The Second Battle of Britain - a Soviet Sealion

[James G]

199 – Holy War


The Iranians had taken a devastating defeat on the battlefields of Southern Iraq when fighting the American-led Coalition. Just before the superpowers went to war, Iran saw its ambitions in Iraq near destroyed in the face of American firepower. When the Soviet Union and the United States started fighting each other, Iran began that fight as a co-belligerent of the Soviets in that: not as a full ally. Their simultaneous war with Iraq petered out though there remained clashes with the Americans. Soviet air and naval forces made use of Iran as they took part in strikes against the Americans themselves, doing far more damage to them than the Iranians could do. One US Navy carrier was annihilated and another knocked out of action during those clashes. That fighting at sea came with the Soviets losing their own naval forces in the region – the seas were swept of Soviet ships and submarines – but that didn’t necessarily negatively affect Iran. The Americans turned their attention away from the Middle East towards Europe and the Far East. They pulled out air units first despite their weakened naval air presence. American troops inbound for the fight against Iran were turned around, causing quite the chaos with the logistic train, before there began in recent days a general pull-out of the majority of their already deployed ground forces too. The bulk of their army which had beaten the Iranians near Basra were being diverted to Europe to ‘save France’. Leaders in the West had decided that France was more important than Iraq. The British and French followed the American lead: they were withdrawing many of their forces too, something long delayed by political wrangling but now underway. Despite tensions between Moscow and Tehran, where Iran wouldn’t budge an inch on matters it regarded as threatening its sovereignty, there were much Iranian-Soviet cooperation still. This included intelligence links. Stavka had a team with the Iranian military high command and the assessment from those Soviet officers was that the time was ripe for an Iranian attack to take advantage of how the situation had changed. Not fools, the Iranians understood that the Soviets wanted them to disrupt the American withdrawal to cause problems with the redeployment of them to Europe. Only when Iran was ready would it strike, no matter what the Soviets wanted. The attack came when it came: there wasn’t a deliberate tie-in with other events as was suspected by President Reagan.

Ayatollah Khomeini found the time ripe today to launch his Holy War. The orders had gone out and those on the frontlines, without any clue of the bigger geo-political picture, followed them. Iranian soldiers went into battle following a demand that they fight with the required revolutionary and religious zeal which Khomeini wanted them to. There were a lot of them, those Iranian soldiers, who went into the Second Battle of Southern Iraq. A lot. Human wave attacks commenced with men on the ground and even some being transported by air too. They were going to give the unbelievers a defeat worthy of history: for the glory of God, Khomeini had said.

The Americans were caught looking the wrong way. On the face of it, the failure to see Iranian preparations for an attack on this scale was inexcusable. With all of their reconnaissance assets and intelligence gathering capabilities, just how could CENTCOM miss this!? They had a reason to be looking elsewhere though. Almost every Middle Eastern nation, plus those beyond into North & East Africa, was at war. General Crist’s CENTCOM were responsible for a fight over a huge area with assets deployed in support of many allies. They had been stripped of much of their capability too. Iran was regarded as already beaten, something which the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defence had agreed with. Iranian deception but, more importantly, the manner in which they went about their attack readiness in an unconventional manner, threw the Americans off-balance. Crist’s intelligence staff was looking for the wrong things when it came to keeping an eye on the Iranians. They knew full well the miserable current state of Iran’s air force and navy where neither was no longer any threat. Iran’s best equipped ground forces, the heavy units especially, had been pounded into the sand (well… marshes) of Iraq already. For them to bring so many infantry into play as they did when Khomeini ordered an attack would be stupid when CENTCOM had blasted apart better protected forces with almost contemptuous ease. However, the Americans had done that using combat units either withdraw or in the process of pulling out. They were stripping away the majority of their ground units and replacing them with those of Coalition allies from neighbouring countries. The Saudis had brought up many troops following the arm-twisting done of King Fahd to do what he hadn’t wanted to do before and send troops into Iraq to face off against the Iranians. The Saudis, while they could claim they were victorious in defending their country when Iraq had invaded them, were worn down. Even if they hadn’t been, they couldn’t take the place of first-rate US Army units withdrawing. Those Saudi troops had also not been sent into the slivers of Iranian territory taken on the northern side of the Shatt al-Arab (nothing special but forward ground) after the US Marines had left there: this gave them no outposts ahead of their main positions. CENTCOM also didn’t believe that the Iranians would do some of the daring things that they did. Imagining human wave attacks on the ground was already too much; the idea that they would send paratroopers into Kuwait was preposterous!

The Saudis melted under the Iranian attacks. They were based to the east of Iranian-held Basra, between there and the mouth of the Persian Gulf where US Marines who’d been pulled out had fought before. Tens of thousands of Iranians came at them. It was a psychological collapse. The Saudis were equipped to make a fighting withdrawal using firepower of their own and what they could still call upon from the Americans. But there were so many attackers… The Iranians came forward into sustained heavy fire. Those shot down or blown up were replaced by more. It seemed like the Iranians had an endless stream of men coming forward. That they didn’t but it looked that way to those standing in the way of it. Some of the attackers got in among the Saudi’s positions. Once they did, any hope of an organised retreat was gone. Soldiers dropped their weapons and ran while commanders joined them. The disaster which unfolded was quite something. The whole Saudi position there was gone in a few hours leaving the road to Kuwait open. On the inland flank, there remained the now slimmed down US XVIII Airborne Corps. The 9th Infantry & 101st Air Assault Divisions were still here; gone in recent days had been the 24th Infantry & 82nd Airborne Divisions and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment & 157th Infantry Brigade. Only those American paratroopers were currently in France with the rest en route via Suez and the Med. Around Basra and west of there, the Iranians came at the Americans. Surprised they were and they took losses, but the XVIII Corps put up a strong fight. They faced more Iranians than they could successfully take on where they were positioned and fell back to give them room to properly engage those attackers. The Iranians were blasted and blasted again by XVIII Corps and CENTCOM firepower. They would have been perfect targets for a big air strike – an Arc Light attack with B-52s would have done wonders here – but the Americans had to make do with what they had. The staged retreat was well done and would have been an overall success if it hadn’t been for the Saudi collapse in the east. That made all the good American work here to re-establish themselves now a moot point.

Into Kuwait came the Iranian Army’s 23rd Commando Division along with multiple Revolutionary Guard units of battalion size. They were flown into that small country on all sorts of aircraft and helicopters. Losses on the way in were high. American and Coalition aircraft, plus missile defences, took their toll. In a pure military sense, this was a costly disaster. Once on the ground, the Iranians found themselves scattered and in a fight against a lot of the enemy. Whereas up in Iraq, they had the manpower advantage, it was the opposite case here. They fought Americans, Brits and Arab troops. The US Marines had their 1st Marine Amphibious Brigade here (soon to depart after handing over forward positions to the north to those doomed Saudis) while there were Coalition troops from several Gulf countries as well as Egypt. The British had their 24th Infantry Brigade currently on the Red Sea side of Saudi Arabia loading into allied shipping to take them to France but the 3rd Commando Brigade here in Kuwait. The brigade designation didn’t mean the same as it meant for the Iranians. These were Royal Marines, Paras and Gurkhas. Back home, the decision had been made by the War Cabinet to return to Europe the 24th Brigade ahead of the 3rd Brigade because the former had more combat strength (tanks, armoured vehicles and self-propelled artillery) on-hand over the latter. There had been calls for both brigades, not just one to leave yet Prime Minister Whitelaw had been convinced to leave a presence in the region to support allies. This was a political decision: a grave mistake many called it. Those British troops fought alongside their allies against the suddenly arriving Iranians. Kuwait was once more a battlefield. Throughout the day, the majority of the Iranians were either overcome or contained. They’d wrecked the Coalition’s rear areas in Kuwait though, hitting the airbases for what air support there was on-hand especially hard. The Iranians would have done best going after the logistics network instead if they really wanted to achieve something special but Khomeini’s military advisers were, to put it kindly, substandard in their thinking on that matter. Blowing up F-16s with RPGs were what their commandos were ordered to do, not ambush lightly-protected trucks laden with supplies.

Faced with their flank torn open and the mess in Kuwait – even in victory, Coalition forces there were in no state to march to the rescue of the Saudis –, the XVIII Corps was forced into making a much wider withdrawal than they would otherwise have done so. They withdrew back through the deserts of Southern Iraq west of Kuwait. This was the battlefield on which only recently they had comprehensively defeated the once powerful Iraqi army. Burnt-out tank carcasses were seen, so too even bodies had been let exposed to the elements. The withdrawal was successful and opened up a large distance between them and the less mobile Iranians while also securing flank connections with Coalition forces in Kuwait. The ignominy of retreat was something new for the XVIII Corps. Since they’d been in the Middle East, the very first engagement aside when a battalion of the 82nd Airborne was lost facing tanks, there had only come victory after victory with onwards pushes. Now, they were doing what the US Army Europe had done in falling back while giving up hard-won ground. This wasn’t good for morale.

