Eagle Guardian: The War of 2010

That is a long time, doubt we will see a Wiki leak here then.

One Hundred and Sixty

The US Army’s Lt.–General Helmick, the commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, had asked for reinforcements to come to Latvia to support his multinational force here deep in the Russian rear. The 82nd Airborne Division and the British-led (but multinational) 6th Airmobile Division were unable to fulfil the mission given to Helmick on their own. He didn’t put it in such terms to Mattis and Petraeus but that was the case. The Russians were bypassing the area of control the XVIII Corps had established along the Daugava River – going around his men – and thus their supply lines to forward-deployed forces were still active. Riga was being used by the Russians especially as they sent convoys loaded with ammunition, fuel and other stores through that civilian area with the full knowledge that NATO was weary of bombing ‘friendly’ civilians there. The XVIII Corps had turned back organised Russian & Belorussian units sent against them in major engagements yet had that underestimated local security problem to deal with where there were ‘unfriendly’ civilians plus also foreign militia as well fighting them inside this Baltic nation. Helmick had asked for both the British 2nd Infantry & the US 7th Infantry Divisions. He’d hoped he’d get at least one of them: two seemed too much. There was also the chance that he could have been relieved too and replaced with someone else if his unadmitted failure was deemed as much in Krakow, Brussels or Washington. In a surprise, CJTF–East released both of those light formations to the command of the XVIII Corps. They were flown by air to Central Latvia, taking the routing over the Baltic rather than above Kaliningrad or Lithuania, and sent to the fight. With such a strong reinforcement, a doubling of strength, Mattis and Petraeus demanded more from Helmick.

They wanted him to take Riga.

Liberating the Latvian capital was something which was planned for the XVIII Corps to do when in the field though not so soon. Now political pressure had been brought to bear and Helmick had the instructions to begin the process of doing that. The blockage across a significant portion of the Daugava was being bypassed by the Russians using Riga and that was a part of it yet more than that, the politics of not letting events which had happened in Daugavpils and Jēkabpils occur there drove these orders. There had been some cautionary voices which said an advance upon Riga would bring that level of violence to that larger city as seen in the smaller ones but those weren’t being listened to. The Latvian government-in-exile, plus influential NATO leaders such as Cameron and Sarkozy, won out with their demands there… though it would be American troops marching on Riga. Before the majority of the reinforcements arrived, the 82nd Airborne began that advance. There had spent long parrying attacks by Russian paratroopers who protected the way around the blockage imposed but were now sent forward. The first objective was the town of Kegums, outside of Riga. This lay downstream away to the west of Jēkabpils. The peacetime river crossing there went over a road built into the hydroelectrical plant: something that the Americans had previously bombed and the Latvians had learnt about only after the fact. The Russians had pontoon bridges up to make use of the road connections around Kegums with the 76th Guards Air Assault Division in the way. The Americans moved from their forward outposts and started driving forward. They had tanks, air cover and also an (admittedly smaller) numerical advantage over their opponents. Helmick ordered the 82nd Airborne to get to Kegums within three days and then begin to advance closer to Riga. Near to where the Russian river crossings could be found – and the many dummy crossings that the Russians had set up too – there was also Lielvārde Airbase too. The French had had Mirage-2000s there at the opening of war and taken immense losses with few personnel and fewer aircraft getting away before it was overrun. The Americans would be going for there as well.

American and Russian paratroopers were back in action again, no longer fighting skirmishes but pitched battles. Tough, bloody fighting commenced with the 82nd Airborne going forward but the 76th Guards making it costly for them.


Behind the advance, those airlifts which saw the men of two NATO light divisions arrive in Central Latvia, were used to take out people too. XVIII Corps casualties as well as Russian POWs (injured and uninjured) were flown out. Moreover, on several of those airlifts went civilians. Those who needed medical care joined many children also leaving their home country. Germany, along with Belgium and the Netherlands too, had agreed to take them when Poland said that it was unable to. During the fighting along the Daugava, civilians from outside of the liberated area had flocked inwards despite the danger. They came to the frontlines – some caught up in the crossfire – and sought safety inside. Outside, there had been cases where Russian irregulars had been raping, robbing and murdering their way across the Latvian countryside and through small towns. Professional Russian troops – along with Belorussian security troops – had previously kept things under control but as they were drawn into the fighting, others took advantage. Those internal refugees arrived where there remained gunfire through Daugavpils and Jēkabpils. Explosions occurred too as terrorists actions went on. Far fewer attacks made by Russian-speaking Latvians were taking place: it was all now ‘outsiders’. There were kidnappings of NATO soldiers by these militia and also the use of civilians as human shields. Military police units from several countries had been flown in along with what special forces soldiers could be spared but the situation was unstable and deadly.

