John Gardner - Win, Lose Or Die

Plans were again changed, though the politicians still clung to the name TDC as opposed to aircraft-carrier. Three such ships were commissioned, and the success and lessons learned during the Falklands War had made for even further alterations. The exercise, Operation Landsea “89, was to be the first chance for invincible to show her paces following the extensive refit, which included new armament, electronics, communications and the 120 Harrier ski jump which had replaced the original 70 ramp.

The “Through Deck” principle remained, for practically all the ship’s equipment was carried below decks, apart from the complexities in the long, almost conventional island which ran along the centre of the starboard side using over half of the main deck’s 677 feet, bristling with tall antennae, radar dishes, and other domed detection devices. Most of the information required in the island was accessed from electronics buried deep below the flight-deck.

invincible and her sister ships illustrious and Ark Royal, were powered by four mighty Rolls-Royce TM3B twin-shaft gas turbines, designed on a modular principle, making maintenance and repair an easier job. invincible, illustrious and Ark Royal were quite simply the largest gas-turbine-powered ships in the world.

Once more he felt the slight tremor and rise under his feet. Bond sat down on his bunk, took out the Browning and began to clean it.

Apart from the Royal Marine detachment on board, he was the only officer who carried a personal hand-gun: though he was most conscious that two armed marines stood only a few feet forward of his cabin, stationed there, on the port side, as a guard on the series of cabins that would be used by the visiting VIP brass, and already partially inhabited by the Wren detachment.

As he sat down, so there was the tell-tale click all sea-going members of the Royal Navy recognise as the Tannoy system about to braudcast either one of the many routine orders, or bugle calls, which tell off the time in a similar manner to the religious “hours” in a monastery.

But this was not a normal message. “D’ye hear there! D’ye hear there! This is the Captain.” Throughout the ship, Bond knew that all ranks would stop everything but the most necessary duties to listen.

“As you all know,” the Captain - Rear-Admiral Sir John Walmsley continued, “the land, sea and air exercise called Operation Landsea “89, will commence at 23.59 hours. You will have already been briefed about this exercise by your Divisional Commanders, so you know it’s not in the normal run of similar training such as Ocean Safari. I want to remind you that, as from 23.59, we will be operating under actual rules of war and rules of engagement, apart from using the big bangs, of course.

This message is to be relayed to all other ships in what is to be known as Taskforce Kiev, and we will darken ship at exactly 23.59. You are also aware that this evening we will be receiving aboard three very senior officers and their staffs. There will be women among the staffs, and there is a detachment of Wrens aboard at this moment. I have no reason to repeat what your divisional officers will have already told you, though I will: fraternisation with the female officers and ratings aboard, apart from normal and obvious duties, is strictly forbidden. Anyone either attempting to, or actually fraternising can expect the harshest possible penalty. Apart from that there was a long pause: the Rear-Admiral had a quirky sense of humour, “good luck to you all.”

Bond smiled to himself. The entire message had been blandly understated, for this certainly was a different type of exercise, if only for the strange mixture of who were Red Side, and who were Blue.

To inject an even deeper than usual “fog of war” some units of the NATO powers remained in their real-life situations; while others were split in half - some Red and some Blue. For instance this very Taskforce consisted of ships of the Royal Navy, but were Red, other ships, particularly submarines of the Royal Navy, were Blue.

Bond had read his own sealed orders, after coming aboard, and had sat in on Walmsley’s briefing to the Executive Staff.

The Exercise briefing was in three parts. Political situation; current strategic situation at the commencement of Landsea “89; objective of all parties involved, with an accent on their own powerful Taskforce Kiev.

The fictional scenario was shrewd and complex: shortly before Christmas there had been a major military attempt to take over Chairman Gorbachev’s ruling power in the USSR. This action, spearheaded by high-ranking officers of the Russian Army, Navy and Air Force, coupled with some ambitious members of the Politburo - all disenchanted with Gorbachev’s glasnost - had gone off at half-cock, but was far from being a failure.

The bulk of the military power remained anti-Gorbachev and now threatened to take their own idealism out of Russia, and draw world attention to the changing events in the Soviet Union, by engaging the NATO powers in a series of tactical operations designed to show they could rattle sabres as loudly as anybody.

The USSR was, as Gorbachev had known from the first, heading towards a huge, possibly catastrophic, financial and economic crash.

Gorbachev’s way had been a more open system of government which would assist in his begging-bowl diplomacy.

The military, and more hawkish members of the regime still held to the idea that one could bargain only from power. Glasnost was, to them, a watered down version of a great political ideology.

The USSR had to show strength, and, they argued, the only way to get help from the class-ridden, consumer-orientated West was to show strength and ability. They wanted to threaten the West - blackmail by force to get assistance.

That night, elements of Red Side - representing Soviet forces would cross into the West, and start aggressive covert military operations against NATO bases, throughout Europe. These actions would be carefully limited and controlled. In reality, the troops would be members of the United States Tenth Special Forces Group (Airborne), and two troops of Delta Force - each troop consisting of four four-man squads. The choices had not been arbitrary, for the units bore a close resemblance to the Soviet Airborne Force, which does not come directly under the Red Army chain of command; and highly trained Spetsnaz “Forces at Designation” - who come directly under the GRU (the elitist Military Intelligence) and are also known as “diversionary troops US Air Force facilities within the NATO boundaries could provide air back-up to Red Side if things got out of hand, though no USAF bases in the UK were to be used. The Royal Air Force, and remaining British and US Forces in Europe, would act as their real selves, as would United States Naval forces. They would be Blue Side - the goodies - while the British and Parachute Regiment; the Special Air Service; 42 Commando, together with Taskforce Kiev would be Red Side - the baddies.

At 23.59 hours - which is a Naval euphemism for midnight Taskforce Kiev would be approximately fifteen miles off the Belgian coast, steaming west. The Force was made up of the flagship, invincible; six Type 42 destroyers; and four Type 21 frigates.

They would, at the start of the exercise, be aware that they had been shadowed since leaving their Russian bases - their main opponents being their own Royal Naval colleagues, the submariners. So, Taskforce Kiev would be hard-pressed to make their dash through the narrow English Channel, around the Bay of Biscay, heading for Gibraltar, where they were to land Commando and, with their considerable presence, seal off the Mediterranean. All this was a calculated risk. Red Side did not believe the Western forces would precipitate matters by escalating the crisis.