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Old 08-26-2022, 03:36 PM
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chico20854 chico20854 is offline
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August 20, 1997

Nothing official for today...

The Greek government collapses after a military coup. The junta of generals is actually initially quite popular as they promise a renewed effort at the front in Thrace and a more effective naval defense in the Agean; their appeal to nationalism in the conflict against the Turks and Americans is well received, and their authoritarian methods are presented as necessary steps to mobilize the nation's war effort after months of disorganzed and half-hearted efforts by an ineffective civilian government.

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Soviet troops enter Anchorage, Alaska for the first time, led by the 130th Motor-Rifle Division's 108th Motor-Rifle Regiment, equipped with rare 1940s-vintage T-44 tanks. To the north, the fresh (but mobilization-only) 147th (my 261st) Motor-Rifle Division is committed to the drive on Fairbanks, opposed by the 11th Airborne Division and various state and national guard troops.

The British command dispatches a 12-man SAS team from Guards Squadron, 22 SAS to the Falklands to pursue the Argentine commandos that seem to be active in the islands.

The Japanese officers arrested for the chlorine attack on the North Korean defenders of Pyongyang are quietly released on parole, ostensibly to give them and their lawyers time to work on their defense. They remain on an active-duty status, with full pay, although not assigned any duties beyond preparing for the as-yet unscheduled court martial trial.

The divisions of 13th Army (the 17th, 57th, 70th, 128th Guards and 161st Motor-Rifle Divisions) are all ordered to cease offensive operations and assemble in defensive positions. The Hungarian 31st Tank Brigade, assigned to the army, establishes a security screen along the southern flank.

Engineers assigned to the 5th Marine Division complete the scuttling of the last craft that they could drag into the Baltiysk channel, which links the Soviet Baltic Fleet base at Kaliningrad with the Baltic. The second-to-last vessel sunk is the dredge SM-671, which Seebees pay special attention to to ensure that it would not be recoverable. Many of the craft are booby trapped or at least partially loaded with ordnance salvaged from the town's battlefields to ensure that reopening the channel will be a long and costly effort.

The Polish 120th Artillery Regiment, assigned to the third-line Third Polish Army in southeastern Poland, begins sporadic harrassment fire on the NATO supply lines to its north, disrupting the stream of trucks supporting the southern contingents of Third German Army.

A German countermortar radar locates Captain Czarny's skilled mortarmen in northwestern Warsaw and directs a battery of LARS rockets from the 52nd Rocket Artillery Battalion onto its location. The resulting hail of rockets wipes out Czarny's mortar team and his company headquarters. The ZOMO captain is evacuated to an underground hospital, where the dedicated medical staff saves his life, although the wounds leave his face horribly scarred.

Pasdaran guerrillas in Esfahan, under direction of Sirjan Khorrasani, attack their own leader's house. While the guerrillas are unaware of the significance of the target (they think they are targeting another collaborator), it reinforces Khorrasani's cover as a loyal subject of the Tudeh regime.

The lead naval architech on the project to return the helicopter carrier Leningrad to service is arrested after many weeks of failing to find a way to graft the steel plate salvaged from the burned-out battlecruiser Rossiya onto the carrier. He is accused of sabotaging the effort after many years of secretly harboring pro-Chinese sentiment.

A second engagement occurs in the Falklands between Argentine naval commandos and TA troops. An Argentine marine is killed in the firefight, and his compatriots, under threat of being surrounded and captured, are forced to leave his body.
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I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end...
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