The 6th Airmobile with its British, Belgian & Canadian contingents expanded its area of operations as the Americans moved forward. They took over some of the area of responsibility of the 82nd Airborne on the basis that that would only be temporary. Once the two newly-arriving divisions were set up, they could be handling security operations all down the liberated area allowing for the 6th Airmobile to do what it had come here to ultimately do: raid outwards against enemy forces avoiding the Daugavpils-to-Jēkabpils area. Those supply columns and rear area forces for the Twentieth Guards Army fighting down in Kaliningrad and Lithuania were all exposed should the 6th Airmobile be able to concentrate on them rather than what it had been doing. As NATO’s senior people and politicians pushed for the Americans to drive on Riga, they too wanted a major expansion of operations radiating outwards from Daugavpils. If that could have been done, it would already have been done. Those on the ground in Latvia were fighting multiple, capable opponents in several different fights. It wasn’t just the volunteer militia they engaged but Russian paratroopers and Belorussian reservists (with tanks) too. Those opponents had been beaten but not destroyed. Russia’s 345th Guards Regiment and the Belorussians had fallen back after taken major losses. Yet they hadn’t gone away. They’d dug-in with good positions found and also brought up artillery. There were no longer any missile attacks – they appeared to be out of them – but had heavy guns taken from storage. There were D-20 & D-30 howitzers and even far older (World War Two vintage) M-30s as well. The shelling was continuous with casualties caused and a great deal of harassment inflicted. The 6th Airmobile didn’t want to sit still doing nothing as it was believed from far away they were happy to. They were waiting for the opportunity to move outwards and start launching proper, full attacks using all that they had to take their enemy on. That was now going to be coming soon, once the XVIII Corps reinforcements were in-place.

The Americans had their 7th Infantry Division full of all of those reservists, recent retirees and also officers on staff courses or leave etc. They came in first and into Jēkabpils. There was an eagerness from many within the division to get into the fight though some others were more cautious. They knew that the 7th Infantry still needed more of a work-up as a complete division but there was no longer any more time to do that. The orders were for them to take over the liberated zone which the 82nd Airborne had held – relieving the Belgians from the 6th Airmobile which had come north temporarily – and also aid that other, more experienced division in moving on Kegums & Lielvārde first before Riga afterwards. As to the British, they flew into both airheads at Daugavpils and Jēkabpils. The 2nd Infantry Division was formed around units from the Territorial Army though its components weren’t exclusively British reservists nor even only Brits. There was a battalion of British Army regulars in addition to Canadians from their Primary Reserve as well. Still, there were a lot of TA men which came to Latvia though and, like the Americans with the 7th Infantry, they came ‘light’ too. The 2nd Infantry had only one regiment (battalion-sized) of light armoured vehicles and just one other regiment (again, a battalion in reality) of howitzers. Their task wasn’t though to take place in mobile warfare, thankfully, but rather the security and defensive missions that the 6th Airmobile had been undertaking. For the TA soldiers arriving in Latvia, this was going to be an experience indeed.




2nd UK Infantry Division
Divisional combat assets:
The Queen’s Own Yeomanry (with Scimitars)
The 103rd Regiment Royal Artillery (with L-118)
15th Infantry Brigade:
1st Battalion, the Princess Louise’s Fusiliers (Canadians)
3rd Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment
4th Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment
42nd Infantry Brigade:
2nd Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (regulars)
4th Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment
4th Battalion, the Mercian Regiment
51st Infantry Brigade:
3rd Battalion, the Royal Welsh
6th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland
7th Battalion, the Rifles

I wonder what the post-war Baltics would be like and their attitudes toward NATO?

I think that it will be a bit like with how Western European countries looked at the US after the war. They will be incredibly happy with their NATO membership, and there are more than enough Russian atrocities to silence any opposing forces. Although I do fear for the Russian minorities. In their position, I would be getting ready to get out.

They'll need financial aid, medical help, power re-established, transport links repaired, clearing of EOD and the list goes on.
Oh yep. Minorities will be a HUGE issue. There were those there and those who arrived. The governments will want them gone.

If all the Russian minorities are expelled, Estonia and Latvia will suffer huge losses to their workforces. Especially as "replacements" cant come from elsewhere.

A triage of sorts will likely be in place e.g.
Category 1: Proven collaborators
Category 2: Non-citizens without Latvian/Estonian nationality.
Category 3: Naturaliased Russians

Consequences will be less severe as you go down.