[Matt Wiser]

Okay, here goes: The first day of Operation PRAIRIE FIRE from the 335th's angle. PRAIRIE FIRE is the American counteroffensive after the Battle of Wichita that tore apart the Soviet front line in the Midwest and in the Southwest. Wichita was a failed Soviet offensive aimed at erasing a bulge in the Soviet line a la the Kursk one. The problem was that the Soviets delayed, and some intelligence work-along with Schwartzkopf's suspicions-"It's where I would attack, if I was in Marshal Kribov's shoes", as he said in his memoirs-laid the groundwork for a trap. Premier formations such as 1st Guards Tank Army, 3rd Shock Army, and 4th Guards Tank Army, were gutted as a result. The day after the Soviets called off the attack, Schwartzkopf's U.S. Fifth Army, Fourth Army in Wyoming and Colorado, and Sixth Army in New Mexico all went over to the attack.....

Note; the USAF expects to go to war and be billeted in a five-star hotel-or so the saying goes. The 335th is billeted at the Mesa Sheraton Resort, so...