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this second echelon is not contingent upon the commitment to battle of the enemy’s reserves, only upon the confirmed movement of those reserves to the north and/or south, or upon the personal authorization of the front commander.
    “Third Shock Army has the primary mission of seizing multiple bridgeheads on the Weser River not later than 0600 on the third day of the war, and of thus facilitating the immediate commitment of the Forty-ninth Unified Army Corps to breakout and exploitation operations from the Weser line. The corps functions as the front’s initial operational maneuver group.
    “Third Shock Army has the secondary mission of supporting the Second Guards Tank Army’s encirclement and destruction of the enemy grouping in the German Corps pocket.
    “In the second operational echelon, Seventh Tank Army follows Third Shock but is prepared to release one division to Third Shock Army upon order of the front commander. Seventh Tank Army also prepares for options calling for it to repel an operational counterattack launched by CENTAG to relieve the pressure on NORTHAG, or to follow Twentieth Guards Army, should the initial success prove greater in that sector.
    “In the north, Twenty-eighth Army follows Second Guards Tank Army. The primary mission of the Twenty-eighth is to break out from the Weser line and conduct exploitation operations that culminate in the establishment of operational bridgeheads on the Rhine. Twenty-eighth Army also prepares to release one division to Second Guards Tank Army upon order of the front commander if reinforcement of the Second Guards proves necessary to contain and reduce the German pocket.
    “Other reserves or follow-on forces will be allocated to the First Western Front from the High Command of Forces based upon the developing military and political situations.”
    Malinsky believed it was as good a plan as could be devised with the available forces and technical support. An apparent pincer movement on a grand scale to draw off the enemy reserves, then a smashing blow to splinter a fatally weakened center. And the real beauty of it, as only Malinsky knew, was its function as a trap within a trap. Marshal Kribov expected Malinsky’s breakthrough to draw off NATO’s last operational reserves from the south, possibly even units stripped from CENTAG’s front line. At that point, a powerful, sudden thrust would be directed against the weakened German-American defenses in the south in the Frankfurt and Stuttgart directions, employing follow-on forces that had, up until then, been portrayed as following Malinsky’s armies. It was a series of blows of ever-increasing intensity, always directed at the unexpected but decisive point, on an ever-grander scale.
    “Questions?” Chibisov asked.
    Starukhin, the Third Shock Army commander, rose. Usually, when Starukhin got up a second time, it was to voice a legitimate concern. Malinsky watched Trimenko, the Second Guards Army commander, as Trimenko watched Starukhin. Trimenko was the type who never whined or complained, who just coldly went about the business at hand with the available tools.
    “While I’m content with the allocation of indirect fire assets,” Starukhin declared, “I remain troubled by the initial unavailability of fixed-wing air support. The Air Army needs to be reminded that it is ultimately under frontal control -- army control. In my case -- in all of our cases -- it’s imperative to deliver a crushing blow that reaches the enemy’s tactical-operational depths simultaneously with the main assaults against his front. My attack helicopters can barely support water-obstacle crossing operations and the accompaniment of air assault missions -- which are heavily scheduled. I say nothing about their use as a highly mobile antitank reserve.” Starukhin paused, gauging the other commanders in the room. “The present allocation of fixed-wing aircraft allows the armies very little control over the battle in