On this day 25 years ago

[chico20854]

January 3, 1997

The US 2nd Infantry Division's 1st and 2nd Brigades (both mechanized) engage North Korean mechanized forces, composed largely of the 820th Mechanized Corps, northeast of Seoul.

unofficial:

The North Korean command commits the 815th Mechanized Corps as a follow-on force. USAF surveillance aircraft note the movement of vehicles, and G Battery, 37th Field Artillery, 2nd ID's MLRS battery, plasters the area with submunitions, slowing the North Korean reinforcements. The US commander then lands 2nd ID's 3rd (light) Brigade in rough terrain to the North Korean flank, where they unleash a hail of Viper/Tank Breaker missiles into the attacking armored troops.

Convoy 109 departs New York, bound for Newfoundland before starting the North Atlantic crossing.

The Turkish 1st Army receives reinforcements, largely taken from 2nd Army on the Mediterranean coast. Bulgarian resistance is stiffening as more troops are shifted from the Romanian front. The Bulgarian Communist Party sends an urgent request to the USSR for military assistance as the impovershed country's economy slows following the callup of so many men of prime working age and the nation's stockpiles are rapidly being depleted.

Fighting continues in the eastern oukstirks of Berlin, with NATO gains measured by hundreds of meters. Along the Baltic coast progress is more rapid, as Polish troops fall back to their border and the ports of Stralsund and Sassnitz fall, shutting down Pact supply/evacuation points.

Following a disappointing rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California by the 1st Brigade, 49th Armored Division, the Department of the Army decides to pull the entire division from the deployment timeline and re-equip it with M1-series vehicles rather than the M60A4s it fielded. In a separate but related action, the brigade commander, two battalion commanders and seventeen other officers are relieved and the entire division is ordered to begin an intensive re-training regime in addition to the retraining and reorganizing needed for the transition to new Tables of Organization and Equipment with the new tanks.

[chico20854]

January 4, 1997

nothing official for today, but unofficially:

After refuelling and restocking, Convoy 202 (including the Idaho Freedom) sails from Honolulu, destination Guam. The convoy includes 38 cargo ships, a rescue vessel and five escorts and its passage is cleared by P-3 aircraft and long-range sonar surveillance from a supporting SURTASS ship.

NATO troops in Norway consolidate their gains, rounding up the last Soviet stragglers, clearing lines of communications, establishing support facilities and replenishing stocks from truck convoys. Naval units begin clearing harbor of Kirkenes of mines and debris, including a sunken Soviet landing craft.

The East German 18th Marine Regiment, isolated in Sasnitz since the beginning of the war, joins the NATO forces driving along the Baltic Coast. The US 11th Aviation Brigade launches a nighttime deep-penetration raid across the front line, disabling a pair of pontoon bridges over the Niesse river north of Gorlitz and wreaking havoc on the masses of Pact vehicles awaiting passage into Poland as Soviet forces evacuate East Germany.

The 1st and 2nd Brigades, 2nd ID are locked in fierce combat against North Korean armored forces, which outnumber the American force by nearly 5 to one. The superior American tanks with lavish artillery and air support inflict heavy losses on the North Koreans, but are forced to give ground by the sheet quantity of enemy armor as their ammunition supply runs low as congestion, awful weather, refugees and enemy commando action delay their resupply convoys.

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The American containership Sea-Land Mariner, carrying containerized supplies for American troops, is struck by a Soviet SSM in the North Sea and set afire. Dutch emergency vessels respond and after 14 hours extinguish the fire.

AFRICOM secures two C-141 flights to Morocco to transport military equipment and supplies that will be distributed to anti-Soviet guerilla groups throughout the continent.

Scattered skirmishes erupt on the Turko-Soviet border, as Soviet KGB Border Guards and Turkish gendarmes trade shots. Neither nation has the resources to escalate the fighting.

The Soviet Ministry of Fisheries issues an order for its deep draft trawlers and support vessels in the southen Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans to rendevous at pre-designated points (well away from established shipping lanes) and await further orders, relayed from the Navy. Given the situation off the Soviet coasts, fishing craft are not to attempt the return voyage.

[chico20854]

January 5, 1997

photo
The US 25th ID(L) begins its deployment by air to Korea from its home station in Hawaii. Troops move on a fleet of US and Korean Air widebody jets, while the division's vehicles are carried aboard C-5, C-17 and C-141 airlifters.

unofficially:

The Freedom-class cargo ship Rhode Island Freedom is delivered in Portland, OR.

The Politburo decides to try to convince the Dutch and Danish publics of the high cost of their support of the war (and scare them out of continued support for the war) by demonstrative strikes on their nations. A Spetsnaz team scuttles a chemical tanker (loaded with poisonous benzene) in the mouth of Rotterdam harbor, booby traps it and lights it on fire, at the same time that a Soviet air raid bombs the refinery and chemical plant in the city and mines the harbor, followed by a Scaleboard strike with persistent chemical munitions on the port and the main rail junction. One of the Su-24s, dodging Dutch F-16s, accidentally releases its munitions onto the historic center of the city. A similar strike targets Aarhus in Denmark. Thousands are killed in both countries, overwhelmingly civilians.

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AFNON and X Corps launch an attack into the USSR, acting on the authorization by NATO heads of state a few days prior. (This is the first time American troops have fought Red Army troops on Soviet soil since 1919). Border guards offer stiff resistance, but the main opposition comes from the remnants of 6th Army, which is still reeling after the long retreat across northern Norway. The strongest resistance comes from paratroopers brought in to shore up the border defenses.

The attack submarine USS Bluefish sinks the Soviet frigate Deyatelny in the Black Sea, the first of several Pact ships it will attack as it patrols the generally hostile Black Sea.

Turkish troops cut the road and rail routes to the Bulgarian port of Burgas; the garrison and population there is sustained by stores on hand and what can be brought in the city's port.

Soviet commerce raiders sortie from havens in the Seychelles, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea.

[chico20854]

January 6, 1997

photo
Responding to the prior day's attacks on Rotterdam, the Dutch government orders the Netherlands I Leger Korps into Germany to fight Warsaw Pact forces.

Unofficially:

The Dutch and Danish populations are outraged about the previous day's attacks and demand retribution against the USSR.

In Korea, the US 2nd ID's lines begin to strain as 1st Shock Army commits its third and final armored corps (the 806th) to the breakthrough. Some relief comes as VII ROK Corps releases the 20th Mechanized Infantry Division to reinforce the beleaugered Americans.

Pact forces begin pell-mell retreat from Berlin towards the Oder-Niesse line; poor weather prevents Allied airpower from devastating their columns. To the north, German troops reach the Polish border west of Szczecin and clash with outposts of the Polish 12th Armored Division. The Czech expeditionary force withdraws to home territory.

On the Kola Peninsula, X Corps troops are astride the Kola Highway west of Zapolyarny, threatening the road junction that leads to Nikel.

The Soviet Tango-class sub Novosibirsk Komsomolets sinks the Filipino bulk carrier Southern Princess carrying grain to Antwerp.

[chico20854]

January 7, 1997

The Dutch 4th Mechanized Division enters Germany.

Unofficial:

The 278th ACR loads the last of its vehicles on ships assigned to Convoy 110 in Savannah, Georgia for transit to Germany.

Nine MC-141s of the 76th Military Airlift Squadron arrive at Clark, AFB, Phillipines.

The first contingent of East German POWs captured the prior year in China arrive in Hickam AFB, Hawaii for a week of leave before continuing their journey home.

British forces reach Frankfurt-an-Oder on the Polish border. They enter the city, but are unable to seize the bridges over the Oder.

photo
182nd Tactical Fighter Squadron begins combat air patrols over Turkey from the airbase at Batman. Its F-16Cs are initially tasked with air defense of Southeastern Turkey but soon will receive orders to interdict Soviet supply lines in northwestern Iran.

