Libya 1986

[stevep]

   amir ,

   Good and messy, like virtually all battles are.  Chaotic but hopefully order is coming from the chaos.  The loss of the CO and the lack of the medical support will hurt however, especially the latter as it's going to result in a fair number of deaths that could be avoided.  As you say the US military is adjusting from the post Vietnam malaise and also still to fully incorporate lessons from Grenada.  A couple of small queries.

a)  "the last time we tried LAPES we ended up burning a Sheridan and a C-130 in".  Should that Sheridan be a Starlifters as it sounds like its referring to the a/c lost?

b)  In the last comment you had about allied assistance "it would probably by Mubarak's Egypt- by this time Egypt and Libya had firmly established themselves as "best of enemies", to include border incidents and an great powers backed arms race".  I could see possibly see the US asking for some border incidents by Egypt to distract the Libyans but doubt they want to start a great power backed arms race so possibly something off here?

  Steve

[amir]

Thanks, Steve-

Appreciate the feedback-

To answer the question about LAPES- the Starlifter that was lost was carrying paratroopers- about 100 (not at full capacity of 123 because they had a comfort/toilet pallet and pallet of parachutes for an inflight rig).  The Galaxy was a heavy drop- pallets, vehicles, etc.  Lets wait and see what was on there...

LAPES had a long, touch and go history with the Sheridan- the most famous being a 1987 accident where the Sheridan failed to fully extract, resulting in a catastrophic loss of the aircraft. However, as the Sheridan/LAPES package was at the upper limits of the system it required near perfect airmanship and ideal surface condition to pull off and prevent damage to the aircraft, the load, or both. As a result, LAPES saw most use on existing tactical strips (with established approach paths) where aircraft were not able to land (think Khe Sanh) rather than during parachute assaults. While the starlifter was tested for LAPES, the risk of hull loss and airmanship required was was too extreme. LAPES also delivers less cargo in a given period of time than cargo airdrop because of airspace management restrictions- the advantage is the delivery of heavier or outsized items that cannot use the LVAD (low velocity airdrop) method or for pinpoint delivery. It’s telling that Sheridan combat employment in exercise or real life as always by airdrop or airland.

By this time Egypt and Libya were already facing off following the 1977 Four Day War. Egypt was pretty firmly in the US camp, with the “Bright Star” exercises well established, and rapid fielding of US equipment following the Camp David accords, to include modernized F-4Es, F-16s, and M60 tanks by the the early 1980s. During this time, Libya began receipt and fielding of “export grade” Soviet equipment including T-62 tanks, 2S1/2S3 artillery, and MIG-23/25 series aircraft in addition to hosting Soviet and WARPAC “advisors”.

I don’t see Egypt jumping in with both feet, but it would be feasible for them to allow the US to use the existing contingency air base at Cairo West and potentially other airfields and stores. In addition, an increase of Egyptian activity on the border could, as you said, be used to distract the Libyans just before the raid.

[forcon]

From a strategic perspective, if the raid succeeds then it is going to make the use of ground forces for rapid in-and-out operations more popular in the future. Raids with MEUs & airborne elements could potentially replace the 'punitive airstrike' that became so prevalent in the 1990s against Saddam and was used against Assad in 2017 and 2018.

[stevep]

May 24, 2020 12:57:56 GMT forcon said:

From a strategic perspective, if the raid succeeds then it is going to make the use of ground forces for rapid in-and-out operations more popular in the future. Raids with MEUs & airborne elements could potentially replace the 'punitive airstrike' that became so prevalent in the 1990s against Saddam and was used against Assad in 2017 and 2018.

  forcon,

  Well its an alternative but given it costs a lot more of 'your' blood than an air raid, even if the latter occasionally takes some losses I suspect that western powers especially would be less likely to use it unless there's a clear reason why air raids won't work.  In this case presumably because air raids had already been tried and the situation has escalated the decision for a ground intrusion - not calling it an invasion as their not intending to stay. 

  Also of course, even if things go well there's far more chance of people being left behind which gives a political bonus to whoever your attacking and causes a good degree of pressure and trauma in democratic states.  After all Reagan is president now in part because of the hostage crisis in Tehran.

