The Black Effect (Cold War) (25 page)

At a designated time, the operator powered up the jet engine, turning and raising the nozzle to the required direction and angle. The adaptor on the end of the nozzle, purposely designed so the liquid agent could be forced out as a high-pressure aerosol yet not be affected by the heat, would ensure a steady stream of Sarin nerve-agent gas would be distributed high into the air, the easterly wind ensuring the aerosol would be dispersed along the enemy’s line of troops and tanks. At exactly four-thirty in the morning, on 8 July, the six TMS-65s increased the output from the jet engines, and a steady stream of toxic nerve agent flowed up into the prevailing wind and slowly covered the unsuspecting British troops with its deadly poison.

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500 8 JULY 1984. 7TH GUARDS AIRBORNE DIVISION. MAGDEBURG-COCHSTEDT AIRFIELD, EAST GERMANY.

THE BLACK EFFECT +1 HOUR.

Dressed in their distinctive camouflaged one-piece coveralls, a blue and white horizontally striped shirt beneath distinguishing them as an elite unit, the paratroopers of the 7th Guards Airborne Division were lined up behind the IIyushin II-76s, designated Candid by NATO. These four-engined strategic airlifts would take these highly trained soldiers to their dropping point in West Germany. On arrival overhead of their target, they would tumble out of the sky and descend on the British army defenders in force.

The aircraft were in a line, nose to tail, with their rear doors open ready to receive their passengers for the one-way trip. Behind each one, a company of paratroopers waited for their orders to board. A few of the aircraft had Aeroflot markings, commandeered for use by the military, but piloted by Soviet air force pilots, much to the relief of the airborne troops. By utilising Aeroflot’s fleet of 200 IL-76s, the Soviet air force effectively doubled this size of transport available to them. On a separate concrete apron, additional Candids had been loaded with their cargos. This time it wasn’t men, but equipment. A Candid transport aircraft could carry three BMDs, the paratroopers’ mechanised infantry combat vehicle, or three BRDMs, or three D-30 artillery guns, or even three Gaz-66 utility vehicles. Even further away, on a third apron, AN-22s were loading up with more paratroopers, and tucked behind them, the smaller Cubs. Carrying sixty paratroopers, the Cubs had a special task. They would be the first to drop their passengers, an advanced element that would secure the ground ready for the main drop. There were even a couple of AN-124 Condors, in service with the Soviet air force for less than three months. They were capable of carrying over 100 tons of cargo, but could not be used to carry paratroopers due to pressurisation issues. But, they could carry the military vehicles the paratroopers would need to be an effective force, on the ground, behind enemy lines.

General Zimyatov, Commander of 7th Guards Airborne Division, had been given his mission by the Stavka, the Soviet high command, who were controlling how the battle for the conquest of West Germany would be fought. He had formulated his plan, run it by his senior officers and, after a few tweaks, it had been finalised and approved by the high command. Just as the British army thought they could stop the Soviet army crossing the Leine, his men would change their perspective completely.

0500 8 JULY 1984. 108TH GUARDS COSSACKS AIR ASSAULT REGIMENT, 7TH GUARDS AIRBORNE DIVISION. EAST OF PEINE, WEST GERMANY.

THE BLACK EFFECT +1 HOUR.

On yet another aircraft apron, although really a concrete strip close to an industrialised area, an array of helicopters were being loaded with troops and equipment. The temporary airport, identified years ago by Spetsnaz sleepers, was quickly pulled together for the Soviet airborne regiment’s use, one of the many temporary forward bases being utilised for the continued attack on the West.

Colonel Viktor Boykov watched as the last of his men boarded the Mi-6 Hook helicopters. The 108th Guards Cossacks Air Assault, Kuban Regiment, probably had the toughest task of all. His men would be landing the closest to the enemy front line. Theirs was a heliborne assault, their mission to secure two key points: the entrance to the gap between the high ground of the Deinster and Hanover, and an area west of Pattensen where they could move to close the gap and launch strikes against 7th Armoured Brigade’s rear. Their sister regiment, the 247th Caucasian Cossacks Air Assault Regiment, commanded by Colonel Vydina, would conduct a descent, a parachute assault further west, securing the western end of the gap, near the Mittleland Kanal.

