The Blue Effect (Cold War) (10 page)

“I’ll put two spotters from each section in some of the houses, sir. At least we’ll have additional warning when the Soviets finally turn up.”

“Yes, do that. The lads need to watch their backs as well. There could be Soviet airborne between us and the FARB. We know they’ve reached as far as Haste.”

Before the sergeant could respond, they heard the
wop-wop
,
wop-wop
,
wop-wop
of rotor blades from a Chinook twin-engine helicopter as it suddenly descended low in front of the house, in between their position and the L445. The large helicopter spun in a southerly direction, backing up until the pilot was happy with their position. The ramp at the rear was down, and two white plastic pipes jutted out each side at an angle. Two Land Rovers careered across the open ground just as the engineers, sitting in the back of the Chinook, released L9 bar mines, anti-tank mines, sliding down the plastic tubes, laying two lines of these lethal weapons as the helicopter moved forward. Soldiers from the Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, jumped out of the open-topped Land Rovers and started to set the fuses, following the large helicopter as it discharged its lethal cargo.

“Thank God for that,” uttered Lieutenant Thorpe.

“It will certainly slow the buggers down, sir.”

“We can hit them as they try to cross the Ziegenbach, and again when they hit the minefield.”

“What about our fallback positions, sir? We could do with checking them out.”

The young officer stroked the light stubble on his face, making a mental note to shave as soon as time allowed. “Of course. If I leave you to settle the platoon in, I can take the FFR Land Rover and scout our positions.”

“Shall I assign one of the sections to be the first to pull back?”

“Yes, make it the centre section. In fact I’ll take Lance Corporal Jeffries from Two-Section with me.”

When they abandoned this line, the platoon would have to move quickly on foot, with all their equipment, to the second defensive line. From there, they could hit the enemy again. Their final position would be behind the Holpe, another minor run of water that would act as a temporary barrier to the enemy. Once there, the helicopters of 24th Airmobile Brigade would swoop in behind them. As the Lynx Mark 7s of the Aviation Regiment provided cover, along with C-Company who were dug in along the road, the Lynx Mark 9s and Chinooks would pick them up and take them to wherever higher command dictated they would need to fight next.

Somewhere behind them, they could hear more helicopters, so they crossed to one of the rooms on the opposite side of the house to investigate. Pulling back the blinds, they could look through the line of trees out towards the open ground on the other side of the road. There was a flight of Chinooks, some carrying an internal load, either more troops or a Land Rover tucked inside. Slung beneath, several had a second Land Rover; others a net containing supplies and ammunition. Thorpe knew that at least one of the Chinooks would be carrying the Milan detachment, and the Land Rovers slung beneath would belong to them. This would enable his platoon to grab a ride, moving to their secondary positions much more quickly when required. Three Lynx hovered further to the south, dropping down on their skis, allowing the soldiers on-board to debus. B-Company was moving into position, their responsibility from Ludersfeld down to Stadthagen.

“Let’s go then.” With that, Lieutenant Thorpe headed for the stairs, closely followed by Sergeant Cohen and Pritchard.

“Pritchard, get onto Lance Corporal Jeffries and have him meet us here.”

“Sir.”

Once at the bottom of the stairs and out through the front door, they collected Barnes, Thorpe’s runner, and waited for the second-in-command of Two-Section to join them. Barnes, in the meantime, collected the FFR, Fitted For Radio, Land Rover.

As soon as Jeffries arrived, the group mounted up and headed southwest. Once on a hard-packed lane, the driver steered south; then west along a narrow metalled road taking them a kilometre until passing through Lauenhagen and across the Hulse. Turning north, passing through the outskirts of the village and taking another metalled road to their half-left, they arrived at the location it had been agreed Second-Platoon would defend. The clatter of helicopters drowned out the sound of the Land Rover’s engine as more troops arrived in the region. The build-up of the defence of Stop-Line Black Raven continued. Another Chinook touched down, and a Lynx not far away also connected with ground, an infantry section leaping out quickly, allowing the helicopter to return and pick up more soldiers. With the ramp of the Chinook down, a line of soldiers, hunched down with the weight of their loads, left the confines of the helicopter, moving down the loading ramp. Fifteen men were disgorged, a full mortar-section from the battalion’s fire-support company. The men quickly dispersed. Nine of the men carried three mortar base plates, three barrels and three bipods, with sights, between them. Each item weighed over eleven kilograms, the sight coming in at thirteen and a half. They would need the remaining two Land Rovers and trailers that would be dropped within the hour to move about the battlefield. Once set up, the three 81mm mortars would provide additional firepower that A-Company could call upon when needed. With a range of five and a half kilometres, the section’s mortars could pound the enemy in front of A-Company’s lines with high-explosive bombs, and lay a barrier of smoke to cover them while they withdrew. The other two sections would no doubt support B and C Companies.

