The Red Effect (Cold War) by Black Harvey

Author:Black, Harvey [Black, Harvey]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: SilverWood Books
Published: 2013-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

TEMPLIN, PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED AREA, EAST GERMANY. 30 JUNE 1984.

THE RED EFFECT −6 DAYS.

The green three-litre Senator moved steadily down the track, its strengthened suspension coping well with the ruts and grooves that had been carved into the ground by the passage of Soviet armoured and wheeled military vehicles. The driver steered the military-mission vehicle off the track and into the widely spaced trees of the forest, picking his way through until they reached the edge and overlooked the clearing that was their ultimate destination. They were in the permanently restricted area that encompassed Templin, a Soviet training area. Regularly used by Soviet armoured units for training of tank crews and small unit exercises, it was a stopping-off point for the military-mission officers in their quest to acquire photographs of the latest Soviet kit and, if possible, get inside one of their latest main battle tanks. As a consequence of Exercise Hammer 84, the Soviets had expanded the restricted area, enforcing a temporary restricted zone that made it even more difficult for the mission crews to get in close.

After the establishment of the four Allied zones-of-control following the fall of Germany at the end of World War Two, the exchange of military missions was introduced to effect liaison between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. This agreement allowed members of a military mission to travel freely throughout the Soviet sector of Germany: the German Democratic Republic. Some areas were restricted on a permanent basis, with temporary restricted areas being added during large exercises or troop movements.

The British Military-Mission (Brixmis) crew were on the last stage of their tour. They had been out for two days and were returning to their headquarters in West Berlin once they had completed this recce. They had been here before and knew that, on the other side of the forest they were now driving through, there was a clearing often used by the Soviet Army. The tour commander, Staff Sergeant William Rawlings, a member of the British Army’s Intelligence Corps, indicated for the driver to slow down as they approached the edge of the forest. It was just after four in the morning, just dark enough to make a covert entry into the restricted area, but light enough that they would be able to observe any activity underway.

The vehicle stopped, and the tour commander got out of the vehicle, taking his binoculars, camera and pocket tape recorder with him. Weaving around the tall, slender pine trees he made his way to the edge, leaning up against one of the trees at the outermost edge of the forest.

“Jackpot!” he said to himself.

He didn’t need the binoculars to establish that a large unit was arrayed across the wide open space in front of him. He positioned the binoculars in front of his face and scrutinised the vehicles. Something didn’t seem right. It kept niggling at him, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. The sudden coughing sound of cold engines starting made him jump, clouds of blue smoke engulfing some of the tanks.

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