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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 22, 2020 17:15:56 GMT
Castellan Part 1
22 January 1967 ‘Aden Riots Escalate’ - The New York Times
ADEN Federation of Southern Arabia: Street riots in the capital of the Federation of Southern Arabia have entered their fourth day as Arab Armed Police units have been unable to suppress this latest escalation of unrest in the troubled colony. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Turnbull has ordered troops from the South Arabian Army and the British Aden Garrison onto the streets to reestablish order and is thought to be on the brink of declaring martial law.
...................
KGB Situation Report Intercept
FROM: Cairo Station
TO: Moscow Centre
Subject: British Military Activity
Assets in Alexandria report sudden heavy activity at Royal Navy base. Many, repeat many, ships preparing to sortie, destination unknown.
Intense activity also reported at British bases in the Canal Zone. Indications received that the Canal may be temporarily closed to civilian ships for ‘military operation’
......................
FLASH TRAFFIC
FROM: USS Oxford AGTR-1
TO: CINCLANT
Large formation of 100+ British military aircraft detected over Ionian Sea on bearing 125 degrees.
.....................
Flash Order
FROM: CDS
TO: CINC MECOM
Execute Operation CASTELLAN
........................
Yevgeniy Martov was unused to being roused in the dead of night by any sort of call, but particularly had never given thought to his emergency signal being activated. The roof of his house in Shaykh Outhman gave him a very decent view of RAF Khormaksar which now, despite the hour, was alight and alive with activity. Over the last three quarters of an hour, he had counted twenty one large jets landing on the main runways, whilst he had lost count on the number of smaller planes that had roared down and taxied away, presumably into the new underground hangars and hardened shelters.
All of this now paled into comparison as a huge airborne shape now hove into view appearing to Martov’s shock to be larger than an aircraft carrier. With a rhythmic throb of its engines, the massive skyship ponderously edged down to a graceful halt on the landing ground to the north of the airfield. Within a few scant minutes, the shadowed gloom and the scant light supplied by the partially obscured airfield lights, he could see large tank-shaped figures rolling off its rear ramp.
He was not looking forward to putting this together for Moscow. Surely this couldn’t get any worse.
.................................
Eight hours later, Martov wished he could eat those words. A steady flow of helicopters and Rotodynes went back and forth between the airfield and the naval base in Aden, flying the seemingly unending numbers of troops into the city. parade of arriving aircraft had continued well past the dawn and now seemed to be beginning again in earnest. First light had brought with it a new wave of aircraft, this time clearly warplanes rather than the transport jets. Few with a smattering of knowledge of planes would mistake the Vickers Valiants that had begun the procession, nor the white Supermarine Eagles that followed them, their swept wings wide, but absolutely no one would fail to know the four huge delta winged bombers that concluded the flight.
He had gone down into the city shortly after the Vulcans had landed and already the numbers of British soldiers and Imperial Police were starting to spread out across the city. He had seen the green berets of the Commandos, the red of the Parachute Regiment, the khaki of the Guards and the blue of the Royal Marines, alongside Gurkhas and other British units he could not identify from a distance, but more striking had been the hulking sight of an old Dreadnought lumbering through the streets. Something was brewing up alright, although Martov couldn’t exactly say what would occur.
He glanced out to the east from his new vantage point atop a hotel roof. There, far out to sea and just, just creating the horizon, were a dozen tiny black dots. Rushing over to the edge of the roof did nothing to aid his eyesight, but slowly and inexorably, they kept coming.
Then he felt a hand clap on his shoulder.
“Good morning, sir. Or ‘Tovarich’, as I should more properly say. Would you mind awfully coming along with us? Quietly now, there’s a good gentleman.”
...........................