Urgently re-tasked CENTCOM reconnaissance assets were busy late in the day and into the night after taskings over Libya and Syria were cancelled due to Iranian actions. Aircraft and satellites began to deliver intelligence on what was going on far behind the new frontlines. Pockets of Saudi resistance, those who’d stubbornly held on in isolated spots in the Shatt al-Arab were overcome. Beyond there, looking into Iran, enemy armour was spotted coming south through Khuzestan. First panicked reports suggested it might be Soviet forces because the Iranians weren’t known to have such forces available. This was soon corrected though: the nationality of the tank crews and the thinking that Iran couldn’t move around its forces like they were. These were Iranian heavy units that had been in Iraq fighting towards Baghdad some time ago but had been secretly withdrawn back into Iran to make the trip southwards. They were now heading in the direction of Kuwait via Basra. Khomeini still had his mass of indoctrinated troops taking part in the Holy War ready as foot soldiers in human waves attacks but he was bringing down tanks too. The XVIII Corps’ own tanks were few in number after so many armoured units had been redeployed to Europe.

Crist made a request up the chain of command. CENTCOM’s commander wasn’t asking to have the pull-out of troops reversed, as Moscow had believed he would ask once the Iranians struck, but was calling for something else instead. He wanted to use nuclear weapons – on land – to stop the Iranians from catching up with and wiping out the XVIII Corps.

[stevep]

Feb 14, 2020 20:17:18 GMT James G said:

Feb 14, 2020 10:25:56 GMT stevep said:

   James G ,

   Well Reagan has done the right thing in saying no for all the reasons stated plus that if the US dropped out at this stage it would make it more difficult to get any allies to trust it.  Unfortunately the end of the nuclear exchange, if the Soviets keep their word, comes after they have got what they want, the virtual destruction of near term reinforcements from the US.

  Of course given their willingness to continue fighting this puts the Soviets in a quandary.  They can't afford to leave any bases on the continent, especially France, from which the western powers could launch future offensives to liberate the occupied allies.  At the same time without adequate conventional forces to stop a Soviet attack on Paris its almost certain to mean French use of nuclear weapons.  At which point there's either an exchange between those two countries or a full scale nuclear one.

  Ligachev missed out on his best chance to get a more limited win by possibly offering a separate peace to W German on the grounds of a Soviet withdrawal as long as the W German state was neutralised and with certain armament limitations.  This might have been acceptable to the German government and coupled with the damage already done to the NATO powers the Soviets would have seen their world wide position improved, at least in the short term.  Coupled with an exchange of prisoners and the ending of the war elsewhere.

  I would also like to see something other than a west v Soviet/Russia conflict in terms of what your planning next please.

  Steve

Yep, it was the right and only thing that could be done. A 'no' had to come. Gromyko will be covering his backside while Chebrikov's KGB will be given the green light to do something spectacular. The Soviets want this war to end now. They cannot allow for this to go on and on for good.
Ah, but there is already an offer to West Germany on the table, mentioned in the update before. Chancellor Worner said 'hell no' but his cabinet weren't as insistent. They, like a few other governments, will not be happy with this immediate American FU to Moscow. That is coming up in the story very soon.

For my next story I will be writing something that I find interesting: that is why I write. Hopefully, it will be interesting to readers too.

  James

  Then their bloody stupid!  Reagan is saying he won't accept Soviet control of the territory they have seized by force, which includes their country.  Also since the US is presumably openly accepting the Soviet offer of an end to nuclear use they should be glad of that. 

  Steve

[stevep]

   James G ,

   Well Khomeini being the egotistical dick-head he was historically.  He would have been wiser waiting another few days for yet more allied forces to leave but wasn't known for for rational judgement. 

  I'm not sure whether Reagan will give the clearance for nuclear use but suspect he might.  Both Moscow and Tehran are pretending their not allies although effectively they are and given existing hostility between Iran and the US it could be seen as a quick way of stopping the Iranians and also a safe way of sending a clear message to Moscow.  That NATO will use nukes if forced.  Which again pins Moscow more on the horns of the dilemma their created for themselves.

  I'm not sure about this bit,  as it doesn't seem to read rightly?  Should that part be there?

Their simultaneous war with Iraq petered out though there remained clashes with the Americans. Soviet air and naval forces made use of Iran as they took part on the Americans themselves, doing far more damage to them than the Iranians could do

  Steve

[James G]

Feb 15, 2020 10:14:58 GMT stevep said:

Feb 14, 2020 20:17:18 GMT James G said:

Yep, it was the right and only thing that could be done. A 'no' had to come. Gromyko will be covering his backside while Chebrikov's KGB will be given the green light to do something spectacular. The Soviets want this war to end now. They cannot allow for this to go on and on for good.
Ah, but there is already an offer to West Germany on the table, mentioned in the update before. Chancellor Worner said 'hell no' but his cabinet weren't as insistent. They, like a few other governments, will not be happy with this immediate American FU to Moscow. That is coming up in the story very soon.

For my next story I will be writing something that I find interesting: that is why I write. Hopefully, it will be interesting to readers too.

  James

  Then their bloody stupid!  Reagan is saying he won't accept Soviet control of the territory they have seized by force, which includes their country.  Also since the US is presumably openly accepting the Soviet offer of an end to nuclear use they should be glad of that. 

  Steve

They are not thinking long term. Better red than dead is their belief for West Germany. The nuclear issue is driving this. Some understand the stupidity but others not.
Being cut out of the big decision making and being foolish in response will not just effect West German political leaders too.

Feb 15, 2020 10:29:36 GMT stevep said:

   James G ,

   Well Khomeini being the egotistical dick-head he was historically.  He would have been wiser waiting another few days for yet more allied forces to leave but wasn't known for for rational judgement. 

  I'm not sure whether Reagan will give the clearance for nuclear use but suspect he might.  Both Moscow and Tehran are pretending their not allies although effectively they are and given existing hostility between Iran and the US it could be seen as a quick way of stopping the Iranians and also a safe way of sending a clear message to Moscow.  That NATO will use nukes if forced.  Which again pins Moscow more on the horns of the dilemma their created for themselves.

  I'm not sure about this bit,  as it doesn't seem to read rightly?  Should that part be there?

Their simultaneous war with Iraq petered out though there remained clashes with the Americans. Soviet air and naval forces made use of Iran as they took part on the Americans themselves, doing far more damage to them than the Iranians could do

  Steve

Iran should have waited but their leader will say it was all God's Will.
I'm not sure if I will have a nuclear use in the Gulf yet. I am leaning towards it but not there yet. CENTCOM was asking for this since the beginning, though against the Soviets at sea, and will keep up the pressure. It would turn the tables on Moscow and not in a good way

Ah, I've correct that now. I see what you mean.
It now reads: Soviet air and naval forces made use of Iran as they took part in strikes against the Americans themselves, doing far more damage to them than the Iranians could do.

[James G]

200 – On the cusp of victory


In any ‘usual’ circumstances, there computers in the basement of the MOD Main Building in Whitehall would have come up with a random codename for the operation. They would have chosen something such as Operation Bumblebee or maybe Operation Icarus for the military task of fighting in East Anglia. Something nondescript but also not very encouraging. Soviet paratroopers, backed up by military intelligence personnel from their GRU, had been inside the MOD within half an hour of the landings in Central London though. While now back in friendly hands, that facility was a frightful mess. British military operations in East Anglia to liberate enemy-held Norfolk had begun before the centre of London was retaken. The name Operation Dragon Slayer had been chosen by a less politically minded general, someone who wanted to inspire a bit of feeling among those taking part, who was out in the field. Calling this the slaying of dragons was hoped to improve morale and would look good in the history books, would it not?

After a slow start, Dragon Slayer was really getting going now. Advances were being made deep into Norfolk. Much of the western side had been cleared of the enemy and they were being pushed through the middle into the eastern reaches. Complete control of the sky was in British and NATO hands. On the ground, they had the advantage of numbers and also armour. There were ammunition issues with shortages for Dragon Slayer units but at least they had a steady supply. Those whom they fought against were nearly out of everything but bullets for rifles and machine guns. Soviet Airborne Troops, alongside the airmobile ones from the DShV branch as well as Air Force personnel dragged in as riflemen, needed more than bullets. They needed shells for their artillery & mortars. There was a pressing need for missiles for anti-tank weapons and air defence platforms. Without those, let alone ammunition for what few armoured vehicles there were remaining, they couldn’t stop the British advance. Defensive positions were overcome when they had the potential to be held as long as there was proper ammunition to do that. The men from the VDV fought well. They fought as hard as was expected they would do. Regardless, they died or were taken prisoner. Dragon Slayer pushed on.

