Clean This

And we're back at the Stroock Central Front. On the way back to our adopted home state of New Jersey we stopped by the cemetery and communed with death relatives and told really bad jokes. 'No point in standing around in this cold. It's not like anybody is going anywhere, anyway.'

We're in official break territory now. Mrs. Stroock has the next week or ten days off, and she's in cleaning mode. Married men know what happens next. For you young fellas, if there's something around the house you want to keep, mark it and point it out to her and she'll consider keeping it. Be clear. Be specific. A woman in cleaning mode is a tornado of terror. 

We know the things we need to know for the VDV side of World War 1990: Norway. The 76th Guards Airborne Division was stationed in Pskov, trained for arctic warfare and Norway. We have in mind a grand knockout punch with Soviet troops rolling across the border, naval infantry landing at Banak, and air drops at a trio of northern airfields; one battalion each. There will be no violation of Finnish or Swedish neutrality. The Soviet attack will run into considerable difficulty. We should give the attack a cool Sovietski name. Operation October Force...sounds good, da comrades?

The 76th Guards Airborne Division would probably lead any assault on Norway. The 106th Guards Airborne Division, commanded by General Alexandre Lebed, was stationed in Tula and something of a prestige unit that usually participated in May Day parades and such. We can't find, so far, what their actual mission area was. Our guess is the Kremlin would have deployed them, as needed. 

The 106th would probably have ended up assaulting Iceland instead of Norway. But we're all geeked up for Alexander Lebed so we'll need to find a way around that. Maybe the 76th drops on various Norwegian islands, Svalbard and the like. That should do, right, one battalion each? Perhaps Lebed's memoirs, which we'll start today, will have some answers. 

Fun fact: the Kremlin considered the VDV the most loyal and reliable divisions and used it to quell internal revolts. Here's an interesting question. In the real world, the Republic of Georgia saw considerable anti-Soviet unrest in 1989. The Kremlin sent the 106th Guards Airborne Division to restore order. Lebed wrote extensively about the experience. Did Georgia see the same unrest in the World War 1990: Norway Universe.