A F-16A of the 482nd Tactical Fighter Wing's 89th Tactical Fighter Squadron (AFRES) intercepts a Soviet Be-12 anti-submarine patrol aircraft over the Black Sea and downs the lumbering flying boat.

A Soviet raider sinks a Cypriot-flagged ore carrier leaving Durban, South Africa with a cargo of chrome ore.

[chico20854]

January 8, 1997

Feeling emboldened by Turkish success in Bulgaria, Cypriots of Turkish descent hold a rally in Nicosia. Some fly the Turkish flag, despite the reunification of the island in 1994. Greek youth heckle and jeer the rally, and the situation escalates into scuffles and broken glass.

Unofficially:

US Pacific Command launches Operation Steel Bandit - US Navy and USAF units, with support from allies, launch raid on Soviet naval station at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. The air strikes from the carriers Ranger and Abraham Lincoln and Clark AFB in the Philippines are nearly disastrous, but US Army Rangers from the 6th Ranger Battalion and allies land at the airfield and destroy vital facilities and tangling with responding troops from the 50th GMRD. Overall the costly raid is successful in halting the Soviets' use of the former US base for missions over the South China Sea and ferry bombing missions across China to Siberia.

The 163rd ACR (MT and TX NG) completes loading its troops, vehicles and heavy equipment on ships in Tacoma, Washington for transit to Korea. The group of ships is designated Convoy 205 and heads out that evening, escorted by a force of the destroyer Towers, frigate Lang and Coast Guard cutter Jarvis.

Remaining Pact troops are driven out of East German territory. German troops, a combination of the Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command and East German 5 Armee, cross the Polish border west of Szczecin, intent on securing a solid front line along the Oder-Niesse line and giving the Polish Government in Exile a slice of Polish territory to bolster its legitimacy.

The Soviet destroyer Buliny, damaged early in the war in the Norwegian Sea but repaired and replenished, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Mikhail Mischenko, slips across GIUK gap by hiding in iceberg fields in the Arctic night.

The attack submarine USS Bluefish takes up station off Burgas, Bulgaria to interdict the city. It sinks the Soviet troop transport Shota Rustaveli but is spotted by a Bulgarian Mi-14 helicopter, beginning a three-day ordeal to escape a Pact ASW task force vectored onto it.

[chico20854]

January 9, 1997

Nothing official today, but unofficially:

The first units from the US 25th ID(L) enter combat in Korea, reinforcing the battered 3rd Brigade, 2nd ID as they strive to contain the North Korean advance.

Open rebellion breaks out in scattered Polish Army units, mostly in individual battalions or regiments within a division, in response to the Pact defeat in East Germany and emergence of a Free Polish government.

The Dutch Red Army attempts to ambush a truck convoy leaving the Stegerveld ammunition dump; the convoy guards suppress the attackers and the convoy moves on.

photo
Unrest in Nicosia, Cyprus continues. Greek and Turkish youth engage in street battles while nationalist leaders call for calm.

The 126th MRD enters Romanian territory, assigned to the 5th Guards Army, and is almost immediately in action.

The 482nd TFW (AFRES) launches an offensive fighter sweep over Turkish troops in Bulgaria, drawing out Bulgarian Air Force fighters and allowing American ELINT aircraft orbiting over Anatolia to identify the electronic emissions of Bulgarian air defense units. One F-16, two MiG-21s and a MiG-29 are shot down.

The Ranger and Abraham Lincoln carrier battle groups steam east at high speed, while the Boat Troop of NZSAS made a more leisurely exit from the Cam Ranh region aboard the late Admiral Selevinski’s barge, enjoying the liquor and company aboard.

[chico20854]

January 10, 1997

Nothing official today, but unofficially:

photo
The 202nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (SC Air National Guard) is reported ready for action following its conversion from F-4Es (which had been transferred to the Luftwaffe's JBG-36 in November to replace their losses) to F-20A Tigersharks.

An explosion rocks the ATACMS missile assembly plant in Horizon, TX. Thanks to the construction of the facility only one building is destroyed, killing 8 workers.

photo
In the North Pacific, 3rd Fleet launches Operation Steel Force - a raid on the Soviet naval complex Petropavlovsk-Kamchaktiy by the carriers Nimitz and Constellation. The raid is less costly than the recent raid on Cam Ranh Bay, but succeeds mostly in knocking back the city's air defenses and mining the channel leading out of the sheltered bay, with little direct damage to Soviet naval forces.

There is chaos in the Polish Army as rebel units call on their compatriots to join them. Polish Generals order all units locked down as they attempt to regain control, furiously trying to avoid having Soviet units put down the uprisings.

There is a third night of violence in Cyprus. Rioting expands to the city of Larnaca on the south side of the island.

USAF and Turkish Air Force units launch raids on the Bulgarian air defense network, enlarging the hole that had been created the Turkish advance into southeastern Bulgaria.

The Soviet Naval Infantry's 810th Brigade loads onto amphibious shipping in Sevastopol as high-priority reinforcements for battered Bulgarian troops facing the advancing Turks.

The 116th MRD, a mobilization-only division from the Leningrad MD, is called into service.

In the central Pacific, the commander of the 7th Fleet orders the USS Ranger's air wing to transfer as many surviving aircraft and aircrew as possible to Abraham Lincoln's in order to bring it as close to full strength. Advanced munitions are to be offloaded to replenishment ships accompanying Ranger and the carrier is ordered to return to the west coast for reconstitution while Abraham Lincoln is to sail north to support the embattled allied forces in Korea.

[chico20854]

January 11, 1997

photo
NATO minelaying of the GIUK gap begins.

unofficially:

The French government files a formal protest and a request to a German court to force compliance with commercial charter contract on the German-flagged cargo ship Ariana, which France claims has an obligation to continue to transport Ariane rockets to the launch facility in French Guiana. The ship is instead en-route to the US to load military equipment. (The French government fails to note that it is intent on lofting a electronic intelligence satellite with the rocket, hence the demand for quick action.)

Texas Rangers report that they have recovered a Soviet AT-4 missile transport tube near location of prior day's explosion at the ATAMS missile assembly plant outside El Paso.

The tug boat Janet Pommet is hijacked by unknown agents and sunk in San Diego harbor channel, partially blocking it.

RAF Mildenhall is hit by Soviet cruise missiles once again launched over the Baltic Sea and overflying southern Sweden; The Commanding Generals, USAF Europe and 3rd Air Force and some of their staff are killed. A C-23 light transport and two EC-135H Command & Control aircraft are destroyed.

NATO launches Operation Thundercloud - coordinated pre-dawn landings by the British 6th Airmobile Brigade, East German 40th Air Assault Brigade and the West German 26th Luftlande Brigade to seize bridgeheads over the Oder and Niesse Rivers, opposite Frankfurt-on-Oder, Gubin and Gorlitz, taking advantage of the disarray within the Polish Army.

Canadian and British fishing boats, B-52s from the 42nd Bomb Wing and USCG C-130s are initially involved in the minelaying effort in the North Atlantic, intending to cut off the resupply routes that SACLANT suspects are being used to support Soviet commerce raiders.

A bus full of Turkish Cyptiot construction workers in Limassol, Cyprus is stopped and the passengers dragged off and beaten by a Greek mob. The subsequent rioting expands across the island.

The advance party of the 278rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is flown to Amsterdam-Schipol airport to arrange for reception of the rest of the regiment.

A shipowner reports loss of communications with the MV Diamond Cherry, carrying grain from Port Elizabeth, South Africa to Rimini, Italy.

[chico20854]

January 12, 1997

The 43rd Infantry Division HQ is formed at Ft Devens, MA, taking command of 187th & 205th Infantry Brigades and the 218th Infantry Brigade (Mech) (all USAR).

