The Second Battle of Britain - a Soviet Sealion

180 – Taking in the sights of Ostend


Soviet tanks and infantry carriers rolled into Ostend. The Belgian city by the sea came under foreign occupation with their arrival. The mayor, who’d chosen to stay behind when other local officials had fled, had declared Ostend an ‘open city’. He wanted to spare it from being fought over. There was no fighting when the T-80s and BTR-70s came in to take the sights but that wasn’t because of his declaration. There was instead no one to defend Ostend: neither Belgium nor its NATO allies had the troops available. A regiment of the 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division went through Ostend… well, what was left of the regiment anyway. American air attacks, especially the bomb runs made by their B-52s, had decimated much of the 45th Guards Division late yesterday. That regiment was no more than a battalion after those and earlier fighting against the US Army too. Still, they were still combat capable as a unit and Ostend was taken. Onto the beach the tanks went. The waves were those of the North Sea though the Straits of Dover were just down the road. In defiance of that open city policy, there was soon gunfire and explosions. The Soviets were attacked with their infantry carriers and the riflemen emerging from them the targets. Belgian volunteers who were part of the long established stay behind network – the infamous Gladio set-up – used submachine guns and hand grenades to make their opening moves. In recent years, Belgian criminals had made much use of stocks of weapons held ready for the day when Belgian was occupied for a third time this century with right-wing extremists also getting their hands on what they could too. The smart ones were staying out of this, keeping their heads down until the Soviets got comfortable, but the foolishly brave decided to strike out at the first sign of the enemy. Those ambushes were met with a strong reaction. These were professional soldiers with firepower on-call and they had no regard for collateral damage. What few volunteers survived to be captured were shot as illegal combatants whether they had their hands up or not. That Saturday afternoon when Ostend was taken, so too were other ports along the coastline. The bombed-out ruins of Zeebrugge also came under occupation along with the Dutch-owned Breskens in Zeelandic Flanders. Nieuwpoort was for now left alone though. Around there, so close to the French border, there was no forward advance made. It was in that direction which those who had failed to stop elements of the Eleventh Guards Army reaching the coast by way of Bruges had fled towards.

The US Army’s 1st Cavalry Division was forty per cent (give or take) combat-effective. They fought today between Ghent and the sea before making a withdrawal in the direction of Nieuwpoort, though continuing further than there and falling back all the way into France. Almost a third of the division which had gone to war here in Belgium was trapped against the Scheldt Estuary not far from Breskens on Dutch territory after being isolated yesterday. Those who had gotten away were regulars and national guardsmen with the latter from Mississippi and them having had a terrible war. With a figure of only forty per cent strength, that should have been enough to see the 1st Cavalry completely withdrawn from the frontlines and sent far into the rear to receive many replacements as well as refit. That wasn’t the case. The division moved into defensive positions spread from Dunkirk and inwards through the French countryside. They had broken contact while falling back, relying on air support and Belgian reservists fighting as rear-guards to stop the 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division from chasing them. That opposing formation was battered far more than the Americans were. The Soviets with that Eleventh Guards Army unit would be lucky to be rated twenty per cent effective from what they started the war with. It wasn’t necessarily them that the Americans ran from though. Enemy tank divisions, in much better shape, were crossing into West Flanders. There were two of them – Third Shock Army units, those who had conquered the Netherlands several days ago – and in a fight with them in the state it was in, plus out on its own here, there quickly would have been nothing left of the 1st Cavalry. Upon entering France, they linked up with allied troops and would stand a chance of fighting off a full attack.


