the next update will be by me tomorrow and Forcon will be posting an update on Thursday. We have returned to one update a day but how long that will last, before we return to two updates a day, is currently unknown.
|
|
Dan
Warrant Officer
Posts: 258
Likes: 185
|
Post by Dan on Mar 27, 2019 8:15:27 GMT
One-Hundred-SevenWorld War III was now a conflict that was truly global... made Syria a cobelligerent of Moscow’s.... So if Syria has become a cobelligerent of the Russians, by the same token this would make Isreal a cobelligerant on the side of the Allies. If I understand this correctly, in theory, if Syria changes tack, they could seek separate terms and take themselves out of the war PDQ without waiting for the end of the Russians first?
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 27, 2019 8:27:25 GMT
One-Hundred-SevenWorld War III was now a conflict that was truly global... made Syria a cobelligerent of Moscow’s.... So if Syria has become a cobelligerent of the Russians, by the same token this would make Isreal a cobelligerant on the side of the Allies. If I understand this correctly, in theory, if Syria changes tack, they could seek separate terms and take themselves out of the war PDQ without waiting for the end of the Russians first? Many European governments will not like being publicly to be fighting a war alongside Israel due to diplomatic concerns and would like to see it kept separate. If Syria backs out, that is doable probably due to European pressure there. But this is all an if. Forcon and I don't have a Syrian endgame in mind... like Tel Aviv and Washington too.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 27, 2019 19:53:25 GMT
One Hundred and Eight
Late last week, the English town of Harrogate had seen gunfire in its streets. Hundreds of bullets had been fired by rapid-firing assault rifles between British forces and Russian Spetsnaz in two separate engagements inside and on the outskirts of that usually quiet part of North Yorkshire. Seventeen deaths had occurred: eight foreign commandos, four policemen, four British Army soldiers and a young woman out walking her dog. Police officers, even highly-trained Authorised Firearms Officers, shouldn’t have been and wouldn’t be used again for such tasks due to their killings and perceived failings in how they operated during this. There had been heated debate and strong words used down in London among the Cabinet – composed of senior members of the National Government – over the whole thing. The loss of civilian life was initially something of grave concern too… but then that became something unexpected. The young woman turned out to not be so innocent, nor a civilian either. By chance, her false identity was exposed and MI-5 broke open the fraudulence which was her supposed life. She was identified as deep-cover GRU agent who’d been in Britain for at least five years doing all sorts of things against the interests of the country; her dog, a three year old female Labrador, was innocent and certainly not a Russian agent. Natalie – or Natalia as she was believed to be – opened up a major line of enquiry for MI-5. Britain’s domestic intelligence agency had had a terrible war but when uncovering who Natalie really was, they smashed apart a whole network which she was connected to. The military had initially been at the forefront of the hunt for the supporting infrastructure which had allowed the GRU to operate within Britain where they had captured and interrogated Spetsnaz, including two more (both seriously wounded men) from the second Harrogate gunfight, yet now ‘the professionals’ preformed as they were meant to. Natalie’s identity led the investigators to the nearby town of Knaresborough. This was a smaller rural locality, just up the road from Harrogate. Patience and hard work brought attention to a bed-and-breakfast on the edges of Knaresborough which lay beside the River Nidd. Over sixty soldiers were involved on the raid to hit the B-&-B. Some were SAS men but mainly the force consisted of TA soldiers. Land Rovers with armour-plating and even a speedboat took part in getting them there. A light helicopter with snipers aboard hovered above. Extreme violence was expected on the same scale as Harrogate. Yet none occurred, not a single bullet was fired by anyone. The assault teams hit the converted house simultaneously and came in ready to kill suspected commandos hiding there. Instead, they found just two people inside. These were supposedly a Polish married couple (they were no such thing) in their early fifties who had years ago moved to Yorkshire and opened a B-&-B. It was a safehouse for the GRU where for a long time their people had stayed here whilst travelling through Britain. Both occupants threw their hands up despite weapons being in the house when armed men poured in through doors & windows. They were cuffed, hooded and taken away. MI-5 investigators entered the property afterwards and would start what would become a fruitful search which would uncover communications equipment, weapons stores and much useful intelligence. This would lead to further activities hitting other locations across the country in the coming days, alongside what the two prisoners – Russians, not Poles as they had pretended to be – would give them as well.
