February 2, 1997
Nothing in the canon for today, but unofficially:
The first informal meeting, hosted by the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi, occurs between Soviet and British delegations on war termination. Both sides agree that the war needs to be brought to a swift conclusion. The Soviet proposal is a return to prewar German borders, transfer of all Manchuria to the USSR, annexation of northwestern Iran to Azerbaijan, "regime change" in Romania, arrest of the Polish Government in Exile and their transfer to Poland for "Proletarian Justice" and neutral, demilitarized South Korea and Germany, accompanied by crippling reparations from Germany and a withdrawal of American troops and nuclear weapons from Europe and East Asia.
The Foxtrot-class submarine B-475 sinks the American freighter President as it sails unescorted from Okinawa to Guam.
A flare-up of fighting in Manchuria begins, as the Peoples Liberation Army sees an opportunity to take advantage of bitter cold weather to infiltrate Soviet front lines.
The 135th Field Artillery Brigade (Missouri National Guard) is declared ready for combat and begins moving to the front.
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V US Corps sends forward the 42nd Field Artillery Brigade to plaster the massing Soviet artillery opposite the Frankfurt-on-Oder bridgehead with MLRS rockets.
The German Army Combined High Command adopts the Kriegheerstruktur, a wartime army structure that establishes three Army commands, 12 Korps headquarters and 14 Jaeger divisions and integrates the East German Army into the Bundeswehr.
On the Kola, Norwegian troops of the 6th Division link up with Amerrican paratroops from the 6th ID(L) fighting to secure the Koshka Yavr air base. American, Canadian and Norwegian troops continue their advance to the east.
The Soviet battlecruiser in the Atlantic, now identified as the Kirov, sinks the American cargo ship American Reservist, sailing unescorted in the North Atlantic. The Soviet ship also uses its onboard SA-N-6 SAM battery to down two 42nd Bomb Wing B-52Gs sent to strike it with Harpoon missiles.
The Turkish high command commits the 28th Infantry Division to Cyprus and directs a number of reinforcement divisions to Thrace.
The British repair ship Assistance arrives in Gibraltar, aiding in repairs to the US carrier John F Kennedy while awaiting a convoy through the Mediterranean.
The Soviet Kilo-class submarine B-177 sinks the Romanian tranpsort Bazias 5 in the Mediterranean at the mouth of the Adriatic as the Romanian ship was bringing in vitally needed supplies to Jugoslav ports.
Soviet bombers continue their assault on Jugoslavia, attacking the Kragujevac ordnance plant complex.
The 2nd Battalion, 6th Special Forces Group deploys its first B-Team to Romania. The team divides its efforts into providing training and communications to Romanian Army units (allowing them to, for example, call in airstrikes from US and NATO strike aircraft) and improving the quality of Romanian reserve units and Patriotic Guards formations.
The American transport ship Marine Reliance arrives at the Israeli port of Haifa and begins loading Ti-67 Tiran-5 tanks for Romania.
The 4th Alabama Infantry Brigade is activated by the governor, consisting of the Headquarters & 3rd Battalion in Montgomery, 1st Battalion in Opelika, 2nd Battalion in Dothan with the 4th Battalion in Florala. The state defense force unit is assigned to protect the state capital and national guard facilities on a rotating basis.