There were many troops arriving in Northern France, coming from the armies of several nations. The French had some reservists there as well as troops who’d flown home from across the globe: men from the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean (Réunion), the Pacific and West Africa. They were all lightly armed too, making their air transport easier than if they had been heavily equipped. British Gurkhas from the Far East – Brunei and Hong Kong – joined up with an infantry battalion which had travelled up from Gibraltar… after the UK Government had finally convinced itself that their Spanish allies wouldn’t seize the opportunity to take that colony. There were French-speaking Canadian reservists who’s arrived from a mixture of Primary Reserve units formed into battalion-groups. The Americans had men in Northern France too, near to the Belgian frontier. Flown from Iraq and Kuwait in recent days had been the 82nd Airborne Division. CENTCOM hadn’t been happy to see them go but go they had. American air-lift capacity was quite something and to France they had come; they were joined to by national guardsmen from anti-tank units who were here to provide support for them. The Americans needed whatever they could – even those men from Georgia and Oklahoma with TOW missiles fitted to HMMWVs – because they, like their allies gathered on the southern side of the border, were all light troops. There wasn’t a heavy unit anywhere near the frontier that none of these countries nor anyone else could provide at this time. Hundreds upon hundreds of tanks, to say nothing of their infantry fighting vehicles, were with the two Soviet field armies over in Belgium. But standing in their way ahead of what everyone was convinced was soon to be an invasion of France, there almost weren’t any at all. Only the Americans with their 1st Cavalry had tanks…maybe one hundred odd left at most.

Heavy NATO forces were heading towards Northern France. France was withdrawing its II Corps out of Baden-Württemberg and they had tanks and other armoured vehicles with them. The Spanish were still in the process of sending their expeditionary force northwards but a large part of that was now in France (over the Pyrenees) and they had tanks with them. There were too those British units on their way including those who’d won the fight for London with some armour among them. In addition, setting sail last night were those convoys carrying heavy national guard divisions as well as all those tanks and armoured vehicles taken from the garrisons from where REFORGER troops had flown away from several days beforehand. The Americans would take longer than everyone else but, once fully assembled, would be able to provide a strong and capable force when currently equipment-less troops met up with what was in those convoys. Therefore, NATO forces on the border need to hold out with what they could until they were reinforced. Trenches were dug and so too were fighting positions. Anti-tank ditches were formed and mines laid. There was a lot of air power ready to support the light troops on the ground. They all waited for that invasion of France to begin…

…and it was one that no matter how feared, wasn’t going to materialise.


There was still fighting taking place inside Belgium. Neither Charleroi nor Mons had been entered by the Soviet forces in the south of the country. Those who had accidently gone over the border yesterday had quickly returned and joined with the fighting near to each urban area. French forces north of Charleroi had been hit with a tank attack by the 4th Guards Tank Division and decimated. Only a few survivors were left of the 27th Alpine Division and 127th Reserve Brigade when the famous Kantemir Division struck. French armour had consisted of ERC-90 armoured cars supporting dismounted missile teams. They had met with T-64s covered by Hind attack helicopters. The last of the French had fallen back closer to their own country – staying just inside Belgium though – while in the areas around Charleroi and Mons there were Belgians fighting for their country. The Hainaut & Namur Reserve Regiments were lightly equipped though joined by volunteers. They harassed Soviet forces ahead of them who were no longer advancing. The morale among such defenders of Belgium was very high: they’d stopped the invaders cold! That wasn’t the case at all because it was only firm instructions which kept the Kantemir Division and what was left of the 1st Tank Division too where they were. When the Belgians really made an effort, massed firepower was used to blast them at distance yet every request to move forward was refused completely. The left wing of the Eleventh Guards Army had an arriving tank division coming down from the Third Shock Army slotting in behind them. There was supposed to be a reorganisation of the two armies and men below general officer rank all believed that they would soon be on the advance again, going into France. Why else would the reinforcement and better command responsibility be done? No one told them that that wasn’t happening though.

