Chieftains

The Atlantic air-bridge, 'Reforger', was not only holding but was growing rapidly. The massive Lockheed CXs which had been built in increasing numbers over the past five years, and the old Galaxies, were now proving their worth With near maximum payloads of 220,000lbs – as much as two M-60 tanks, or three helicopters – they were refuelling in the air while en route from the USA to the airbases in Europe. Most aircraft of the European and American civil airlines had been immediately brought into service as troop and supply carriers. Dormer was feeling increasingly confident that if the Soviet advance could be contained for a further forty-eight hours they might be willing to negotiate a peace. At this stage, when negotiation was still possible, he did not personally believe there was much likelihood of a nuclear war developing. Though he had little respect for Russian leadership, he did not consider them to be maniacs. They would demand a high price for peace, perhaps even the re-unification of Germany under Soviet control, and it would then be for politicians, not soldiers, to decide if the ransom should be met.

On the situation maps of the NORTHAG battlefront, General Sir Alexander Dormer could see clearly the present extent of the Warsaw Pact advance; the maps were continuously being adjusted by his staff, brought up-to-date the moment information became available from the various fronts. The battle computer system had removed much of the guesswork from strategy, though the early loss of many of the NATO reconnaissance satellites had proved very damaging.

At the moment, the Soviet forces had done little more than straighten the old frontiers. In the north, they threatened the city of Lübeck in a push towards Kiel. The largest immediate loss of territory had occurred between Lauenburg and Bergen, where a peninsula of Federal Germany, the Wendland, had been attacked simultaneously from north and south, west of the river Jeetze, and a heavy Soviet air drop at Hitzacker had unexpectedly established a bridgehead. The Elbe at this point was wide, and it had been thought the NATO defences were adequate, but a complete airborne division from the Mongolian Peoples Republic of the USSR had been used in the assault. It had been one of the possible contingencies of modern warfare; the Americans had proved the feasability of flying airborne troops into battle from great distances, and the Soviet command had been quick to see how it could be exploited to overcome problems caused by competent enemy surveillance in battle areas. The sudden involvement of unexpected numbers of men and fighting vehicles could easily disrupt the calculations of planned defence. The loss of the Wendland was Dormer's only present regret. It had been expected, but he had hoped the river Jeetze, which cut south across the whole peninsula of land and then east towards the border, would have proved more of an obstacle to the Soviet advance, and further increased their heavy casualty figures.

It had long been admitted it was impractical to consider establishing a main line of defence at the Eastern German border. With an increasingly mobile type of warfare, and against the great strength of the Warsaw Pact countries, a did wall technique would tend to produce near matching losses for both attackers and defenders. By using more flexible techniques, reserves could be held in readinass until the inertia was lost from the Soviet invasion, their shock troops no longer effective, and their supply lines stretched. At such a time, the Warsaw Pact armies would be at their most vulnerable, and the NATO powers at their strongest.

Dormer read the decoded message just received from SACEUR – Supreme Allied Commander Europe. 'Reference use of chemicals in various sectors, retaliatory action is in order.'

The message had been carefully worded to ensure the final decision rested with him…not only the decision, but the responsibility! Reports of chemicals had reached headquarters on several occasions throughout the day, but there appeared to have been no concentrated attacks. And in no instances had the use of chemicals been sustained. It had been difficult for him to decide whether it had been deliberately used but in limited and almost experimental circumstances, or released by pure accident; perhaps the destruction of a vehicle equipped with chemical weapons.

The communications deer knew the contents of the message and was waiting for Dormer's reaction. 'Do you want me to pass it to divisional levels, sir?'

'No, not yet.' Not until I'm damned certain, he told himself. It was all too easy to begin an irreversible escalation towards the use of nuclear weapons.

ELEVEN