Overview of the Last 18 Months

28 February 1999

The day begins frigid and cloudy with a moderate wind from the Northeast. Some time during the night, it had begun to sleet, adding a crunchy crust on top of the snow. It is expected to turn to snow shortly after dawn. But in the predawn darkness, it is just plain miserable. Still, it is a welcomed break from the last couple of days of blizzard. There has been enough snowfall to cover much of the landscape. At least the weather has been bad enough that the Soviets have been hunkered down, too.

Eighteen months ago, the Soviet war machine began a "Special Military Operation", crossing into Romania via Ukraine. Soviet forces cross the border into Romania in force, consisting of the 6th Tank Army, the 1st and 14th Guards Combined Arms Armies, and the 32nd and 64th Army Corps. These units are accompanied by the 5th and 17th Air Armies, as well as elements of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and Soviet Airborne troops.

The operation was only supposed to last 72 hours and Communist forces were supposed to have rolled quickly across the Romanian Plain, reaching the Danube to link up with friendly Bulgarian forces to the South and pushing to link up with Serbian forces to the West.But between August 9th and August 12th, the Soviets had only advanced as far as Tulcea in the east and Braila in the west. Instead, of 3 days, it took the Soviets 3 months of heavy fighting just to reach the Danube.

The Soviet plan hit significant obstacles on Day1 (August 9th, 1998) as they crossed into Romania. Resistance turned out to be more resilient than anticipated. In Ukraine, local partisans continuously carried out harassment raids. And in Romania, backed up by independent elements of the US Army (Task Force Thunder Hawk, TF650, TF160), the Romanian defense caused the much larger Soviet force to stall out on its run to the Danube with both marked and unmarked landmines, accurate artillery fire and a large number of superior anti-armor weapons, including a large number of Dragon and significant numbers of the new Javelin Antitank Missiles. In addition, US Air Assets from the US Air Force 31st Air Expeditionary Wing surprised and blunted the initial assault and provided, at least early on, Air Superiority over the border.

---- More to be added later ----

While Soviet Naval Infantry landings along the Romanian Coast were initially unopposed, they also met heavy resistance as they pushed inland which delayed them from linking up with the main assault forces. These landings were supposed to aid the main force in its push to the Danube. The delays due to resistance negated the anticipated effect.

By the middle of September, Soviet Generals were beginning to get replaced for failure to lead effectively. Moscow accused them of being to far away from the front to command effectively. The new generals were told to lead their troops more effectively, or they, too, would be sacked. This resulted in several General officers meeting their demise. Still, the effect was that the Soviet Army was moving again, edging ever closer to the goal of the Danube.

As September closed, the 31st AEW began running out of both Air to Air and Air to Ground munitions. This made sorties fewer and smaller than before and friendly forces began losing Air Superiority. It also made these sorties more costly. Less than a month later, the remaining air assets from the USAF were evacuated to friendly or neutral locations out of the Area of Operations. Finally at the beginning of November, the Soviets moved to within sight of the Danube. It took another 5 days to secure a bridgehead and finally link up with Bulgarian troops.

December was bleak for the Romanians. Soviet and Bulgarian forces began a much quicker campaign in the South. Bucharest was under siege by Christmas and there was active fighting in the streets of Buzau and Craiova. The Ploiesti oil fields were in danger of falling into the hands of the Soviets.

The first of the year did not look much better, either. Bucharest finally fell to the Soviets, as had the oil fields, though not before the majority of wellheads were sabotaged. Friendly troops were pushed up into the Carpathians. It was there that the Soviet advance was stopped dead in its tracks. It was at this time that a fresh shipment of replacement troops and materials arrived from the United States. Poland got the lion's share of the resupply, but there was enough material to help replace many items lost in combat. Important supplies like cold weather gear and replacements for some batteries and parts for weapons were a big deal. But more important still were the letters from home.

Finally, February came and brought with it some of the worst weather. The snow in the mountains and freezing rain on the plains kept both armies hunkered down. Aside from some sporadic skirmishes, neither side took on operations at this time. Both armies bided their time, looking to see what March brings.