Unofficial:

At the Pentagon, the Army staff announces a major change in plans as a result of the increased goegrahic size of Germany and ongoing conflict in Iran and Korea - instead of corps having command of a number of independent Reserve Component brigades, those brigades will instead be formed into divisions, using ARCOMs (Army Reserve Commands) and STARCs (State National Guard headquarters) as kernels of the divisional headquarters. Additional ARCOMs will be converted to corps headquarters.

The Freedom ship North Carolina Freedom is delivered in New Orleans, where it begins loading ammunition and replacement vehicles shipped from the Mississippi valley and the Red River Army Depot.

The Coast Guard interviews the crew of tug boat Janet Pommet, who indicate that the hijackers spoke a Slavic language and slipped away in a raft heading to Mexican waters.

Lt. Gen. Denise Alcort , XO of USAF Europe, assumes command while Lt. Gen. Carol Allby assumes command of 3rd Air Force.

Pacific Fleet launches Operation Iron Claw - At dusk, major air raids take off, targetting North Korean naval facilities in the Sea of Japan from the carriers Vinson, Constellation & Abraham Lincoln.

photo
The bridgeheads established by the prior day's airborne landings in Poland are subject to furious counterattack as both sides rush reinforcements and fire support to the areas, intent on establishing them (for NATO) and wiping them out (for the Pact).

The Polish Communist Party orders disloyal officers to be expelled from the Party and shot; enlisted personnel who rose up are to be demoted to private and sent to the front as motor-riflemen.

On the Kola Peninsula, US troops from the US 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry link up with Norwegian troops of the Vestoppland Infanteri Regiment, part of 6th Division’s 6th Brigade, along the railroad line west of Luostari, completing the encirclement of Nikel and its garrison.

Community leaders in Cyprus issue additional calls for calm; thousands turn out in rallies for unity. After dark fires return to the cities.

The 112th Tactical Fighter Wing (Pennsylvania Air National Guard) begins flying sorties in support of Jugoslav and Romanian troops in northwestern Romania from its deployment location in Tuzla, Jugoslavia.

The 113th Field Artillery Brigade (NC National Guard) completes unloading of its equipment in Bremerhaven and is released to 7th Army for deployment.

The officers of 1st Squadron, 278th ACR's advanced party are relieved of duty following the previous night's "night on the town" in search of whores, beer and the offerings of Amsterdam's famous coffee shops before going into combat.

A Soviet raider sinks the Liberian-flag general cargo carrier Navios Trader off West Africa.

The French government orders the immediate return of the naval transport Bougainville from supporting the nuclear test center in French Polynesia. The ship will be used to transport Ariane rockets to French Guiana.

[chico20854]

January 13, 1997

The 45th Infantry Division headquarters is formed at Ft Chaffee, AR, taking under command the 39th (AR), 45th (OK) and 53rd (FL NG) Infantry Brigades.

The Soviets decide to revive their flagging offensive in Iran, committing the 4th and 45th Armies. The 45th Army attacks from east of the Caspian Sea, overrunning the thin screen of Pasdaran troops still guarding the border with Turkmenistan. 4th Army advances down the coast road along the western Caspian coast, relieving elements of the 7th Guards Army from garrisoning Tehran.


Unofficially:

photo
The Battle of the Sea of Japan starts when the Soviet Kilo-class submarine B-470 spots the USS Vinson (lingering in the area after the prior days' raids on North Korean naval facilities, performing close air support strikes along the DMZ) and reports its location. Escorting helicopters, aircraft and ships sink the submarine before the Soviet air raids begin. Over the next two hours four waves of attackers approach (one of North Korean MiG-17s, one of Su-24s, one of Tu-16 Badger bombers and the last of supersonic Tu-22M Backfire bombers). The carriers' Combat Air Patrols deplete their missiles against the first several waves of attackers (which manage to disable a number of the escorting Aegis cruisers and destroyers), and the fighters are in the process of landing when the Backfire's missiles arrive, shielded by a wall of electronic interference that diminishes the range and effectiveness of the American's electronics. At the end of the day, the Constellation has been damaged and the Vinson and five escorts are sunk.

German attacks in northwest Poland intensify; The garrison of Szczecin (Soviet 21st Motor-Rifle Division, the Polish 12th Armored Division, 12th Border Guard Brigade, Szczecin Territorial Defense Brigade and an ad-hoc brigade formed from naval personnel) is hard pressed and local officials order evacuation of civilians from the city.

DEA agents in Ciudad Juarez conduct an illegal (from the Mexican perspective!) raid on safehouse, resulting in firefight that kills three agents and four suspects. A fifth suspect is taken alive - a starshina in the Soviet Army.

Army contracting officers place an order for CH-54 helicopters from the small Oregon company that bought the design and production rights; the first buy of CH-54s since 1972. The helicopters will sustain the Alaska National Guard aviation company assigned to the 172nd Infantry Brigade and equip additional units.

Contracts are also placed for additional initial training of military helicopter pilots (US and allied) with civilian flight schools across the South; the contract reqires the training to take place on the Robinson R44 light helicopter. This move lowers the burden on the US Army Aviation school at Fort Rucker, whose airspace and facilties were continually overcrowded.

The Freedom ship Wyoming Freedom is delivered in Galveston, TX.

Convoy 202, including the Idaho Freedom, arrives in Guam undamaged.

The Soviet sub Novosibirsk Komsomolets attacks the tanker Astoria Bay leaving the Mediterranean; the submarine successfully evades P-3s sent to locate it from Rota, Spain.

A second day of rallies for unity in Cyprus is disrupted by Greek youth. Rumors swirl that the Greeks are actually agents of the Greek National Intelligence Service. The rallies turn into anti-Greek riots, with 17 killed.

[chico20854]

January 14, 1997

nothing official today, but unofficially its a busy day!

Soviet aviation commander Marshall Kuzmenko meets with the Defense Council and Admiral Tulaev, commander of the the Soviet Navy, to discuss curtailing future bomber support to the Navy following the costly raids over the Sea of Japan the prior day, in which over half of the attacking aircraft did not return. He proposes that the USSR's remaining bombers re-orient towards 1) retention of intercontinental and regional nuclear strike capabilities, 2) a continuation of the strategic bombing campaign against China, 3) supporting Pact operations in the Balkans (and trying to knock isolated Turkey out of the war) and Iran and 4) supporting the war in the west; pointedly not including tangling with the US Navy. If American fleets once again approach the Soviet coast in the north, they will be met with bombers. His plan receives a cool reception, yet none can offer a meaningful alternative and consequently, over the next several weeks, Naval Aviation is stripped of many of its bombers.

A US National Security Council interagency discussion concludes that the Horizon, Texas ATACMS plant attack, San Diego tug sinking and Ciudad Juarez firefight are evidence that Soviet spetsnaz teams have crossed the Mexican border.

Convoy 202.1 departs Guam with three escorts, 26 cargo ships and the USNS Ponchatoula, headed for Pusan, Korea. Convoy 202.2 departs with 13 cargo ships, two escorts and a rescue ship, bound for Subic Bay, Phillipines.

German troops enter the outskirts of Szczecin.

SACEUR orders his J-4 (Logistics officer) to prepare a summary of the Alliance's supply levels on the Central Front.

On the Kola Peninsula, the 7th Guards Airborne breaks out of its encirclement, penetrating thin American lines and evacuating 5,000 troops.

The Soviet destroyer Buliny, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Mikhail Mischenko, get its first kill, the Italian-flagged Jolly Smeraldo carrying vehicles of the 13th Corps Support Command.

The rioting in Cyprus continues. Nicosia burns and dozens are killed.

The Soviet 810th Naval Infantry Brigade arrives in the encircled port of Burgas, Bulgaria and moves to the front facing Turkish troops.