The two biggest fights which occurred today were for the crossroads towns of East Dereham and Fakenham. Each was small and near empty of civilians. Men from the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment defended them. Much of the 2nd Infantry Division as well as the independent 1st Infantry Brigade went up against the paratroopers dug-in and told to hold on. As was their way, the British didn’t foolishly blunder into the defences. They had aircraft to locate the enemy and then to make bomb runs first. British artillery (not numerous but with shells to use) opened fire on selected targets. Scout teams of infantry backed up by fast yet light vehicles identified weak points while distracting stronger positions. Then the main attacks came. At East Dereham, it was the 1st Brigade. The British regulars were veterans now, men who’d fought many more times than their opponents. Infantry and tanks moved in supported by shifting artillery fire. Jets roared overhead and made low-level air strikes. Contact close-in was made with a battalion of paratroopers. The fighting was fierce. British intentions were to do as much of it as possible at distance before closing-up only for the final hurrah. They’d watched the Soviets be pounded and were sure that there wouldn’t be many survivors. Alas, these VDV had dug deep and steeled themselves for what was coming their way. Outgunned and outnumbered, they fought to hold on. Several British units eased back in light of the strong resistance to reorganise their attack while at the same time calling in heavy fire support once more. Chieftain tanks as well as Royal Artillery FH-70 towed howitzers fired on newly identified positions with the tanks also in the move while doing this. There were dozer blades fitted to many of the Chieftains manned by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Bullets bounced off those as they were used to crash into enemy positions from the rears just as the artillery lifted and in came further infantry attacks. East Dereham’s defenders were overcome. They couldn’t stop this combined arms warfare which included the RAF coming back again for more bomb runs. Much of the town was flattened but, in the end, it was back in British hands.

Up at Fakenham, TA soldiers from Yorkshire and the North-East fought there. The 2nd Division had the 15th Infantry Brigade in this fight – other units elsewhere – and they went up against another battalion of paratroopers from the 104th Regiment. Part-time reservists the TA were, but these men were combat veterans. Those serving with 1 Yorkshire Volunteers and 6 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers smashed their way through a furious defensive effort. They got into trenches and into fortified buildings, taking on an opponent which refused to give in until the very end. Supporting firepower didn’t do enough and at one point the brigade commander considered withdrawing completely and requesting that the town by surrounded with those inside left to wither on the vine. One attack made headway at the crucial time though, ripping open the defensive positions for men with the 7 Light Infantry to come through. They stormed ahead and took Fakenham… and the glory as far as their fellow TA men from the other battalions were concerned. That glory came with 7 Light Infantry taking the surrender of the on-scene regimental commander as well as capturing the 104th Regiment’s colours. Those were meant to be destroyed on the colonel’s orders but his men were caught just ahead of that and soldiers from County Durham seized them. They wanted them in their own regimental museum after all this was over with. The last resistance in the town ended after the colonel gave up despite the presence of several KGB political officers nearby. One zampolit was bayoneted by the paratroopers he urged to make a suicidal last charge; another was pushed aside with grenades thrown towards him. The British got the third one alive as a captive, a man terrified of his own side… the VDV didn’t consider him to be on their own side. This breakdown in discipline had only come after the surrender though. Things would have gone a lot easier, and seen far fewer lives lost, had it occurred long before it did.

The victories won at East Dereham and Fakenham opened up the rest of Norfolk for a successful completion of Operation Dragon Slayer. There was no stopping them now. From Fakenham, the 2nd Division would advance all along the northern reaches by the North Sea coast now that resistance there was finished. As to East Dereham, it was on the road to Norwich. There were Americans still fighting in the southernmost reaches of Norfolk who would have liked to have advanced up towards that city themselves but the national guardsmen from New York were still blocked by the DShV brigade. British soldiers with the 1st Brigade were going to march on Norwich. There were obstructions in their way yet nothing of any substance left after East Dereham. It was confidently expected that Norwich would be reached tomorrow. The Soviets were still showing a desire to make a last stand and it looked like it would be made there.

So be it then.

British forces in East Anglia were on the cusp of victory. They had nearly completed their mission. The triumph of Operation Dragon Slayer should have been something to celebrate nationwide. The public could do with a morale boost. The Miracle of Flushing, taking place a few days ago had been a Dunkirk style successful evacuation (on a much smaller scale), but a victorious advance on the battlefield while liberating British territory from a foreign aggressor… that was propaganda handed over on a silver platter. However, it wasn’t being exploited as it could have been. Government ministers and other senior politicians were too busy arguing among themselves over a different matter. Quite the fierce debate was underway at the highest level and the country’s current prime minister was tottering on the brink of being deposed.

[lordroel]

Feb 15, 2020 19:23:58 GMT James G said:

200 – On the cusp of victory


In any ‘usual’ circumstances, there computers in the basement of the MOD Main Building in Whitehall would have come up with a random codename for the operation. They would have chosen something such as Operation Bumblebee or maybe Operation Icarus for the military task of fighting in East Anglia. Something nondescript but also not very encouraging. Soviet paratroopers, backed up by military intelligence personnel from their GRU, had been inside the MOD within half an hour of the landings in Central London though. While now back in friendly hands, that facility was a frightful mess. British military operations in East Anglia to liberate enemy-held Norfolk had begun before the centre of London was retaken. The name Operation Dragon Slayer had been chosen by a less politically minded general, someone who wanted to inspire a bit of feeling among those taking part, who was out in the field. Calling this the slaying of dragons was hoped to improve morale and would look good in the history books, would it not?

After a slow start, Dragon Slayer was really getting going now. Advances were being made deep into Norfolk. Much of the western side had been cleared of the enemy and they were being pushed through the middle into the eastern reaches. Complete control of the sky was in British and NATO hands. On the ground, they had the advantage of numbers and also armour. There were ammunition issues with shortages for Dragon Slayer units but at least they had a steady supply. Those whom they fought against were nearly out of everything but bullets for rifles and machine guns. Soviet Airborne Troops, alongside the airmobile ones from the DShV branch as well as Air Force personnel dragged in as riflemen, needed more than bullets. They needed shells for their artillery & mortars. There was a pressing need for missiles for anti-tank weapons and air defence platforms. Without those, let alone ammunition for what few armoured vehicles there were remaining, they couldn’t stop the British advance. Defensive positions were overcome when they had the potential to be held as long as there was proper ammunition to do that. The men from the VDV fought well. They fought as hard as was expected they would do. Regardless, they died or were taken prisoner. Dragon Slayer pushed on.

The two biggest fights which occurred today were for the crossroads towns of East Dereham and Fakenham. Each was small and near empty of civilians. Men from the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment defended them. Much of the 2nd Infantry Division as well as the independent 1st Infantry Brigade went up against the paratroopers dug-in and told to hold on. As was their way, the British didn’t foolishly blunder into the defences. They had aircraft to locate the enemy and then to make bomb runs first. British artillery (not numerous but with shells to use) opened fire on selected targets. Scout teams of infantry backed up by fast yet light vehicles identified weak points while distracting stronger positions. Then the main attacks came. At East Dereham, it was the 1st Brigade. The British regulars were veterans now, men who’d fought many more times than their opponents. Infantry and tanks moved in supported by shifting artillery fire. Jets roared overhead and made low-level air strikes. Contact close-in was made with a battalion of paratroopers. The fighting was fierce. British intentions were to do as much of it as possible at distance before closing-up only for the final hurrah. They’d watched the Soviets be pounded and were sure that there wouldn’t be many survivors. Alas, these VDV had dug deep and steeled themselves for what was coming their way. Outgunned and outnumbered, they fought to hold on. Several British units eased back in light of the strong resistance to reorganise their attack while at the same time calling in heavy fire support once more. Chieftain tanks as well as Royal Artillery FH-70 towed howitzers fired on newly identified positions with the tanks also in the move while doing this. There were dozer blades fitted to many of the Chieftains manned by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Bullets bounced off those as they were used to crash into enemy positions from the rears just as the artillery lifted and in came further infantry attacks. East Dereham’s defenders were overcome. They couldn’t stop this combined arms warfare which included the RAF coming back again for more bomb runs. Much of the town was flattened but, in the end, it was back in British hands.

