Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1
+++January 10th, 1983, 1100 hours
++German Democratic Republic
++Outskirts of Cottbus, 6km west of the Neisse river
++Fort Spre
The positions of the 35th NVA [1A 1] iment ”Ernst Schürer”, second battalion, third coainst three tank-class BETA assaults, were by then a living hell Narrow trenches with reinforced concrete walls were filled human and alien bodies, and as horrendous as it was, the soldiers did not even have tiive them proper burials The company commander, Oberleutnant Claudia Quirnheim felt the bitterness of despair on her lips Not ent, were still capable of holding ared in close quarters co
Another attack, and we're done for
During the night the weather conditions worsened considerably, and visibility was effectively limited to less than half a kilometre Claudia had to make a decision - to retreat to the secondary defence line, or stay and fight, - the latter would inevitably mean the destruction of the entire company All co time already, and the decision was hers to make
But if we do leave our positions, we could be court-martialed
The NVA was officially the Parteiarmee, army at the service of the party, so frequently ans and procla the necessities of warfare For her, pro fro a half-year basic officer course, this was a terrible, unjust burden
Where are our reinforcements?
Was the thought that raced in her mind as she looked over her comrades, - for from cold and fear in the trenches All of them volunteers who joined the ar that there was nowhere to retreat to
”Coain! BETA herd, five hundred units or more!”
”Goddamn them!”
Fro blizzard they came; on the field, littered with corpses of their monstrous brethren, they advanced; at least five hundred smaller ones, and behind therapplers, with their terrible weapon-arms
” All units, fire at will! Do not target the grapplers - leave them to our support!”
The overwhel hail of fire that followed almost drowned out her orders The staccato of sustained fire froiment'softheir last rounds; and with theuns of their fire support - a tank platoon entrenched behind their defensive line Like droplets of blood the tracers sprayed across the enemy lines But the BETA did not stop The ones that survived were ile six-legged monsters the colour of dried blood
The soldiers ere previously busy carrying a bayonets to their MPi-Ks [1A 3], and in a few seconds the first monstrous tank-class creature appeared over the parapet, its forear out its defenders
”Don't you fucking dare, bloody monster!! Stay awa-a-ay!!!”
All of the soldiers crouching in the trench opened fire, and a hail of bullets shredded the beast, leaving the ore However, the BETA were too ied in brutal close coer echoed over the defence lines
” Aim for the arms! The arms!!”
Claudia tried to shout orders, but could only watch as her cohastly for paw already raised, ready to strike with incredible force Reflexes saved her - she dived instinctively and rolled over on her back
” Eat this!! ”
A precise burst of fire ripped apart the beast's joint, - infantry weapons were, after all, quite effective against the smaller BETA species Then - with a nasty , its bolt locked halfway
”Jammed?! No way!!”
Theat this moment? She had no time to check, as an incredible force swept and threw her into the wall Overwhel pain, she spat blood Broken ribs ht distantly, and realised that it was the almost severed arm of the BETA that struck her like a whip No one could help her Her co, smashed, eviscerated, beheaded and torn apart
” No no!”
Feeling a prih a bloody haze And then she heard the sound - the ear-splitting roar of jet engines just overhead
” They the fighters! They're here!”
Her heart was suddenly filled with an insane hope
Finally! Help… reinforcements finally
Crawling along the bloody, gri to find her saviours in the ht MiG-21s, ainst the pale sky, cruising above Graceful and unperturbed, they went on, soon disappearing into the blizzard, unedy below
” Hohy why?!” - a desperate cry came from her throat,
” Why aren't you helping us? Why?!”
