Blackmail

8 KURSK, RUSSIA

Major General Vitaly Vasiliev, head of the 448th Missile Brigade of the 20th Guards Army, relaxed in the back of his sedan as it sped toward his headquarters. Peering through the side window, he spotted the early morning sun rising above the twenty-four-meter-tall Kursk Triumphal Arch. Not far from the monument, atop a pedestal stood the resemblance of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the co-mastermind of the Stalingrad counteroffensive in 1942, which surrounded Germany’s 6th Army and signaled the end of the Wehrmacht’s expansion across Russia. As the triumphal arch and Marshal Zhukov’s statue faded in the distance, Vasiliev’s thoughts turned to a battle much closer, and perhaps even more influential.

In the spring of 1943, after the surrender of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht counterattacked, delivering a crushing defeat to Soviet forces, retaking Kharkov and Belgorod. A bulge of Russian forces around Kursk remained, and with Hitler bent on revenge for Stalingrad, Operation Citadel was launched with the goal of encircling the opposing Soviet forces. The Battle of the Kursk Salient ensued, and with German Panzer formations breaking through the Soviet defenses, the Soviets directed the 5th Guards Tank Army to stop the II SS-Panzer Corps at Prokhorovka.

The Battle of Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943, was the largest tank battle in history, involving over one thousand tanks. The armored battle was considered a tactical success for Germany due to the high number of Soviet tanks destroyed, but a strategic victory for the Soviet Union because it prevented a German breakthrough. As Operation Citadel ground to a close, the initiative on the Eastern Front swung permanently over to the Red Army.

The glorious days of the Soviet Red Army, Vasiliev thought, crushing the German aggressors. Although the Red Army had been devastated by the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation had slowly regained strength in both men and equipment, finally able to flex its muscles again. Part of that power resided in Vasiliev’s missile brigade, fielding the Iskander ballistic missile, capable of delivering conventional or nuclear warheads out to five hundred kilometers.

Vasiliev’s sedan pulled to a halt in front of his headquarters building, and it wasn’t long before he was at his desk reading the morning radio messages. His Intelligence Colonel hovered nearby; there was an important message on the boards, on top, as expected. What wasn’t expected, however, was the directive. His unit was being deployed.

Curiously, although the readiness of all units in the Western Military District was being increased one notch, only two other units had received orders: the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade with the potent S-400 air defense system, and the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. Vasiliev raised an eyebrow. The 2nd Guards was the only division-strength motor rifle unit in the Army, with all other motor rifle divisions being downsized to the brigade level. Comprising a motor rifle brigade and tank brigade, the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was one of the most formidable units in the Russian Federation Army. Vasiliev read further, identifying the destination of all three units — Kaliningrad Oblast.

Most in the West were unaware of Kaliningrad Oblast, a region of Russia separated from the rest of the country. Home to Russia’s Baltic Fleet, Kaliningrad Oblast is surrounded by Lithuania to the north and Poland to the south. Ground transit to and from the oblast is controlled by Lithuania and Poland, with visa-free travel to the rest of Russia possible only by air or sea. As Vasiliev prepared to mobilize his missile battalion, he knew Lithuania and Poland might attempt to prevent the transfer of so much firepower into Kaliningrad Oblast.

It was infuriating, being forced to obtain the permission of foreign governments for travel between two autonomous regions of Russia. It was Russia’s sovereign right to station whatever troops and military equipment it desired in Kaliningrad Oblast without the approval of another country. But years earlier, when Russia announced its intentions to send advanced surface attack and air defense systems to the oblast, the Baltic States and NATO had objected. Now, Russia had a much stronger military and could press the issue.

Vasiliev smiled. NATO will not be pleased.