On this day 25 years ago (Commentary Thread)

[chico20854]

December 4, 1996

The US 1st Infantry Division crossed the Inter-German Border in support of its allies. It did not encounter Soviet troops until the 8th.

That's all I have for today but feel free to add, today and going forward!!!!

[chico20854]

December 5, 1996

The USSR delivered an ultimatum to Romania: provide the requested divisions or suffer the consequences.

The US 11th Armored Cavaly Regiment clashes with Soviet troops in East Germany, the first ground combat in Central Europe between US and Soviet troops.

(photo here)
The 1st and 3rd Armored and 8th Infantry Divisions cross the Inner German Border.

[Raellus]

No pressure, but...

Are you going to update this daily, Chico That would be absolutely amazing.

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[chico20854]

Are you going to update this daily, Chico That would be absolutely amazing.

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I'll try... some days there isn't much in the v1 canon, so if I get time I'll try to find something from the month to fill in, or add something from one of my historical documents. And if I have a lot of time (aka really boring conference call) I'll see if I can find an image that fits!

[chico20854]

December 6, 1996

The US 1st Armored Division enters combat against Soviet forces in East Germany.

And, unofficially from my Northern Campaign history:

photo
The Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet sorties, starting the Battle of the Norwegian Sea.

and also unofficial:

In Romania, Securitate secret police arrest over a dozen colonels and lieutenant colonels in the Army and Air Force on suspicion of plotting a pro-Soviet coup. Evidence includes large quantites of cash (US Dollars, German Deutschmarks) seized from a Soviet trucker entering Romania from Jugoslavia and photos of the officers entering a Bucharest restaurant simultaneously with the suspected KGB Rezident, Colonel Oleg Polyansky.

[chico20854]

December 7, 1996

The US 2nd Armored Division, 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment engage Soviet troops. The 4th Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment cross the Inner German Border. Back in the US, the 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment is called into federal service.

[chico20854]

December 8, 1996

(photo here)

The US 1st Infantry Division enters combat against Soviet forces in East Germany.

A New York Times poll taken today shows that 76% of US adults believe that nuclear war will occur within six weeks.

unofficial:

Green Berets of the 10th Special Forces Group infiltrate Poland and the western USSR. The last diplomatic staff from the US Embassy in Warsaw evacuate to Stockholm, Sweden.

Romanian authorities execute the colonels arrested on suspicion of plotting a pro-Soviet coup. Romania declares full mobilization, while across the border the Soviet Southwestern TVD headquarters (in Kishinev, Moldova) issues movement orders to units throughout Ukraine and Moldova.

In Norway, the 175th Naval Infantry Brigade's perimeter has shrunk to the outskirts of Narvik as British, Dutch and American marines and soldiers from Norway, the US and Canada bombard the isolated Soviet command.

Further elements of Strike Fleet Atlantic cross into the Norwegian Sea through the GIUK Gap west of Iceland. Over 200 Tu-22M Backfire bombers, operating from six airfields in the Kola and the Leningrad area, launched a mass missile attack against the George Washington carrier battle group, leaving the carrier in flames and sending two escorts and the supply ship USNS Sirius to the bottom.

Transport aircraft transiting to Europe are re-routed through Bermuda and the Azores onward to the UK, clearing airspace over the North Atlantic for combat operations.

In Asia, 8th US Army reports several incidents along the DMZ. South Korean troops along the DMZ go on alert, while reservists in the US assigned to IX Corps HQ (a skeleton formation located in Japan) are ordered to mobilization stations. USAAGC (US Army Assistance Group China) lifts the restriction on US advisors and technical experts assisting the Chinese People's Liberation Army from traveling within 100 km of the front lines.

A celebration is held to commemorate the delivery of the 100th helicopter from the old Hughes helicopter plant in Long Beach, California, which is manufacturing MD-500s under a tripartite agreement - Chinese workers evacuated from the PRC's main helicopter production plant in Harbin, Manchuria working alongside American workers, installing Taiwanese avionics, with the output split between the PLA and US Army National Guard attack helicopter battalions.

[chico20854]

December 9, 1996

France, Belgium, Italy and Greece issue joint demand that US troops withdraw from East Germany.

After consultation with King Charles, British troops (initially the 3rd Armored Division and the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards) cross the inter-German border. The Canadian government orders the 4th Mechanized Brigade to join the American and British troops.

unofficial:

Soviet forces surrounding/besieging Berlin launch intense artillery bombardment, concentrating on US and British garrisons and supporting Soviet forces holding out in the Soviet embassy building. Despite the fire support, a force of East German border guards and Kampfgruppe der Arbeiterklasse troops succeed in capturing the building, executing the defenders from the KGB 105th Border Guard Detachment (who had opened the siege of Berlin by shooting passing civilians in the first hours of the war).

At Fort Bragg, NC, the 1st Battalion, 323rd Infantry, 108th Training Division (USAR) graduates its first class of infantry OSUT* trainees. The division will turn out approximately 800 trained privates every Thursday until January 1998, when the supply of draftees dries up.

