Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (Revised & Expanded Edition)

CHAPTER 14 THE DAY AFTER

With the arrival of battalion commander another company, orders to expand the bridgehead were issued. Those elements of Team Yankee still south of the river were sent north and ordered to move forward and establish a defensive position on high ground five kilometers northeast of the bridge where the scouts were established. Bravo Company established a position four kilometers north of the bridge. The scouts were sent farther out, but had the same mission of seeking out the enemy, providing early warning, and spreading pandemonium wherever they went. Team Charlie was kept south of the river to protect the bridgehead from attack from that quarter as well as mop up any Soviet stragglers that were still running around.

The only action of the day occurred when a company of Soviet T-55s came trundling down the road from the north. The scouts let them pass after reporting it to battalion. It was clear to everyone who heard the scout’s report either the Soviets didn’t know the bridge had fallen, or they thought that the battalion’s positions were farther south. Whatever the reason, Bravo Company, who was ready for them, made short work of them.

By 0700 hours, the lead element of the 25th Armored Division was crossing the river. From their positions, the men in Team Yankee had little to do but watch endless parade of vehicles and troops stream north. Once the 25th had passed through Bravo Company, it and Team Yankee were ordered to move to new positions farther east, expanding the bridgehead. Team Charlie did likewise on the south side of the river. By noon the entire battalion, minus Team Charlie, was across the river, reconsolidated and again ordered to continue their advance to the east.

It was during a pause brought about by the need to rearm and refuel that word came down from battalion for all commanders to report to the battalion CP ASAP. When Bannon arrived at the roadside gathering, he was greeted with a stone-cold silence by the officers who were already there. They were standing around the rear of the command track listening into a conversation the colonel was having on the radio. Stopping just short of that gaggle, Bannon sighed. “Great,” he thought to himself. “Some dumb son of a bitch at Corps has come up with another nightmare of an operation.”

Inching his way closer, he did his best to listen in on what the colonel was listening to, but could only catch bits and pieces of his conversation with whoever it was he was talking to. When the colonel finished, he put down the mike and stood there a moment. Turning to the S-3, he grunted. “Well, I guess we’re fighting a new war now.”

Bannon turned to Frank Wilson, the commander of Team Charlie, “New war? What’s the Old Man talking about? Did someone pop a nuke?”

Frank looked at Bannon, closed his eyes, and nodded his head in the affirmative. They had crossed the nuclear threshold.

Colonel Hall came out of the track, followed by Major Shell. Stopping midway down the M577 command post carrier’s lowered ramp, he looked out over the gathered officers, taking a moment to composure himself before addressing them. “As some of you have already heard, the Soviets have initiated nuclear warfare.”

Pausing, he let that statement sink in before he continued. “This morning they launched an attack with a single weapon against a British city, destroying it and causing severe damage to the surrounding area. The United States and Great Britain retaliated by striking a Soviet city with several weapons. Although there have been no further exchanges, we have been told to assume that the Soviets will continue to use nuclear weapons, including tactical weapons. Should they do so, I have no doubt NATO forces will meet every new escalation with equal or superior force.”

Once more he paused, this time using the opportunity to look from face to face as if trying to gauge how his commanders and staff were taking the news. “As a result, the battalion has been ordered to increase the distance between the company positions. To make room for this, Team Yankee will be pulled out of the line and held back as a reserve. Bannon, the S-3 will provide you with details. I expect you all to take all measures necessary to protect your force without losing sight of our mission.”

With that, Major Shell moved out from behind the battalion commander and over to the battalion operations map where he pointed out where each company and team was to go. Team Yankee was to move back to an assembly area in the center of the battalion’s sector. To reduce their vulnerability and present a less lucrative target, its platoons were spread out over a wide area. After some additional instructions, the commanders and staff dispersed and headed off to see to adjusting their units and assets to deal with the new threat.

News that nuclear weapons had been used cast a pall on all activities and conversations throughout the Team. Up to now, despite the horrors and losses they had suffered, the war had been manageable on a personal level. The Team had been in some very tight spots but had, when all things were considered, weathered the storm and emerged from it in relatively good shape. The men had met the Russians face-to-face and found that they could be defeated. In the process, they’d become confidence in the Team’s weapons, its leaders, and themselves. Their advance into East Germany had even fostered the belief they could win.