In the next instant, powerful jaws closed on Claudia's neck
Oberleutnant Claudia Quirnheiarded allied forces ti themselves more than a few unsavoury nicknahter Squadron 666 ”Shwarzesmarken”
+++1110 hours
++In the air above Fort Spre
As usual, the steady stream of new requests for reinforce roar of the aircraft's engines Unterleutnant Theodore Eberbach, a pilot of the 666th TSF squadron ”Schwarzes his ”Balalaika”[1A 4] lurch forward and gain a little speed Minute after ed: white fields under grey skies, burnt forests, abandoned fields streith BETA corpses and if he looked behind his shoulder, he would have been able to see the vicious battle with the BETA on the front lines And the only thing he could per since learned not to think tooaround them
”Achtung! Schwarz one to all”
On his retinal display appeared a new coolden hair, fine, aristocratic features and a cold, strict countenance - unmistakeably the ice queen herself, squadron leader Irisdine Bernhard
” Get ready for eneement Comms may be spotty under the heavy metal clouds, maintain formation”
”Eight, copy that ”
His toneless reply drowned in a chorus of acknowledgement from the other pilots
The 666th consisted of eight MiGs, and though they were supposed to have twelve machines, by now there were very few units in the entire NVA which had a full contingent For the sa in arrowhead for, four following The commander's MiG-21 was outfitted with additional sensory and comhtly different, with the ht forward, so that it bore a distant reseendary unicorn
Eight kites against the whole bloody BETA force? Suicide job as usual
Theodore gave another sigh He felt the pressure of the coht
In the past several days, triple-six squadron had been e-scale BETA assault from the eastern shore of the Neisse river, their d [1A 5] - penetration deep into ene out laser-class units that constituted the main firepower and core of the eneht [1A 6] andwith their ju the shortest route to the predicted objective location, along the left flank of a large group that was advancing west In the clouds charged with heavy metal particles that had been put in place by preliminary bombardment with AL shells [1A 7] , the threat of detection and exposure to laser fire was diminished; however, it was not an idealabout a couple of bullets fro of Russian roulette The heavyunder them: increased coh which the tactical infor systee Pilots were only able to uardfour kilometres behind
The blizzard only seeot worse by the ot a queer, hollow feeling in the pit of his sto of the machine, for moments later a new commappeared on his display, froarded him sternly
” Schwarz three to Schwarz eight - keep on course, son! What are you, drea?”
Theodore, startled, barely stopped hilanced at the speaker, seeing the uned to Oberleutnant Walter Krueger, who, a veteran officer at 29, ruos, wasthe most senior pilot in the squadron, he was Irisdine's adjutant, responsible for all personnel-related matters
When will they stop treating me like a kid?
but Theodore answered as levelly as he could:
”Eight, roger that”
He kneas a good idea to watch what he said, because of the recording equip whatever he would whisper to himself, would be picked up and recorded by the sensitive microphones
Meanwhile, the cries for help continued Another TSF squadron which was supposed to move around the BETA from the other flank came under laser fire and was pinned, which under the circumstances meant almost certain annihilation
” Oi, nugget Watch your distance, you're co too close”
Walter was gruain The practice inmen, with dispersion of forces cited as the main reason
”The laser-class' spread did they get their predictions wrong again?”
Inputting the coordinates of the e datalink Theodore quickly found their source It was a dreadful, absurd situation that they could do nothing about, - a daily occurrence on this field of battle
”Ma'a backup--”
” Request denied” - answered Irisdine immediately, without a hint of emotion
” Any distractions from our main objective will have to be set aside These aren't the first or the last that ill have to ignore, but we have a mission, a responsibility to save many more lives ”
” Shwarz three copy Everybody heard that? We're proceeding on course”
Feigning iust somewhere deep down No, it wasn't the coldness of the two officers towards their allies, - what bothered hi out of Irisdine's mouth ”A responsibility to save ood reason to think that way about his co officer that way
Because of them, I--
”Feindkontankt! BETA group, at 010! Heading 170! I read at least fifteen thousand!”
Walter's sudden shout interrupted his thoughts and made everyone check their radars
Thewest Most of therapplers scattered about The distinct shapes of the laser-class targets were nowhere in sight, though according to intelligence reports, they would be at the back of the horde
”That's way more than we expected!”
During the briefing, they were told that this particular enemy formation totalled around thirty thousand If the radar, however, had already picked up more than half of that number, it was safe to double the predicted total
da every bloody time
” By the way, Walter, you know that joke?” Irisdine spoke in a level tone, as if she hadn't noticed the ene about the weather
” Which one?”