Lieutenant Thorpe, and the second-in-command of Two-Section, scouted the area, satisfying themselves where the section would deploy when they pulled back. He would send the section early, along with the two Milan FPs, giving them plenty of time to get their bearings and bring fire down on the Soviets as they crossed the open ground.

Corporal Prentice, commander of Two-Section, had passed out top in his Junior NCOs’ cadre course eighteen months before and had proven to be an effective section commander and leader of men. Another eighteen months would potentially see him as a platoon sergeant. He had confidence that, supported by Sergeant Cohen, Two-Section would give a good account of themselves.

Thorpe and his men climbed back into the Land Rover as a second Chinook dropped a Land Rover and trailer that was slung beneath it before landing further afield and offloading more troops. The build-up continued. They headed back to the front line. Thorpe’s men would need to prepare their defences if they were to be ready to have any impact on the juggernaut that was rolling towards them.

C
hapter 10

1
035, 9 JULY 1984. 1ST BATTALION (CLEVELAND), YORKSHIRE VOLUNTEERS, 15TH INFANTRY BRIGADE, 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION. EAST OF AUHAGEN, MITTELLANDKANAL, WEST GERMANY.

THE BLUE EFFECT -2 DAYS

North of the Mittellandkanal, D and G Company, The Green Howards, 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers, Territorial Army, were digging in along a two-kilometre stretch of the Rodenberger Aue, locking in with K-Company, south of the canal. To their north, they tied in with the 1st Panzer Division of the 1st German Corps. The 3rd Panzer Brigade, one of three brigades in the division, with their Leopard main battle tanks, provided the German Corps with a strong right flank and would help support the Territorial Army soldiers. The ugly-looking Saxon armoured personnel carriers pulled up along the length of the five to ten-metre wide water feature and disgorged the troops that would defend this section of the Rodenberger Aue. Officers gave orders and the NCOs made it happen. Sections were deployed to dig in, building defensive positions on the west bank, making sure they had good firing placements with overhead protection for the expected shelling by Soviet artillery. Behind them, the ground was heavily forested; their escape route should the enemy cross the water feature and force them back. The unit was defending the northernmost boundary of the 1st Armoured Division, within the area of operations corresponding to the 3rd Battalion, the Queen’s Regiment. All the Yorkshire Volunteers had to do was hold this piece of ground long enough for the 3rd Battalion, that was very much on the run, to pass through.

Lieutenant Colonel Delamere, Commander of 3 Queen’s, had been ordered to extract with all speed; conduct a fighting retreat, but not get bogged down in trying to defend ground, ground that was already lost to the enemy. The commanders of the 1st Armoured Division and 1st British Corps needed to keep as much of the battalion, along with the attached tanks from RTR, as intact as possible, to provide a force to block or even counter-attack the enemy wherever the Soviets managed to break through. 1 BR Corps had to hold the River Weser. Beyond that was Osnabruck and Bielefeld, Dortmund and the Rhein, then the Netherlands and, finally, the English Channel. If the Soviet Army managed to reach the Channel, they would split the NATO forces in Europe in two.

The battalion was expected to cross near Rehren. Although the bridge would be blown shortly to prevent the Soviet forces finding an easy crossing, Chieftain AVLBs (Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridge) had been made available to dash forward, and in less than five minutes, two twenty-three-metre bridges would be laid across the Aue. Once 3 Queen’s crossed, they had orders to race west as fast as possible; their responsibilities for defending that sector would cease. 2nd Infantry Division would take over full responsibility for the defence line from then on. The 2nd Division’s stop-line was the River Weser, but while they prepared those defences, Territorial Army units allocated to them, along with the 24th Brigade, would be used to slow the enemy down. 1st and 3rd Armoured Divisions required a reprieve if they were to extract themselves from the battle and rest, resupply and rearm.

During periods of total war, the Territorial Army is incorporated by the Royal Prerogative into the Regular Service. They now came under the code of Military Law for the full duration of hostilities or until the situation was such that deactivation could be permitted.

“Mathew.”

“Sir,” responded Lieutenant Mathew Reynolds, running over to the Land Rover FFR where his company OC was standing talking into the radio.

“Roger that. Out.” The Officer Commanding, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, YV, one of four rifle companies in this BAOR-assigned battalion, passed the handset back to his signaller. “Mathew, I’ve got a special task for you.”

“Sounds ominous, sir.”