Over to the east, in the southern reaches of the Ardennes, plus into Luxembourg too, there were more Belgians fighting. Almost the entire professional Belgian Army was still stuck in West Germany – or caught in a smaller trapped pocket in Dutch Limburg – with the nation’s well-equipped reservists in large formations with them. However, Belgium had kept its Provincial Regiments at home. Part of the Liège Regiment was in the Ardennes along with the Luxembourg Regiment too (Belgium had a province called Luxembourg next to – you guessed it – the country of Luxembourg). Soviet tanks with their Twenty–Eighth Army had gone off into West Germany via the back door and pushed away those on their right flank. The Belgians here fought regardless of being ignored and also initially vastly outclassed. Now the combat units were gone, rear area troops protected the supply lines of those who’d come through the Ardennes via the main roads and ignored everywhere else. Ambushes were made and air strikes were guided in. When caught by Soviet forces, Belgian reservists here were generally taken prisoner rather than being shot out of hand due to their wearing of uniforms yet there were still many instances where the rules of war were ignored and prisoners killed. In addition to the Belgians trapped in the Ruhr Pocket, Luxembourg’s tiny army had sent the majority of its soldiers off to the war in West Germany. There were a few who remained behind and, joined by mobilised reservists, they fought in the northern half of their country where the Ardennes were too. Soviet forces were generally not bothering with them nor their country apart from distant attacks with missiles or aircraft. That truth was becoming a bit of myth among those on the frontlines here: they told themselves that their fighting élan was what was allowing them to survive and carry on their resistance. It would have been a nice if that was true. For the Soviets, it was a matter of priorities and strategic complications. Those were what counted, not a few men hiding among the trees with an old rifle.

Thank you.
Long answer: Looking at it now - and I should have been aware of it before; poor research on my part! - that is very close to the French border, closer than Nieuwpoort. There is a Moscow-mandated exculsion zone along the French border for Soviet forces, one which commanders in the field are hopping mad about. That means that airbase isn't occupied. It might be still in use though wired for demolitions in case Soviet tanks do arrive and also targeted by missiles and aircraft. Soviet forces cannot advance forward close to France but can still open fire on Belgian targets.
Short answer: nope, out of their hands!

Certainly they would have gone. As Belgium fell over the course of a few days, but before that as West Germany was lost, Koksijde would have been used by many different Belgian and NATO jets. Now it is abandoned but unused because it will be in artillery and MLRS range.

It really was. So much for that 'controllable situation' promised!
With the majority of the Soviet fleet near home, or those forward units in the Med. & Gulf already wiped out, NATO has a lot more to lose at sea.
I'm still thinking on what the West does in response. It'll be hard to get out of this mess!
Mitterrand dug himself a hole though I'd expect any French president to end up just as stuffed at he is now.




There will be many more 'Ops' moments to come.

182 – Maintaining dignity and honour


The NATO delegation crossed over the Rhine unarmed. Four officers went from Duisburg on the eastern bank to Moers on the western bank. In doing so, they left the Ruhr Pocket to enter Soviet-held territory. They were met where they were supposed to be by a waiting party of Soviet Army officers, as per the arrangements made. The Belgians, Britons & West Germans didn’t have weapons directly pointed at them but there was a company of riflemen in plain sight positioned ready to start shooting. This wasn’t anything other than an intimidation measure. The NATO officers, mid-level staffers, had come here in good faith and weren’t best pleased to have this done. There was nothing they could do about it though. The Soviets were the victors and in their victory they were writing the rules. The way was shown to a command vehicle and the two ranking visitors, a Belgian colonel and a British lieutenant-colonel, went inside while the others waited outside. They came here on behalf of their superiours to arrange for the terms of surrendering all those encircled through the Ruhr.

