June 1, 1997
The 46th Infantry Division (Puerto Rico, New York and Texas National Guards) is declared operational and begins movement to Virginia for deployment to Europe. Shipping to move the division has not arrived yet, most of it still tied up in European ports as Convoys 140 and 142 are unloading.
Opole falls to Panzergruppe Oberdorf when the commander of the city's OTK (Territorial Defense) regiment surrenders rather than see his beloved "Venice of Poland" destroyed by German artillery. The Polish 12th Tank Division falls back to Gliwice, while the Czech 19th Motor-Rifle Division is recalled back to home territory when the Czech high command receives word of the assault by 4th Army. Panzergruppe Oberdorff's restrictions on artillery use, imposed by the Free Polish Congress, are lifted.
Unofficially,
Map of front lines in Poland.
The container-barge carrier Taiyaun Carrier is delivered in Quincy, Massachusetts.
The 157th Air Refueling Wing relocates its headquarters to Boston-Logan International Airport to facilitate the refueling of USAF aircraft heading to Europe from the southern US.
The troop ship General Pope is activated in Oakland, California and begins loading nearly 5000 replacements for Korea.
The freighter Elizabeth Lykes re-enters service from layup and moves to the Oakland Army terminal to load more cargo for Korea.
In Pittsburgh, the Cutler brothers, who have been drinking for over 30 hours, begin chasing two fraternity brothers they have found while looking for a fight. Campus police intervene before the students need to be hospitalized, and the twins flee the scene. The running men are apprehended a few minutes later by the Pittsburgh city police. The arresting officer is a friend from high school, and the men spend a few hours resting and sobering up at the district station before being dropped off at the Military Entrance Processing Station downtown in the morning to begin their military service. Rodney scores poorly on his assessment test and is assigned to the Navy, while Randall, taking advantage of the skills he learned in a prior job at a quick oil change store, is sent to the Army and sweet-talks the assignment official into assigning him as a light vehicle mechanic rather than to the infantry or artillery.
Impoverished Mexicans continue to cross the border, drawn by the tens of thousands of jobs abandoned by American draftees. Unlike WW II, there's no Bracero guest laborer program (conservative state governments shoot down the idea, fearing an influx of pro-communist Mexican agitators).
The Czech 15th Motor-Rifle Division is locked in fierce combat against the German 4th PanzerGrenadier Division and unable to disengage. In northern Poland III German Korps captures Lebork and continues to gain ground, moving towards the port and naval base complex of Gdynia, Gdańsk and Hel. In central Poland, American and British forces pass north and south of Lodz, respectively, as the NATO armored thrust continues and Allied commanders seek to avoid built up, fortified areas.
American aircraft from Turkey and the carriers John F Kennedy and America, operating from the Mediterranean south of Turkey join Turkish Air Force fighter-bombers in strikes on the advancing Soviet 1st Guards Army, trying to disrupt the Soviet rear area and slow its drive to cut off the Turkish V Corps, which is still holding firm against the Soviet 58th and Bulgarian 2nd Armies in the mountains to the northwest. The Turkish high command dispatches a levy of 1500 recalled reservists, equipped with LAWs, M1919 machineguns and G3 rifles, to XV Corps to reinforce its battered infantry battalions. In Romania, the Romanian and Jugoslav defenders of Timisoara strike to the south, bashing a hole in the Hungarian border guards' defense line and closing nearly half the distance to friendly lines held by the Jugoslav expeditionary force.
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The 101st Air Assault Division detaches its CH-47 battalion (the 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation) to Third Army. The battalion's 24 helicopters ferry to Khasab Air Base, Oman, on the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz. Upon arrival there, they discover that they are joining a large mass of US Marine medium and heavy-lift helicopters at the base, as well as 6th ACCB's CH-47 company, G Company, 149th Aviation (Texas National Guard) and the 18th Aviation Brigade's 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation with 32 CH-47Ds, bringing the total CH-47 force at the base to 69 Chinooks.
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The Independence battle group resumes its strikes on Soviet targets in southern Iran, striking the 103rd Guards Air Assault Division's artillery and reserves. The group also detaches the cruiser Jouett to join the Salem battlegroup, improving the surface action group's air defense potential as well as adding another 5-inch gun to the group's shore bombardment capabilities.
In Khabarovsk, the MVD troops join with the 173rd (my 192nd) Motor-Rifle Division's 371st Tank Regiment in reducing the southern pocket. The T-62 tanks are brought in to reduce rebel strong points, and by nightfall the power plant is ablaze but nominally in government hands. A plea from the commander of the 294th MRD (in the southern pocket) for help from the troops of the rebel 70th (my 122nd Guards) MRD in the northern pocket is ignored, the 70th/122nd's commanding general replying "I have chekists enough to deal with."
Another series of fierce artillery battles erupts along the Pakistani-Indian frontier. The Pakistani Prime Minister authorizes the mobilization of 15,000 additional troops.