The first four (of 16 scheduled) widebody airliner flights carrying troops of 278 ACR depart Charleston, SC for Amsterdam-Schipol.

[chico20854]

January 15, 1997

The British 6th Infantry Division enters China and comes under Chinese command. It is initially assigned counter-insurgency duties in southern China.

unofficially:

The last Polish units are released from lockdown to contain NATO bridgeheads, although some commanders have new "minders" in their headquarters. The first pontoon bridge across the Oder is set up, leading into the Gorlitz bridgehead.

The 130th Tactical Airlift Wing (West Virginia Air National Guard) is brought into Federal service and ordered to deploy to Sacheon, ROK.

The 343rd Tactical Fighter Wing's alert orders, at Eielson AFB, AK, to prepare for deployment to Korea are rescinded; the 343rd is instead ordered to maintain it’s A-10 tank killers as part of a strategic reserve or for possible deployment to Norway in addition to Korea.

Detachment 2, 99th Strategic Reconnissance Squadron deploys 2 U-2s to Howard AFB, Panama to support SOUTHCOM.

The 202nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (SC ANG) is ordered to Gander, Newfoundland with its F-20As to augment continental air defense.

Interrogation of the Soviet spetsnaz soldier captured in Ciudad Juarez reveals that at least four other Spetsnaz teams arrived in Mexico in December.

The 48th Infantry Brigade, Georgia NG, completes its rotation at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, CA and is declared combat ready, while the 3rd Brigade, 26th ID(L) completes Rotation 97-2 at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Polk, LA and is declared combat ready.

President Tanner signs National Security Directive 97-3, authorizing the detention/internment of Warsaw Pact nationals and setting up a process for detainees/internees to appeal their status with the FBI.

Headquarters, 5th Air Force is ordered to relocate to Kadena AB, Okinawa, to be closer to the Korean Theater of Operations.

Major air battle rages over the East China Sea, as Frontal Aviation's 114th Bomber Regiment (with Su-24 Fencers operating out of China), headed to attack Taiwan, is intercepted by F-15s of the 67th TFS. 12 Su-24s are downed and 13 others damaged, the air raid called off, at the cost of two F-15s, whose crews are rescued by helos from the 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Suadron. The Soviets' diversionary attack against Hokkaido is launched late, leading to another fierce air battle simultaneously over the Sea of Japan as Soviet fighters tangle with elements of the 13th & 14th Tactical Fighter Squadrons. The 39th ARRS rescues 6 downed Soviet aircrew, including the first Soviet female MiG-29 and Su-27 pilots captured in the Pacific.

The 25th US Infantry Division enters combat in Korea, coming to the aid of the embattled 2nd Infantry Division.

Convoy 202.1 meets the eastbound Convoy 402 and its escort force composed of Japanese destroyers and frigates. The American escorts turn around, picking up Convoy 402 while the Japanese guide Convoy 202.1 the rest of the way into Pusan.

The Headquarters, 928th Tactical Airlift Wing (Illinois Air National Guard) is disbanded, its subordinate units assigned to the 440th TAW at Bremen IAP, Germany. The move brings the 440th up to full strength and streamlines command and control of airlifters supporting USAF and NATO operations in northern Germany.

In Cyprus, there are battles on the outskirts of Larnaca as gangs of Turkish youth attempt to enter the city, intent on trouble.

The American attack submarine USS Bluefish takes up station outside the Kerch Strait, the exit to the Sea of Azov.

Convoy 110 attacked by a Soviet submarine 150 miles off the Icelandic coast. Two ships (the Cape Edmont and the Baltic Breeze), carrying half the vehicles of the 278th ACR, are sunk.

The first Lufthansa flight carrying 250 released East German POWs arrives in Frankfurt; the returnees are to be evaluated and reassigned to East German units as loss replacements.

[chico20854]

January 16, 1997

Unrest across the island of Cyprus continues as bands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots travel from their homes to isolated communities of the other group. Police commanders, their forces riven by ethnic unrest, seek military intervention.

Unofficially:

German troops reach the center of Szczecin after Soviet armored vehicles are evacuated by ferry. The remainder of the city's garrison withdraws at night in small boats.

A Czech special operations team (that had slipped across the border on December 28) ambushes the commander of the German IV Territorial Command and kill him, leaving his command temporarily leaderless.

On the Kola Peninsula, the Soviet 6th Army’s last resistance collapses and General Dzhidzhilava, who slipped away from his command in a helicopter, is arrested.

The US National Security Council requests that border states activate their State Defense Forces to protect vital war production and mobilization/ deployment sites. The FBI issues a counter-intelligence warning to law enforcement nationwide on the Spetsnaz threat.

The US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) orders the disbandment of ROTC Cadet Command, the collegiate officer training program. College seniors enrolled in the program had been commissioned in October and were beginning to reach units in the field as new second lieutenants. Juniors were transfered to Officer Candidate Schools established at various sites around the country, to be commissioned after completion of a six-week course. Sophomores were reclassed as infantry corporals or sergeants and fed into the replacement system, while freshmen were sent to basic training as privates first class. Junior cadre (Officers below Lieutenant Colonel, NCOs below Master Sergeant) were also fed into the replacement system, while senior cadre remained on their assigned college campuses, tasked to interview students (senior undergraduates and graduate students) to identify candidates for direct commissioning.

The 31st ARRS rescues four Soviet aircrew downed over the East China Sea, including the first Soviet female Su-24 pilot and navigator captured.

In the Pacific, Convoy 202.1 is attacked by the Soviet submarines B-220 and Komsomolets Tadzhikistan, lurking in shallow waters at slow speed. Three cargo ships and the frigate Noshiro are sunk before the B-220 is located and sunk, the Komsomolets Tadzhikistan slinking away to fight another day.

Over the Norwegian Sea, four F-16s of the 465 TFS intercept a flight of 12 Tu-22 Blinders attempting to launch a cruise missile strike on Keflavik and in 4 minutes managed to down all 12 aircraft, with the loss of only a single F-16.

F-16As of the 89th TFS (AFRES) strike a Soviet supply convoy headed for Varna, Bulgaria.

The submarine USS Bluefish is damaged by mine when it wanders into a minefield protecting Soviet transit lane and begins slow withdrawal from area.

A C-141 aircraft of the 702nd Military Airlift Squadron crashes shortly after takeoff from McGuire AFB, New Jersey. Investigators quickly determine that the crash was caused by fatigue, although it is unclear whether the fatigue was in the structure of the 31-year old aircraft or in the exhausted aircrew or maintentance crews, who had been working nonstop for months with inadequate rest.

[chico20854]

January 17, 1997

Czech and Soviet troops launch an attack against the German covering force in Bavaria, attempting to divert forces from Polish border.

Cypriot Army units leave their barracks and attempt to restore order.

Unofficial:

The Freedom ship New Jersey Freedom is delivered in Galveston, TX while its sister the Delaware Freedom is delivered from Pascagoula, MS.

At Ft. Stewart, GA the 118th Field Artillery Brigade (Georgia National Guard) is certified unready for deployment by evaluators.

The US submarine USS Tunny arrives in port in San Diego to load a Dry Deck Shelter, a specialized structure to transport Seal Delivery Vehicles.

Convoy 202.1 arrives in Pusan, losing an additional ship (the Taiwanese-flag Wan Hai 203) to a mine in the shipping channel. The Idaho Freedom has completed its first voyage and moves to a berth to unload its cargo of munitions.

In the Northwestern USSR, the 69th Naval Infantry Brigade is formed from personnel of the Litsa naval base complex

The frigate USS McDonnell (FF-1043) is sunk by missile launched by an Echo II SSGN.