That success up in Yorkshire that Monday morning at dawn was something still being celebrated in London that afternoon among the Cabinet when such smiles turned to frowns when there was a fantastic explosion in the city’s West End. In a small road off Baker Street, a car bomb detonated with one hell of a wallop. The vehicle was completely destroyed – significant bits of it being blown up to a hundred yards away – and so too were the three people inside. One of those was the prominent Russian exile Boris Nemtsov; the other victims within being a driver and a bodyguard. Another five casualties occurred as well with two policemen dead, a civilian killed (this time a ‘real’ civilian) and two more civilians left with grave injuries. Nemtsov was someone which the Met. Police and MI-5 considered to be in danger of an assassination. He’d fled Russia during Putin’s Putsch when so many others had failed to get away and then spent his time in Britain orchestrating exile-based opposition to the Kremlin. Battles had come with Berezovsky in being who was to be the public face of that opposition and there had been that shooting incident which had seen a policeman killed. Since the war had started, these two groups – Berezovsky’s mob and Nemtsov’s circle – had been working to each form a government-in-exile based in London which would see theirs getting recognition and the other ignored. There had even been legal action initiated on the matter, something which arguments had occurred over whether this was a matter for the British courts to decide. Nemtsov had been positioning himself as a president-in-waiting, one who could have returned to Moscow at some point to replace Putin. He had his detractors on the outside, Berezovsky’s mob mainly but also elsewhere, who compared him unfavourably to what Ahmed Chalabi had once been on for the Americans with Iraq. Nemtsov had been seeking the recognition of Whitehall for his efforts though the whole matter sat uncomfortably with the National Government. As said, his life was regarded as being in danger and Russia already had had its killers on London’s streets. Security around him should have been tight and was planned to be restrictive yet he had eluded what he deemed ‘his jailers’ and gone to a meeting. Someone had betrayed him, maybe the same person who set up the apparently urgent meeting. Then the SVR went and blew him to smithereens. The killing was done on Putin’s personal orders. Director Fradkov hadn’t wanted to see it done because he was sure it would blow the last of his organisation’s network in the UK (a spy network, not one of professional killers despite the car bomb) when the plot was investigated, but his president had demanded it. As Fradkov feared, once the smoke had cleared, MI-5 would be all over this where they would hope to repeat their Harrogate-Knaresborough success and uncover all those involved.
The US Navy’s Task Force 20 avoided a head-on confrontation with the still remaining (if weakened) line of Russian submarines spread between Iceland and Ireland. Instead, the two aircraft carriers and their combined battle groups went through the Denmark Strait. This stretch of water lay to the north of Iceland, between that island and Greenland, and allowed access to the Norwegian Sea from what was in many ways the back door. There was a Russian submarine there – this was known about – but it was just the lone boat and identified as a hunter/killer attack model, not one of those Oscars with their missile arsenals. The submarine in the Denmark Strait was being pursued closely by aircraft flying from the smashed-up Keflavik Airport and also several warships too. The Denmark Strait route wasn’t ‘safe’ but it was safer than going into the Norwegian Sea direct from the North Atlantic. There would be comments later about supposed cowardice with what TF 20 did. Only a fool would suggest that. The Americans played it smart. Why go head on into a fight when one could be avoided? Late on Monday August 16th, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Enterprise entered the Demark Strait to cut through here to reach the Norwegian Sea by tomorrow. They would be a day later than planned but would come through unmolested.