*One Station Unit Training, combined basic (soldierization) training and advanced individual (occupational skill) training.

[JHart]

The US 1st Infantry Division crossed the Inter-German Border in support of its allies.

It ain't a World War until the Big Red One shows up...

After consultation with King Charles, British troops (initially the 3rd Armored Division and the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards) cross the inter-German border. The Canadian government orders the 4th Mechanized Brigade to join the American and British troops.

and now it's a party!

[chico20854]

and now it's a party!

And the party continues...

December 10, 1996

The British 1st and 2nd Armoured Divisions and US 1st Cavalry Division cross the East German frontier; The British 3rd Mech Div & US 8th ID are in combat against Soviet troops. This is the UK's first shots fired in anger in Germany since 1945.

In the North Sea, US Convoy 102 is attacked by a Soviet sub, sinking 3 ships and crippling another; the nuclear guided missile cruiser USS Virginia sinks the sub. (USS Virginia completes 9 more convoys and is damaged twice.)

Unofficially:

A convoy carrying reinforcements for the beleaguered Soviet occupiers of Narvik is destroyed by NATO air and naval forces, dooming the isolated Naval Infantry force.

The Department of the Army in the Pentagon authorizes the establishment of over 200 "Category IV" units - those which a mission need has been identified but peacetime budget and manpower constraints prevent from being formed and sustained. The units range from additional corps headquarters to armored, infantry and Airborne divisions all the way to water purification companies. Formation and equipment of these units will take many months in most cases, and ultimately many never are.

[lordroel]

Nice, keep it up if you can with the updates.

[Ancestor]

This is scratching me where I itch. For me, it always starts around Thanksgiving (or, the day after Thanksgiving, depending who you talk to) and just builds perfectly. This though...wow!

Thanks for doing this!

My one request is please don't leave out the NG Division near and dear to my heart, 35ID, the Santa Fe Division. Per the US Army Vehicle Guide, we'd been in federal service since August, convoyed over in November, and entered combat in Northern Germany in "early December." Hoping to see a shout out to Truman's Own soon!

[chico20854]

Thanks for the positive feedback folks! I'm still pulling together sources, but for today I have:

December 11, 1996

The US 3rd Armored Division and 4th Infantry Division engage Soviet troops in East Germany.

Unofficial:

CENTAG intelligence officers evaluating indications of Czech and Soviet troop mobilization across the border decide that the additional troops are likely to be committed in southern East Germany. To counter the threat, the CENTAG commander authorizes the deployment of two US Army Nationale Guard units, the 35th Infantry Division (KY, NE and KY NGs) and the 116th Armored Cavalry Regiment into East Germany, via the famed Fulda Gap. The 116th had been in Germany since early in the year, part of a demonstration of resolve in light of the Sino-Soviet conflict as well as evaluating National Guard readiness and the performance of female soldiers in combat units. The 35th had recently arrived in Germany, one of the first REFORGER deployments that did not rely on POMCUS prepositioned equipment stockpiles.

In other deployments, the 187th Infantry Brigade reported its deployment to Iceland complete. The US Army Reserve brigade took up positions defending the Keflavik air base, Reykjavik and various communications, logistics and radar sites around the island.

RAF Tornado aircraft from Nos. 25, 45 and 617 Squadrons performed Operation Redburn, striking the Soviet naval aviation bases in the Kola Peninsula and naval targets in Murmansk. The Soviets lose 10 Backfire bombers to the British as well as a pair of MiG-25s that pursued the raiders into neutral Sweden and were shot down by the Swedes.

The worldwide hunt for Warsaw Pact shipping continued, with the capture of the Soviet cargo ship Donetsk Komsomolets 450 miles east of Santos, Brazil by a British frigate racing north, its mission patrolling the Falklands hastily canceled in favor of convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic. The South Atlantic duty would be assumed by a smaller patrol ship, the Admiralty risking that Argentine forces would be too disorganized to take advantage of the situation.

[unkated]

Minor suggestion...

Include the date for the entry at the top. Preferably bolded.

Yes, I know that its the date of your entry, -25 years.

But it doesn't show the date for "today" or "yesterday" and in a week or a month, it would be easier for new folk following the entries vs commentary.

Will you start doing a Timeghost-style week by week presentation podcast

Uncle Ted

[chico20854]

Include the date for the entry at the top. Preferably bolded.

Yes, I know that its the date of your entry, -25 years.

But it doesn't show the date for "today" or "yesterday" and in a week or a month, it would be easier for new folk following the entries vs commentary.

Will you start doing a Timeghost-style week by week presentation podcast

Uncle Ted

I'm happy to do the date. I'll try on the bold, depends on the device I'm using to post from.

Probably no podcast! This is slowing progress on some of my other progress, but once I get through sources that should pick up. I have several irons in the fire. Unfortunately, one (that is not yet even bare bones) is the Battle of Germany, which I wish I had done because it would be really filling this thread up! Oh well!