Aircraft from the Soviet air force circled above, their jets blasting the air as they banked and turned, providing overhead cover should the West decide to interdict this and other divisions, deep inside East German territory, preventing them from reinforcing the Western TVD armies.
After spending two weeks preparing for mobilisation in secret, 8th Guards Tank Division, of the 5th Guards Tank Army, one of many units under the command of the Byelorussian Military District, finally received its entrainment orders. Prior to mobilisation, soldiers brought back to their unit for their annual refresher training were retained, ensuring this Category-A unit was at full fighting strength. The Byelorussian MD had a powerful force at its disposal and was allocated to the Western TVD’s, 2nd Strategic Echelon. The headquarters, based in Minsk, Belarus, had two Tank Armies, the 5th and 7th, and a Combined-Arms Army, the 28th, under its command. Between those army-level headquarters, they could field ten tank divisions and four motor rifle divisions; although, apart from the 8GTD and the 120GMRD, which were classed as Category-A divisions, at 100 per cent strength, the remaining units had, historically, only been at Category-B status. This was around fifty per cent of their wartime strength. The Politburo, recognising this weakness, had authorised units to retain those soldiers that turned up for their annual refresher training and, as a consequence, most units were averaging ninety-five per cent of their wartime strength. Any troops still requiring additional training would be transported to the front in the next few days. One other powerful force the Byelorussian MD had was the 1st Tank Corps, made up of three tank brigades, with a force of nearly 500 T-72s, and a motor rifle regiment. The MD also had on call an airborne division, artillery division, Air Assault Brigade, Attack Helicopter Regiment and its own air defence assets. To provide air-to-ground support and high-level air defence, it possessed its own air force, consisting of three air divisions. Two fighter divisions consisting of Mig-29s, a fourth-generation, air-superiority fighter, designated Fulcrum by NATO, and Mig-23s. Reported as Flogger, these older Interceptor fighters were still lethal in the air and would bolster the hard-pressed air divisions battling on the European front. A fighter-bomber division, with 130 aircraft, with Mig-27s, SU-24s and 25s, would support their troops on the ground.
The alert had been received by the divisional commander at one in the morning of the 5th July and, since first light, his large force had assembled, after moving the seventeen kilometres by road march to their dispersal areas. The divisional headquarters was based in Homel, Belarus, its subordinate units at various camps throughout the region.
They weren’t the only unit on the move from the 5th Guards Tank Army. The 6th Guards Tank Division at Babrujsk was also moving to railway sidings to entrain, as were the 22nd and 29th Tank Divisions. The fifth division, the 56th Guards Motor Rifle, based at Mazyr, had dispersed, but wouldn’t be moving west until the next day. The Byelorussian MD was being moved to a position directly behind the Group of Soviet Forces Germany (GSFG), ready to take over and thrust the knife deep into the perceived soft West German belly.
The Carpathian and Baltic Military Districts were also on the move; a huge war machine that was on its way to grind the hard-pressed NATO forces into the dust.
The tanks, T-72s, moved towards the entraining area; the division divided into packets heading for one of three stations, two entraining points at each one. Hundreds of tanks and mechanised infantry combat vehicles and a mass of wheeled support vehicles were on the move. Not just this division, but others in this Military District were on the move. The division had been allocated thirty-six trains, each one taking three hours to load. The officers were almost in a frenzy, pushing their junior officers and NCOs to keep to the tight schedule. The first train was due to leave at seven in the morning, the rest following, one every thirty minutes. The first of the electric trains pulled out. Its wheels squealing against the tracks, the hum of the engine noise getting louder, and the clank of the chains as the line of flat cars took the strain before being pulled forward. Railroad transport would play an important role in moving the 2nd Strategic Echelon forces to the front. The Soviet command could use the electric trains deep in the rear, generally safe from enemy fire. But the closer they got to their destination, the greater the risk. Then they would switch many of the electric-locomotives for the old-fashioned, but effective, steam train. Enemy artillery and air power wouldn’t be the only obstacle they would come across. In the Soviet Union, the railways used a broad-gauge line, 1524mm, whereas in Europe the size of choice was 1432mm, a standard gauge. They had laid some broad gauge in East Germany, but not enough to satisfy the needs of the Western TVD. The Soviet rail engineers were already at work converting standard-gauge railway lines to the Soviet broad gauge.
Chapter 3
Trusov rubbed his eyes, still tired despite a relatively comfortable four hours’ sleep. He didn’t feel as exhausted as he had expected after twenty-hours of almost constant battle. Although he felt they had made good progress so far, making headway despite a staunch defence by the British covering forces, their long-range artillery and ground-attack aircraft homing in on the advancing Soviet armour, his masters were of a different opinion. Impatient as ever. Wanting more, and wanting it more quickly. But they had made twenty-five kilometres into 4th Armoured Division’s covering force area. With that, he felt some satisfaction.
He checked his watch as he heard Kokorev clambering up from his driver’s position, Barsukov cursing as Kokorev’s boot trod on his leg. Although the extremely low profile of the T-80, particularly when hull-down, like all the modern Soviet tanks such as the T-72 and T-64, made it a difficult target to see and hit, the upshot was it was cramped, and only the installation of the autoloader enabled the tank to carry a crew of three. Kokorev chastised his comrade and handed him a mug of soup, passing a second one up to Trusov. It was a borscht soup that his driver had thrown together, taking advantage of their short break. He had scrounged around the fields looking for fresh potatoes, vegetables or cabbage, and had returned triumphant. It was welcome, and Trusov thrust his body out of the hatch, settled his elbows on the edge, and sipped at the soup, savouring the smell, chewing on the bits of beetroot and cabbage. It tasted luxurious. His thoughts drifted to the frantic briefing called by his regimental commander, Colonel Pushkin, and the next steps of their advance had been agreed.
After thrusting to the north of Konigslutter, brushing aside the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers combat team in Schandelah and a troop of four scimitars in Destedt, they had finally ground to a halt as A-Squadron of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, with four troops of Chieftain tanks, a troop positioned in each of the villages of Dettum, Obersickte, Cremlingen and Salzdahlum, had inflicted severe losses on the 1st Battalion who had been taking the lead, giving Trusov and his men a reprieve and a chance to rearm and refuel. Having destroyed seven of 1st Battalion’s T-80s, for the loss of only two Chieftain tanks, one of those destroyed by a Hind-D, the British squadron had withdrawn, its task done.