  Steve

[lordroel]

May 24, 2020 12:20:22 GMT amir said:

I don’t see Egypt jumping in with both feet, but it would be feasible for them to allow the US to use the existing contingency air base at Cairo West and potentially other airfields and stores. In addition, an increase of Egyptian activity on the border could, as you said, be used to distract the Libyans just before the raid.

The Libyans and Egyptians fought a war in 1977, Libyan–Egyptian War but even then Libya not liking the idea Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1978 made efforts to isolate Egypt and deprecate the policies of Sadat and his successor, Hosni Mubarak.

I can see a border incident taking place in the current time between those two countries.

[simon darkshade]

Similar to what Steve touches upon, I think the major issue with this scenario is the use of ground troops. It doesn't make sense.

It isn't just that it occurs after Eagle Claw, but also after the Beirut bombings, which definitely turned the Reagan Administration off the use of ground troops for token missions. That is the salient example here, not Grenada. Libya is a far, far bigger proposition than a few Cubans on a Caribbean island.

The use of ground forces for raids was really limited to PoW rescue attempts in the cases of Son Tay and the Mayaguez Incident. It risks assets that are better used in other scenarios for no apparent end apart from justifying the employment of ground troops; it is a circular justification. As a punitive action in the age of airpower, the use of ground forces does not play to US strengths and opens them up to hugely increased risk and costs. It also ignores the other option if airstrikes alone are not seen as adequate - naval bombardment.

Now, a special forces snatch operation is justifiable. A campaign of protracted airstrikes and bombardment from USAF and USN assets is justifiable. Landing two brigades simply to destroy sites (easier done from the air and sea) or capture personnel (easier done with a smaller force) does not make sense and kind of butts up against realism. The general process of escalation doesn't seem to have been followed here, nor are the US military acting in a smart, professional manner, nor are their political masters.

In the long term, regardless of what occurs in this scenario, the general preference for the use of airstrikes is well established by the mid 1980s. It offers more bang for less bucks and much less blood of ones own.

[forcon]

Regardless, it's an excellent story.

[James G]

May 27, 2020 16:58:44 GMT forcon said:

Regardless, it's an excellent story.

I agree. I hope amir has some more for us soon.

[simon darkshade]

Naturally. It has good use of tension and atmosphere. It shows modern action effectively.

My criticism is that it doesn’t make military or political sense in its time or in the context of the personalities and policies of the people involved. The rebuilding of the US military after Vietnam was based around avoiding this type of scenario. If the intent is to destroy facilities and armaments, bigger air strikes + naval action provide a less costly option. If the intent is snatch and grab, then the force size is too big.

As an operation, it is neither fish nor fowl. There is the kernel of a story here, whereby the USA invades Libya in the 1980s, but it wouldn’t be a limited scope job leaving old mate Muammar sitting around to cause more trouble.

[amir]

In The Breach



“Fire In The Hole, Fire In The Hole, Fire In The Hole!”

Bo-oo-oo-m!

The concrete beneath his feet shook as another bomb was blown up.

Tim rose to one knee, his rifle cradled in his arm, spat a stream from the pinch of snuff in his lip, and looked back over his shoulder before speaking. “Prazewski, Vega, check out that hole- make sure there’s nothing else there…Go.”

The two privates scuttled forward, eyes focused on the ground, secure that the squad was covering to their movement. Reaching the edge of the crater they took a knee, waving the squad forward.

“OK Wells, wave ‘em up”

As the squad rose to a move forward, a light dozer advanced to scrape gravel and debris into the crater before another engineer squad would hoist a steel plank in place to cover it.

To say that Tim and his scratch squad of sappers were exhausted would be an understatement. Since linking up with the LARP at his assembly area, Tim had led his reduced squad of six sappers down the 10,000 foot main runway. Except for brief naps on the bus to the airfield or on the aircraft, they had all been awake since being alerted at their Italian base some 24 hours ago.

After the chaos of the assault landing, the squad had assembled under fire, with Tim, himself a wanderer in the night until he had met a USAF CCT, placed in charge as the senior present.

Tim had led his squad through the night, clearing the runways to allow the vital airland to take place.

The scratch squad of sappers, six instead of the authorized eight, had overcome every obstacle encountered- enemy or friendly. Evidently, the USAF and USN had struck the airfield heavily as part of the pre-invasion air campaign, resulting in craters large enough to swallow a fighter. The LARP was dealing with each if these as found. Filling them in and neutralizing unexploded munitions had not been cheap, and the SETAF and DRB LARPs had already consolidated to make up for the losses in personnel and equipment.