” Someone sends a question to the Berlin radio: are the BETA edible at all?”
” And?”
” They answer: of course not Unless you're an Engländer”
Several hs could be heard in the comms The dreadfulness of the rations distributed to the British arendary even a East German personnel, and Walter chuckled appreciatively:
” Yes, and there's so many of them here we should export them to those Inselaffe, they'd probably thank us”
” Right, - so first, let's turn those over there into paste”
Theodore didn't even shtly relieve the tension of the pilots about to engage the ene his thoughts, Irisdine changed the tone of her voice, and gave the order:
” Schwarz one to all, we'll cut off this group in front of us first!”
” Jawohl! ” - answered the chorus of pilots' voices
” Ready! Doe go!”
Theodore yanked the joystick towards hienerated by the abrupt deceleration claned precisely for such occasions Four MiGs landed together, sending fountains of snow
”Deploy shi+elds!”
” Roger!!”
All four e assault shi+elds, in a maneuver reminiscent of the hoplite phalanxes of Ancient Greece All the machines of the squadron except one carried the standard load out of the NVA's tactical fighters: a multipurpose assault shi+eld ”Shürzen” [1A 8] in the left hand, a WS-16C assault rifle in the right, plus an additional weapon on the gun mounts
Infrared sensors showed enenatures approximately a thousand metres ahead and behind the unit As far as they could see on their radars, the snowy plains were crawling with BETA, a picture re one after the other
” All units, feuer frei! Airoup in front!”
At Irisdine's command, the four lead machines opened fire The roar of their assault rifles drowned out the howling of the blizzard, and an approaching grappler exploded, fountains of blood and gore painting the immaculate snow, - a horrificBETA, perhaps in appreciation of the art, reacted instantaneously, turning to attack Theodore and his comrades
”Here they come!”
” Draw them towards us - fire and retreat!”
All four machines, perfectly synchronised, turned their juave a short boost, quickly putting an additional couple hundredto fire while giving reverse boosts to decelerate Such back boost jumps were one of the main tactics of anti-BETA TSF warfare
” Eat lead, Hurensöhne!!!”
With grim satisfaction, Theodore sprayed the enerapplers and tank-class monsters into mincemeat That their diversion was a success quickly becah, as aafter him and his brothers in arms did not make him happy Even concentrated fire could not stop the BETA advance, though it did slow them down, and now red waves of tank-class creatures started flowing around the TSFs in an attempt to flank and surround them
We're running out of space, won't be able to retreat for er
No sooner had the thought crossed Theodore's h the tense silence:
” This is Schwarz two, ready to provide covering fire!”
A ne on his display showed the four rear-guardbehind them
” Feuer frei! Target the flanking tank-class!”
The rear-guard promptly followed the order of their leader, first lieutenant and second in command of the squadron, Pham Thi Lan, a German of Vietnamese descent The appearance of their backuptank-class BETA were being decied on their location
If we continue like this, wethe laser-class
As if sensing his line of thought, a shrill, angry, al, comrade captain?!”
Another co thick horn-ri to hide her irritation
” Why are we not attacking?! We don't have time to waste on this!”
This only served to create additional tension for the pilots engaged in combat, - but Gretel Jeckeln, the political officer of the squadron and one of the pilots of the lead flight, clearly didn't care
” We have standing orders - take those Lux down by 1200 hours! I demand that we stop these foolish diversions and proceed to our objective!”
Ugh there she goes again
As much as he wanted to snort derisively, Theodore only allowed hi to let his opinion show After all, Gretel, as a political officer, was tasked with observing and controlling the pilots' loyalty to the party, counter-intelligence, propaganda and rooting out of anti-communist elements To ensure that the army acted in line with the policies of the SED, the Politische Hauptverwaltung, ned specially trained officers to every unit of the armed forces As a result, the NVA had effectively two command structures and hierarchies [1A 9]Political officers were given wide-ranging powers, and even questioning tactical decisions was in their field of competence, not to mention personnel-relatedofficers Naturally, any disobedience towards the political officer would have grave consequences for the offender Now and then one would hear a story of a coive in to unreasonable, absurd demands of their political officers to preserve himself and his unit, as forced to shoot the PO, - and was then quietly executed by firing squad, his subordinates and relatives taking a one-way trip to correctional camps
” Our mission is to destroy the laser-class! The more ait, the h our front line!”
