[chico20854]

March 25, 1997

Yet another day with nothing official! Unofficially,

The British deliver the Chinese statement about the conclusion of the war; the head of the Soviet delegation laughs and declares "We will never permit such a plot to succeed!" The Soviets offer a comprimise position - Soviet-supervised elections in Manchuria and East Germany to determine the shape of future governments there, and withdraws its demands for the Polish Government in Exile to be handed over. The Soviets also propose a return to prewar borders in Romania and Bulgaria.

The 199th Infantry Brigade (Light) is formed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii for service in tropical areas in the Pacific basin. Most of the “Redcatcher Brigade”'s soldiers arrived from training units stateside, with an influx of lieutenants from West Point’s second class of 1996 and senior NCOs recalled from the retired reserve or recovering from minor wounds received in the Pacific theater, recently discharged from Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu.

Workers complete the reconstruction of the rail line outside the US Army ammunition dump at RAF Caerwent in Wales, allowing the resumption of rail traffic over a month after Soviet Spetsnaz troops blew up an ammunition train leaving the massive ammo dump.

Attempts by the PLA high command to restore order and the momentum of the attack in eastern Manchuria fail; the exhausted and shell-shocked troops are unable to launch another round of attacks and the infrastructure in the rear area is insufficient to bring fresh troops in to continue the offensive.

Sembach Air Base, Germany is struck by Soviet bombers (firing cruise missiles over friendly territory to avoid NATO fighters), sustaining minor damage.

The 21st PanzerGrenadier Division completes its retraining and integration of new equipment and is rushed to East Germany.

The Victor-I class Soviet SSN K-306 sinks the Danish ro/ro Camilla in the North Atlantic, its second kill.

Convoy 126 arrives in Bremerhaven, Germany, bringing supplies of ammunition, spares, fuel and the vehicles and equipment of the 209th (New York National Guard) and 227th (Florida National Guard) Field Artillery Brigades.

As Egyptian authorities attempt to clear the Suez Canal, NATO planners begin to reroute shipping around Africa, an added distance of nearly 5000 nautical miles between Gibraltar and the Persian Gulf.

The two RAF Jaguar GR.3 attack squadrons in Oman are integrated with the Omani Jaguar force, splitting missions between battling Yemen- and Soviet-supported guerillas in Oman, patrolling the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz and flying strike missions in support of the embattled Iranians.

After a long transit around Indonesian waters, the Independence battle group arrives in the Middle Eastern theater. Her aircraft maintain active patrolling for the remnants of the Soviet Indian Ocean Squadron as the group approaches the Persian Gulf.

The last defenders of the northeastern city of Mashad are rooted out of the ruins that are all that remains of the center of town. Few Pasdaran fighters surrendered, with over 95 percent of the garrison killed in the months-long siege. The fall of the city frees troops from the 40th and 45th Army to fight to the south, and the conquest of the city allows engineers to begin rebuilding the transport links to Turkmenistan, a vital second supply line that is harder for NATO airpower to interdict.

The 146th Motor-Rifle Division, a mobilization-only unit from the Kiev Military District, is activated from an equipment stockpile and students from the 287th Training Motor-Rifle Division. It begins a several-month-long process of integrating green teenagers and recalled reservists from the region around its mobilization site in western Ukraine.

American A-7 attack aircraft from the 156th Tactical Fighter Group (Puerto Rico Air National Guard) fly a series of sorties in support of Colombian military and police forces, which are beseiged in a remote hilltop firebase by a large contingent of heavily armed Cuban and Venezuelan "liberation volunteers".