I gotta tell ya ... it's not the compass mistake that's the dumbest part. It's the 200+ km detour north. Moving 1,000 men 200 km is a bit of a logistical and supply nightmare in the Summer of 2000. Again, the 8th ID was set up by XI Corps to act as a pursuit and flanking unit for the drive into Poland, so they might have had the lion's share of the Corps' fuel reserves, and be more motorized that most of the units in XI Corps. So maybe they have the means of getting that far... but on purpose. Not by accident.
I can't buy the oil shale in Estonia idea. One Division? Against all the Soviet Divisions of the Northwestern Theater? Yeah, that's a great idea. If there is oil shale in Estonia then the Sovs are exploiting it, and are unlikely to give it up without a fight. And if they are exploiting it, then the Soviet units they are moving against are likely to be gas fueled. Yeah... this really is a bad idea.
No, the only thing that works for me is to throw some extra Soviet Units in there to chase the 8th ID north into the Baltic States. It would have to be a significant or very skillfully deployed force to have whittled the 8th ID down to 1000 effectives. From there the division can try to winter over 2000-2001 with the locals, who will undoubtedly appreciate the fact that they are not Russians. The locals won't nearly be so hostile as other East Bloc locations since there were no US nuclear strikes in the three Baltic Republics. I'm always dubious about the receptions American's get in Poland when the US clearly didn't restrain itself when it came to nuking stuff. But not so in the Baltic States.
A. Scott Glancy, President TCCorp, dba Pagan Publishing
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