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 22, 2020 17:23:08 GMT
Castellan Part 122 January 1967 ‘Aden Riots Escalate’ - The New York TimesADEN Federation of Southern Arabia: Street riots in the capital of the Federation of Southern Arabia have entered their fourth day as Arab Armed Police units have been unable to suppress this latest escalation of unrest in the troubled colony. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Turnbull has ordered troops from the South Arabian Army and the British Aden Garrison onto the streets to reestablish order and is thought to be on the brink of declaring martial law. ................... KGB Situation Report Intercept FROM: Cairo Station TO: Moscow Centre Subject: British Military Activity Assets in Alexandria report sudden heavy activity at Royal Navy base. Many, repeat many, ships preparing to sortie, destination unknown. Intense activity also reported at British bases in the Canal Zone. Indications received that the Canal may be temporarily closed to civilian ships for ‘military operation’ ...................... FLASH TRAFFIC FROM: USS Oxford AGTR-1 TO: CINCLANT Large formation of 100+ British military aircraft detected over Ionian Sea on bearing 125 degrees. ..................... Flash Order FROM: CDS TO: CINC MECOM Execute Operation CASTELLAN ........................ Yevgeniy Martov was unused to being roused in the dead of night by any sort of call, but particularly had never given thought to his emergency signal being activated. The roof of his house in Shaykh Outhman gave him a very decent view of RAF Khormaksar which now, despite the hour, was alight and alive with activity. Over the last three quarters of an hour, he had counted twenty one large jets landing on the main runways, whilst he had lost count on the number of smaller planes that had roared down and taxied away, presumably into the new underground hangars and hardened shelters. All of this now paled into comparison as a huge airborne shape now hove into view appearing to Martov’s shock to be larger than an aircraft carrier. With a rhythmic throb of its engines, the massive skyship ponderously edged down to a graceful halt on the landing ground to the north of the airfield. Within a few scant minutes, the shadowed gloom and the scant light supplied by the partially obscured airfield lights, he could see large tank-shaped figures rolling off its rear ramp. He was not looking forward to putting this together for Moscow. Surely this couldn’t get any worse. ................................. Eight hours later, Martov wished he could eat those words. A steady flow of helicopters and Rotodynes went back and forth between the airfield and the naval base in Aden, flying the seemingly unending numbers of troops into the city. parade of arriving aircraft had continued well past the dawn and now seemed to be beginning again in earnest. First light had brought with it a new wave of aircraft, this time clearly warplanes rather than the transport jets. Few with a smattering of knowledge of planes would mistake the Vickers Valiants that had begun the procession, nor the white Supermarine Eagles that followed them, their swept wings wide, but absolutely no one would fail to know the four huge delta winged bombers that concluded the flight. He had gone down into the city shortly after the Vulcans had landed and already the numbers of British soldiers and Imperial Police were starting to spread out across the city. He had seen the green berets of the Commandos, the red of the Parachute Regiment, the khaki of the Guards and the blue of the Royal Marines, alongside Gurkhas and other British units he could not identify from a distance, but more striking had been the hulking sight of an old Dreadnought lumbering through the streets. Something was brewing up alright, although Martov couldn’t exactly say what would occur. He glanced out to the east from his new vantage point atop a hotel roof. There, far out to sea and just, just creating the horizon, were a dozen tiny black dots. Rushing over to the edge of the roof did nothing to aid his eyesight, but slowly and inexorably, they kept coming. Then he felt a hand clap on his shoulder. “Good morning, sir. Or ‘Tovarich’, as I should more properly say. Would you mind awfully coming along with us? Quietly now, there’s a good gentleman.” ........................... A failed Communist uprising ore is it still ongoing. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 22, 2020 17:29:55 GMT
Not quite. There are communist rebels groups and Arab nationalist rebel groups, but the riots are a mixture. They serve as an excuse for a crackdown planned since 1964 and put off due to Vietnam and other distractions. Castellan is a big message of intent and capability.
It will see a surge of thirty battalions to augment the six battalions already in Aden or upcountry.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 22, 2020 17:37:37 GMT
It will see a surge of thirty battalions to augment the six battalions already in Aden or upcountry. Are they going to wals over this riot ore will we see some heavy fighting. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 23, 2020 3:14:29 GMT
They aren't going to wait, nor will there really be the capacity for very heavy fighting. This is a case of deploying overwhelming force, both in numbers and firepower, with orders to take the gloves off. Subduing the Crater with 20,000 men will be a fair bit quicker than with 600 as in @, and even that was a short operation.
