Double Deuce
28 Nov 05, 09:10
World War III has been raging since May 1984. By October, the months of heavy fighting began to slow down and the front finally stabilized. The war began to resemble more of a war of attrition than of maneuver. As the fighting dragged on, and casualties mounted on both sides many nations became disillusioned and began looking for ways out of the conflict.
While facing off against each other in the Passau area of Western Germany, the governments of Austria (pro-NATO) and Czechoslovakia (pro-Warsaw Pact) began secret negotiations to extract their forces from the fighting. Fortunately for them, their troops were located in positions very near their own borders and bringing the men home would not be much of a logistical problem. Explaining the sudden withdrawal to their allies would be a different story.
Throughout the early part of October 1984 both the Austrian and Czech governments started transferring troops back home in small groups, eventually leaving only skeleton forces in their assigned sectors. On October 21 they notified their allies of their intent to withdraw and formally declared their neutrality. By the evening of October 22 all of their combat forces were safely back home. Their sudden departure had left a huge whole in the southern front almost 30 kilometers wide and 30 kilometers deep. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact began to rush troops in to fill the void.
For NATO, these forces consisted of elements of the 2nd Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, the Canadian 4th Mech Brigade and the West German 35th Panzer Grenadier Brigade.
The Warsaw Pact was able to commit most of the Soviet 2nd Motorized Rifle Division, a Regiment of the East German 9th Tank Division and a Regiment of the Hungarian 11th MN Tank Division.
By the morning of the 23rd lead elements of these forces began to enter the now empty zone and come into contact. The battle to fill the void has commenced!
While facing off against each other in the Passau area of Western Germany, the governments of Austria (pro-NATO) and Czechoslovakia (pro-Warsaw Pact) began secret negotiations to extract their forces from the fighting. Fortunately for them, their troops were located in positions very near their own borders and bringing the men home would not be much of a logistical problem. Explaining the sudden withdrawal to their allies would be a different story.
Throughout the early part of October 1984 both the Austrian and Czech governments started transferring troops back home in small groups, eventually leaving only skeleton forces in their assigned sectors. On October 21 they notified their allies of their intent to withdraw and formally declared their neutrality. By the evening of October 22 all of their combat forces were safely back home. Their sudden departure had left a huge whole in the southern front almost 30 kilometers wide and 30 kilometers deep. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact began to rush troops in to fill the void.
For NATO, these forces consisted of elements of the 2nd Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, the Canadian 4th Mech Brigade and the West German 35th Panzer Grenadier Brigade.
The Warsaw Pact was able to commit most of the Soviet 2nd Motorized Rifle Division, a Regiment of the East German 9th Tank Division and a Regiment of the Hungarian 11th MN Tank Division.
By the morning of the 23rd lead elements of these forces began to enter the now empty zone and come into contact. The battle to fill the void has commenced!