NATO needed these two carriers to make it through without suffering the same fate as the USS Harry S. Truman. When that first carrier had been destroyed, Allied Forces Norway had seen loss of what should have been air superiority over Norway. The skies had become equal with neither side having an advantage. Major NATO loses had occurred as a result of this: the Tromsø debacle was still fresh in everyone’s memory. Now everything was about to change with the two carriers soon to arrive after bypassing Russian efforts to try to stop them or at least cause them major damage on the way. Both of them were carrying ninety plus combat aircraft: a full load. Squadrons from the US Navy Reserve as well as ‘extra’ regular squadrons – those not aboard a carrier – had been sent to sea with the Eisenhower and the Enterprise. These jets would fly in Norwegian skies first. Afterwards, there was another country’s skies in which they would fly. Does anyone need a guess as to whose they would be? That country’s name begins with an ‘R’…
The 101st Air Assault Division arrived in Germany. It’s long-delayed overseas deployment saw the movement of the division to Europe by air. The process took several days and was still not completed, but the majority of the Screaming Eagles were now here. Hundreds of aircraft had been involved in the airlift. There were military transports – C-5s, C-17s and C-130s – used as well as civilian airliners & freighters which made these many trans-Atlantic crossings. Moving the soldiers was the easy bit. It was all of the equipment and stores which saw the major effort needed to do this. The 101st was a ‘light’ division but it still had a lot of gear. The logistics effort was something that only the Americans could have done yet they did have help too with aircraft from other countries assisting in addition to the staging support for refuelling stops made by territories of nations along the way. Coming from Fort Campbell in Kentucky, the division arrived across the length and width of Germany at airports and airbases. They 101st wasn’t deployed to Poland though via the airlift and neither did the division at once begin moving there overland. For more than a week this formation had remained back home while elsewhere America’s soldiers went overseas. The intention from the Pentagon and the US Army had been to keep the 101st ready to move anywhere needed: they were held as a worldwide contingency force. The thinking had been that they might go to the Middle East, to Afghanistan or to East Asia in case fighting in either erupted where they might be needed. Conflict was taking place in all three regions now yet the 101st had been sent to Europe instead. Some would call this madness! Now in Europe, that idea of a contingency force remained when it came to the division. No orders came for them to move straight to Poland but instead they held ready here. General Mattis’ CJTF-East headquarters didn’t have them under operational command despite the stated urgent need for the 101st. Possible deployments elsewhere were still being considered. They could go to Libya, to Syria, to fight the Ukrainians, to Norway… That decision still hadn’t been made. It was madness but it was happening. There were other US Army divisions and smaller formations currently in transit: airlift schedule for them had been negatively affected by what occurred with the 101st though much of their make-up was also moving by sea it must be said. The 1st Armored & 1st Cavalry Divisions had their men in Europe already – in Germany too – with so much of their gear on the way via sealift. In addition, the Pentagon had decided to see them joined by three smaller units. These were the 3rd Cavalry & 11th Cavalry Regiments (the latter a training unit) as well as a national guard brigade which had been in the latter stages of preparation for a deployment to Afghanistan when the war begun: this being the 116th Cavalry Brigade. While focus was on these combat units, more personnel were in supporting roles. Fully-mobilised, the Americans had hundreds of thousands of personnel already in or on the way. All those artillerymen, engineers, signalers, medical personnel, truck drivers, supply troops and so on were tasked to Europe. They kept on arriving on aircraft which came across the ocean in what seemed like (it wasn’t) an endless tide.