“It is.” The sandy-haired officer laughed. His freckled face stood out even through the streaked cam-cream that plastered his face. “See that concrete structure,” he said, indicating the concrete mouth of the tunnel where the Rodenberger Aue passed under the Mittellandkanal, an amazing piece of German ingenuity. “I want your platoon to defend that. There are Soviet airborne all over the area, and they’ll want to ensure the Soviet tank divisions have free passage.”

Reynolds turned to his runner. “Get Sergeant Mason to move Three-Section up the top there. I’ll join him shortly.”

“Sir,” responded the soldier, and ran off to carry out his orders.

“Have a Gympy facing down the canal itself, and I’ll get a Milan FP over to you. I might send you a second FP, but the other three will be needed to support One and Two-Platoon.”

“You think they might use the canal, sir?”

“Wouldn’t you? Why try and cross it when you can send your troops along it. If they cross the Rodenberger that way, they’ll get right behind us.”

“I’ll see to it, sir.”

“Be quick, Mathew. That last radio message was telling us that the bridge at Rehren is about to be blown. 3rd Queen’s are on their way with Soviet airborne harassing them every step of the way.”

“They can’t be that far away from us then.”

“No, so make it quick. Two-Platoon will be on your left and Golf-Company will be on their left. I’ll use One-Platoon to cover when we have to withdraw. Make sure your Saxons are close. Once they get across, or as soon as we get the order to move, we’re out of here.”

“Consider it done, sir.”

“Good luck, Mathew.” With that, the OC jumped into the Land Rover and was driven off. He would need to organise the disposition of the rest of his company.

Reynolds ran along the edge of the canal to his right, a tree-lined embankment above him, reaching the Saxon belonging to Three-Section, parked next to the concrete structure that was the start of the ten-metre wide tunnel.

Sergeant Mason was waiting for him. “There’s a bloody great gap here, sir.”

Reynolds looked at where his platoon sergeant was pointing. There was indeed a gap. Next to the canal, a hard-packed track ran parallel to it, straight across the top of the Rodenberger. In between the mouth of the tunnel and the canal, a twenty-metre stretch would allow the enemy easy access across the Aue. There was only him and his men that could stop them.

“Have you checked the tunnel?”

“It’s blocked. They’ll not get through it.”

“What about the section?”

“Deployed, sir. I’ll show you.”

The sergeant moved off, his platoon commander, signaller and runner close behind. The first position they came across was the rifle-group. Four men, led by the section commander, were digging in on the left and right of the hard-packed track that crossed the gap between the tunnel head and the canal.

“Corporal.”

“Sir,” responded Corporal Brian Fletcher, the section commander. “I’ve got Roberts and Fraser digging in here. They can use this to protect their left flank,” he said pointing to the concrete wall that stood two-metres high to the side of them, the mouth of the tunnel on the other side. “George and Jenkins are on the right. Above them is the gun-group.”

Reynolds surveyed the positions, noting that the GPMG team of three men were at the top of the embankment, a spindly tree either side of their position. They were far enough back that they wouldn’t receive incoming fire from the side; the wall of the tunnel mouth protected them as well.

“My worry is an attack from the canal.” Reynolds frowned. “If the Soviets come at us from the direction canal and from the gap at the same time, the gun-group could find themselves in trouble.”

Just then, a second Saxon pulled up in the tree line, next to the open mouth of the tunnel.

“I’m going to put Two-Section, less two men, next to the entrance of the tunnel mouth, along the western embankment of the Aue.” Informed Sergeant Mason. “They’ll have a view right across the other side, out to a couple of hundred metres with an arc of at least 180. The other two men, I suggest, sir, could set up on the edge of the canal itself. They can warn us of any movement on the water, and with One-Section in reserve, we can counter any assault from there, or along any of our area of responsibility for that matter.”

“I like it, Sergeant Mason. When the Milan FP turns up, put it with Three-Section. If they send any armour to try and rout us out of our position, they’ll probably use the track running along the canal.”

“If they attempt a direct attack along that track, we’ll be hard-pushed to stop them, sir. Half a dozen BMPs or airborne APCs charging down there would take some stopping. One Milan isn’t going to make much difference.”

The officer reflected on what his platoon sergeant was saying. He trusted the man’s judgement. He was a good senior NCO and an excellent soldier. “I’ll get onto the OC immediately. This has got to be their first point of call.”

“Can we have the mortar platoon give our fire-missions priority, sir?”

“Good idea. I’ll try and get another Milan from the anti-tank platoon.”

“What about some mines?”

“Anything else on your wish list, Sergeant?” Reynolds laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Sir, sir, its Company HQ.”

Reynolds grabbed the handset off his signaller. “Zero-Delta, this is Delta-Three-Zero. Over.”