Up at Fakenham, TA soldiers from Yorkshire and the North-East fought there. The 2nd Division had the 15th Infantry Brigade in this fight – other units elsewhere – and they went up against another battalion of paratroopers from the 104th Regiment. Part-time reservists the TA were, but these men were combat veterans. Those serving with 1 Yorkshire Volunteers and 6 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers smashed their way through a furious defensive effort. They got into trenches and into fortified buildings, taking on an opponent which refused to give in until the very end. Supporting firepower didn’t do enough and at one point the brigade commander considered withdrawing completely and requesting that the town by surrounded with those inside left to wither on the vine. One attack made headway at the crucial time though, ripping open the defensive positions for men with the 7 Light Infantry to come through. They stormed ahead and took Fakenham… and the glory as far as their fellow TA men from the other battalions were concerned. That glory came with 7 Light Infantry taking the surrender of the on-scene regimental commander as well as capturing the 104th Regiment’s colours. Those were meant to be destroyed on the colonel’s orders but his men were caught just ahead of that and soldiers from County Durham seized them. They wanted them in their own regimental museum after all this was over with. The last resistance in the town ended after the colonel gave up despite the presence of several KGB political officers nearby. One zampolit was bayoneted by the paratroopers he urged to make a suicidal last charge; another was pushed aside with grenades thrown towards him. The British got the third one alive as a captive, a man terrified of his own side… the VDV didn’t consider him to be on their own side. This breakdown in discipline had only come after the surrender though. Things would have gone a lot easier, and seen far fewer lives lost, had it occurred long before it did.

The victories won at East Dereham and Fakenham opened up the rest of Norfolk for a successful completion of Operation Dragon Slayer. There was no stopping them now. From Fakenham, the 2nd Division would advance all along the northern reaches by the North Sea coast now that resistance there was finished. As to East Dereham, it was on the road to Norwich. There were Americans still fighting in the southernmost reaches of Norfolk who would have liked to have advanced up towards that city themselves but the national guardsmen from New York were still blocked by the DShV brigade. British soldiers with the 1st Brigade were going to march on Norwich. There were obstructions in their way yet nothing of any substance left after East Dereham. It was confidently expected that Norwich would be reached tomorrow. The Soviets were still showing a desire to make a last stand and it looked like it would be made there.

So be it then.

British forces in East Anglia were on the cusp of victory. They had nearly completed their mission. The triumph of Operation Dragon Slayer should have been something to celebrate nationwide. The public could do with a morale boost. The Miracle of Flushing, taking place a few days ago had been a Dunkirk style successful evacuation (on a much smaller scale), but a victorious advance on the battlefield while liberating British territory from a foreign aggressor… that was propaganda handed over on a silver platter. However, it wasn’t being exploited as it could have been. Government ministers and other senior politicians were too busy arguing among themselves over a different matter. Quite the fierce debate was underway at the highest level and the country’s current prime minister was tottering on the brink of being deposed.

Congratulations James G on getting 200 chapters.

[Dan]

Quite the fierce debate was underway at the highest level and the country’s current prime minister was tottering on the brink of being deposed.

No one like politicians to set events in motion so as to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[stevep]

Feb 16, 2020 9:06:32 GMT Dan said:

Quite the fierce debate was underway at the highest level and the country’s current prime minister was tottering on the brink of being deposed.

No one like politicians to set events in motion so as to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

  I would agree.  It was sounding so good until that last section.  Damned politicians!

[James G]

Feb 15, 2020 19:30:22 GMT lordroel said:

Feb 15, 2020 19:23:58 GMT James G said:

200 – On the cusp of victory


In any ‘usual’ circumstances, there computers in the basement of the MOD Main Building in Whitehall would have come up with a random codename for the operation. They would have chosen something such as Operation Bumblebee or maybe Operation Icarus for the military task of fighting in East Anglia. Something nondescript but also not very encouraging. Soviet paratroopers, backed up by military intelligence personnel from their GRU, had been inside the MOD within half an hour of the landings in Central London though. While now back in friendly hands, that facility was a frightful mess. British military operations in East Anglia to liberate enemy-held Norfolk had begun before the centre of London was retaken. The name Operation Dragon Slayer had been chosen by a less politically minded general, someone who wanted to inspire a bit of feeling among those taking part, who was out in the field. Calling this the slaying of dragons was hoped to improve morale and would look good in the history books, would it not?

After a slow start, Dragon Slayer was really getting going now. Advances were being made deep into Norfolk. Much of the western side had been cleared of the enemy and they were being pushed through the middle into the eastern reaches. Complete control of the sky was in British and NATO hands. On the ground, they had the advantage of numbers and also armour. There were ammunition issues with shortages for Dragon Slayer units but at least they had a steady supply. Those whom they fought against were nearly out of everything but bullets for rifles and machine guns. Soviet Airborne Troops, alongside the airmobile ones from the DShV branch as well as Air Force personnel dragged in as riflemen, needed more than bullets. They needed shells for their artillery & mortars. There was a pressing need for missiles for anti-tank weapons and air defence platforms. Without those, let alone ammunition for what few armoured vehicles there were remaining, they couldn’t stop the British advance. Defensive positions were overcome when they had the potential to be held as long as there was proper ammunition to do that. The men from the VDV fought well. They fought as hard as was expected they would do. Regardless, they died or were taken prisoner. Dragon Slayer pushed on.

The two biggest fights which occurred today were for the crossroads towns of East Dereham and Fakenham. Each was small and near empty of civilians. Men from the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment defended them. Much of the 2nd Infantry Division as well as the independent 1st Infantry Brigade went up against the paratroopers dug-in and told to hold on. As was their way, the British didn’t foolishly blunder into the defences. They had aircraft to locate the enemy and then to make bomb runs first. British artillery (not numerous but with shells to use) opened fire on selected targets. Scout teams of infantry backed up by fast yet light vehicles identified weak points while distracting stronger positions. Then the main attacks came. At East Dereham, it was the 1st Brigade. The British regulars were veterans now, men who’d fought many more times than their opponents. Infantry and tanks moved in supported by shifting artillery fire. Jets roared overhead and made low-level air strikes. Contact close-in was made with a battalion of paratroopers. The fighting was fierce. British intentions were to do as much of it as possible at distance before closing-up only for the final hurrah. They’d watched the Soviets be pounded and were sure that there wouldn’t be many survivors. Alas, these VDV had dug deep and steeled themselves for what was coming their way. Outgunned and outnumbered, they fought to hold on. Several British units eased back in light of the strong resistance to reorganise their attack while at the same time calling in heavy fire support once more. Chieftain tanks as well as Royal Artillery FH-70 towed howitzers fired on newly identified positions with the tanks also in the move while doing this. There were dozer blades fitted to many of the Chieftains manned by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Bullets bounced off those as they were used to crash into enemy positions from the rears just as the artillery lifted and in came further infantry attacks. East Dereham’s defenders were overcome. They couldn’t stop this combined arms warfare which included the RAF coming back again for more bomb runs. Much of the town was flattened but, in the end, it was back in British hands.

Up at Fakenham, TA soldiers from Yorkshire and the North-East fought there. The 2nd Division had the 15th Infantry Brigade in this fight – other units elsewhere – and they went up against another battalion of paratroopers from the 104th Regiment. Part-time reservists the TA were, but these men were combat veterans. Those serving with 1 Yorkshire Volunteers and 6 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers smashed their way through a furious defensive effort. They got into trenches and into fortified buildings, taking on an opponent which refused to give in until the very end. Supporting firepower didn’t do enough and at one point the brigade commander considered withdrawing completely and requesting that the town by surrounded with those inside left to wither on the vine. One attack made headway at the crucial time though, ripping open the defensive positions for men with the 7 Light Infantry to come through. They stormed ahead and took Fakenham… and the glory as far as their fellow TA men from the other battalions were concerned. That glory came with 7 Light Infantry taking the surrender of the on-scene regimental commander as well as capturing the 104th Regiment’s colours. Those were meant to be destroyed on the colonel’s orders but his men were caught just ahead of that and soldiers from County Durham seized them. They wanted them in their own regimental museum after all this was over with. The last resistance in the town ended after the colonel gave up despite the presence of several KGB political officers nearby. One zampolit was bayoneted by the paratroopers he urged to make a suicidal last charge; another was pushed aside with grenades thrown towards him. The British got the third one alive as a captive, a man terrified of his own side… the VDV didn’t consider him to be on their own side. This breakdown in discipline had only come after the surrender though. Things would have gone a lot easier, and seen far fewer lives lost, had it occurred long before it did.

The victories won at East Dereham and Fakenham opened up the rest of Norfolk for a successful completion of Operation Dragon Slayer. There was no stopping them now. From Fakenham, the 2nd Division would advance all along the northern reaches by the North Sea coast now that resistance there was finished. As to East Dereham, it was on the road to Norwich. There were Americans still fighting in the southernmost reaches of Norfolk who would have liked to have advanced up towards that city themselves but the national guardsmen from New York were still blocked by the DShV brigade. British soldiers with the 1st Brigade were going to march on Norwich. There were obstructions in their way yet nothing of any substance left after East Dereham. It was confidently expected that Norwich would be reached tomorrow. The Soviets were still showing a desire to make a last stand and it looked like it would be made there.

So be it then.