The initiation of nuclear war, however, changed all that. Not only was there precious little that the Team could do in the face of a tactical nuclear strike, a nuclear war threatened the United States. Their families and friends four thousand miles away were now in as much danger as they were.

It was this fear of the unknown, accompanied by a feeling of hopeless that now became Bannon’s chief concern and greatest challenge. As soon as the Team was in its new positions, he went from platoon to platoon, gathering its men around and went over with them what had happened and what it meant to them in as much detail as he could. He explained the possible results of an all out exchange of nuclear weapons and what they had to do if that came to past. For the most part, however, he spent most of his time doing everything he could to keep them from falling into despair, pointing out that they were not entirely helpless. The Team still had a job to do and could still influence the outcome of the war. Most importantly, he was honest with them. They were all hardened veterans by now, men who had the ability to smell bullshit a mile away. This was no time to lie to them or try to blow sunshine up their third point of contact.

By evening the team was settled into their positions and was as ready for whatever came next as it could be. Everyone was in a quiet, reflective mood, with the men talking to each other only when necessary. For the most part, each man passed the night alone with his own thoughts and fears.

Bannon, too, was overcome with a feeling of despair and fear. As part of his training, he had been taught what nuclear weapons could do. He also knew what national policy was concerning their employment as well as the size of the nuclear arsenals that each side had. In Europe alone, the United States had some 7,000 nuclear devices on hand, capable of being delivered by various means, ranging from artillery delivered 155mm rounds to Pershing II missiles.

It was the intercontinental missiles both the US and Russia had that he feared most as his thoughts kept turning to his family. Nightmare scenario began to play out his mind, threatening his ability to think straight. The stress of the last few days, exhaustion, and now the fears brought on by the thought of an all-out nuclear exchanged were too much for him to handle. With no one with whom he could share his feelings and burden, he sought escape through sleep. Like a child faced with a situation beyond his control, he withdrew from the horrors of the real world and drifted into a fitful sleep.

Stand-to the following morning reminded Bannon of the first day. It was as if the Team had gone full circle and was starting anew. In a sense, this was true. Only the distant rumble of an occasional artillery barrage broke the stillness that smothered the Team like a heavy quilt. As he greeted the men during his morning rounds, they responded in a perfunctory manner. Uncertainty and dread underlined everything they did. The lieutenants looked to Bannon, seeking guidance or inspiration or something. They found nothing. He could see their disappointment when he failed to give them the assurance they were seeking. Even a hot breakfast, the first cooked meal the Team had received in days, did little to raise morale. Something had to be done and done fast, or he feared they would all go crazy.

After the morning meal was over, Bannon called the platoon leaders in for a meeting. In no mood to play cheerleader, he took the “business as usual” approach. When everyone was present, he went down a list of protective measures that should have already been put into effect. These included such things as ensuring every man, including the tank crews, had a foxhole near at hand he could dive into if need be, turning off all but one radio in every platoon, covering all optics when not in use, camouflaging everything, and more. In addition, he warned that the platoons needed to tend to their routine maintenance and personal hygiene.

The platoon leaders either regarded him with blank or puzzled stares. Since the start of the war they had become loose in some of the areas he was now insisting they tighten up on. Rather than explain his rational, he simply returned their stares before telling them they were to inform him when they thought they were ready for inspection. At the conclusion of this meeting, he turned them over to the XO and went to battalion to see if there was any news on the progress of the 25th Armored or intelligence updates.

The news that greeted him at battalion was not at all what he had expected or had prepared himself for. Rather than moregrim tidings, word was there had been no further use of nuclear weapons since the first exchange. “Conventional wisdom,” Major Shell explained, “is that the Soviets had decided to try to intimidate the Europeans by taking out one of their cities with a nuclear device. Birmingham in England was chosen for this exercise in terror. The prompt retaliation by both Britain and the US against the city of Minsk came as a shock to them, demonstrating that NATO remained resolved and united.”