Canada was sending soldiers to Europe as well. Much of their army was being deployed to fight in Poland with the intention to integrate them within both the Allied I Corps & US V Corps but also lower down into other army’s combat divisions. Not all of this was yet fully arranged but things were moving there. First to Europe and seeing action starting today were elements of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade Group. They had been moved to the frontlines in northeastern Poland where they linked up with the British 3rd Mechanised Division and took over certain combat sectors. The Canadians were quick to see fighting. They faced shelling and enemy patrols. A stalemate it was overall with the war here but men were killing each other up and down the frontlines. One of the infantry battalions among the Canadians got a baptism of fire indeed when on the wrong end of a major artillery & rocket attack undertaken by the Russians who struck when observing what looked to them like reinforcements arriving possibly ahead of an attack. Belgian troops also saw fighting today when their Medium Brigade – also intended to be integrated within a division of a NATO ally – reached the frontlines where the British 1st Armoured Division was. British soldiers were able to step back from holding the frontlines and did so with relief. The Belgians didn’t come here blind. They knew what they were getting into. Still… it wasn’t a welcome anyone would have wanted when their soldiers saw fighting but also the effects of either fighting. Parts of Poland had been blown to pieces when fought over. Croatian troops had turned up over the weekend. Back home, there had been questions raised in Zagreb about so much of the country’s army sent to Poland when intentions of the Serbs were still something of concern but these soldiers were here now. They had so far seen little fighting. Instead, they were dealing with deserters today. The Armoured Guard Brigade took custody of close to two dozen Belorussian soldiers who came across individually, in pairs and in one group of four. These men joined hundreds of others who had done the same – Russians as well as Belorussians – in defecting throughout the war in Eastern Europe to many NATO forces. They came across for various reasons with very few purposely defecting in an effort to betray their countries but instead just no longer wishing to fight. All were treated well yet with suspicion too: to not do so would be stupid. None had so far been found to have anything resembling dishonest intentions though.
Air attacks continued going both ways through the day and into the night. NATO and the Russians attacked each other using their aircraft either on direct bombing runs or firing from afar. There were some close air support missions flown by NATO aircraft though generally there were long-range air attacks to hit the other’s rear that each was undertaking. Russia carried on trying to blast parts of Western Europe, especially its transport links, to bits. They did a lot of damage and caused many casualties yet that was harder than it looked. There were so many ports, airports, rail bridges, highway overpasses and so on. The Russians couldn’t hit them all and they couldn’t destroy the ones which they did strike. The strikes came at a cost too. They had more luck attacking special-purpose NATO aircraft in the skies. More of those KS-172S long-range air-to-air missiles were fired and they took down four targets (of ten missiles launched) which were hundreds of miles off. They got a NATO-crewed E-3, a German P-3 (over the Baltic), a US Air Force RC-135 and also an American E-8 JSTARS too. NATO suffered these losses in frustration at still not being able to deal with such weapons used against them. The Americans had gotten a MiG-31 certain to be carrying another unused weapon when that Russian fighter was deep inside Belarus and lining-up a shot but the others had been fired with no one aware until the aircraft were blown up far away from the frontlines. That shootdown of the MiG had occurred over eastern Belarus where NATO was continuing its Operation Eclipse. There were plenty of targets to bomb there – as well as in the occupied Baltic States too – which included striking at the unused Russian Second Guards Army. It still hadn’t moved. The Russian and Belorussian forces present remained an ‘army in being’ with the threat that at any time it could move forward. NATO intelligence had all sorts of ideas on what Moscow was planning to do with the Second Guards Army. One of those (less believed than the primary one of it making a massive attack into Central Poland) was that it was going to be broken up to be used piecemeal across the frontlines while those already on the frontlines who’d seen much fighting would be returned to the rear to reform the field army with now-veterans. No one knew if this was yet to happen though: it was only speculation.
NATO aircraft over the Baltic States on reconnaissance missions today came across something interesting and also rather troubling. Occupation forces of Russian and Belorussian troops within both were rather small. They had generally left the population alone. Attacks from freedom fighters and guerrillas – those ‘terrorists’ as Moscow deemed them – took place and there was guarding of important infrastructure, but it wasn’t an occupation which physically invaded the lives of everyone there. The effects were away from people’s homes but rather with jobs and the organs of government. NATO special forces inside Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania found that they had room to operate. There was still danger yet there weren’t enemy troops on every street corner, in every field etc. Those aircraft above found that things were now changing though. The terror attacks and the entry of so many NATO commandos, only going to get worse as the Baltic shoreline was seemingly open, brought about a reaction. Arriving into the three countries were volunteers. There were vehicles and even aircraft which delivered men who’d formed paramilitary units to preform security. Cossacks, those from the Caucasus and even Russian-speaking Ukrainians turned up. They were carrying weapons and organised. They wore armbands but not proper uniforms. It was men like these who it could have been said started all of this by the actions of those volunteers in Georgia almost exactly two years ago. Now thousands, not hundreds as were in Georgia, were deploying across the Baltic States.