All of this was pretty trivial to Tim- his greatest concern was ensuring he had sufficient demolitions to deal with the next unexploded bomb he found or a dozer to fill the next hole.

For the entire DRB and SETAF- almost 5000 paratroopers on the ground in Libya, Tim’s efforts were much more important. They were the difference between a jump into oblivion and a sustainable and evacuable airhead.

[stevep]

May 30, 2020 3:39:56 GMT amir said:

In The Breach



“Fire In The Hole, Fire In The Hole, Fire In The Hole!”

Bo-oo-oo-m!

The concrete beneath his feet shook as another bomb was blown up.

Tim rose to one knee, his rifle cradled in his arm, spat a stream from the pinch of sniff in his lip, and looked back over his shoulder before speaking. “Prazewski, Vega, check out that hole- make sure there’s nothing else there…Go.”

The two privates scuttled forward, eyes focused on the ground, secure that the squad was covering to their movement. Reaching the edge of the crater they took a knee, waving the squad forward.

“OK Wells, wave ‘em up”

As the squad rose to a move forward, a light dozer advanced to scrape gravel and debris into the crater before another engineer squad would hoist a steel plank in place to cover it.

To say that Tim and his scratch squad of sappers were exhausted would be an understatement. Since linking up with the LARP at his assembly area, Tim had led his reduced squad of six sappers down the 10,000 foot main runway. Except for brief naos on the bus to the airfield or on the aircraft, they had all been awake since being alerted at their Italian base some 24 hours ago.

After the chaos of the assault landing, the squad had assembled under fire, with Tim, himself a wanderer in the night until he had met a USAF CCT, placed in charge as the senior present.

Tim had led his squad through the night, clearing the runways to allow the vital airland to take place.

The scratch squad of sappers, six instead of the authorized eight, had overcome every obstacle encountered- enemy or friendly. Evidently, the USAF and USN had struck the airfield heavily as part of the pre-invasion air campaign, resulting in craters large enough to swallow a fighter. The LARP was dealing with each if these as found. Filling them in and neutralizing unexploded munitions had not been cheap, and the SETAF and DRB LARPs had already consolidated to make up for the losses in personnel and equipment.

All of this was pretty trivial to Tim- his greatest concern was ensuring he had sufficient demolitions to deal with the next unexploded bomb he found or a dozer to fill the next hole.

For the entire DRB and SETAF- almost 5000 paratroopers on the ground in Libya, Tim’s efforts were much more important. They were the difference between a jump into oblivion and a sustainable and evacuable airhead.

  amir,

  That sounds like rather a mess up to hit the airfield runway that hard when their intending to use it.  Also doing so suggests rather a longer stay than a quick in and out operation?

  Must be murderous working under continued threat like that, even if the airfield isn't under direct fire as the assorted munitions presents a danger and being dog tired won't help.

  Steve

[amir]

Thanks!

Yes, the airfield was struck before serious thought was given to an airfield seizure operation. The engineers are trying to open enough for Hercules aircraft to land and take off- 5000ftx80ft for a loaded aircraft- less for an assault landing.
One of the reasons Tripoli/Wheelus was chosen is its proximity to the ocean for operations using landing craft or the new hovercraft if necessary (and craft are available).

Historically, Tripoli/Wheelus was struck by mk82 retarded bombs during El Dorado Canyon as were other key military airfields.

It’s an assumption on my part that follow up air strikes have targeted airfields as the US continued operations over Libya. Part of the friction in this thread is the lack of true interoperability and shared planning amongst the branches of the US military. We’re still seven-ish months before the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, mandating interoperability amongst the services. Lessons from Grenada, Desert One, and other engagements pertaining to joint planning and targeting are still being absorbed. While things are better than they were in Grenada, there is a long way to go. For instance, the Panama invasion saw the SEAL assault on Patilla Airfield, which according to subsequent studies from the Naval Post Graduate School and Center for Military History was a task better suited to an infantry unit and was complicated by being launched after a changed H-hour.

I’ll deliberately leave most of the preassault air, naval, and special operations campaign vague and unstated. I’ll do the same with strategy and political decision making. The focus of this thread will be primarily on the forces on the ground in Libya. Suffice it to say that the decision to commit forces came after other options had proven unsuccessful in persuading Libya to cease and desist what the US saw as threatening actions.