An Mi-2 Hoplite, a small lightly armed transport helicopter, swooped in, landing close to the control tower. Perhaps a senior officer wanting a last-minute face to face with General Zimyatov, who had chosen to be well forward for the operation about to commence. The General would fly in with the second wave.

Boykov looked again at his own Mi-8 Hip; able to carry twenty-four combat troops or play a close air-support role. Today, though, it would be used as his command helicopter, at least until he was on the ground. Its two stub wings supporting four weapons pylons capable of carrying rocket pods, anti-tank missiles or machine guns, looked bare. The weight of the communications equipment and his immediate HQ staff created too much weight to allow a weapons load to be carried.

An airborne officer of the
Vozdushno Desantyne Voyska (VDV),
Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav Yezhov, battalion commander of one of the BMD assault battalions of the 108th Airborne Regiment, came up alongside his regimental commander.

“I don’t need to ask if your boys are ready.”

“I would describe their mood as impatient, sir.”

Boykov smiled. He understood their feelings. They had been geared up, wound up and prepared for a major assault on a number of occasions, only to be stood down at the last minute as the ground forces had failed to get close to making a breach in the British lines. Both attempts at crossing the river at Gronau and Schulenburg had failed. Stavka had considered committing the airborne forces to facilitate a crossing of the River Leine, but relented. The purpose of the airborne divisions was to facilitate the advance of the Operational Manoeuvre Group, enabling the Soviet forces to bite deep into the British rear area; not to help the main ground assault. Should they be committed too early, and the 10th and 7th Guards Tank Divisions fail again, they could find themselves isolated by NATO reserves, and slowly destroyed.

Boykov responded, “Well, Stani, we’ll know soon enough whether or not our Motherland’s confidence in our skills is warranted.”

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30 8 JULY 1984. 108TH GUARDS COSSACKS AIR ASSAULT, KUBAN REGIMENT, 7TH GUARDS AIRBORNE DIVISION. WEST OF PATTENSEN, WEST GERMANY.

THE BLACK EFFECT +2.5 HOURS.

One of the tasks of the Group of Soviet Forces Germany’s 16th Tactical Air Army was to protect an area from south of Gronau to Sarstedt in the north, to a depth of nearly thirty kilometres. For once, surface-to-air missiles suddenly became silent on both sides such was the density of aircraft in the combat zone above them. As a consequence, the fighters and ground-attack aircraft from both sides became so intertwined that, on occasion, an aircraft from either side was shot down by their own missiles. NATO and the Warsaw Pact, recognising that a surface-to-air missile no-go zone had been established, deliberately kept their fighters within a 100 square kilometre area. To support the air assault by the 108th Guards Airborne Regiment, the Soviet air force maintained small formations of fighters over their intended landing zone, a ten-kilometre diameter sector around the town of Pattensen, accomplishing local air superiority. Not without cost. NATO air forces reacted quickly, and a steady trickle of attrition affected both sides as they continued to battle for command of the air above the intended target. NATO air forces were struggling to prioritise their targets, the requests for support now coming in thick and fast.

Other aircraft, such as the Soviet Flogger close-support aircraft blasted the ground with bombs and rockets. Mig-29 Fulcrums dropped cluster bombs, weakening 7th Armoured Brigade’s defences ready for the impending attack; their targets: any armour, troops or reinforced positions that were in the path of the air armada that was following close behind. They strafed dug-in troops with cannon fire, and any quarry that resembled a communications vehicle or headquarters complex, and any refuelling activity. They had to clear an area where their comrades were soon to land. These pilots were not so lucky. Deemed as safe targets, in that there was less chance of one of the NATO aircraft being hit due to the low levels the attacking aircraft were at, even the poor performing Blowpipe shoulder-launched SAMs finally had some targets to go for, and in 7th Armoured Brigade’s area of responsibility, shot down two Flogger Js. Rapier missiles accounted for three more: two Floggers and a Fulcrum. One flight of Flogger Ds had a particular target in mind: the British ground-to-air defence. Backed up by aircraft with Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), whose role was to disrupt the British ground-based air defence radar, the Flogger aircraft attacked with anti-radiation missiles. The ARMs homed in on the transmissions of both wheeled and tracked Rapier air defence units, destroying the systems radar and missile launcher. The Rapier units soon learnt to turn their radars off when there was the threat of an ARM attack, turning them back on when the threat was gone. A flight of twelve SU-25s, with the NATO designation of Frogfoot, and regarded as the Soviet equivalent of the American A10-Thunderbolt, flew in fast and low, destroying FV432s, Chieftain and Challenger tanks; their orders: to clear a path for the helicopters that would soon be entering the battle area, and to deliver the troops destined to secure the entrance to the gap.