In Rome, Silvio Berlusconi was forcibly removed from office.
There was no coup d’état or anything like that in the Italian capital. The prime minister was summoned to see the president who had with him in attendance several senior ministers including those holding the defence, economy, foreign affairs, interior and justice briefs. It was an ambush. Berlusconi walked right into too without realising what was happening. He said nothing as President Napolitano presented him with evidence of his personal, illegal crimes and alleged that agents of the Russian state had used this to see Berlusconi betray the Italian people. One of the ministers asked if the usually brash and assertive had anything to say. Nothing was said. It was all so un-Berlusconi. Napolitano asked him to resign while also saying that if not he would be removed… which this really was regardless of the words used. The ministers all stated that they too wanted him to resign as well. Some of these were his party colleagues while others were coalition partners. Finally, Berlusconi had something to say. He denied the allegations made – not very forcefully though – and started to speculate on the consequences for Italy – he meant himself – if this all came out. Napolitano told him that none of that needed to happen if he resigned. These things could be kept private. Berlusconi, now talking a lot, began to speculate further and this time on how the coalition government which he led would survive without his personal leadership. Once again, he was stopped in his tracks. Emergency powers would keep the government in-place until a later date where elections could be worried about then. There was nothing more that Berlusconi could say. He folded and gave in. He resigned on the spot, right there in the office of the president with a piece of paper & pen provided: there was no going back to his office to have discussions with others. It was all very un-Berlusconi!
Frattini was asked by Napolitano to lead a national unity government. He accepted this position. Things were not going to be easy. Berlusconi, who left the meeting, was certain to cause trouble. Those who had forced him out did not want to back up their threat with action: they thought of the political upheaval which would come with all the horrors of that. That was for later. For now, Berlusconi was gone and Frattini would take his place as prime minister.
Within hours, from Rome came word to NATO capitals that starting tomorrow Italy was to now honour its treaty obligations with regard to mutual defence of its partner nations rather than just defending its own territory as had been the position for the last ten days. Elements of Italy’s armed forces would be made available where needed, be that in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean or anywhere else (with conditions attached though). The Italian Armed Forces wouldn’t just be moving to engage Russian and Belorussian forces but also the Libyans as well. Italy was at war.
|
|
Dan
Warrant Officer
Posts: 258
Likes: 185
|
Post by Dan on Mar 28, 2019 8:46:04 GMT
I get the feeling that Burlosconi will either have an accident or "do the honourable thing" very shortly. Not by choice either. He'll receive a state funeral, his achievements will be lauded, his failings glossed over and he'll be forgotten about within a week.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Mar 28, 2019 9:37:08 GMT
I get the feeling that Burlosconi will either have an accident or "do the honourable thing" very shortly. Not by choice either. He'll receive a state funeral, his achievements will be lauded, his failings glossed over and he'll be forgotten about within a week. I hadn't thought much on that note but my mind is now ticking. Did you like the 'innocent dog' with Harrogate / Knaresborough?
|
|
|
Post by lukedalton on Mar 28, 2019 11:35:45 GMT
I get the feeling that Burlosconi will either have an accident or "do the honourable thing" very shortly. Not by choice either. He'll receive a state funeral, his achievements will be lauded, his failings glossed over and he'll be forgotten about within a week.
