BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO circles earlier this afternoon confirmed unofficial reports from yesterday that elements of Soviet front-line forces in the western USSR are being ferried westwards. According to the same sources, it appears that the Soviets are moving armored and mechanised forces organised into regimental-sized groupings and transported primarily through the extensive railroad network through the western USSR and Poland. Interestingly, no attempt has been made to conceal these activities; indeed, cleared western journalists have been allowed to witness and photograph the loading of army units on railroad cars at various rail stations in the western USSR, a process traditionally shrouded in great secrecy even when officially announced.
Soviet tanks and trucks being loaded onto railroad cars. Central railroad station, Kaunas, Lithuania.
When asked about the purpose of these actions, the Soviet representative in the UN mission explained that, due to recent agressive political signs by NATO (an obvious reference to the recently-revealed covert negotation talks), the political leaderships of the brother nations of the Warsaw Pact have considered it prudent to accelerate their preparations for the upcooming "Peace-88" military manouvers ahead of schedule. According to the representative, the forces being transferred are well within the volume of assets earmarked for the exercises and thus represent no threat to NATO. Unoffical alliance sources confirmed this latter claim, but added that SHAPE is nevertheless concerned about the shift of the forces balance in the region. When asked about the possibility of NATO also moving ahead its REFORGER plans for this year reciprocally, four different SHAPE officials promptly replied with a stern "no comment".
In other news, the W.German Polizei refused to comment on the recent RAF cell house raid, citing national security concerns. Local authorities, on the other hand, have rushed to classify the recent E-3 AWACS crash in Geilenkirchen as an "unfortunate accident", a rather curious development considering that the official investigation on the incident is still pending.
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Mini-Battle 2: Hamburg Corridor is a theater-scale MBX using Harpoon 3, TOAW-ACOW and WinSPMBT. The place: Northen Germany. The time: 1988. The forces: All NATO & WP assets in the AO as well as their reinforcements & supports. Interested to join/lurk? Post at the recruitment center at the Harpooner's Point forums.