“Even more importantly, the cherished Soviet notion that the US would not risk a nuclear attack on herself to save Europe had been disproved,” Ken Damato added. “Just as the leaders of the NATO nations understood the purpose of the Soviet attack, the Soviets understood the meaning of NATO’s response. NATO is ready and willing to trade blow for blow.”

Major Shell then took to briefing Bannon on the overall situation. “The 25th Armored Division is continuing its attack toward Berlin and is making good progress. So far, the Warsaw Pact units have been unable to slow it down, let along stop it. Furthermore, there are signs the Warsaw Pact is beginning to buckle.”

Ken Damato gave Bannon a copy of the Division’s intelligence summary to read. “There’ve been a rash of armed insurrection in several Warsaw Pact Nations,” he added when Bannon was finished reading the INSUM. “I expect a number of them are being inspired and aided by US Army Special Forces A teams that have been inserted throughout Poland and East Germany.”

The news that Polish units were no longer attacking came as no surprise to Bannon. What did were reports that Soviet units in Northern Germany were beginning to surrender en-masse. Others were on the verge of doing so. Deep strikes by the Air Force were hampering the flow of supplies and the movement of troops. In short, the war was going well for NATO.

“While the loss of Birmingham was a major disaster, it has not interfered with the NATO war effort,” Damato pointed out in a manner that struck Bannon as a wee bit too cold and analytical. “The destruction of Minsk, on the other hand, will hampering the Soviets by severing a major communications center. That, and the destruction of key bridges all along the Vistula River are making it increasingly difficult for the Soviets to sustain forces already in Germany, let along bringing forward fresh units from the interior of the Soviet Union.” As disturbing as the S-2’s manner was, what he was saying about Minsk was welcome.

Buoyed by the news he had gleaned during his visit to battalion, Bannon went about the day’s activities with renewed energy. He kept telling himself maybe things were not as bad as they seemed. As he went from platoon to platoon, he gathered the men around and passed on what news and information he had concerning the outside world. For the most part, the effect on the Team was about the same as it had been on him. This, and the return to a degree of routine served to keep the men busy and oriented on the job at hand.

In the early evening the battalion was ordered to move farther to the east and establish contact with Soviet forces commencing at 0300 hours the following morning. During the initial phase of the operation, Team Yankee was to remain in reserve. To Bannon’s surprise, word of the pending movement to contact was welcomed by just about everyone in the Team he spoke to after he’d issued his own operations order to his platoon leaders. As welcomed and needed as the brief pause had been, to a man his officers and senior NCOs were eager to get on with it. They knew the sooner they got moving, the sooner the issue would be decided. The Team was as Americans have always been, anxious to avoid a war but, when forced to fight, determined to get on with it and finish it.

This new attack began without benefit of prep-fires by the artillery. Not that one was needed, as the battalion’s advance encountered nothing but Soviet recon units and troops that were part of the security screen that fired a few rounds before fleeing. Dawn of the thirteenth day of war found the battalion still moving to the east at a steady pace. After an advance of fifteen kilometers it was ordered to halt. While they had not made contact with the Soviets’ main forces yet, Division did not want units belonging to its flank guard to go too far. The main effort was still aimed for Berlin. With few forces available to protect the flanks of that drive, no one at Division or Corps wanted to find their lead elements cut off and isolated, not with things going as well as they were.

During this operational pause, the battalion was again dispersed over as wide an area as possible so as to reduce its vulnerability to a nuclear attack. Team Yankee remained in reserve. Once the Team was in its position, it settled in and prepared for another day. Foxholes were dug, camouflage placed, fighting and hide positions for each and every vehicle were identified and improved, platoon fire plans prepared, and numerous other tasks carried out. By noon, when they were as ready as they could be, the Team went to half-manning. When Bannon was satisfied there was nothing more that he needed to do, he lay down in the first sergeant’s PC and went to sleep.

At 1700 hours First Sergeant Harrert woke him to tell him that he was wanted at the battalion CP immediately. As Bannon stumbled around, blurry eyed, groggy and still half-asleep, he asked if the first sergeant knew what was up. The first sergeant replied in the negative. “Major Shell didn’t say, sir. The only message he gave me was that you needed to get up to the TOC ASAP.”

