The assembled officers congregated around the two-metre by two-metre map table, the clink of their weapons audible as they moved.
“Someone at the back there, open the tent flaps,” called the Brigade Major. “Your hot, sweaty bodies are turning this place into an oven.”
The group laughed, and a couple of junior officers peeled back the tent flaps, tying them into position, the slight breeze cooling the air inside, which was much welcomed.
The Brigadier leant over the map and pointed at it with a pen. “Our brigade’s area of responsibility runs from just south of Nordstemmen, here in the north, our brigade boundary line with 7th Armoured Brigade, and to the south our brigade boundary line is with the 12th Armoured, at Alfeld. Our stop line is the River Leine. That’s a twenty-kilometre front we’ve been given to hold. No easy task, gentlemen. Our dispositions are as follows: the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup have got the south of Banteln to Bruggen, and the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets Battlegroup will hold the line from south of Nordstemmen to just north of Elze. You have what’s in the centre, Lawrence,” he said looking at Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence Clark, Commander of the 14th/20th Kings Hussars Tank Regiment and now the 14th/20th Battlegroup. “Elze is your northernmost boundary. You must monitor the RGJ’s position closely. If the enemy manage to push them back north of Elze, the Soviets could cut them off from the brigade and come at you from behind.”
“When the recce troop pull back from Barfelde, sir, I could position them to the west of Elze.” The Colonel tapped the map. “I have Combat Team Charlie as my reserve near Eime. I could dispatch a troop to support the Scimitars and cover my left flank.”
“Good, good. What about Elze itself?”
“Combat Team Alpha is covering the Leine east of the town, and the Germans have at least a company of landwehr troops in the town itself.”
The Brigadier nodded. “The rest of your Battlegroup?”
“As I said earlier, sir, Combat Team Alpha, three tank troops, and a mechanised platoon, will hold the Leine east of Elze. The eastern bank to their north has some copses, but none right up against the river. I have liaised with arty, and for the wooded areas we have some pre-planned strikes set up. Major Cox’s tanks have a good view north-east, east and south-east, so will be in a position to pick off any advancing armour.”
Major Thomas Cox, Commander of Combat Team Alpha, nodded in agreement, chewing on a pipe that he never smoked, but was rarely out of his mouth or his hands.
“Gronau.” The Colonel tapped the map near the small village that straddled the River Leine further to the south. “The main defensive area will be west of the stop line, where Alpha and Delta troop are digging in. They each have an infantry section. Combat Team Bravo is digging in west of Gronau, covering the western end of the bridge. But, I have taken Bravo-Troop from them and pushed them forward across the water along with a recce troop. Bravo-Troop are dug in along the outskirts of the town, with two 438s to the north. Anything coming from Barfelde, or a 180-degree front, will walk into Bravo-Troop’s tanks and the swingfire-missile carriers. They have an infantry section on the edge of the village with two Milan firing posts plus a Forward Mortar Controller. The Scimitars have been withdrawn and a recce troop of Scorpions have settled around Barfelde itself, which is just a scattering of houses, so they won’t hang around. Half the troop will watch over Gut Dotzum.” He looked up at the Brigadier. “Once they come flying back, the next thing the Soviets come across is my tanks.”
“Where’s Alex?” asked the Brigadier.
Lieutenant Alex Wesley-Jones brought himself to attention. “Here, sir.”
The Brigadier acknowledged him and then turned to the Colonel again. “Don’t keep them on the other side of the water too long, Lawrence. Give the Russians a bloody nose; then get them back fast. Only keep them there if you think there is a risk of the Soviets capturing the bridge intact.”
“Understood, sir. The engineers have it wired?”
“Yes, they do, or they’d better.”
“We have two pallets worth of explosives wired up on the bridge,” informed the Engineer’s commander. “When we get the word, no one will be crossing that bridge.”
“I expected nothing less Patrick.” The Brigadier smiled. He turned back to Lieutenant Wesley-Jones. “Make sure you keep your squadron commander up to speed, Alex.”
“Sir.”
“Major Lewis.”
The commander of Bravo squadron answered, “Sir.”
“I don’t want you on the wrong side either.” The Brigadier laughed.
“Understood, sir.”
“Carry on, Lawrence.”
“Sir. Delta troop, as you know, is with the Green Jackets. Combat Team Delta, the rest of Delta squadron, is based in Banteln.”
“Minefields?”
“The bulk, sir, have been laid in front of Gronau, along with some off-route anti-tank mines along the road.”
“Thank you Lawrence. All I want to add is that I’ve held back a Combat Team each from the Royal Green Jackets and 2RTR. They will be our brigade reserve. Not a big reserve I know, but we have a wide front to defend. I have been given the command of a number of Bundeswehr Jeager units. They won’t contribute a large force, a battalion-plus in total. But, they can fill in some of the gaps and give us the flexibility of shifting our forces to where we need them. I will make sure each battlegroup is aware of their locations and call-signs. So, what else do you need from me?”
“Nothing, sir, but I do need to tie up with air and arty before I go.”
“Right. Well, we’ll finish up here. Then I need a few words, Lawrence. Then we can go and stir up the air boys.”
Brigadier Stewart pulled back his shoulders and caught as many of the pairs of eyes that were staring at him as he could. “Gentlemen, the enemy is less than twenty-four hours away. When they get here, it is going to be a bloody battle. We have to hold them here.” He slapped the table, making it rock slightly. “Pulling back from here, we will be west of Peine and then the Weser. We’re not ready for that yet.” He tapped the table in synch with his words. “We… have… to… hold. Give 2nd Division a chance to get in theatre and the rest of our reserves to cross the Channel. The enemy are already pushing across the Oker. 4th Armoured can’t stop them. They will be banging on our door tonight and will no doubt attack at first light. Questions?”
“Won’t they need to rest up, sir?” asked a squadron commander.
“No, they won’t. We estimate that they will throw two fresh regiments at us; that’s nearly 200 tanks. Following that, they will have two full second echelon divisions. They won’t stop. They can’t stop. Momentum is their best option. Keep us on the move; don’t give us time to dig in; hit us before reinforcements arrive from the UK and US. That’s why we have to stop them here.”
“What have we got, the brigade that is, sir, in support if we have to pull back or get flanked?”
“A good question, Lawrence. I am led to believe that 24th Airmobile has been released as a Corps’ reserve, available for either the 1st or 3rd Armoured Division, depending who needs them the most. I’ve also asked for a ‘Helarm’ to be on standby. Because of their flexibility, their ability to move to a threatened sector quickly, the choppers will give us the means to break up any tank concentrations that are trying to outflank us.”
“Are we getting good intelligence on the enemy’s troop movements, sir?” asked Major Mike Hughes, Commander of Combat Team Charlie.
“Yes, we are. Now the Warsaw Pact are on West German soil, our Corps Patrol Units have started to report in. We are getting some bloody good intel from them.”
“How many CPU units are there out there, sir?” a young lieutenant at the back of the group asked.