Ehy, good old Silvio is no more a young man and his lifestyle is pretty 'intense' so his health can suddenly fail during an encounter with a female 'friend'; but unless he try something of very very stupid, the power that be will not touch him...as any fallout will be too problematic and whatever one think of him; he has been at the centre of the italian political life for the last 20 years and a pubblic figure for even more time due to his media empire and the ownership of Milan, his departure will be greatly felt on many level and can open a political can of worm (his party exist around him and people like Salvini and Grillo are still almost nobody at the moment and probably will stay that manner ITTL). The ironic thing, is he really die due to a genuine incident or for an health problem...the conspiracy theorist will have a field day here.
|
|
oldbleep
Petty Officer 2nd Class
Posts: 34
Likes: 38
|
Post by oldbleep on Mar 28, 2019 16:32:16 GMT
Meanwhile, the Pentagon was working on a plan to extract the hostages. Operation Midnight Talon, it was called, and it would be almost as audacious as the failed Operation Eagle Claw back in 1980. This mission, which drew inspiration from the raid on Entebbe, was to be sophisticated but plausible. Special Operations Command had been allowed to take over the planning of the mission to avoid inter-service confusion and to prevent the squabbling which had doomed the failed Tehran rescue mission all those years ago.
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Component Commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense and is the only Unified Combatant Command legislated into being by the U.S. Congress. USSOCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
The idea of an American unified special operations command had its origins in the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw, the disastrous attempted rescue of hostages at the American embassy in Iran in 1980. The ensuing investigation, chaired by Admiral James L. Holloway III, the retired Chief of Naval Operations, cited lack of command and control and inter-service coordination as significant factors in the failure of the mission. Since its activation on 16 April 1987, U.S. Special Operations Command has participated in many operations, from the 1989 invasion of Panama to the ongoing Global War on Terrorism.
The Joint Special Operations Command oversees the Special Mission Units of U.S. Special Operations Command. These are elite special operations forces units that perform highly classified activities.
So far, only five SMUs have been publicly disclosed:
The Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force, nicknamed Task Force Green) The 75th Ranger Regiment's Regimental Reconnaissance Company (The Company) The Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU / SEAL Team 6, nicknamed Task Force Blue) The Army's Intelligence Support Activity (Task Force Orange) The Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron (Task Force White)
Units from the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment (less the Regimental Reconnaissance Company) and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces.
SOCOM would be planning Operation Midnight Talon from the get go as this is what it was established for.
This is not a criticism just an observation and I await Operation Midnight Talon with bated breath.
A very good book to read about JSOC is Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command by Sean Naylor.
|
|
forcon
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 988
Likes: 1,739
|
Post by forcon on Mar 28, 2019 19:38:41 GMT
One-Hundred-Nine
Moscow had been bombed by the US Air Force; the Kola Peninsula had seen attacks launched against it by the US Navy and likewise in the Russian Far East, the Rodina herself had been attacked. There were hundreds of military and civilian casualties that resulted from these attacks, and fury was stirred up within the Russian capital.
Russian bombers had attacked Washington DC and several targets in the Midwest as revenge for the initial raid on St Petersburg by those American stealth bombers.
Another attack against the American mainland was to be launched tonight in response to the bombing of Moscow and the escalation of the air campaign to Kola and the greater Vladivostok area. Planners had scrambled to present a wide range of options for this mission. Options ranged from firing cruise missiles at Alaskan oilfields to direct attacks against power plants and airports around cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.
What was needed was an attack on America that would cause many casualties and inflict real military damage rather than something that was done all for show. Eventually presented to Putin’s cabal by the Long Range Aviation Command was Operation Spectre, which would involve fewer than ten aircraft but which would cause heavy casualties and inflict much damage on the Pacific Northwest.
A trio of Tu-95 Bear bombers took off from two separate bases in Siberia, passing over the Pacific Ocean rather than going north like the Blackjacks had done before. They came down over the North Pacific, avoiding fighter patrols mounted from US Navy carriers further west. Unescorted, the three Bear bombers would have made a helpless target for any prowling interceptor.