Most of the forces on the ground are running on little or no sleep. We’ll see some of this come into play as the story continues.

[forcon]

Did the 160th have it's Little Birds in service at this point? I'd assume the raids against high value targets would be Delta Force teams riding in MH-60s and MH-6s flying out of the captured airfield?

[amir]

My research tells me that the MH/AH6 was in service, as well as the early MH60/MH47 (non air refueled). 160th staged their aircraft out of Barbados overwater into Grenada during Urgent Fury, and had the capability to ship qualify crews. In addition the MH/AH6 and at least some of the MH60s were built with special modifications for quick assembly after air movement. The first really good information on their organization I’ve been able to find is from a magazine article in the early 90s (post desert storm), and the osprey books on Panama and Grenada.

As the runway becomes operational, we’ll start seeing evidence of special operations activity in the airhead. In my visualization, most of the special operations activity up to the assault has been passive in nature- reconnaissance, lasing, and pathfinder type operations. Much of this was assisted by liaison relationships with allies/partners.

[amir]

Knowledge is Power



Four camouflaged, dusty figures hunched under a tripod mounted green disk on the flat roof of what had, in times past, been a movie theater compete with air conditioning, Coca-Cola, and nickel beer. Taking care to keep below the crenelated mock battlements of the fading white stucco walls two of the four hunched over notepads, pens in hand, bareheaded, and earphones on. One of the others slowly rotated the disk, comparing its location with a compass plotting board, while the last figure kept one finger poised on the RECORD button of a small tape recorder and a radio hand mike in the other hand prepared to make a call.

The four men focused keenly on their task. Surrounded by a scattered array of bulging rucksacks, spent batteries, weapons, helmets, and all the other impedimenta required of them they hunted the airwaves for enemy radio transmissions. The Low Level Voice Intercept team had occupied their position during the early morning, shortly after it was cleared by the Infantry. As the sun rose and the day warmed, they began to contemplate the idea of rigging a poncho or tarp over them to provide a break from the sun already warming the black tarred roof.

“LOB, LOB, LOB” Nick, the lead interceptor suddenly shouted, indicating he had a line of bearing on a possible enemy transmission. Steve, the Direction Finding operator, instantly noted the bearing, frequency and time of the intercept on the compass plotting board in grease pencil.

Keying the radio mike, Sergeant White, the team leader, called in a report, “Dungeonmaster 25 this is Dungeonmaster 22. LOB 5054.22 polar on 243.9, time 0826z, over.” This transmission triggered the LLVI platoon operations center to begin alerting its two other teams in an effort to triangulate the source of the transmission.

No sooner had the transmission been acknowledged than Don, the fourth member of the Team, raised his head with a grin, “CUT, Sergeant White; CUT, CUT, CUT! I’ve got Arabic, sounds like fire support traffic.” The two interceptors then leaned over their notepads, capturing key details of the conversation, heads nodding to the flow of the intercepted conversation.

White punched the record button, capturing the transmissions for analysis. Steve leaned over the intercept equipment, noting the received signal strength. He scribbled furiously on an acetate covered report format before handing it over to Sergeant White.

White momentarily favored Steve with a raised eyebrow, receiving a nod and grin in return. Sergeant White reached out a leg and kicked Nick and Don in the toe of their scuffed green jungle boots. By way of response, Don looked up briefly, shaking his head. Nick, pausing for a moment, mouthed the word “Brigade”.

Composing his thoughts and quickly reading over the acetated sheet, White keyed the mike again. “Dungeonmaster 25 this is Dungeonmaster 22. CUT on previous LOB. Signal strength 8. Arabic, estimate Brigade level fire support traffic, over.”

The Platoon Leader in the Platoon Operations Center listened intently to the voice over the speakers glancing at his own plotting board, mounted in the cargo compartment of the platoon’s only vehicle. This showed three separate lines of bearing converging on what looked like a set of orchards about 6500 meters west of the airhead. If his teams were right, and he had no reason to suspect otherwise, they could have found a key enemy command post. Given its powerful radio transmitter, this post probably commanded the Security Brigade orchestrating the sporadic indirect fire and counterattacks around the airfield. He grabbed the mike.