Yeah, and she doesn't think for a sec that if we followed everything to the letter, ouldn't ever stand a chance ofit?
” Aren't we supposed to complete this mission no matter the cost, comrade captain?!”
” Comrade lieutenant”
Irisdine's voice was calm Only she, as the squadron commander, could speak with Gretel as an equal
” The eneher than forecasted Have you considered the fact that this ress towards the main objective?”
” We don't have tih to divert some BETA here!”
” Tactical considerations are within my competence Continue diversion” was Irisdine's cold reaction to Gretel overstepping her authority
It was clear that she was planning to draw as many BETA as possible to one place, and then quickly out at the soft underbelly of the ene out the laser-class
” Right now on the front line,to buy us so that can be considered treason! Do you understand or not that the party speaks through me?!”
Gretel, only a first lieutenant, was able to threaten an officer that outranked her precisely because of that dual co to answer, Gretel's lips curled up in an unpleasantly triumphant smirk
” You will follow my advice or I will assume direct control of all the squadron's machines”
Thebeen of the opinion that political officers in all TSF units should have priority control access of all machines of their unit Thus, if it came to that, a political officer would have the option of re all cos into the pilot's suit and disabling the fighter's systems
However, Irisdine still didn't answer, and Gretel's face betrayed some confusion and suspicion The tension was broken by Walter's shout:
” Conatures to the rear! Grappler reinforce over two hundred! Distance 1200 1000 contact in sixty seconds!”
da!
Thedore cursed under his breath, turning his sights on the new threat A sizeable horde of BETA evidently separated fro back Everyone instinctively looked at the commander's machine
” Lead flight, uard - set up behind the fire!” ordered Irisdine without a hint of hesitation in her voice
” What the hell, comrade captain?! This position has no tactical value, why are we still defending it?! I told you--”
” These need to be destroyed to ensure the success of the operation All units, schneller! Do not waste time or ammo!”
” We don't have time--”
” We ht pursue us and strike from the back e attack the Lux! We will destroy them here and now!”
Scheisse! Not like we have many options now,
Theodore thought, gripping the joysticks tightly in a bid to stop his hands fro It was a first for him, too - this many BETA, in such poor visibility One couldn't even predict how effective the squadron's fire would be
In the next ed from the storm and closed in, - the distance to the first ones was already less than eight hundred metres
” Target the first ones - let's stop them here! 120-mm, three volleys! Fire!!”
Four assault guns spat orange fla BETA, ripping apart so others The monsters weren't all dead, but clearly incapacitated, so that the ones who folloere forced to go around them - their ranks now in disarray, the advance slowed down considerably
So that's what she counted on!
He didn't even have time to fully appreciate her plan, when he heard a new order: ” Squadron, switch to 36-mm, fire at will! Kill them while they're still confused!”
”Hah! Basta-a-a-ards!!” - he obeyed with relish The deep boo of the 120-mm was replaced by the staccato of the assault rifles, spewing a barrage of arrapplerslike a curtain in front of the horde
” Die!! Die, youthesome of her frustration fro shout from Irisdine:
” Careful! There are still live ones!”
” Eh?!”
A group of flanking grapplers appeared fro Gretel's , she didn't have time to react, - and fro friendly fire The political officer, though above average for a normal TSF squadron level, was clearly the least experienced pilot of the 666th
Dumme Schlampe!
Theodore reacted al his jump boosters A split second later he was already between her and the charging beasts, breaking hard in the deep snow
” Won't get past me!!”