To avoid having to enter US or Canadian airspace, the Bears carried KH-55SM cruise missiles, with each bomber carrying up to a dozen of them. They came down past the Gulf of Alaska, then flew southwards perpendicular to British Columbia. To those aboard the Bears, the flight in itself was an experience. Thousands of miles of ocean had to be traversed and enemy air defences had to be avoided. The bomber crews even ate meals aboard the flight, which lasted over fifteen hours.
When the bombers finally reached their launch points off of Puget Sound, nearly forty KH-55s roared away from pylons and bomb bay doors.
F-15C Eagle interceptors of the Oregon Air National Guard received warning of the incoming missiles as they patrolled the coastline further south. Putting their jets into afterburner, the F-15 pilots raced to engage the missiles as they made landfall. The inbound missiles were homed in on by AIM-120s & AIM-9s as the fighters closed in. Fifteen of them were knocked down and six more would suffer from mechanical failures. Enough would get through though, enough to do a great deal of damage.
Fort Lewis was hit by half-a-dozen missiles. The base was being used by the US Army to raise the now-forming 7th Infantry Division for deployment to Europe; many soldiers were stationed there and hundreds of them were in the process of being rotated out to combat units as casualty replacements.
The progress of all this would be delayed, but not halted, by the cruise missile attack. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was next to be hit by KH-55s, and then McChord Air Force Base was struck as well. Though the damage caused by the cruise missiles was significant, it would not serve to hamper combat operations beyond causing some minor delays. Systems like the KH-55 caused an immense amount of damage, but much of that would be superficial.
However, the Bear attack with cruise missiles had only been the first wave of a much more sophisticated attack against the Seattle area. Washington State had been chosen as a target because of its relative proximity to Russia and the fact that bombers would not have to cross into US airspace to fire their stand-off weapons. Symbolically, Russian strategists saw Seattle as being relative in its cultural (not military) importance to Murmansk and Vladivostok.
Three Blackjack bombers formed the second wave of the assault. Unlike the Bears, these were armed with conventional free-fall bombs. They were meant to cause lot of casualties and render their targets inoperable for the foreseeable future. The fast and agile Blackjacks carried RBK-500 cluster bombs. They were detected on radar entering the airspace of Washington State, and more F-15s were diverted to intercept. The chaos caused by the initial cruise missile attack had severely hampered the response of the Western Air Defence Sector. Confusion reigned as fighters made to intercept their opponents.
Blackjack #1 hit Kitsap Naval Base. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on one’s side, much of the Pacific Fleet’s ships had already left Kitsap bound for the Sea of Okhotsk. Nevertheless, as the Blackjack pulled up hard after dropping its bomblets, fire and terror reigned across the facility. Storage buildings, munitions & fuel dumps, dockyards, and barracks had all been badly damaged by the massive amount of cluster bombs used.
Blackjack #2 would never reach its target. The bomber was headed for the dockyards located in Seattle itself. The aircraft, flying extremely low, was visible in the evening light and its sound could be heard for miles upon miles. Instead of dropping its bombs, however, the Blackjack was pounced upon by another F-15C belonging to the Oregon Air National Guard. It exploded in mid-air, sending shards of burning shrapnel down onto the buildings and civilians below.
Blackjack #3 had much more luck. It managed to get within the airspace of Seattle itself, first hiding behind the terrain and then relying on nothing more than luck to avoid being destroyed. It pulled up, unleashing its own RBK-500s onto Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Hundreds would die as the main terminal building of Sea-Tac was destroyed by the fireball; many jets were taken out and countless civilians and airport staff killed.
Once again, America had been attacked on its own soil. Though less shocking than the DC raid, this attack had arguably been more militarily effective. The use of bombs rather than cruise missiles meant that Sea-Tac International would be shut down for months if not years, and the destruction wrought on Kitsap Naval Base was near total.
The airstrike had been largely successful even if the losses had been heavy.
|
|