Close Enough

Chapter Six - Resolution

The public and political firestorms touched off by the AP's report were immediate and considerable, playing out at various levels.  The West German government, ever sensitive to relations with their Communist cousins, took the lead for inquiries with the East German Foreign Ministry.  This was almost a necessity, as the United States did not formally recognize the German Democratic Republic and, therefore, had no Ambassador in East Berlin.  On the other hand, the U.S. had long experience dealing with the Soviets at the Ministerial level and, since no one in the West knew the nationality of the soldier at fault, those diplomatic channels were activated, too.  As experienced and professional as each party to those discussions may have been, they all faced the same handicap: they were running second in the race to contain and control unfolding events, with no way of knowing just how far behind they were.

The 'starting gun' had gone off at 2:00 a.m. Central European Daylight Time; considering the vagaries of Daylight Saving Time, that made it 3:00 a.m. in Moscow and 8:00 p.m. the previous evening in Washington DC.  This ensured that the first diplomatic contact that could reasonably be expected to yield a substantive response wouldn't be made for hours.  The military, on the other hand, was a twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week operation.  In the American and Soviet capitals, as well as in the capitals of both Germanys, senior officers were summoned to their Command Center offices by Watch Officers.  Their seniority guaranteed that they were granted a fair degree of latitude, enough to allow them to either authorize various actions personally, or to ignore the hour and contact someone who could.  While the Eastern officials generally opted for consultations via secure telephone and radio, those in the West took a more direct approach.

Within an hour of the initial radio report, the office of CINC, USAREUR (Commander-in-Chief, US Army Europe) had authorized preparations to issue live ammunition to selected units, and had instructed the Commander, 11^th Armored Cavalry Regiment to increase border security patrols using both ground and air assets.  Although much of the directed activity could be 'hidden' within the framework of the ongoing maneuvers, some elements of the taskings were unique.  In West Germany, there were those who were paid to notice and report on such things, and so they did.  Given the incipient crisis, these otherwise routine reports quickly made their way to their masters in the East.

***

"Recapping our top story: The Associated Press in Germany is reporting that one of their news vehicles was struck by rifle fire early this morning Central European Daylight Time.  They also believe a soldier, possibly American, was wounded or injured and taken to a hospital.  We will update you on this story, when more details become available.  This is CNN."

Bonnie had been trying hard all evening not to worry.  When she had first heard the story, she had called Betty Williams.  She apologized for disturbing the other woman, as it was a little after eleven o'clock.  Betty had shrugged off the lateness of the hour and had tried to set Bonnie's mind at ease.

"Look at it this way," Betty had said.  "We have no idea where in Germany the battalion is deployed, there are over two hundred thousand military personnel stationed in Germany, and the Division just increased that figure by fifteen thousand.  The odds that either of us even know anyone in the unit that may be involved, let alone actually know the supposed casualty, are astronomical."  She paused a moment to let that sink in, then continued.  "I'm not telling you not to be concerned, but try to keep it in perspective."  Bonnie had thanked her, then hung up.

She checked her watch: almost midnight, seven in the morning in Germany.  Time to pray for Mark and, now, his unit.

***

Von Clausewitz had written about the fog of war, and his one hundred fifty year old concept was clearly affecting the decision-making process.  It was hard to keep track of everything related to the incident, and even more difficult to assess intentions, or a given activity's impact on any other activity, so that an appropriate response could be made.  Shots had been fired, but even the most rabid Sovietophobe could scarcely believe the shooting had been intentional.  However - had it truly been just an accident, or had it exposed a larger operation before its time?  What about the armored vehicles?  Was their appearance on the scene a scheduled part of their exercise (as was eventually accepted to be the case), or were they preparing to cross the border (an unlikely but possible scenario)?  Students were demonstrating in all the major West German cities, once again decrying America's military presence in their country.  How much of that youthful outrage was shared by the "man in the street"?  There was no real war - yet - but the situation was getting close enough, that the synthesis of all the disparate elements into a reasonable theory that would permit a structured response was nearly impossible.

As the day wore on, additional facts and bits of data became available and contributed to the overall picture.  A quick examination of the spent round confirmed that it had been fired from a Soviet-made rifle, most likely an AK-47.  A more definitive answer was not possible, as the Soviets licensed the weapon for manufacture outside the Soviet Union - East Germany possessed such a license - and the Soviets were not particularly forthcoming concerning any unique characteristics the ammunition might possess.  It took even less time to establish that the damage to the AP vehicle's side panel and video camera had been caused by the recovered round, and that the 7.62mm Soviet round still embedded in the doorpost was almost certainly responsible for the damaged window.  Confirmation that both had come from the same weapon would take some time.

The Soviet High Command, possessing wholly believable information concerning the initial incident and the fate of Private Hardtmann - information gleaned from a highly-focused 'interview' with Lieutenant Moellemann - and having been informed about USAREUR's increased preparedness, advised their political masters to release some sort of conciliatory statement.  They also advised them to strongly suggest to the Soviet Union's fraternal socialist ally, the German Democratic Republic, that it would best serve international harmony, if any armored units currently located less than five kilometers from the East-West border were to withdraw to a more prudent distance.  Since the Soviets were in a no-win position, and since this was exactly what the West wanted to hear, the suggestion was accepted.  Appropriate wording was hammered out in short order, and the Soviet Ambassadors in Bonn and Washington tendered what amounted to a formal apology.  The crisis was over.

***

The feeling that hostilities were imminent disappeared with the BGS and Cav personnel, and Mark found himself reflecting on the events of the day, and how he had come to be there in the first place.  He had wanted to join the Army for as long as he could remember.  Besides his father, one of his uncles and his oldest cousin had served in the Korean War.  All had told him various stories about the things they'd seen and the hardships they'd endured.  To a man, they agreed that it had been necessary, had been a matter of honor.

"Sure folks talk against it now; a lot of folks did then, too, same as Vietnam," his Uncle Pat had said.  "There'll always be naysayers when it comes to things like defending an ideal, especially if we're not directly affected.  But that's one of the things America does," he'd gone on to say, "and that's why we went and did our best, even if it wasn't all that popular.  It's never easy - and sometimes, it's harder than others."

Thoughts stirred up by these and other conversations had gelled into a quiet determination to do his part to keep his country safe, and he'd signed up the day after graduation from high school nearly five years ago.  He now felt an extra measure of pride in his chosen profession, proud he'd been here and ready to do his part; like soldiers everywhere, though, he was also glad it hadn't come to that.


Chapter 6 word count = 1388 words
Running total word count = 6598 words