British forces in East Anglia were on the cusp of victory. They had nearly completed their mission. The triumph of Operation Dragon Slayer should have been something to celebrate nationwide. The public could do with a morale boost. The Miracle of Flushing, taking place a few days ago had been a Dunkirk style successful evacuation (on a much smaller scale), but a victorious advance on the battlefield while liberating British territory from a foreign aggressor… that was propaganda handed over on a silver platter. However, it wasn’t being exploited as it could have been. Government ministers and other senior politicians were too busy arguing among themselves over a different matter. Quite the fierce debate was underway at the highest level and the country’s current prime minister was tottering on the brink of being deposed.

Congratulations James G on getting 200 chapters.

Thank you.
We have more though. 200 updates plus the prelude plus those 21 in the interludes too.
(sorry, pedantic)

Feb 16, 2020 9:06:32 GMT Dan said:

No one like politicians to set events in motion so as to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Usually, that would be the case but in this matter, their actions will not effect things on the battlefield of East Anglia... it will be something bigger.

Feb 16, 2020 11:43:57 GMT stevep said:

  I would agree.  It was sounding so good until that last section.  Damned politicians!

They are up to something big!

[James G]

201 – Disunity


The rejection of the Soviet’s war termination offer by Reagan was followed by the Americans informing their allies of this. It was only fair. When there had been those secret messages sent to other governments, they had told the United States about them. American honesty here though didn’t workout as intended. Their president’s immediate and complete dismissal of what Moscow was proposing didn’t sit well with many of those who were told about it after the fact. Several governments believed that this should have been something discussed with them. A counter argument against this, should the Americans have been aware of the displeasure, would be that the United States had only done what the Europeans had. However, on the eastern side of the Atlantic, their opinion on this was that the initial Soviet moves with them hadn’t been serious, just mischief making to try and divide the alliance. When it came to their contact with the United States, the belief by members of several European NATO governments was that the Soviets were actually serious this time. Reagan had thrown away a chance for the ending of the war before it spelled nuclear apocalypse for them all. Naturally, there would be dispute on that from those on the western side of the Atlantic and it certainly wasn’t a unanimous opinion within the leaderships of countries on the war’s frontlines on the eastern side. The loudest voices started championing this interpretation of what had occurred though. They had spoken before about Soviet games to spread disunity among them and how they wouldn’t fall into that trap. Now though, there was disunity present.

This occurred among three governments: those of Turkey, West Germany and the United Kingdom. Different outcomes would be seen.


The proposal to bring about a ceasefire sent to the Americans wasn’t the only one sent out on September 1st. France and several Western European countries including the West Germans had received them in previous days. Britain hadn’t. It was almost an insult, as if the UK didn’t matter. Today, a ceasefire offer was made to the British Government. It was sent simultaneously to the one delivered to the Americans. There were plentiful similarities in both though it was British specific in terms of offering certain ‘security guarantees’ to Britain. Prime Minister Whitelaw was of mind to do what Reagan had done and at once arrange for a rejection to be sent in the same manner that the Americans had. However, recent troubles with his War Cabinet made his believe that it would be best if he spoke with them first. There wasn’t any consideration in his mind that they would accept such a thing – only fools would – but yet another dispute among this body was not sought by him.

Ministers and officials gathered in a few locations while isolated figures such as him connected via teleconference. There was a delay in getting the Home Secretary on the line first and then the connection with the Chancellor of the Exchequer was cut midway through. It was late in the day and there was frustration at these technical problems when it came to the War Cabinet being able to talk to one another. A couple of them strongly suggested that the next time they spoke, couldn’t all but one, two at the very most, be elsewhere. The gathering didn’t have to be for long and would leave designated survivors in-place elsewhere should the Soviets choose that moment for a nuclear strike. The Chief of the Defence Staff pointed out that the real issue was over a security threat from commandos. Challenged on this by the Chancellor (when he was back on the line), the country’s senior-most military officer did concede that there was a very low risk of that by this point in the war when much of Britain was full of patrolling soldiers, but he reminded them all that the risk was still there. It had been assassins which had started all this after all, those who’d killed Thatcher in the war’s opening minutes. There were grunts and whispered remarks which came in reply. Admiral Fieldhouse, First Sea Lord back during the Falklands War, and someone who had had Thatcher’s ear, hadn’t been held in the highest esteem recently by War Cabinet attendees. Whitelaw’s handling of the war earned their ire but so did Fieldhouse’s too.

The War Cabinet agreed that they would say no to Moscow. There was though contention over whether Britain should follow the lead set by others and tell their allies about this. One of the members, who had previously criticised the massive American presence in Britain with his ‘Airstrip One’ remark, clarified what he meant before his colleagues began jumping up and down on his head. Of course, he’d said that the Americans should be told – saying that their ‘spying’ on Britain would already have seen them informed; he couldn’t help but stir the pot, could he? – along with the French, but he didn’t believe it was necessary to tell the West Germans at this time. They might not be so understanding. Disagreement came here and such a suggestion was shot down by the others. There was another issue raised by another member following this. Something that had been brewing for a long time came forth: that being the question over Whitelaw’s leadership.


It rose in relation to how the Prime Minister hadn’t been consulted directly by Reagan over this (neither had Mitterrand or others yet the troublemakers didn’t bring that up) immediate rejection of the Soviet’s offer. It was suggested that the Americans didn’t believe that they needed to because Britain had failed to maintain the pre-war influence there that it previously had. This was said to be a failure of leadership on Whitelaw’s part. This had come up before and Whitelaw had defended the position that Britain had alongside the Americans: he’d said that the country had a junior role, but a senior one at that. Others had strongly disagreed and now had the ‘evidence’ they had required to give this criticism merit. Reagan’s justifiable actions in American eyes were blamed here in Britain upon Whitelaw.

Thatcher’s deputy PM had been appointed in the panic following the opening of hostilities. His fellow ministers had turned to him in their time of need. Decisions taken during the war to do with military matters, relations with allies and domestic concerns had been made by the War Cabinet collectively yet Whitelaw was first among equals here and had been blamed for what were seen as a catalogue of errors. Was he really to blame for the stunning defeat taken on the North German Plain and then the Soviet ability to put paratroopers into not just East Anglia but Central London too? Could it be honestly said it was his fault that many neutral nations with strong British ties had decided not to join the war? Would it be fair to lay at his door everything that had happened with criminality & rioting, economic chaos and the inability of the NHS to deal with civilian war casualties? There was a majority of his colleagues, the ministers of the War Cabinet plus the wider Cabinet, who believed that it was. The non-politicians (officials and military personnel) had no input in what happened but neither did the majority of MPs with the Conservative Party nor those with the Opposition brought into what was supposed to be a National Government either. It could be argued that a coup d’état took place when Whitelaw was ambushed like he was by his colleagues: guns they didn’t have but the conspiracy had taken place to get him to go. A motion was put forth that he resign from the premiership. This gained vocalised support, including from people who he thought he could count upon. It was put to the Prime Minister that at a time like this, another leader was needed. Whitelaw had served his country but the leadership of someone else was required.

He hadn’t seen it coming. Things had been tense between him and his colleagues, but this… Whitelaw was genuinely shocked. He didn’t believe that they had the numbers and he asked for time to consider this all with the intention of taking other soundings. That was something that he wasn’t granted. It was all rather unfair but it happened regardless. There would be no time given. Resign or face a challenge which you cannot win: such was the answer given and it was one true too. Defeated, Whitelaw agreed to tender his resignation to the Queen. It might have been polite for an open discussion to take place about his successor afterwards, not with him on the line still. That would have been the decent thing to do. Decency wasn’t shown though. One War Cabinet member suggested the name of another to replace Whitelaw. A second member supported that. It was said, that just had been the case with Whitelaw, this would be for wartime only pending a full partywide ballot once the conflict was over: there was no time to delay waiting on a vote among the party’s many MPs. It was looking more and more like a coup here, something Britain didn’t do… but if this was, then it could be argued that Whitelaw’s accession to the leadership was too. Hair splitting on that issue of whether it was or not could go on and on but it was over with here. Britain’s senior politicians didn’t consider that they were doing anything improper: those who’d set this in motion already had legal guidance on what they were doing and were told it was ‘unusual’ but not illegal. A new prime minister was agreed upon. Whitelaw would recommend to the Queen that she invite the minister his colleagues had voted to succeed him (he had personally abstained) be asked to form a new government.


Within hours, Britain had a new PM.

Douglas Hurd, who’d been the Home Secretary, would take the reigns of government. A few changes were made among the members too with Defence Secretary Younger being asked to stand down: Hurd didn’t take up the ‘suggestion’ put by one of his colleagues to replace Admiral Fieldhouse but the new Defence Secretary was going to have a very different relationship with the Chief of the Defence Staff than his predecessor had. There would no longer be any disunity among the War Cabinet… or so Hurd hoped.