A month after being struck by Soviet anti-radar missiles, the Aegis cruiser USS San Jacinto, stabilized in Scapa Flow, begins a tow back to shipyard in US.

British garrisons in Cyprus close their gates to all visitors and offer refuge to their local employees and their families.

The 32nd GMRD, a Category C division from the Moscow Military District, is ordered to mobilize, while the 96th MRD in the Volga Military District is upgraded to Category B, receiving an influx of equipment and men although not slated for imminent deployment.

[chico20854]

January 18, 1997

Nothing in the canon for today...

The FBI announces the establishment of sixteen regional internment centers for Warsaw Pact nationals.

The first units of the California and Texas State Defense Forces report for duty. The Hawaii State Guard is hastily formed from retired Hawaii National Guard officers and NCOs, prison guards, police officers and veterans, to patrol beaches and vital infrastructure on Oahu. Initially armed with rifles and shotguns taken from police armories (and suitable weapons taken from evidence rooms!), they were issued M14 rifles from federal stockpiles flown in from the mainland later in the month.

The last flight carrying the 25 ID(L) lands at Kimpo AB, Korea.

German territorials rush to border in Bavaria, trying to contain Pact offensive. Their deployment is slowed by fierce snowstorms, which also hamper the Pact advance, while shielding the attackers from Allied airpower.

The 72nd Naval Infantry Brigade is formed from personnel of the Severomorsk naval base outside Murmansk.

The Soviet destroyer Buliny, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Mikhail Mischenko, sinks the Liberian-flagged containership Aramac with 130mm gunfire.

25 rioters are killed by Cyptiot Army troops, 18 Turks and 7 Greeks.

Soviet ASW aircraft locate the damaged American submarine Bluefish and maintain active pursuit for eight hours.

The last flight carrying troops of the 278 ACR arrives in the Netherlands.

Iranian National Security Force paramilitary troops arrest suspected Tudeh rebels attempting to hide in a southbound flow of refugees.

photo
The US Navy, alarmed at the continuing losses of merchantmen around the world, orders the establishment of light carrier forces to hunt down Soviet raiders, freeing more formidable units for front-line duty. The Essex-class fleet carriers Oriskany, Hancock and Bennington join their sister Lexington reactivating in shipyards. The Navy also takes custody of the light carrier Cabot, which it had decommissioned in 1955 and lent to Spain, which had returned it in 1989 and spent the intervening years in various ports in the Gulf Coast. All these reactivations would take months (at least) to complete, so as an interim measure several containerships were requisitioned and began conversion to sea control ships.

The aircraft to fly from these ships were to come from three sources. 44 AV-8C Harriers remained in storage in Arizona, alongside several dozen SH-3 helicopters and a smaller contingent of SH-2s. (Contracts were signed to quickly convert some of the SH-3s to EH-3I Airborne Early Warning aircraft, the American designation for the British Sea King AEW.5). T-2C armed trainers and various models of A-4 light attack aircraft were diverted from the Navy's shoreside training establishment, and T-45 trainers came from training units and from the production line in St. Louis, Missouri. Five Carrier Air Group headquarters, three Marine Scout-Bombing Squadrons and 30 Navy attack and helicopter squadrons were authorized to command this aerial armada.

[chico20854]

January 19, 1997

photo
The British 24th Infantry Brigade is moved to Newcastle but bad weather cancels its orders to deploy to Norway.

With completion of the 25th Infantry Division (Light)'s deployment, Military Airlift Command shifts its Pacific airlift effort to deploying the 7th Infantry Division (Light) from California to Korea.

unofficially:

Border Patrol agents on routine patrol in the Yuma Sector in Arizona are engaged by group of men armed with automatic weapons. Two agents are killed and another wounded.

The 1st Brigade, 28th Infantry Division (Pennsylvania National Guard) completes Rotation 97-3 at NTC-2 at the Yakima Training Center and is declared combat ready.

SACEUR receives the requested supply status report from his J-4. German Army stockpiles have been largely expended, UK has one week of supplies remaining, US has three weeks and Canada four days. Dutch and Danish stockpiles are in better condition, but future operations depend on industrial production in Europe and resupply over the North Atlantic.

The Soviet Kilo-class sub B-227 shoots down a civilian Puma helo with a SA-14 in the North Sea. The helicopter was carrying workers to offshore oil production platforms.

The Turkish government lodges a complaint with the Cypriot government about the disproportionate use of force against Turkish Cypriots. Dozens more are killed in Cyprus as rioters have armed themselves and local militias formed.

In the Black Sea, a Soviet surface ASW task force, led by the destroyer Svedushiy, locates the damaged USS Bluefish and sinks her.

The remnants of Convoy 110 arrive at Den Helder, Netherlands containing half the vehicles and heavy equipment of the 278th ACR (Tennessee National Guard).

[chico20854]

January 20, 1997

Nothing official today, but unofficially:

In a low-key ceremony in Washington, US President John Tanner is sworn in for his second term. His inaugural address speaks to the need to "resolutely strive for victory while seeking an immediate end to this terrible conflict."

SACEUR requests guidance from the Atlantic Council (composed of NATO heads of state) on the further direction of the war.

SACLANT (Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic) orders an all-out effort to verify the identity of shipping in the Atlantic. Fewer than 150 merchantmen are under escort by NATO navies, leaving over 1500 ships at sea (allied and neutral) carrying cargo and presenting an opportunity for Soviet raiders to hide among them. The mining effort in the GIUK Gap, nearly complete, is halted and the assets redirected to obtaining a visual sighting, bearing and speed of as many ships as possible. Training sorties and voyages are curtailed or redirected towards surveillence missions.

A massive manhunt begins in southern Arizona for the assailants in the prior day's firefight.

The 41st Infantry Brigade (Oregon NG) completes Rotation 97-4 at the Joint Readiness Training Center-2 (JRTC-2) at Fort Chaffee, AR and declared combat ready.

The 118th Field Artillery Brigade (Georgia National Guard) begins to arrive at Avon Park Air Force Range, FL for additional training and integration of replacements from the training base.

The Pact offensive in Bavaria stalls, hampered by poor weather, NATO attacks on its supply lines through the difficult terrain, and increasing German resistance.

The 115th MRD is deployed to Finnish border west of Leningrad to deter any Finnish designs on Karelia.

The Cypriot coast guard intercepts an unidentified small boat off the island's north coast, loaded with unmarked military-grade weapons and ammunition.

The Romanian army launches an offensive in northeastern Romania, taking advantage of harsh winter conditions in the Carpathians.

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The crude oil tanker Ocean Prosperity, bound for the US Gulf of Mexico, is sunk by a Soviet surface raider 300 nm south of Lagos, Nigeria.

[chico20854]

January 21, 1997

The first module of the US space station Freedom is launched into space aboard space shuttle Endeavor.

Unofficially:

The Freedom-class cargo ship Georgia Freedom is delivered in Beaumont, TX.

The 264th Engineer Group (Combat) (Wisconsin National Guard) is declared operational and begins movement from its mobilization station of Ft. McCoy to Oakland, CA for deployment to Korea.

The State of Maryland stands up its 121st Engineer Regiment, Maryland State Defense Force in Towson (outside of Baltimore). The unit is staffed mainly by people with experience in the construction industry and has access to heavy equipment owned by the state Department of Transportation and other state and local agencies.

The Dutch 1st Division (Mechanized) is deployed to Bavaria to bolster NATO defenses there as Czech troops consolidate control of the city of Regensburg. The front line in Bavaria stabilizes along the Danube.

American Green Berets of the 10th SFG lead their protoges of the Lithuanian Free Army on their first attack on Soviet supply lines, derailing a train carrying ammunition to the front.

The Cypriot government accuses Turkey of attempting to secretly supply Turkish Cypriot militias.

Romanian troops recapture the town of Suceava and continue across the plains towards the town of Botoșani.