They didn’t have it all their own way, though. Four British Phantoms swept in behind them. Of the twelve, only nine made it back to their base. It was a costly attack for the British forces on the ground, but the Soviet air force also paid a heavy price.

Colonel Viktor Boykov looked over the shoulder of the pilot of the Mi-8 Hip-G as they sped low over the West German countryside at a speed of just over 300 kilometres an hour. His view through the large perspex canopy was of blurred fields, trees, houses and roads flashing by as they headed towards the landing zone. Ahead of the air armada was a vast array of helicopters. On the outer perimeter flew eight of the deadly M-24 Hind attack helicopters, targeting anything they deemed to be a threat to the airborne force now transiting through enemy territory. In the lead of the main force were eight Hip-Es, following closely behind a Hip-K, attempting to jam the British forces’ communications. A further thirty-two Hips followed behind them, each one carrying twenty-four combat troops. Fifty-four Mi-6 Hook helicopters trailed even further behind, protected by four more of the deadly Hinds, this time Hind-Fs. They carried a full airborne battalion, along with their BMD mechanised infantry combat vehicles.

The 108th Guards Air Assault Regiment had a tough task ahead of them, though. Colonel Boykov’s men would be landing very close to the enemy front line, landing west of Pattensen. He had to block the entrance to the gap between the high ground of Deinster and Hanover, take away the enemy’s freedom of movement, disrupt their supplies and reinforcements. At exactly the same time, the 247th Air Assault Regiment was already parachuting onto the western end of the gap, closer to the Mittleland Kanal, a barrier NATO would no doubt use as a defensive position. The role of the 7th Airborne Division as a whole was to secure a passage for the 12th Guards Tank Division. As soon as 10GTD broke the British lines, opened up a gap, the 12th GTD would flood through, linking up with Boykov’s men, then pushing towards the Mittleland Kanal and heading for the River Weser.

The Hip-Es swooped down towards the landing zone, one plastering the entire area with over 190 55mm unguided rockets. A second one followed its leader in, sanitising the ground even more. A third caught a British platoon in the open, their 432s swerving left and right as they tried to make themselves a difficult target. They didn’t stop, using their speed to their advantage, but another batch of rockets engulfed them, blocking them from view and the explosive warheads obliterated their convoy. If there were any survivors, the 12.7mm gun soon finished them off. A fourth Hip was not so lucky. Out of four Blowpipe missiles launched from different directions, one hit home, striking the Hip’s wing pylon, still containing a full weapons’ load. The helicopter flipped over and plummeted downwards, hitting the ground where a second explosion completely destroyed the aircraft, killing all those on board. The fifth and sixth were given targets further out, looking for British outposts, forces diverted to counter the airborne assault. The rapidly depleted Rapier force took out one but was destroyed itself as a Hind-D swooped in, bracketing the area with rockets, destroying the launcher and killing the crew.

The first of the Hip troop transports started to land, disgorging the airborne soldiers. Landing in angled lines of four, they touched down hard, the troops jumping out of the door immediately behind the cockpit, running at a crouch to get away from the helicopter before throwing themselves down, seeking out cover and any potential threat. Some of the Hips didn’t even touch the ground, but moved slowly at the hover while soldiers dropped to the ground. As soon as their passengers were dropped off, the Hips were in the air, flying east to refuel and pick up a second wave of airborne soldiers. As soon as they had cleared the ground and headed on a wide curve to clear the airspace, the big boys started to land. So far the landing operation had taken a little over five minutes, the British forces completely stunned by the continuing suppression attacks from the escorting helicopters. Two Chieftains moved into position to bring direct fire to bear on the landing area, anticipating the destruction of some of the helicopters and their troops through the use of High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) rounds.