A one-star major-general was waiting inside the command version of this BTR-60 armoured personnel carrier. He was flanked by a couple of junior men with no sign of the KGB present but one man in GRU uniform was here. The general’s interpreter spoke very good English and a little Belgian. With him present, there was able to be a discussion to be had. The meeting had been requested by the NATO side with the request that these talks take place. However, the general – using his interpreter – made it clear at once that everything here was taking place at his direction. What those who’d come to see him had to say wasn’t important: only what he wanted was up for discussion. He told them that their commanders had set them here to make arrangements for the coming surrender of all of those surrounded over in the Ruhr and that was something that needed to happen quickly. There would be a ceasefire called and following that, Soviet and Warsaw Pact soldiers would move in to take their surrender. Treatment of prisoners would be in accordance with international obligations. To ensure that those conditions were met though, there would have to be complete cooperation with their captors. A timetable was issued. It wasn’t one which there could be any leeway given on leading to a delay: this all had to begin with haste. The general laid out the cooperation which he expected to be seen. There would be information supplied on where minefields were laid and what infrastructure was rigged for demolition. Where were Soviet POWs held in the Ruhr Pocket and the location too of traitors & defectors from Soviet forces also within was to be provided. Then there was the matter of ‘special weapons’: chemical and nuclear. They would need to be handed over straight away into Soviet custody. Between the ceasefire and the surrender, a short period of time so that those within the Ruhr Pocket could make sure that all those NATO forces contained inside would be made aware of the surrender, there was to be no destruction caused to weapons, equipment & supplies. Ahead of Soviet forces moving into the Ruhr, there was to be an effort made by NATO commanders to make sure that groups of those who wished to illegally carry on the fight after the surrender were unable to.

The Belgian colonel, a man specially chosen by the commander of the Belgian I Corps to see things done correctly, informed the Soviet general that there were no chemical nor nuclear weapons within the Ruhr Pocket. There weren’t any weapons of mass destruction with either the Belgian, British nor West German troops who were trapped on the wrong side of the Rhine. That GRU made interjected into this assurance that there was intelligence saying otherwise. The Soviets knew that such weapons were there. The Briton, an officer chosen for his (unneeded) Russian language skills as well as diplomatic experience, added to that promise from his fellow NATO officer that there were none present with either the British I Corps too. The general had his interpreter tell them both that should they be lying, there would be a punishment for that. Now was the time for honesty. Again, the two visitors to this mobile command post categorically stated that there were no weapons of mass destruction held within the Ruhr Pocket. As to the other conditions of the surrender, these were agreed to. The harsh treatment had been expected but it was better than the alternative: more death for no good reason. Those sent here had orders to see an end to the killing brought about whatever their own feelings on the matter might be. As the final act here, a time and place was set for where the three national commanders would met with the overall Soviet commander to officially make the surrender. After that, they left Moers soon enough, shadowed back to the Rhine by that company of riflemen, and then went to see their senior commanders. Within the hour, the fighting around the edges of the Ruhr Pocket came to an official halt with the last of it dying down not long afterwards as everyone on the NATO side got the word. Soon enough, into the Ruhr Pocket came Soviet and East German forces.


British and West German forces were on the northern and eastern side of the pocket. In terms of major combat units, the British I Corps contained the 6th Panzer Brigade as well as the 3rd Armoured Division. The Heer troops were the last of their destroyed parent division (the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division) and joined by some Territorialheer reservists as well. That British formation contained three brigades: the 4th & 33rd Armoured and the 6th Airmobile. The latter brigade had been reinforced in the first few days of war by TA battalions of the Parachute Regiment who’d fought as dismounted infantry like the regular units of the 6th Brigade. Tanks, armoured vehicles and self-propelled artillery had been plentiful through the British and West German units (with the exception of that British airmobile brigade) with them all being capable forces. They had fought well throughout the war though withdrawn back here and then seen others on their flanks fail allowing for them to be trapped. There were more than just combat units here. Both the British and West Germans had large numbers of non-combat troops with them. They’d been pressed into the fighting at times and also suffered from distant attacks where they couldn’t fight back. The support troops outnumbered the fighting men three-to-one.