“Dungeonmaster 22, this is Dungeonmaster 26. Understand enemy Brigade level fire support traffic. Good work, continue to monitor. I need to know if they move. I’m going to push this higher for action, out.” The young Lieutenant turned, yelling through the upraised canvas flap of the Gamma Goat for someone to alert the A Company Commander or Brigade Intelligence Officer before jumping down from the lowered tailgate and rushing towards the small group of vehicles and stretched tarp marking the Brigade’s Assault Command Post. As he caught sight of the Brigade Intelligence Officer, a tall, Hispanic Major, turning towards him, a brief thought flashed across his mind, betrayed by the briefest smile on his lips, “If this works, maybe we can get rid of that stupid call sign when this is all over.”

“Sir, Sir!” the Lieutenant called to the Brigade Intelligence Officer, “we’ve got a fix on a suspected brigade CP.” The young officer, despite his fatigue, was nearly jumping from foot to foot with excitement.

The Major looked at the Lieutenant, “You sure, Tom?” The Major had once been an eager young officer, but had learned skepticism in a career that had taken him from Korea to Central America, and now to the Middle East.

“Bet my bar sure, sir! Arabic Brigade level fire support comms. They’re in an orchard a little over 6 klicks from here.” The Lieutenant’s grimy finger stabbed at the Brigade situation map in his excitement, earning a scowl from the grizzled Operations Sergeant before he reached into his pocket to get a pencil to use as a pointer.

“George, Dan,” The Intelligence officer called to two other Majors, “You’re going to want to see this. I think we’ve got the Security Brigade CP.”

The three Majors led by the Lieutenant jogged the short distance to the platoon operations center. A hasty survey of the map, a quick read of the transcribed communications, and the three Major’s ran back to the Brigade headquarters with intercepts and map in hand. The Lieutenant, coordinates in hand, took a more direct route to the Brigade’s Fire Support Vehicle.

The Brigade commander, a tired looking, begrimed Colonel, had just slit open a strong smelling brown packet of the new MRE corned beef has when the three Major’s caught up to him. Setting his breakfast with its unappetizing congealed layer of grayish fat aside, he rubbed the sweaty, camouflage cream matted stubble under his chin as they laid out their information. Deciding to forego breakfast for the time being, he reached into his chest pocket, fishing out a cigar butt, and began to chew. This habit from his early days in Vietnam always seemed to help him block out distractions and focus on the task at hand.

“Sir,” the Intelligence officer began, “we’ve got a good fix on Brigade level fire support communications coming from this orchard. I assess it’s the headquarters for the Security Brigade we templated in the area. From prisoner interrogation and spot reports, they look like the guys we’ve been fighting since we landed. The signature we have says this should be their main command post. They’re popping out some pretty powerful signals.”

The Colonel eyed the Intelligence Officer before speaking, “OK, 2. So if we hit them, what does that do?” The Colonel did not distrust his S2, who had come across Fort Bragg from Special Forces, but was leery of his perceived lack of experience in conventional infantry operations.

“Sir, everything we got from pre-assault Intel said these guys would be the main opposition on D-Day. According to HUMINT, they don’t train for redundant command posts. This is a high payoff target. I’d estimate we’d at worst disrupt their counterattacks and indirect fires on the airfield and at best isolate their remaining defensive forces from any higher coordination for 12-24 hours. That’s long enough for us to consolidate and go into phase II.”

“Dom, is that the Israeli HUMINT we “didn’t get” or the stuff from the Brits?” The Colonel half grinned, “If it gets us closer to opening the airfield, it might be the opening we need. FSO?”

“Your Attack Guidance for this calls for either a Battalion Time on Target, Naval Gunfire, or CAS, “the fire support officer read off his laminated binder, “Since the gun line pushed out sea at first light and Navy CAS is split between us and the MAU landing, it’s going to be quicker and easier to do it ourselves. I’d recommend massing all three Gun Devil batteries plus Delta Battery on this one. That gives us 24 tubes-all our guns- at 6 rounds, for 144 rounds on target, “the field artillery major looked up as he finished.

“What does that give us for round count when we’re done, FSO?” The Colonel asked, mentally cursing the delays in opening the airfield, the lack of foresight on the part of the planners, and the accuracy of the Air Force and Navy strike crews.