From there, the next stage of Castellan will be a very heavy operation in the Radfan using a lot of airpower surveillance and firepower, along with presence missions in the rest of Southern Arabia and a demonstration of force along the Yemeni border. One part of the whole operation is to clearly demonstrate the new capabilities and weapons available to British forces, both for Arab consumption and to provide food for thought for other parties.
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 23, 2020 6:38:52 GMT
Castellan Part 2
Martov was thoroughly discombobulated by the time he was lead into a bright room and his cloth hood removed. He blinked several times before his vision returned and he could finally see six men sitting around an open office whose balcony looked out over the harbour of the British naval base in Aden, HMS Sheba. That harbour was now abuzz with activity and a great cruiser bristling with guns and missiles was slowly steaming in to join the usual array of frigates and support ships, whilst further out to sea, he could see what seemed to be two enormous carriers and half a dozen other warships. One of the officers, dressed in a British Army khaki service uniform bereft of any markings of rank apart from a range of ribbons on his breast (including a crimson one Martov had never seen before), strolled over to join him in a casually friendly manner.
"Just the first wave, Mr. Martov. That's Thunderchild coming in now and the commando carriers Albion and Furious standing off, along with Foudroyant, Vindictive, Skye, Sir Lionel, Hotspur and Hereward, along with the small matter of 5000 or so Royal Marines. It should get a bit more crowded over the next few days, what with Hood and Eagle coming down through Suez and Gibraltar, Lion and London swinging around from the Gulf."
He quickly surmised that by telling him this, the officer either intended to have him held incommunicado or to let him go, rather than be killed, so in any case, he needed a drink.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I'm not sure who this 'Martov' cove is, nor who you are. I hate to be a bother, but could I trouble you for something to drink at all?"
"But of course, I shouldn't forget my manners so!" He turned around and shouted through the open door. "Jenkins! Tea for our Chekist!"
Turning back around, he smiled sweetly at Martov. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone here, Yevgeniy - you don't mind me calling you that? Good. May I present Sir Charles Ratcliffe, Admiral Sir John Aubrey, Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, Lieutenant General Colin Mitchell, General Officer Commanding Arabia, Brigadier Sir Jeremy Moore, Royal Marines and Lieutenant Wales, Royal Navy. I am Major Simon Bailey, retired."
Martov blanched. He knew these names and now recognised the oldest and only one out of uniform, a man with a shock of greying blond hair, curled moustache and beard. If he had been in his usual attire, he would have spotted him in an instant. It was not every day that a low-ranking officer of the KGB came face to face with perhaps the worst living foe of the communist world and greatest hero of the British Empire. Perhaps he was to be killed after all...
"You aren't in danger, Gospodin Martov. Far from it." Ratcliffe now spoke in an almost kindly tone. "You shall be escorted to the press briefing areas and given access to everything you need, after which, you will be flown to Moscow. To deliver a friendly message."
.............................................
British Middle East Command Press Release
January 24 1967
"In response to an request from colonial authorities and the civil government of the Federation of South Arabia, British land, sea and air forces have moved and are moving from across the area of command to reinforce Aden and fully restore order. Additional elements of the Imperial Strategic Reserve and Commonwealth forces are also involved. Forces engaged in Operation Castellan are under the direct command of Lieutenant General Colin Mitchell and the newly organised Commonwealth Rapid Deployment Force. Lieutenant General Mitchell is in full and cooperative coordination with the Military High Command of the Arab Union which is acting to seal the Yemeni border. A state of martial law is currently in place over Aden and selected other areas of the Federation."
..........................................
FROM: Cairo Station
TO: Moscow Centre
Subject: Operation CASTELLAN
Assets in Aden and Southern Arabia currently being held in British 'protective custody' according to a notification to our consulate in Yemen. Regular reports still being submitted, but clearly subjected to British vetting.