The 97th GMRD is brought up to 150 percent strength in the Kiev MD with an influx of reservists, 18-year old draftees and recent graduates of training divisions, beginning a two-month long process of identifying the most capable soldiers, training them for service in Romania, and transferring the rest to the unit's shadow division, the 232nd Rear Area Protection Division.

[chico20854]

January 22, 1997

Nothing official today...

A patrol from the 76th Infantry Brigade, 38th ID (Indiana NG), having just completed Rotation 97-2 at NTC-3 at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, intercepts the armed men that had engaged the Border Patrol agents 3 days prior. A firefight ensues, and when the smoke clears a six-man Spetsnaz team and a squad of infantry from the 2nd Battalion, 293rd Infantry lay dead in the desert.

Responding to requests from several state governors, the US Army TRADOC approves a partial exemption from the order to disband ROTC units for those programs that operate a cadet Corps (such as the Citadel, VMI, Norwich University, etc.) so that governors may incorporate the corps into their state defense force planning.

The last of the paratroopers are withdrawn from the bridgeheads over the Oder-Niesse Rivers in Poland, replaced by mechanized troops of the British 1st Armoured Division, German 7th Panzer Division and US 35th Infantry Division. The bridgeheads are subject to constant artillery attacks, but NATO Combat Air Patrols and surface to air missile batteries defeat most Pact air attacks.

The unified German government requests NATO assistance in providing relief to the population of devastated East Germany. The former nation suffered extensive damage to its roads, towns, electrical generation equipment and much more in the campaign from October through early January. Military assistance is requested in transporting food and fuel, in clearing unexploded ordnance, rubble and obstacles and repairing roads and other infrastructure. Many NATO support and service units are fully engaged in their normal missions, but the US 7th Army commits several engineer units and USAF Red Horse civil engineering squadrons are released as well.

Other than the Combat Air Patrols, the air over the front line in Germany is relatively quiet. The NATO air forces have suffered, especially the Luftwaffe and East German LSK, have suffered from enemy action, bad weather and wear and tear. Many remaining aircraft are out of service for deferred maintenance, and others are awaiting arrival of spare parts from depots in the US and UK. Stocks of precision guided munitions and modern air to air missiles have been depleted as well. RAF pilots jokingly refer to the period as "The Second Phony War".

The Soviet destroyer Buliny, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Mikhail Mischenko, sinks the Maltese-flagged containership Sea Princess with a pair of SS-N-22 missiles.

The first battalions of the 7th Infantry Division (Light) enter combat in Korea. The front there has settled into a terrible equilibrium with continual fierce artillery barrages and nighttime infiltration attacks.

An isolated Greek-Cypriot village is attacked by unidentified gunmen and its inhabitants massacred; 48 adults and 27 children.

1st Ukrainian Front gathers forces to halt the Romanian drive; the 40th Air Assault Brigade is landed by helicopter on the southern flank of the Romanian drive, while a scratch force of motor-rifle troops from the 86 GMRD protects the guns of the 751st and 758th Anti-Tank Regiments as they dig in on the outskirts of the communicators hub of Botoșani.

[chico20854]

January 23, 1997

Another day with nothing official, so unofficially:

A 767 airliner taking off from McChord AFB, Washington carrying troops to Korea is shot down by a SA-14 MANPADS missile fired by a Spetsnaz team that had crossed the border from Vancouver, Canada.

In the Netherlands, the decision is made to deploy the Dutch 1 Leger Corps in Bavaria, avoiding the delicate question of having Dutch troops in what 6 months prior had been Warsaw Pact territory.

The German army organizes salvage parties to comb conquered East German territory. The intent is to secure as many Pact-standard vehicles, ammunition and parts as possible to sustain the former East German Army, whose divisions have been cut off from resupply from the Pact. Orders are placed with third-party manufacturers, but they are few, of limited capacity and already fully engaged producing for their home markets and other Allied combatant nations that use Pact calibers.

Also in the Netherlands, the last ship carrying cargo for the US 278th ACR has been unloaded. A commander's conference follows, where it is noted that over half the regiment's vehicles were lost in transit. Second Squadron has its complete complement, as do the engineer, MP, MI and air defense troops and Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron. This remnant of the regiment will be released to 7th Army for assignment, while the regiment's supply officer will work with 7th Army to locate replacement vehicles for the rest of the unit.

The Soviet submarine K-495 locates the San Jacinto being towed by the US Navy salvage tug USNS Mohawk at 6 knots across the North Atlantic and sends two torpedos into the cruiser's side. The tug is forced to cut the tow cable to avoid being pulled under; the Soviet commander does not use a precious torpedo on the tug.

A B-52G of the 42nd Bomb Wing, Loring AFB, Maine, is called in to strike the Soviet frigate Gromkiy, located east of Bermuda by a US Coast Guard HU-25 patrol plane. The frigate is sunk with three Harpoon missiles.

Rival accusations are traded about the prior day's massacre in Cyprus; The Greeks blame Turks while the Turks claim it was a Greek provocation.

The advancing Romanian force hits the Soviet defensive line. The Soviet heavy anti-tank guns slice through the obsolescent Romanian tanks like a hot knife through butter. Within hours the Romanian troops are in retreat. The Soviet paratroopers launch an active pursuit, and by midnight Suceava has been recaptured.

[chico20854]

January 24, 1997

Another day with nothing in canon!

The attack submarine USS Tunny, with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One aboard and the one of team's SDVs in the DDS on deck, departs San Diego.

The Lithuanian Free Army ambushes a truck convoy containing MVD troops searching for their base camp.

The US 8th Marine Regiment, aboard amphibious shipping, enters the Mediterranean Sea to commence a series of raids on enemy facilities.

A Turkish village in Cyprus is burned by a Greek militia; 68 civilians are killed.

The 89th TFS (part of the 482nd TFW, AFRES) intercepts a Tu-16 strike force over Black Sea. Unfortunately, three F-16As are lost to escorting PVO Su-27s. Three Naval Aviation bombers are downed and the strike on the Turkish naval base at Bartin is largely ineffective.

In Romania, the front line has been restored to where it was a week before. The Romanians have lost 2000 men (600 KIA, 800 wounded and 600 captured), while the Soviets lost a similar number.

The first Soviet raider (the Riga-class frigate SKR-71) links up with a flotilla of Soviet fish factory ships, trawlers and support vessels in the South Atlantic. The frigate is able to obtain food, fuel, and small amounts of 100mm ammunition before transiting east into the Indian Ocean.

Convoy 210 departs San Francisco Bay, repeating the route San Francisco-Honolulu-Guam where it will split into sub-convoys to Subic Bay-Singapore-Diego Garcia and Okinawa-Pusan, which has been followed by other convoys.

[chico20854]

January 26, 1997

Nothing in the canon for the day!

The San Diego harbor channel is fully reopened after removal of the wreck of the tug Janet Pommet, sunk by a Spetsnaz team on January 11.

photo
The Seattle barricade situation concludes with a massive explosion as a Soviet Spetsnaz team tries to break out of police encirclement; three police officers, a firefighter and five Soviets are killed. One Soviet escapes.

The Commonwealth Defense Attache, UK Lieutenant General Sir Robert Owens, is dispatched to New Delhi on "a special mission."

The artillery bombardment of the Oder bridgeheads continues. NATO commanders divert engineer battalions from restoring battle damage behind the lines to adding bridges across the river and constructing deep shelters for the troops.

Marshall Papkov, the Western TVD commander, is recalled to Moscow.

The 264th Engineer Group (Combat) (Wisconsin NG) begins loading vehicles and heavy equipment aboard the freighters Arabian Breeze and Cape Horn in Oakland, CA.

Soviet bombers return to the skies over Bucharest, inflicting more damage on the tank plant.

