Pursuit by Fire: 1981 (Soviet Endgame Book 3) by Alex Aaronson & James Rosone

Author:Alex Aaronson & James Rosone [Aaronson, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Front Line Publishing Inc.
Published: 2023-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

30 September 1981

Kremlin

Moscow, USSR

Soviet Minister of Culture, Pyotr Demichev was comfortable with his position. It was a fact that there was no truly “stable” ground if there was a change in leadership. But he understood that so long as Andropov was in charge, he was not only safe, he was prepped for advancement. That was a dual edged sword. Propaganda was his specialty. As Minister of Culture, he had a lot of influence in propaganda campaigns both domestic and overseas. The crown jewel in his own crown was the campaign in Latin America. He’d been running that program from its inception.

His position as the Minister of Culture guaranteed his dedication to the party. If he’d made any missteps, they would have been called out and he would have paid the price. But no, he was a Party Man in every meaning of the title. He looked at the General at the front of the room, gesturing at a map, and was bored.

“Comrade General Secretary,” said the General, “NATO is attacking on two fronts.” The General pointed his stick at a northern and southern point. “We believe that their objective is to trap the bulk of the Red Army in western Germany. If the two offensives are able to connect, they will be able to cut off resupply to our units that are preparing to move into France and the Low Countries.” He paused to allow the general strategy to seep into the minds of the leadership of the Soviet Union.

“We believe that NATO is attempting to use Bonn as their fulcrum point. The northern and southern offensives will meet at Bonn, and then once our army is trapped, additional units from France, newly arrived units from the United States, and what is left of the West German forces will push through.”

“This seems familiar, but yet… different,” said Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov.

“The General Staff of the Armed Forces believes that this is a similar battle plan to that of the Germans in 1943. This is similar to the Battle of the Kursk Plain.”

“But that makes no sense,” countered Ustinov, “The only reason that Kursk was possible was because of the terrain. Kursk was a flat and open plain. This NATO assault, especially on the southern prong, is very mountainous, or at the very least, hilly.”

“That’s correct, Comrade Minister,” said the General. It is the opinion of the General Staff that the Western forces have overestimated their ability to move forces via airborne assault and helicopter assault. The initial gains were accomplished with aviation attacks. But the follow-on forces are delayed. We are slowing their advance, and every metric that we have shows that they will fall short of their goals.

“And yet they advance?” asked Andropov.

“Yes, Comrade General Secretary,” replied the General. “The key to defeating this attack will be to precisely time our counter-offensive. If he hit them too soon, we could wind up with a stalemate in Germany. If that happens, it will take us prohibitively long to regain the territory that we’ve lost.

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