Fraternal socialist civilian assets report regular heavy artillery fire to the north and east of Aden, multiple fire missions from offshore Royal Navy battleships and an extremely heavy volume of sorties of combat aircraft from RAF Khormaksar. Civil disorder in Aden apparently mostly subdued by an estimated division of British troops. Sources report usage of new and highly effective variant of tear gas and battle tigers (unconfirmed).
Latest British military publications report the arrival of the '21st (Rifles) Infantry Brigade, 33rd (Wessex) Infantry Brigade, 40th (Irish) Infantry Brigade, 44th (Highland) Infantry Brigade, 3rd War Machine Regiment, RMGC and 5th Giant Company'.
....................................................
FLASH TRAFFIC
FROM: CLASSIFIED, USSF
TO: CINC USMEF
Observation sorcerers report at least three British dragons currently engaged in action in Radfan, Southern Arabia
REMAINDER REDACTED
................................................
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 23, 2020 10:01:19 GMT
I must admit I love that last bit. Three tourists sunning themselves in southern Arabia. What's important about that? 
It sounded like Martov was reporting on activities there but I suspect he wouldn't have been the only Soviet agent in the region, especially if they were actively [although they hoped covertly] supporting the rebels, which knowing the Soviets would be pretty much certain.
Also that Simon has quite an high profile in the intelligence world which has both advantages and disadvantages.
Steve
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 23, 2020 11:10:30 GMT
Steve, Everyone deserves a bit of a holiday Martov isn't the only Soviet agent in Aden, but he was the one who lived right next to the RAF base. They are engaged in support of the rebels, but through a reasonable amount of different (convoluted) avenues and cut-outs. It wouldn't do for a roll-up of surveillance assets dragging along their clandestine agents as well. Bailey is increasingly high in the ranks of SOE by 1967 and has come along with Ratcliffe, who is right at the top. I'll pop up a few notes on the two parts directly. Simon |
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 23, 2020 14:30:24 GMT
Notes on Parts 1 and 2:
- The three naval elements are drawn from the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria, the Middle East Squadron from the Persian Gulf and East Africa Station at Zanzibar
- The Royal Marines continue to wear blue berets, rather than the green of the Commandos
- Martov had been suspected of being a Soviet agent and was thus under observation. When his conduct confirmed it, he was picked up
- Deployment of Dreadnought superheavy tanks from storage indicates that there is a conscious desire to project overwhelming force; they are pretty much immune to any RPGs
- Thunderchild is a converted heavy cruiser/CAG, Albion and Furious are commando carriers as said, Foudroyant and Vindictive are LPDs, Skye an LSD, Sir Lionel a Round Table class LSL and Hereward and Hotspur are guided missile destroyers. Of the other ships, they should be readily identifiable apart London, which is a new CGN
- Sir Jeremy Moore was land force commander in the Falklands and Colin Mitchell was commander of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the Battle of the Crater in 1967 in @
- Lieutenant Wales...
- The Commonwealth Rapid Deployment Force is a new joint corps sized unit coming out of the debates currently going on in A New Jerusalem
- The new form of tear gas being employed, CR gas, is very strong and nasty
- Battle tigers, like war lions, are jolly unpleasant to have coming at you down a narrow street
- The infantry units deployed, in addition to the Paras, Royal Marines, Gurkhas, Guards and Commandos are the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Black Watch and Highland Light Infantry; Connaught Rangers, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; Rifle Brigade, King's Royal Rifle Corps and Queen Victoria's Rifles; Gloucesters, Somerset Light Infantry and Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 23, 2020 15:35:16 GMT
Notes on Parts 1 and 2: - The Royal Marines continue to wear blue berets, rather than the green of the Commandos Do the Soviet Paratroopers also not wear blue berets. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 23, 2020 16:46:09 GMT
Soviet Airborne wear sky blue, whereas the Royal Marines wore dark blue in @ and royal blue on Dark Earth.
The closest British Army colour to Soviet airborne berets is the Royal Flying Corps, which wears the light blue of the RAAC.