The Turkish 1st Battalion, 2nd Commando Brigade lands at Nicosia airport and immediately is engaged against Cyptiot police, customs and Army units.

The Turkish submarine Sakarya sinks the Soviet transport Volzhsky-10 bringing supplies into the beseiged city of Burgas, Bulgaria.

Turkish Army orders additional forces into Bulgaria to resume the northward advance while maintaining the isolation of Burgas.

A small USAF team consisting of contracting officers, communications specialists, weather observers and a small security detachment arrives at Point Salines Airport, Grenada to establish it as a minor transit stop for aircraft headed to Africa and the Middle East.

[chico20854]

January 27, 1997

Another busy day, except according to canon! Nothing official, but unofficially:

photo
Turkish amphibious ships land in northern Cyprus and disgorge the 39th Infantry Division. Local Turkish militias secure the landing site. Nicosia airport is secured and the remainder of 2nd Commando Brigade arrives on an airlift that includes requisitioned Turkish Airways airliners.

The last remaining Spetsnaz team member from the Seattle holdup hijacks a car in Bellingham, WA.

The USAF, on behalf of the Navy and Marine Corps as well as itself, orders an increase of JDAM kit production from 130 a day to 250 a day. McDonnell Douglas begins assembly of a second production line at its St Charles, Missouri plant to meet the demand.

The US Navy purchases three large, fast container ships from a South Korean company for conversion to escort carriers.

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The Marine Corps activates scout-bombing squadrons VMSB-341, 342 and 343 to fly AV-8C Harriers from the escort carriers.

The Freedom ship Utah Freedom is delivered in Galveston, TX; the Maryland Freedom is delivered in Pascagoula, MS.

The 479th Field Artillery Brigade (US Army Reserve) arrives at the port of Pohang, South Korea.

Special Forces troops of the 10th SF Group attack the air defense radar site at Liepaya, Latvia.

Colonel General Dmitri Slepnev, who started the war as commander of 2nd Guards Tank Army before assuming command of Second Western Front, is promoted to Marshall and named commander of the Western TVD (Theater of Military Operations).

An American ELINT satellite makes a startling discovery - emissions identified as coming from a Soviet nuclear-powered battle cruiser of the Kirov class. The Northern Fleet's ships (the Kirov, Frunze and Dzerzhinskiy) were all believed sunk in the Battle of the Norwegian Sea. One has apparently survived and slipped through the GIUK Gap.

Soviet bombers make a third attack on the Bucharest tank plant; losing a Tu-22 Blinder and another Tu-16. The three nights of raids have halted production entirely.

The Soviets renew their offensive in Iran, finally confident that they have ammassed sufficient supplies to sustain operations for a few weeks.

Marshall Papkov, former Western TVD commander, is shot for his failures in East Germany.

[chico20854]

January 28, 1997

The Headquarters, 41st Infantry Division is formed at Camp Atterbury, IN, taking command of the 33rd (Illinois National Guard), 73rd (Ohio National Guard) and 106th (Indiana National Guard) Infantry Brigades. (An unofficial alternative is the 41st (Oregon) Infantry Brigade, since the 106th doesn't seem to have actually existed!), as well as miscellaneous other independent service and support units.

Unofficially:

The Commonwealth Defense Attache, UK Lieutenant General Sir Robert Owens, at a reception at the Swiss Ambassador's residence in New Delhi, has a conversation with the Soviet defense attache, Colonel General Oleg Tulaev, about opening a dialouge on war termination. (This method of conducting negotiations was approved by the NATO heads of state earlier in the month).

Troops from the 1st Washington State Defense Force Brigade and sheriff's deputies surround the last Spetsnaz team member and kill him in a firefight as they attempt to detain him.

The US Navy activates helicopter squadrons HS-22, 23, 24 and 25 to fly SH-3 ASW helicopters and HC-10 to fly Sea King AEW helicopters from escort carriers.

The British Royal Fleet Auxilary places the repair ship RFA Assistance (former Stena Protector) into service following its conversion from a subsea service vessel.

A P-3C Orion of No 11 Sqn, RAAF attacks and sinks the Soviet Victor-I attack submarine K-454 in the Philippine Sea northwest of Palau.

The Soviet Baltic Front orders the 107th MRD to assist the MVD in hunting down pro-NATO partisans and their American Special Forces trainers in the Baltic Republics.

An all-out effort is launched to locate the Kirov-class battlecruiser identified the prior day. Patrol aircraft, bombers and ELINT aircraft fly over the North Atlantic. Another Soviet raider sinks the Panamanian cargo ship Toshka, sailing unescorted in the North Atlantic carrying civilian cargo to Spain.

Soviet long-range aviation switches targets to Brasov, Romania, and the large DAC truck and IAR helicopter plants in the city.

The Soviet offensive in Iran continues, with Pasdaran troops, now better trained and equipped with chemical protective gear, nonetheless overwhelmed by Soviet mechanized troops' firepower and mobility.

[chico20854]

January 29, 1997

Qom falls to Soviets as Pasdaran resistance crumbles under the firepower of Soviet tank regiments.

Turkish troops capture Larnaca and advance on Limassol. The Greek government decides to deploy troops to Cyprus to resist the Turks.

Unofficially,

USAF Systems Command, responding to desperate calls to increase the supply of precision guided munitions, begins emergency test series to outfit the F-111 and F-15E strike aircraft with the AGM-142 Have Nap missile, currently in production and in the inventory for use on the B-52 as a conventional stand-off weapon.

The RFA Assistance departs Hull, England for Muscat, Oman to service RN and allied vessels in the Middle East.

Western TVD commander Marshall Slepnev orders Reserve Front to bring 4th Guards Tank Army, with two tank divisions, two motor-rifle divisions and two independent tank regiments, out of its reserve positions northeast of Poznan.

The Soviet raider Buliny, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Mikhail Mischenko, attacks and sinks the German container ship Dubai Bay, en route empty to North Carolina to load ammunition.

The unidentified Kirov-class battlecruiser shoots down an unarmed HU-25 Coast Guard patrol airplane in the Atlantic. SACLANT orders the formation of surface action groups in Norfolk, Gibraltar, St Johns and Belfast to sortie against it when it is located.

Poor weather over Romania grants the country a reprieve from Soviet strategic bombing. In an effort to maintain its armored strength, the Romanian ministry of defense meets with several attaches in Bucharest.

A Soviet raider sinks the Panamanian-flagged bulk freigher Ocean Pearl II bringing grain into Lagos. The loss of the cargo exacerbates the food crisis in Nigeria.

US Navy SEEBEEs complete their work at Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport in the Indian Ocean, having constructed barracks, a large hangar, additional ramp space and various support facilities sufficient to support a US or RAAF P-3 squadron.

[chico20854]

January 30, 1997

Nothing in the canon for today...

Strategic Air Command receives authorization from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop modified JDAM GPS-guidance kits for B-61 and B-83 nuclear bombs.

Aircraft from the carriers Constellation and Abraham Lincoln launch strikes against North Korean troops and artillery sites along the DMZ from the Yellow Sea.

The first South Korean container ship, the Hanjin Keelung, arrives in Charleston, SC for conversion to an escort carrier.

The Victory ship Earlham Victory exits the shipyard after reactivation and crosses San Francisco Bay to load cargo in Oakland. The WW II built ship had sailed for 8 years post war, mostly in support of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Also leaving the shipyard that day, the freighter John Lykes, reactivated after being laid up for nearly 18 months.

In light of Soviet long-range aviation's focus on Romanian tank and trucks plants, CENTAF launches Operation Night Breeze. USAF F-15Es, F-111s and F-117s, British, Luftwaffe and Marineflieger (German naval air force) Tornadoes launch six waves of attacks on Polish tank plant in Gliwice and the Martin tank plant in Czechoslovakia. The use of PGMs by the NATO aircraft allow the raids to be more successful than the Soviet ones, and production at both plants is severely curtailed.