The short, slender artilleryman pursed his lips briefly, then,”576 HE, or 24 rounds per gun. That’s three missions for each battery, four if we want to give up killer junior rounds. We’re out of WP, and 50 HEAT rounds, or two per gun, but they’re direct fire only.” he looked up, meeting the Colonel’s eyes before delivering his final sentence, “We’ve been averaging four to six missions per hour since we landed, sir.”

“George, I think you’re telling me I’m at risk for running out of ammo?” the Colonel growled. He was tired, hungry, and had been the receiver of too much bad news already this morning.

“Yes, sir. We got a full base load per gun on the last lift, but with what we’ve been using and what we didn’t get due to scatter or abort, we’re tight. We were getting by with Naval Gunfire during the night, but they had to pull off to re-arm and get out of shore battery range at first light. We we’re expecting to get C-130 airland by now,” the FSO cast his eyes down as he spoke the last lines of his response.

“3?” The Colonel shifted, turning his focus towards the Brigade Operations Officer. Dan was a legend in the Brigade, a tough combat veteran who commanded a Ranger Company in Grenada before serving successive assignments in the Brigade.

“Sir,” the Operations Officer seemed to stretch upwards, exuding confidence as he spoke in a measured Carolina drawl, “we wargamed this very situation during planning. Dom’s team has a good read, and even if we just disrupt them, it will take the pressure off the airfield and lets us finish clearance. George is right- we’ve got to do this ourselves if we want it done fast. Our LNO is telling us the Marines are still trying to get control of the port, and the Navy CAS is having to help them out as much as they can,” he stopped briefly to take a sip from his canteen, then, “This is one of your high payoff targets. If we don’t get the airstrip up, it won’t matter when we run out of ammo. I’d recommend we shoot it.”

The Colonel paused, considering the three Majors and the map at his feet. An entire brigade, His Brigade, trapped like the British at Arnhem, cut off from supplies. Or, risk depleting his most powerful weapon on the chance that they could hurt the enemy bad enough to allow him to make good the vital lifeline His Paratroopers depended on. Certain defeat or a chance to fight to victory lay in the next decision.

“Good points Dan. Looks like this one is worth rolling the dice. Fire it. Dom, I want real-time BDA. George, make sure Gun Devil 6 understands a repeat or reallocation of Killer Junior is my authorization.” Acknowledging their orders, the Brigade staff rushed off to bring the strike to action.

Dungeonmaster 22 had continued to monitor the enemy communications, including calls for fire and reinforcement. It seemed like enemy fire control was very centralized, with the brigade artillery section sending out firing computations to artillery units. Sergeant White had made use of some time to have Don rig a poncho over the team, providing shelter. He had also allowed them to eat at their positions, half at a time. The brown wrappers and greasy, salty, vinyl smell of MREs added to the clutter on their rooftop.

“Dungeonmaster 22, this is Dungeonmaster 26, over.” The urgency in the Lieutenant's voice carried over the hand mike Sergeant White had clipped under his collar while he poured MRE Hot Cocoa Powder into his mouth and washed it down with quick sips from his canteen.

Dropping the brown plastic envelope and green canteen in his rush to retrieve the hand mike, White cursed softly before keying the mike, “26, this is 22, over.”

“Be advised Falcon Redleg is processing a TOT on your contact. Need you to continue to monitor and update location, effects, and BDA, Break.” The carrier tone faded- say what you want about him, the Lieutenant took his skills seriously. “Consult SOI and set your repeater to Devil O and I. Devil X-ray will monitor your BDA and effects, over.”

White’s tribulations of the recent past were forgotten- this was a huge fish, and his team had caught it. Now they were going to provide the running commentary on the engagement to the Brigade. He smiled as he keyed the mike, “WILCO! over.”

“Enjoy the show, 22,” The Lieutenant’s excitement was palpable through the radio, “Great job, 26 out.”

The team continued to alternate between eating and maintaining their vigilance as the coughing reports of multiple howitzers and the rumbling sound of outgoing rounds rang the death knell for the enemy headquarters. White finished his dehydrated pears as the first rounds of the TOT landed, audible over a keyed hand mike in a headquarters being torn to shreds. Their real-time updates of the death of the Security Brigade Command Post led to a repeat fire mission followed by the sound of confused batteries trying to reach a silent headquarters manned only by the dead and dying.