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 24, 2020 9:27:01 GMT
Castellan Part 3
March 2nd 1967 - Britain Announces End of Aden Operation - Melbourne Herald
ADEN Federation of Southern Arabia: British military authorities have announced the end of Operation Castellan, the emergency deployment of strong forces to the colony, labelling the operation as a tremendous success. Captain Michael Yates, Middle East Command’s official spokesman, stated that estimated 800 insurgents were eliminated over the course of Castellan at a cost of only 17 British and Commonwealth losses, whilst a further 2600 suspects were still under detention on Socotra and the Seychelles. Full order has been restored to the city of Aden, with troops largely replaced by local forces, Imperial Police and Royal Constabulary, allowing the military to concentrate on pacification of tactical operational areas in the hinterland. Critical reports from Soviet journalists alleging the employment of heavy-handed tactics have been dismissed as ‘scurrilous Communist propaganda’ and British commanders have stated that they look forward to making use of the operational lessons of Castellan in the Far East. The fighting in Aden saw the first use of the Army’s superheavy howitzers since the Korean War, with four of the long range 24” pieces being pulled out of mothballs for Castellan. It is thought that they will be shipped out to Malaya and South Vietnam for further employment. An official statement by the government of the Federation of South Arabia expressed its gratitude for the assistance provided by British and Commonwealth forces against external subversion.
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 24, 2020 9:28:15 GMT
And that is the end of that - a short little piece on one of the many little wars of Empire.
It will crossover with some other bits and pieces from the same era.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 24, 2020 10:48:12 GMT
Notes on Parts 1 and 2: - The three naval elements are drawn from the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria, the Middle East Squadron from the Persian Gulf and East Africa Station at Zanzibar - The Royal Marines continue to wear blue berets, rather than the green of the Commandos - Martov had been suspected of being a Soviet agent and was thus under observation. When his conduct confirmed it, he was picked up - Deployment of Dreadnought superheavy tanks from storage indicates that there is a conscious desire to project overwhelming force; they are pretty much immune to any RPGs - Thunderchild is a converted heavy cruiser/CAG, Albion and Furious are commando carriers as said, Foudroyant and Vindictive are LPDs, Skye an LSD, Sir Lionel a Round Table class LSL and Hereward and Hotspur are guided missile destroyers. Of the other ships, they should be readily identifiable apart London, which is a new CGN - Sir Jeremy Moore was land force commander in the Falklands and Colin Mitchell was commander of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the Battle of the Crater in 1967 in @ - Lieutenant Wales... - The Commonwealth Rapid Deployment Force is a new joint corps sized unit coming out of the debates currently going on in A New Jerusalem- The new form of tear gas being employed, CR gas, is very strong and nasty - Battle tigers, like war lions, are jolly unpleasant to have coming at you down a narrow street - The infantry units deployed, in addition to the Paras, Royal Marines, Gurkhas, Guards and Commandos are the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Black Watch and Highland Light Infantry; Connaught Rangers, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; Rifle Brigade, King's Royal Rifle Corps and Queen Victoria's Rifles; Gloucesters, Somerset Light Infantry and Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Damn I missed that bit. Didn't really look through the list of names. Presumably this means he's not going to uni here as he's only recently turned 19.
Makes me think with the more conservative society does that mean there's no Goons here? Presumably no Monty Python or TWTWTW or similar programmes developing.
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Post by simon darkshade on Dec 24, 2020 11:46:44 GMT
The issue of Prince Charles came up in the 1966 Timeline entry:
November 14: Buckingham Palace announces that Charles, Prince of Wales, will join the Royal Navy after the completion of his schooling, followed by a period at university and service in the British Army and Royal Air Force
The Goon Show wouldn't exist in that same form, but there is still some basis for 1950s absurdity.
You are quite right on the 1960s satire/comedies, which partly came out of social changes in the late 1950s; the end of National Service and various roles in the Colonial Service was one driver for the Satire Boom in @, albeit not the only one. There isn't a Monty Python or TWTWTW or any of their ilk, although there is a basis for something like The Goodies in a slightly less subversive sense, as it flies under the radar by being aimed at a younger audience and being a "kid's show".
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