[stevep]

Feb 16, 2020 16:29:35 GMT James G said:

201 – Disunity


The rejection of the Soviet’s war termination offer by Reagan was followed by the Americans informing their allies of this. It was only fair. When there had been those secret messages sent to other governments, they had told the United States about them. American honesty here though didn’t workout as intended. Their president’s immediate and complete dismissal of what Moscow was proposing didn’t sit well with many of those who were told about it after the fact. Several governments believed that this should have been something discussed with them. A counter argument against this, should the Americans have been aware of the displeasure, would be that the United States had only done what the Europeans had. However, on the eastern side of the Atlantic, their opinion on this was that the initial Soviet moves with them hadn’t been serious, just mischief making to try and divide the alliance. When it came to their contact with the United States, the belief by members of several European NATO governments was that the Soviets were actually serious this time. Reagan had thrown away a chance for the ending of the war before it spelled nuclear apocalypse for them all. Naturally, there would be dispute on that from those on the western side of the Atlantic and it certainly wasn’t a unanimous opinion within the leaderships of countries on the war’s frontlines on the eastern side. The loudest voices started championing this interpretation of what had occurred though. They had spoken before about Soviet games to spread disunity among them and how they wouldn’t fall into that trap. Now though, there was disunity present.

This occurred among three governments: those of Turkey, West Germany and the United Kingdom. Different outcomes would be seen.


The proposal to bring about a ceasefire sent to the Americans wasn’t the only one sent out on September 1st. France and several Western European countries including the West Germans had received them in previous days. Britain hadn’t. It was almost an insult, as if the UK didn’t matter. Today, a ceasefire offer was made to the British Government. It was sent simultaneously to the one delivered to the Americans. There were plentiful similarities in both though it was British specific in terms of offering certain ‘security guarantees’ to Britain. Prime Minister Whitelaw was of mind to do what Reagan had done and at once arrange for a rejection to be sent in the same manner that the Americans had. However, recent troubles with his War Cabinet made his believe that it would be best if he spoke with them first. There wasn’t any consideration in his mind that they would accept such a thing – only fools would – but yet another dispute among this body was not sought by him.

Ministers and officials gathered in a few locations while isolated figures such as him connected via teleconference. There was a delay in getting the Home Secretary on the line first and then the connection with the Chancellor of the Exchequer was cut midway through. It was late in the day and there was frustration at these technical problems when it came to the War Cabinet being able to talk to one another. A couple of them strongly suggested that the next time they spoke, couldn’t all but one, two at the very most, be elsewhere. The gathering didn’t have to be for long and would leave designated survivors in-place elsewhere should the Soviets choose that moment for a nuclear strike. The Chief of the Defence Staff pointed out that the real issue was over a security threat from commandos. Challenged on this by the Chancellor (when he was back on the line), the country’s senior-most military officer did concede that there was a very low risk of that by this point in the war when much of Britain was full of patrolling soldiers, but he reminded them all that the risk was still there. It had been assassins which had started all this after all, those who’d killed Thatcher in the war’s opening minutes. There were grunts and whispered remarks which came in reply. Admiral Fieldhouse, First Sea Lord back during the Falklands War, and someone who had had Thatcher’s ear, hadn’t been held in the highest esteem recently by War Cabinet attendees. Whitelaw’s handling of the war earned their ire but so did Fieldhouse’s too.

The War Cabinet agreed that they would say no to Moscow. There was though contention over whether Britain should follow the lead set by others and tell their allies about this. One of the members, who had previously criticised the massive American presence in Britain with his ‘Airstrip One’ remark, clarified what he meant before his colleagues began jumping up and down on his head. Of course, he’d said that the Americans should be told – saying that their ‘spying’ on Britain would already have seen them informed; he couldn’t help but stir the pot, could he? – along with the French, but he didn’t believe it was necessary to tell the West Germans at this time. They might not be so understanding. Disagreement came here and such a suggestion was shot down by the others. There was another issue raised by another member following this. Something that had been brewing for a long time came forth: that being the question over Whitelaw’s leadership.


It rose in relation to how the Prime Minister hadn’t been consulted directly by Reagan over this (neither had Mitterrand or others yet the troublemakers didn’t bring that up) immediate rejection of the Soviet’s offer. It was suggested that the Americans didn’t believe that they needed to because Britain had failed to maintain the pre-war influence there that it previously had. This was said to be a failure of leadership on Whitelaw’s part. This had come up before and Whitelaw had defended the position that Britain had alongside the Americans: he’d said that the country had a junior role, but a senior one at that. Others had strongly disagreed and now had the ‘evidence’ they had required to give this criticism merit. Reagan’s justifiable actions in American eyes were blamed here in Britain upon Whitelaw.

Thatcher’s deputy PM had been appointed in the panic following the opening of hostilities. His fellow ministers had turned to him in their time of need. Decisions taken during the war to do with military matters, relations with allies and domestic concerns had been made by the War Cabinet collectively yet Whitelaw was first among equals here and had been blamed for what were seen as a catalogue of errors. Was he really to blame for the stunning defeat taken on the North German Plain and then the Soviet ability to put paratroopers into not just East Anglia but Central London too? Could it be honestly said it was his fault that many neutral nations with strong British ties had decided not to join the war? Would it be fair to lay at his door everything that had happened with criminality & rioting, economic chaos and the inability of the NHS to deal with civilian war casualties? There was a majority of his colleagues, the ministers of the War Cabinet plus the wider Cabinet, who believed that it was. The non-politicians (officials and military personnel) had no input in what happened but neither did the majority of MPs with the Conservative Party nor those with the Opposition brought into what was supposed to be a National Government either. It could be argued that a coup d’état took place when Whitelaw was ambushed like he was by his colleagues: guns they didn’t have but the conspiracy had taken place to get him to go. A motion was put forth that he resign from the premiership. This gained vocalised support, including from people who he thought he could count upon. It was put to the Prime Minister that at a time like this, another leader was needed. Whitelaw had served his country but the leadership of someone else was required.

He hadn’t seen it coming. Things had been tense between him and his colleagues, but this… Whitelaw was genuinely shocked. He didn’t believe that they had the numbers and he asked for time to consider this all with the intention of taking other soundings. That was something that he wasn’t granted. It was all rather unfair but it happened regardless. There would be no time given. Resign or face a challenge which you cannot win: such was the answer given and it was one true too. Defeated, Whitelaw agreed to tender his resignation to the Queen. It might have been polite for an open discussion to take place about his successor afterwards, not with him on the line still. That would have been the decent thing to do. Decency wasn’t shown though. One War Cabinet member suggested the name of another to replace Whitelaw. A second member supported that. It was said, that just had been the case with Whitelaw, this would be for wartime only pending a full partywide ballot once the conflict was over: there was no time to delay waiting on a vote among the party’s many MPs. It was looking more and more like a coup here, something Britain didn’t do… but if this was, then it could be argued that Whitelaw’s accession to the leadership was too. Hair splitting on that issue of whether it was or not could go on and on but it was over with here. Britain’s senior politicians didn’t consider that they were doing anything improper: those who’d set this in motion already had legal guidance on what they were doing and were told it was ‘unusual’ but not illegal. A new prime minister was agreed upon. Whitelaw would recommend to the Queen that she invite the minister his colleagues had voted to succeed him (he had personally abstained) be asked to form a new government.


Within hours, Britain had a new PM.

Douglas Hurd, who’d been the Home Secretary, would take the reigns of government. A few changes were made among the members too with Defence Secretary Younger being asked to stand down: Hurd didn’t take up the ‘suggestion’ put by one of his colleagues to replace Admiral Fieldhouse but the new Defence Secretary was going to have a very different relationship with the Chief of the Defence Staff than his predecessor had. There would no longer be any disunity among the War Cabinet… or so Hurd hoped.

  Bloody cretins scrambling for power, which whatever they say is what it is.  You can always trust Thatcherites to betray Britain!

[James G]

Feb 17, 2020 12:44:15 GMT stevep said:

Feb 16, 2020 16:29:35 GMT James G said:

201 – Disunity


The rejection of the Soviet’s war termination offer by Reagan was followed by the Americans informing their allies of this. It was only fair. When there had been those secret messages sent to other governments, they had told the United States about them. American honesty here though didn’t workout as intended. Their president’s immediate and complete dismissal of what Moscow was proposing didn’t sit well with many of those who were told about it after the fact. Several governments believed that this should have been something discussed with them. A counter argument against this, should the Americans have been aware of the displeasure, would be that the United States had only done what the Europeans had. However, on the eastern side of the Atlantic, their opinion on this was that the initial Soviet moves with them hadn’t been serious, just mischief making to try and divide the alliance. When it came to their contact with the United States, the belief by members of several European NATO governments was that the Soviets were actually serious this time. Reagan had thrown away a chance for the ending of the war before it spelled nuclear apocalypse for them all. Naturally, there would be dispute on that from those on the western side of the Atlantic and it certainly wasn’t a unanimous opinion within the leaderships of countries on the war’s frontlines on the eastern side. The loudest voices started championing this interpretation of what had occurred though. They had spoken before about Soviet games to spread disunity among them and how they wouldn’t fall into that trap. Now though, there was disunity present.

