December 19, 1996
The war widens even further in scope...
photo
The US 2nd Infantry Division is engaged against North Korean commando units. During the night the North Korean People’s Army launches a massive artillery barrage on Seoul and the DMZ, accompanied by commando attacks throughout the peninsula and raids by its obsolescent air force.
unofficial:
As a result of the sinking of the Tor Hollandia the prior day, the Swedish government prohibits Swedish-flag vessels from carrying military supplies or participating in convoys, on pain of loss of registration and revocation of captain's licenses. Several shipowners immediately file to reflag their vessels in Panama, while others order their ships to head to the nearest port to unload any offending cargo.
The 479th Field Artillery Brigade (USAR) declared combat ready at Ft Carson, CO.
With supplies dwindling and no hope of relief, the commander of the Soviet units in Narvik ordered his remaining troops to disperse and seek their own way back to Soviet territory, an epic trek of nearly 460 miles/750 km across Lapland (including neutral Swedish and Finnish territory) in the middle of winter. He himself, unwilling to return to the USSR for the inevitable show trial and equally unwilling to be paraded in front of TV cameras as a NATO prisoner, shot himself in his brigade’s basement headquarters. Few of his subordinates were successful in escaping back to Soviet territory; nearly 300 were interned by Swedish border police, several small groups were intercepted by Finnish troops patrolling Lapland, and untold numbers froze to death in the wilderness.
The USS Forrestal is docked at Bodo while specialists from the shipyard in Norfolk are flown in to assess damage.
Teams from the 8th, 9th and 10th Spetsnaz Brigades cross the Romanian frontier in predawn hours. Several engage in firefights with alert Patriotic Guard, Border Guard and Army troops.
Iranian Shia leaders declare Soviet Communism forbidden to Moslems and call on all the faithful to wage Jihad against the USSR. This call is less powerful than it would have been 10 years earlier, before Iranian society had tired of religious rule. Nonetheless, the Pasdaran militia sees a surge of eager young volunteers, while the IPA also sees a smaller increase in recruiting.