The Soviet frigate SKR-58 hits a NATO mine while crossing the GIUK Gap and sinks. Three sailors survive and are captured by the US cruiser Leyte Gulf, patrolling the Gap.

The surface action groups formed the prior day sortie into the North Atlantic, joining the search for the Soviet battle cruiser.

The Greek 2nd Parachute Regiment arrives at Paphos airport in southwestern Cyprus and immediately rushes to defense of Limassol. V Infantry Division in Crete loads onto amphibious shipping. The Greek Navy deploys into Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish troops in Bulgaria capture the town of Kotel in the Balkan Mountains (which run east to west across the country) after weeks of fighting in the bitter winter conditions.

Soviet bombers encounter a rude surprise when they return to the skies over Brasov, Romania - the city's defenses have been augmented by a battery of Patriot missiles of the 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, flown in from Germany. The American missiles down 8 bombers.

The 135th Field Artillery Brigade (Missouri National Guard) completes its deployment into Hamburg.

The Mobilization-only 113th MRD called up in the Caucasus for service in the Balkans.

[chico20854]

January 31, 1997

Greece declares war on Turkey and attacks Turkish forces in Thrace.

unofficially:

Colonel General Oleg Tulaev, Soviet defense attache in New Delhi, tells Commonwealth Defense Attache, UK Lieutenant General Sir Robert Owens that the USSR is willing to engage in the proposed dialog.

The Freedom-class cargo ship Michigan Freedom is delivered in Beaumont, TX and the South Carolina Freedom is delivered in Pascagoula, MS.

Commander Patrol Wings Pacific orders the deployment of Navy Reserve squadron VP-60, operating dated P-3B Orions, to deploy from its home station at NAS Glenview, Ill to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport in the Indian Ocean, in response to increasing reports of Soviet raider activity in the Indian Ocean and to protect the anticipated deployment of troops and equipment to CENTCOM.

A patrol of 107th MRD's 660th Motor-Rifle Regiment clashes with Green Berets of the 10th SF Group. When the Soviet troops call in supporting T-86 tanks the Americans slip away into forested swampland.

TR-1 reconniassance aircraft loitering over the Inner-German Border detect the movement of tank transporters and trucks carrying 4th Guards Tank Army westward. CENTAF dispatches the deep strike aircraft that were mission ready (following the prior night's costly raids on the tank plants) to interdict the moving Soviet reinforcements. CINCEUR denies permission to use ATACMS deep-strike missiles against Polish territory, afraid (because there are conventional and nuclear variants of the missile in service in Europe) of provoking a Soviet nuclear response.

The hunt for the Kirov-class battlecruiser in the stormy North Atlantic is fruitless, with no sign of the ship.

A Soviet reconniassance satellite locates Convoy 112 in the Atlantic 750 miles northwest of the Azores. The Soviet Echo II-class SSGN (nuclear cruise missile submarine) K-35 fires a salvo of 8 P-1000/SS-N-12 missiles at the convoy from a range of over 200 miles. The escort's only ship equipped with area defense surface-to-air missiles, the frigate Talbot, intercepted two of the incoming missiles, and three of the remaining six missiles struck ships. The Coast Guard cutter Spencer and transports Cape Lobos and Seaboard Star were all struck, and the missiles' one-ton warheads sank the cutter and started fires on the transports, which ultimately were not able to be extinguished.

Turkish and Greek troops clash west of Limassol, Cyprus.

Soviet bombers change targets for the night's raids over the Balkans, switching to the explosives plant in Fagaras, Romania's only domestic source. The raid uses carefully route planning to avoid coming in range of the Patriot missiles and is spectacularly successful, detonating what was likely the largest non-nuclear explosion in the history of the Balkans.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Defense Force sign a secret contract to purchase Israel's fleet of Tiran-5 tanks, which are T-55s captured during the Arab-Israeli wars, fitted with a NATO 105mm gun and otherwise modernized. Israel was in the process of retiring the tank from its reserve forces; the purchase was financed by US Foreign Security Assistance funds, authorized by the year-end appropriations act.

The German government requisitions the ro-ro ship Heralden upon delivery; the Finnish government protests on behalf of its owners despite the German government reimbursing the Finnish company the funds they had spent on the ship plus a 5% premium.

In the Yellow Sea, the carriers Abraham Lincoln and Constellation continue to fly close air support missions over the DMZ in Korea.

Pasdaran officials reach out to the IPA leadership, desperate for modern anti-tank weapons and air cover. They refuse to recognize the National Emergency Council's authority, however, so no such support is forthcoming.

[chico20854]

February 1, 1997

The final elements of the 7th Infantry Division (Light) arrive in Korea and are rushed to the front, under command of IX Corps.

Unofficially:

The 130th Tactical Airlift Squadron (West Virginia Air National Guard) is declared fully operational and begins deployment to Korea.

In Oakland, California the freighter Cape Byron is handed over to the US National Shipping Agency following its shipyard activation.

Naval aviators receive their first training against LSK (East German Air Force) MiG-29s attached to VF-43 at Oceana NAS and VF-126 at Miramar.

4th Guards Tank Army arrives in postions west of Świebodzin, Poland. Its artillery (down to regimental level) is ordered forward to reinforce 2nd Guards Tank Army. The forward movement is subjected to a hail of NATO interdiction fires.

On the Kola Peninsula, NATO resumes its offensive. The Canadian Special Service Force attacks northeast to isolate the Srednii Peninsula. The 10th Mountain Division attacks east out of Pechenga along the Kola Highway and the Norwegian 6th Division moves southeast to Titovka and the Koshka Yavr airfield. The US 6th Infantry Division's airborne battalion (the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry) launches the first NATO parachute assault of the war, landing at dusk on the runway at Koshka Yavr. A fierce battle in the darkness ensues as American paratroops tangle with the airfield’s garrison of recovering Soviet paratroops, survivors of the 7th Guards Airborne Division.

photo
The aged Essex-class carrier Lexington is recommissioned in New Orleans, Louisiana and begins a short workup period with a scratch air wing culled from training squadrons along the Gulf Coast.

photo
A helicopter from a NATO Surface Action Group made up of of the US destroyers William V. Pratt and O'Bannon and the British frigate Cornwall sights the Soviet battlecruiser and, in a surprise, its escort, a single corvette. The task force breaks radio silence to report the sighting, prompting the Soviet force to immediately release a barrage of anti-surface missiles, with over-the-horizon guidance by one of Kirov's Ka-27 helicopters. The NATO group fires its Harpoon missiles, while Kirov downs the O'Bannon's SH-60 helicopter with a SA-N-6 missile. All three Allied ships are hit, and soon sink, while the battlecruiser's point defense missiles and guns shoot down the incoming Harpoons. The accompanying corvette is not targeted and is undamaged. Kirov and her escort depart the area, headed south at 30 knots.

photo
The Greek V Infantry Division lands at Paphos in western Cyprus, while Turkish troops secure Limassol. The area behind the front lines is a hotbed of civil conflict as armed gangs of Greek and Turkish civilians inflict atrocities on the other.

Greek troops of D Corps cross the Maritsa River in Thrace, facing Turkish Gendarmes and reserve infantry. Turkish commanders in Bulgaria are ordered to halt offensive action and dig in to their positons for "a temporary period".

The Turkish submarine Sakarya takes up station off the Bulgarian port of Varna in an attempt to interdict the flow of supplies to Bulgaria from the USSR.

Soviet bombers shift targets once again, launching their first raids against Jugoslavia. The night's effort is directed at suppressing the Jugoslav air defense force.

[chico20854]

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.

photo
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.