This occurred among three governments: those of Turkey, West Germany and the United Kingdom. Different outcomes would be seen.


The proposal to bring about a ceasefire sent to the Americans wasn’t the only one sent out on September 1st. France and several Western European countries including the West Germans had received them in previous days. Britain hadn’t. It was almost an insult, as if the UK didn’t matter. Today, a ceasefire offer was made to the British Government. It was sent simultaneously to the one delivered to the Americans. There were plentiful similarities in both though it was British specific in terms of offering certain ‘security guarantees’ to Britain. Prime Minister Whitelaw was of mind to do what Reagan had done and at once arrange for a rejection to be sent in the same manner that the Americans had. However, recent troubles with his War Cabinet made his believe that it would be best if he spoke with them first. There wasn’t any consideration in his mind that they would accept such a thing – only fools would – but yet another dispute among this body was not sought by him.

Ministers and officials gathered in a few locations while isolated figures such as him connected via teleconference. There was a delay in getting the Home Secretary on the line first and then the connection with the Chancellor of the Exchequer was cut midway through. It was late in the day and there was frustration at these technical problems when it came to the War Cabinet being able to talk to one another. A couple of them strongly suggested that the next time they spoke, couldn’t all but one, two at the very most, be elsewhere. The gathering didn’t have to be for long and would leave designated survivors in-place elsewhere should the Soviets choose that moment for a nuclear strike. The Chief of the Defence Staff pointed out that the real issue was over a security threat from commandos. Challenged on this by the Chancellor (when he was back on the line), the country’s senior-most military officer did concede that there was a very low risk of that by this point in the war when much of Britain was full of patrolling soldiers, but he reminded them all that the risk was still there. It had been assassins which had started all this after all, those who’d killed Thatcher in the war’s opening minutes. There were grunts and whispered remarks which came in reply. Admiral Fieldhouse, First Sea Lord back during the Falklands War, and someone who had had Thatcher’s ear, hadn’t been held in the highest esteem recently by War Cabinet attendees. Whitelaw’s handling of the war earned their ire but so did Fieldhouse’s too.

The War Cabinet agreed that they would say no to Moscow. There was though contention over whether Britain should follow the lead set by others and tell their allies about this. One of the members, who had previously criticised the massive American presence in Britain with his ‘Airstrip One’ remark, clarified what he meant before his colleagues began jumping up and down on his head. Of course, he’d said that the Americans should be told – saying that their ‘spying’ on Britain would already have seen them informed; he couldn’t help but stir the pot, could he? – along with the French, but he didn’t believe it was necessary to tell the West Germans at this time. They might not be so understanding. Disagreement came here and such a suggestion was shot down by the others. There was another issue raised by another member following this. Something that had been brewing for a long time came forth: that being the question over Whitelaw’s leadership.


It rose in relation to how the Prime Minister hadn’t been consulted directly by Reagan over this (neither had Mitterrand or others yet the troublemakers didn’t bring that up) immediate rejection of the Soviet’s offer. It was suggested that the Americans didn’t believe that they needed to because Britain had failed to maintain the pre-war influence there that it previously had. This was said to be a failure of leadership on Whitelaw’s part. This had come up before and Whitelaw had defended the position that Britain had alongside the Americans: he’d said that the country had a junior role, but a senior one at that. Others had strongly disagreed and now had the ‘evidence’ they had required to give this criticism merit. Reagan’s justifiable actions in American eyes were blamed here in Britain upon Whitelaw.

Thatcher’s deputy PM had been appointed in the panic following the opening of hostilities. His fellow ministers had turned to him in their time of need. Decisions taken during the war to do with military matters, relations with allies and domestic concerns had been made by the War Cabinet collectively yet Whitelaw was first among equals here and had been blamed for what were seen as a catalogue of errors. Was he really to blame for the stunning defeat taken on the North German Plain and then the Soviet ability to put paratroopers into not just East Anglia but Central London too? Could it be honestly said it was his fault that many neutral nations with strong British ties had decided not to join the war? Would it be fair to lay at his door everything that had happened with criminality & rioting, economic chaos and the inability of the NHS to deal with civilian war casualties? There was a majority of his colleagues, the ministers of the War Cabinet plus the wider Cabinet, who believed that it was. The non-politicians (officials and military personnel) had no input in what happened but neither did the majority of MPs with the Conservative Party nor those with the Opposition brought into what was supposed to be a National Government either. It could be argued that a coup d’état took place when Whitelaw was ambushed like he was by his colleagues: guns they didn’t have but the conspiracy had taken place to get him to go. A motion was put forth that he resign from the premiership. This gained vocalised support, including from people who he thought he could count upon. It was put to the Prime Minister that at a time like this, another leader was needed. Whitelaw had served his country but the leadership of someone else was required.

He hadn’t seen it coming. Things had been tense between him and his colleagues, but this… Whitelaw was genuinely shocked. He didn’t believe that they had the numbers and he asked for time to consider this all with the intention of taking other soundings. That was something that he wasn’t granted. It was all rather unfair but it happened regardless. There would be no time given. Resign or face a challenge which you cannot win: such was the answer given and it was one true too. Defeated, Whitelaw agreed to tender his resignation to the Queen. It might have been polite for an open discussion to take place about his successor afterwards, not with him on the line still. That would have been the decent thing to do. Decency wasn’t shown though. One War Cabinet member suggested the name of another to replace Whitelaw. A second member supported that. It was said, that just had been the case with Whitelaw, this would be for wartime only pending a full partywide ballot once the conflict was over: there was no time to delay waiting on a vote among the party’s many MPs. It was looking more and more like a coup here, something Britain didn’t do… but if this was, then it could be argued that Whitelaw’s accession to the leadership was too. Hair splitting on that issue of whether it was or not could go on and on but it was over with here. Britain’s senior politicians didn’t consider that they were doing anything improper: those who’d set this in motion already had legal guidance on what they were doing and were told it was ‘unusual’ but not illegal. A new prime minister was agreed upon. Whitelaw would recommend to the Queen that she invite the minister his colleagues had voted to succeed him (he had personally abstained) be asked to form a new government.


Within hours, Britain had a new PM.

Douglas Hurd, who’d been the Home Secretary, would take the reigns of government. A few changes were made among the members too with Defence Secretary Younger being asked to stand down: Hurd didn’t take up the ‘suggestion’ put by one of his colleagues to replace Admiral Fieldhouse but the new Defence Secretary was going to have a very different relationship with the Chief of the Defence Staff than his predecessor had. There would no longer be any disunity among the War Cabinet… or so Hurd hoped.

  Bloody cretins scrambling for power, which whatever they say is what it is.  You can always trust Thatcherites to betray Britain!

They've taken the opportunity given to them by KGB assassins and Whitelaw's position as a Lord, rather than an MP, to find a replacement for The Lady.
National interest is what they say they are doing this in... yeah, okay.

[James G]

202 – Forging a separate peace


Manfred Wörner was forced from his position as West German Chancellor at the same time as Whitelaw ended his role as British Prime Minister. Meeting in Paris, the Federal Republic’s cabinet voted to remove him. He had said he would resign if they chose to accept the Soviet’s offer but then refused to either abide by their decision or stand down. Democracy was put into play in the face of his intransigence. Wörner told them that he would have the country’s president use his reserve powers to block what they were trying to do. Richard von Weizsäcker stepped in and told the cabinet that he didn’t agree with what they proposed to do by ending West Germany’s participation in the war and Wörner was going nowhere. The cabinet would have none of that. They refused to accept von Weizsäcker’s position on this. They would do what they believed they had to no choice but to do and accept defeat in the war against the Soviet Union. West Germany needed to leave the war to stop the nation becoming a nuclear battlefield. He was implored to accept their view on this and when he didn’t, they held a vote to remove the federal president and replace him with the President of the Federal Council (the Bundesrat): effectively the nation’s vice president. This action was completely unconstitutional. The leader of the Bundesrat was a rotating position among the minister-presidents of West Germany’s ten states. The pre-war president had gone missing when the war begun (suspected killed or kidnapped by the KGB or the Stasi) and a replacement had been appointed. The political crisis was brought to him. He accepted the democratic position that the cabinet had put to him. Ending the war before West Germany, all of Germany and probably Europe too, was a radioactive ruin was more important to him that NATO unity. He was thinking of his people, not geo-politics. The position of Federal President was assumed by him at the request of the cabinet and he agreed to appoint their choice of chancellor. There were formal statements made in the meeting room and official documentation was drawn up.