The Hind-F, the latest attack helicopter in the Soviet’s armoury, hovered nearly 2,000 metres away. An AT-Spiral anti-tank missile flared at the helicopter’s wing tip launcher rails. The ten-kilogram high-explosive anti-tank warhead was guided to its target by its laser seeker, the weapons operator having illuminated the target with a laser designator. The first hit was unsuccessful, the Chobham armour protecting the crew, but a missile launched from a second Hind destroyed it. His companion triggered the smoke dischargers either side of the turret and, under a cloud of smoke, quickly reversed back into cover.

The fifty-four Hooks came in to land in waves, clouds of dust and debris blocking them from view as their powerful engines and rotor blades whipped the ground with enormous force. The flight required a sector of half a square kilometre as a landing area. With their two rear doors swung open, troops and vehicles were quickly offloaded. BMDs, BRDM-2 Sagger’s and two BRDM-2 SA-9s added to the force that was steadily building up. Within a matter of minutes, the second flight of Hooks were landing as the first flock of helicopters vacated, lifting off to return across the River Leine to pick up its second load.

Boykov’s Hip landed in amongst the Hooks, and he was soon gathering data on the disposition of his forces. He had a clear plan. One battalion of over 400 men and their thirty BMDs would secure the perimeter, providing protection for further flights that would be coming in. His four BRDM-2 scout vehicles would go west, seeking out the enemy so he could call in targets for his artillery when it arrived. His thirty D-30 122mm artillery guns would come in on the second wave. He had two priorities: disperse his men before the British started to bring down artillery fire, and ensure that small packets of soldiers, with the Strela-3 shoulder-launched SAM, designated SA-14 Gremlin by NATO, were spread throughout the area in readiness for the attack from the air that was bound to appear. His second battalion would strike east, hitting the British forces defending the River Leine from behind, and the third battalion would push west, blocking reinforcements and supplies getting to the NATO forces and opening a gap for 12GTD to pass through.

The local British Combat Team Commander, desperate to do something to interfere with the air assault, ordered four of his available Scimitars forward in an attempt to disrupt the Soviet airborne operation. At first, their 30mm RARDEN cannon had a massive impact. Moving in fast and close, they picked off helicopters, armour and airborne soldiers with ease, destroying four Hooks and one Hip that had malfunctioned and was still on the ground. Their victory was short-lived however as the Hind-Fs pounced, their 30mm cannons puncturing the reconnaissance vehicle’s armour, destroying two, before the remaining pair, popping smoke, fled the battlefield. All the time, the Combat Team Commander was bringing in more of his forces to try and box in the airborne force. Initially, just from the north and the west. As his was a mechanised combat team, with only one troop of tanks, now with only two Chieftains in support, he was finding it difficult to pin the enemy down, without actually having his own men ending up trapped and pinned down themselves. The Soviets were already deploying the ten ASU-85 assault guns that had been landed.

Boykov chattered on the radio as his BMD-KSh command vehicle bounced over the open farmland, the entire area a patchwork of cultivated fields. He needed to get his men organised. He probably had nearly 700 men on the ground already, but knew that, within thirty-minutes, he would loose his helicopter support. Hips were already flying back east, their weapons’ loads depleted and fuel running low. The Hind attack helicopters would not be far behind. The next wave, at least an hour away, would bring his artillery, the rest of his ASU-85 assault gun battalion, another BMD battalion, more BRDM-Saggers, and more SA-9s and additional supporting weapons, such as RPG-7s and the deadly AGS-17 grenade launchers.

Even with the BMD closed up, he heard the noise of the explosions as the British local force commander brought artillery fire down onto this rapidly expanding force. Although most of the Hooks had left, two of the slower ones were still on the ground. Although not destroyed, they were sufficiently damaged that they were unable to take off.

He would just have to take whatever the British threw at him, expand his perimeter, and complete his mission.