“Zero-Delta. Friendlies starting to feed through numerous points, south of your water feature. They need figures two to four hours to withdraw through. We hold for as long as we can. Enemy spotted by heli-reconnaissance. They’ll be on your doorstep in less than ten minutes. Over.”

“Roger that, sir. We have a big gap here to cover. A likely focal point. Need immediate planned fire-missions and additional Milan FP. Over.”

The Sergeant, having overheard the conversation, signalled that he would warn the rest of the platoon.

“On it already, Oliver. Send grids soonest.”

“Roger that, sir. They’ll be with you in one. Over.”

“I’ll join you shortly. Out.”

Reynolds ran towards the concrete wall of the tunnel entrance, looked over at the two soldiers dug-in in front of him, and slumped with his back to the wall, pulling his map from his combat jacket pocket. Placing his SLR on the ground, his signaller crouching next to him, he called in the coordinates.
Three fire-missions should do it
, he thought.

A Land Rover raced up the bank towards the gap and pulled alongside the lieutenant.

“Sir, where do you want the Milan?” asked the lance corporal who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“Set up on the track, then dump your transport back the way you came up. You have Three-Section’s gun-group on the high ground to your right, and you’ll be in between them and the rifle-group. Understand?”

“Sir.”

“Make it quick then. The enemy will be with us very shortly.”

The driver reversed the vehicle, changed gear, turned right and pulled up next to the embankment. The two men manhandled the Milan anti-tank missile launcher out of the vehicle in order to take it to their allocated firing position.

Once Lieutenant Reynolds had finished transmitting the coordinates, he headed up the embankment.

Crump, crump, crump…crump, crump, crump
.

Reynolds threw himself down alongside the gun-group as three mortar rounds erupted just north of the tunnel entrance, on the eastern bank of the Rodenberger Aue. Three more mortar bombs exploded, this time bracketing the tunnel entrance itself, one landing in the water, a fountain of spray plastering the structure with water.

“All call signs. Mask up, mask up,” Reynolds ordered.

He knew there would be no chemical contaminants from the mortar shells, but he didn’t know what else was lined up to hit them. He pulled on his own suffocating mask, checking that his runner, signaller and the gun-group were doing the same. Lance Corporal Marsh, second-in-command of the section and commander of the gun-group, nodded as if to say he was ready. Although nerves were eating at his gut, that simple contact with his platoon commander steadied his uneasiness.

Three more explosions. This time, more accurate, punching small craters in the hard-packed track, showering the Milan and rifle team in debris.

Crump, crump, crump…crump, crump, crump
.

This time, the bombs landed on the west bank of the Aue, along the line where the soldiers of Two-Section were partially dug in. Reynolds doubted they had had time to prepare more than just shell-scrapes. More bombs hit the track below him. There were two mortar sections targeting his men, he surmised.

“Delta-Three-Two, Delta-Three-Zero. Report. Over.”

After a delay of five or ten seconds, a muffled response came back.
“This is Delta-Three-Two…Hit hard…one killed…two…injured…”

“Are you functional? Over.”

“…Gympy intact. Over.”

“Roger that. Hang in there. Will get you medical assistance soonest. Out to you. Hello, Zero-Delta, Delta-Three-Zero. Contact. Mortar fire. Two firing points. Need medical assistance to my location ASAP. Over.”

“Zero-Delta. Acknowledged. Help on way. Pull your reserve section forward when needed, One-Platoon will plug the gap. Over.”

Reynolds peeled his respirator off. “Can’t communicate with this damn thing on. Roger that, sir. Standby for fire mission. Out.”

“There, sir,” called the GPMG gunner excitedly as he pulled the butt into his shoulder, straining to pick out the target through the round eyepieces of his S-6 respirator, and opened fire.

Sergeant Mason, on seeing his platoon commander mask less, pulled his own off and was quickly followed by the rest of the platoon who were in sight of him.

“Remember your training,” responded Lance Corporal Marsh quite calmly as he stuffed his mask back in its haversack. A welder in Civvy Street, a section second-in-command in wartime. “Enemy contact, 500 metres, left of prominent tree.” He then placed his cheek on the butt of his SLR, sighted an enemy soldier just as he dropped into position, and fired two rounds.

Brrrrrp…brrrrp…brrrrp
. The Gympy gunner fired controlled bursts, dust kicking up in and around the enemy, one soldier thrown sideways like a rag doll as two bullets smashed into him. The enemy returned fire. Flashes from AKs could be seen all along the line of trees opposite. The airborne troops were good, firing short, well-aimed bursts, unlike some of the TA soldiers who were firing wildly, an element of panic as they experienced their first action.