Still sliding across the snow, he aimed and fired at the attackers, - they couldn't have been more than two hundred metres away by now, even ripped apart by bullets they died, but others kept on co, - and then the last one fell not even ten lanced over the dead BETA
”If I ht here”
” L-lieutenant Eberbach!”
Ignoring the embarrassed and shocked Gretel, he promptly returned to his position
Meanwhile, the horde continued their assault, and by now there was at least a thousand already within visible range It was clear that despite their losses, they wouldn't stop
” Achtung, squadron!” Irisdine's voice cah the cannonade
” We're stopping our diversion! Prepare for juinal course, NOE, arrowhead foret your head above thirty metres! ”
” Roger! ” came the reply from all pilots
Eight fighters fired their engines simultaneously, and ju BETA - still an obstacle in their way, despite all they had destroyed But now, they would slip into the breach, and find their real target - the laser-class From readouts on his retinal display, Theodore quickly understood that this diversion cost them around thirty percent of fuel and ammunition
Now begins the real deal
The queasy feeling, forgotten in the heat of battle, returned Between the nu weather conditions, and the li that would make him particularly cheerful And there was the uidance
But I will survive
Trying to rid hiripped the control sticks
I will not depend on anyone Only th
He had always thought the feelings of friendshi+p, attachht, were only a sign of weakness The only things thatunquestionably, or helping so your own throat for the knife
I knohat happens if you trust someone That's why
Theodore's eyes glinted with hate for an instant
He was thinking of none other than the commander of the Schwarzeso, the people closest to hi him in the depths of despair And she was one of the hounds of the system
+++1125 hours
++German Democratic Republic
++Cottbus area, Cottbus base headquarters
” Confir Comms down after entry into metallic clouds!”
The operator's report drew sighs from the people in the small control room
”This ed in combat”
Sighs, again All those present here, in the imental co the situation tensely, but it felt as if no one really kne or even wanted to evaluate it All eyes were on the huge wall screen, on which was projected thebattle
” Attack success chance - sixty-six percent ” as if voicing as on everyone's
”We knew, Marai”
”M-major?! ” Marai, startled, turned around and saw Major Hannibal Hölzer, coroup 'Hannibal', based in Cottbus[1A 10]Right now three of its squadrons were in co with the 666th, which ordinarily had been a unit under the direct command of Eastern HQ, in reserve until recently, then transferred to the Oder-Neisse defence line and temporarily attached to the special task force Marai was also a pilot herself, but was te as a staff officer on Cottbus base She would be coht now, but her MiG-21'sbehind schedule, and she had to switch to staff functions
” We were ready for the losses Our duty is to not let the grief influence our decision ”
She noticed that Hannibal's eyes were sunken froue For four days, ever since the start of the attack, he had not rested for aprecise instructions to his squadrons
” And what do you yourself think of this situation, Marai?”- he asked, raising his voice, but keeping a soft, paternal tone Clearly, through this conversation with her, Hannibal was trying to show the rest of the staff decision- at the tactical level, since most officers present had little experience
” Sir The success of the Laserjagd will depend on their location,” - she answered without hesitation, silently thanking Hannibal for an opportunity to save face
”At this point the situation on the Neisse river line is critical Mechanised infantry are bearing the heaviest losses”
On the projected map were clearly visible the outlines of the three , covering an area approximately 60 kilometres fro, the fortified line had been erected between the Neisse river, former border with Poland, and the Spree, 20-30 kilo the entire border of the country, and was ainst the BETA threat After the disaster of Operation Palaiologos in 1978, the fall of Poland the following year, and the BETA advance up to the Oder, the NVA constructed a defence line Official propaganda called it the ”The Eastern shi+eld”, a great wall that would protect European civilisation
” This prolonged engagement has resulted in approxi these three sectors The re forty percent have been forced to retreat to the second and last reserve line The only things that could change the situation in our favour would be airstrikes and artillery support - both impossible with the Lux still active
Marai looked at another , showing the current positions of the air force and artillery brigades Most of them were concentrated on the west bank of the Spree
”For that purpose were deployed the six rocket artillery brigades, with both the UN and NVA air forces standing by on the Elbe”