Before pen could be put to paper, French officials entered the room and began detaining the many of those cabinet members and the head of the Bundesrat too. The French had been watching and listening to all that was going on – Mitterrand, an avid fan of secret recordings, was following all of this since it begun – and made their move at the direction of their own president. Wörner, von Weizsäcker and just a trio of loyal cabinet members were left all by themselves when their French allies took away their colleagues. They were extremely displeased at this French action. It kept them in power but it was an affront to their sovereignty. They explained as much to Mitterrand when Wörner and von Weizsäcker were granted an audience with him later. Mitterrand told them that his hand had been forced here. He respected their position as a sovereign government of one of France’s closest allies, but he and France couldn’t stand idly by while certain politicians were willing to sell them all down the river to Moscow. They were going to rip apart the alliance that kept Western Europe fighting and promised eventual liberation of their country. He wouldn’t allow that, not ever.

The offer that the West German cabinet members had been willing to accept had been that one delivered to them several days beforehand. It promised an end to the fighting on West German soil and a – staged – withdrawal of Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces from their territory. West Germany was to remove all of its forces from the fighting, wherever they be, and return them home. A peace conference had been promised where the details of what would happen post ceasefire would be worked out, with East Germany as a leading participant there, but there had been assurances that West Germany would retain its current form of government. Neutrality in any further fighting and an end to foreign forces of all stripes on its soil was the only overt demands. Those cabinet members weren’t idiots. They knew that there would be terrible things in store for their country if they had managed to sign up to this. Better Red than Dead had been the reasoning though. When Reagan had said no to the Soviets wider ceasefire offer, a no without talking to anyone, one made seemingly in a huff without regard to their country, these cabinet members who’d been forced to flee to Paris had believed that all hope was lost unless they acted. Images flashed into their mind of NATO and the Soviets each blowing nuclear holes in their country with tens of millions of their people caught up in the middle of that. When taken away by the French – with Wörner and von Weizsäcker told that they were only being securely detained (in comfort) until the war was over – several of them wept. They truly believed that this was now certain to happen in the coming days, hours even.


The Mole, the Stasi’s long-term spy recently co-opted by the GRU, wasn’t at that meeting. His boss, West Germany’s Permanent Representative to NATO, wasn’t either. Only politicians had been there, not diplomats nor civil servants. Finding out what happened soon after the fact, he sent an emergency flash message to his Soviet contact. There was no time for a complicated exchange of information using a dead drop or a brush pass with a cut out. He believed that this information should go out fast. France doing what they had would enrage others when they heard of it and turn West Germans who didn’t know about those arrests against France and NATO. The whole thing was supposed to be secret; Heer soldiers still fighting in Baden-Württemberg & Jutland, Luftwaffe pilots flying from Britain and Bundesmarine sailors out in North Atlantic on convoy duty all weren’t meant to know. They would know should The Mole get the word out. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Meeting with his contact, he was fearful of the French or even the Americans catching on and arresting him. For so long, sometimes with what seemed like ease, he had evaded the attentions of his own country’s security services. With most of West Germany in enemy hands, the government forced to flee to Paris and there having been a wave of desertions from all arms of the state, The Mole didn’t believe he would be caught by his own people. He was eager to get the information out and so took a risk. All of his training was ignored as for the one time in his long career as a spy he broke tradecraft. There were BfV agents who finally caught a whiff of him due to his hurry. Working with the French DST (not the bigger, well-known DGSE as this was a domestic matter), not just The Mole but his contact too was snatched. If this hadn’t been wartime and the West Germans hadn’t been so eager to shut down any leaks, this could have been the opportunity to do something really big here. The chance to feed disinformation back to the Soviets wasn’t taken up though. These were desperate times with concerned people making frantic decisions. They didn’t know what The Mole was leaking and neither could there being any certainty that his contact was just that: the latter could have been part of something bigger and more dangerous as far as the French were concerned. The West Germans took custody of their own man and the French got to work on interrogating the Soviet prisoner. News of what had happened in Paris, this arrest and the attempts to forge a separate peace, didn’t emerge.


NATO unity held when it came to the West Germans… well, the French forced that unity. However, with Turkey it was a different matter. Turkey moved to agree to a separate peace with the Soviets. As to their allies? They were going to be abandoned.

President Evren was just as concerned about full-scale nuclear warfare breaking out as those West German cabinet members were. He had no fear of being arrested because he controlled all the men with guns. As the army general who’d deposed the weak politicians several years beforehand, perhaps he shouldn’t have been so confident because he knew full well how a strong disagreement could be settled with force of arms. Yet, he hadn’t handed over that particular power to anyone when taking up the reigns of the presidency: Evren controlled Turkey politically and militarily. Neither from within nor without, no one was going to force his hand and change the direction which he was now taking Turkey in.

Making an overture himself, not relying upon the Soviets bringing to him their own diktat, Evren established contact with them. He proposed a ceasefire between Turkey and the Soviets, plus their Bulgarian and Syrian allies. The terms on timing, withdrawal of what few foreign troops there were on Turkish soil and return of POWs pending a full peace agreement were what Turkey wanted to see done. Evren did this from what he regarded as a position of strength. Almost by itself, Turkey had fought off a multi-pronged invasion with the humiliation of Soviet forces being achieved. The Turkish Straits were back in Turkish hands with the threat to Istanbul gone. Thrace was almost liberated with invaders pushed almost all the way back into Bulgaria. The Soviet invasion out of the Caucasus had never really got properly going and those who had come over the border had been either crushed in trapped pockets or nearly forced all the way back there. Turkey was victorious. Turkey held many more prisoners than their enemies held of theirs. Turkey’s armies were on the frontiers of their attackers and in a position to enter Bulgaria and Syria if need be. Evren told himself that he wasn’t deluding himself in the belief that he was in an immensely strong position to end this war with regard to Turkey’s participation. Now was the time to act.

Why drop out of the war then? Why bring about the rage that was certain to come from allies by abandoning them? It was the nuclear issue for Evren. Turkey didn’t want to see his country become a nuclear battlefield. He regarded Reagan as out of control when it came to the matter of nuclear weapons. It was the American president who had first authorised the use of them against Soviet forces and who told Turkey that if the need arose, there would be the use of them around and inside Turkey. It was outrageous. Evren wasn’t going to stand for it. He watched Reagan turn the Soviets down flat when they proposed an end to the war and that was the moment when he made his decision to do what he did now. The war was going to go nuclear, of that he was sure with Reagan’s recent behaviour showing that he was out of control, but Evren sought to keep Turkey out of that. Of course, when out of NATO and on its own, there was much danger for Turkey in the short- and long-term. But… those were acceptable risks in his opinion when the other option was nuclear detonations taking place within his country.

After he sent his proposal to the Soviets, Evren waited. He didn’t rush to tell his allies what he had done. To do so without hearing back from Ligachev and his cabal in Moscow would be foolish. A return message came soon enough. Evren’s offer was one accepted, in principle anyway. Difficult times were ahead, yes, but he had chosen his path and now stuck to it. Evren then placed a call to Reagan. A lesser man would have used someone else to inform the United States, maybe gone through NATO channels. Evren puffed up his chest and prepared to tell the American president what he had done on behalf of his nation and, as he would argue, for the good of the world too. What kind of response was he expecting? Not a good one. But he had committed himself to this.

Turkey left the war.

[stevep]

   James G ,

   Well that's a relief in terms of Germany although the appeasers will gain more support when it leaks that France stopped a collection of Germany politicians surrendering albeit that they were using decided unconstitutional means.  Also good that the mole was caught, both before he could leak out what happened and to stop him doing more.

  Pity about Turkey but probably only to be expected.  Its a lot easier to jump ship in a democratic alliance than in a totalitarian empire.  One question is will Turkey allow free use of the straits for Soviet forces?  If so I can see the US especially being unhappy.

  The question is now Turkey has acted will any others seek to follow?

  Steve

[James G]

Feb 18, 2020 12:39:00 GMT stevep said:

   James G ,

   Well that's a relief in terms of Germany although the appeasers will gain more support when it leaks that France stopped a collection of Germany politicians surrendering albeit that they were using decided unconstitutional means.  Also good that the mole was caught, both before he could leak out what happened and to stop him doing more.

  Pity about Turkey but probably only to be expected.  Its a lot easier to jump ship in a democratic alliance than in a totalitarian empire.  One question is will Turkey allow free use of the straits for Soviet forces?  If so I can see the US especially being unhappy.

  The question is now Turkey has acted will any others seek to follow?

  Steve

Yep, France was not going to stand for that being done on its territory. It had been coming for a while and they were aware.
Turkey will not be opening up the Straits. Much of the Soviet's Black Sea Fleet, the big ships, were already out though after leaving in peacetime.
Whether others will follow will be seen in the war's next few hours (the next few days updates in real time) as things get really bad really fast.