Bannon’s feeling of dread dispersed as soon as he walked into the farmhouse where the CP was located. Everyone was going around the room shaking each other’s hands as if it was an alumni reunion. Going over to where Frank Wilson was seated, Bannon asked what was going on.

“Haven’t you been told? The Soviets have declared a cease-fire effective midnight tonight. They’re throwing in the towel. It’s over.”

Dumbfounded, Bannon unable to do anything but stand there, staring down at his friend. Just like that, the war was over. It was too good to be true. Something had to be wrong. “You mean they are surrendering?” he asked when he finally found his voice. “They’re giving up, just like that?”

“Just like that,” Wilson replied. “We don’t have all the details yet, but from what we’ve told so far, the Soviet leadership has changed. The new Premier wants an immediate end to the war.”

Before Wilson could tell Bannon anything more, the battalion commander, followed by the S-3 and the battalion XO, entered the room. The XO called the meeting to order. Colonel Hill went over the information he had, adding to it what he thought would be happening in the immediate future. He tried hard to be cautious, to keep from becoming carried away by reminding everyone that the ceasefire wasn’t in effect yet and that things could change rapidly. But he, like all the assembled commanders and staff, was optimistic and overjoyed by the prospect of peace.

Colonel Hall was followed by Ken Damato who gave a brief summary on the current enemy situation, pointing out some of the dangers they had to guard against once the cease-fire was in effect as he went along. The biggest one was from sabotage and espionage from line-crossers and the local populace. They were, he reminded them, in Communist East Germany.

Major Shell went next, providing the commanders and staff with a quick overview of the more salient points of the rules of engagement that were to be placed into effect once the cease-fire became official. Warsaw Pact forces were not to come any closer to NATO positions than 1000 meters. Any that did were to be warned. Any that made any gestures that were construed as hostile were to be engaged. “All NATO soldiers have the right to protect themselves and return fire if fired upon,” he added with great emphasis before continuing on. “Effective midnight tonight, NATO forces are not to move any farther than the front line trace we have achieved as of that time. The NATO commander had ordered that all operations currently in progress were to continue until then. Once the ceasefire has gone into effect, communications with any Warsaw Pact forces is forbidden unless permission was obtained from Division.” Major Shell finished by informing the gathered commanders and staff that copies of the rules of engagement for distribution down to platoon level would be ready soon.

The colonel ended the meeting by again cautioning everyone against becoming too optimistic or letting down their guard. “Remember, even when the cease fire goes into effect, it’s only a ceasefire, not a cessation of hostilities. Those other people could decide to say fuck it at any minute and pick up where they left off. So stay alert.”

The sun was beginning to settle in the west as Bannon set out to head back to the Team’s area. At his back the early evening sky was alive with brilliant reds and purples. The beauty of the lush green German landscape, unfolding before him, coupled with the spectacle of the setting sun and the quiet early night air lifted Bannon’s spirit to a height that he had not experienced in months. His driver knew the way back, leaving him free to reflect on the joy of the moment. It was over. His worst nightmare was over and he had survived. There would be a tomorrow, a tomorrow he would see. With nothing more weighty on his mind than such thoughts, he relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the countryside he had not seen before.

The leadership of Team Yankee was waiting at the Team CP when Bannon came rolling in. They had become accustomed to his returning from battalion with grim news or word of a new mission, remaining calm while their commander explained how the Team was about to risk the lives of the men they were responsible for as they went about executing its new orders. This time, like all the times before, they expected no less.

They were therefore taken aback when Bannon approached with a smile on his face. Bob Uleski, sensing that something was afoot, turned to the first sergeant. “Well, either it’s good news, or the pressure has finally gotten to the Old Man and he’s thrown a track.”

As hard as he tried, Bannon couldn’t downplay his satisfaction he felt as he told them of the ceasefire as the colonel had. After all they had been through, he found he couldn’t hold back. “Men, unless we receive information to the contrary, effective midnight tonight, a ceasefire will take effect along the entire front. Barring anything untoward occurring between now and then, the war is over.”