As to the Belgian I Corps, there was the 1st Infantry & 16th Armoured Divisions. These were fully formed ahead of the encirclement which came. That was a credit to the Belgians that they managed to get those regulars on home soil along with well-equipped reservists into the field over in West Germany. Conversely, it was also a national tragedy: only small, lightly armed units had been left back in Belgium where they provided no more than a nuisance for those who overrun the country. The Belgians covered the south and west-facing sides of the Ruhr Pocket. They had retreated during the war though not as far as those British and West Germans they ended up encircled with had. Many non-combat troops were with them inside the pocket who had too be drawn into the fighting at times to hold onto the position where they had held onto. They were joined by West Germans in uniform who weren’t combat troops but had been providing – as they did for all NATO forces on in their country – Host Nation Support with transport, logistics, engineering and so on. There had been much talk among the Belgians that relief was coming for them from fellow NATO allies who would see them saved by means of an escape route held open. Enemy propaganda had been blasted at them telling them there was no hope though and, in addition to that, Soviet radio broadcasts as well as leafletting had told them that their homeland was now under occupation. The effect upon their morale upon that news about home had not been in any way good.


Soviet and East German troops with the Twentieth Army came forward at the agreed upon time. It was late evening and just about to get dark when the defending lines around the Ruhr Pocket became no longer filled with resistance but instead resignation of defeat. Columns of tanks and armoured vehicles rolled through the defenders. Gunfire wasn’t exchanged between them. Certain fast-moving columns pushed deep into the Ruhr but the main Twentieth Army presence was felt on the outskirts where NATO combat troops had clung so doggedly to their defensive positions. Those trapped here were laying down their weapons and raising their arms. Tens of thousands of soldiers were giving in. They were soon to be marched away from here and to find out how much truth could be found in those Soviet promises of good treatment for them.

Half a dozen helicopters approached the Ruhr town of Gelsenkirchen. Three of them landed but the other trio stayed airborne. The Hinds hovered low in the sky but the Hips were on the ground and out of them came Soviet military personnel. There were riflemen but also communications specialists, intelligence officers and the Twentieth Army’s commander. This lieutenant-general had earlier sent his deputy to Moers in the first contact with the NATO forces who wished to give up but he himself came to Gelsenkirchen to officially take their surrender. New in-charge, he was trying to restore the honour of the Twentieth Army… only a few days ago it had been the Twentieth Guards Army. That would come by victory being won, even in these circumstances. He was met by three other generals upon arrival: each on the senior man for the Belgians, British and West Germans. For those surrendering, in their defeat they were trying to maintain dignity and honour as befitted their rank and service. They turned out in their best uniforms and put a brave face on it all. This wasn’t an easy thing for them to do. They had no choice though. The soldiers under their command had plenty of bullets and even shells for artillery & tank guns, but they were out of air defence & anti-tank missiles. There was little vehicle fuel too. Furthermore, medical supplies were almost all exhausted while the casualties among their men continued to mount along with those inflicted upon civilians also caught in the Ruhr Pocket. With no hope of escape nor relief, they had decided that they had to end this.

The Soviet party came with a military media team. They set up several video cameras – Japanese equipment, not Soviet-built junk – and a satellite dish was assembled too so the footage could be broadcast out live as it happened. The cameras focused upon the surrendering NATO general officers and then the riflemen brought here by helicopter. Finally, attention turned to the Soviet Army general as he formally took their surrender. The fall of the Ruhr Pocket was to be shown to those who would watch far away and take heed of the message being sent out. That message? All-conquering Soviet military might.

So the line in the sand has now well and truly been crossed. How it plays out is key now will NATO go for Tactical strikes on land I truly hope not. The destruction or loss of the UKs professional Army on the continent is going to really hurt. The U.K. is really going to struggle. Before I left the Army I was posted to a infantry training depot it took on average 18 weeks to get a couched bound teenager up to scrach as a basic infantryman and I do mean basic. Even if the U.K. can get the manpower trained what will they go into battle with. The U.K. has over the years thrown away the majority of it heavy industrial base and it’s not like the 40s when you could build a tank in a matter of days working 24/7 all modern equipment is Tec heavy and a lot if not all of the Tec takes a long old time to get built. The U.K. is not like America where they store a large ammount or equipment from socks up to Bombers the U.K. is stuffed. The only way for the U.K. is to go hand in glove to America and beg or buy a hell of a lot of equipment almost every thing an army needs I would say. Even the getting it to the U.K. is now going to be a challenge now that Uncle Sam has let fly with the Nucks.