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Back War with Russia Save as PDF
Chapters (60)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Foreword
  4. Preface
  5. Prologue
  6. PART ONE
  7. Kharkiv, Ukraine
  8. The President’s weekly defense and foreign policy meeting, The Kremlin, Moscow
  9. Comprehensive Crisis Operations Management Center (CCOMC), Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Belgium
  10. Briefing Room, Boryspill Air Force Base, Ukraine
  11. The Kremlin, Moscow
  12. Washington, D.C.
  13. Residence of DSACEUR La Belle Alliance, Erbisoeul, Belgium
  14. North Atlantic Council Conference Room, NATO Headquarters, Brussels
  15. Banks of River Daugava, Riga, Latvia
  16. Ādaži Training Camp, Latvia
  17. Riga, Latvia
  18. National Defense Control Center, Moscow
  19. Ādaži Training Camp, Latvia
  20. NATO Headquarters, Brussels
  21. National Armed Forces Joint HQ, Riga, Latvia
  22. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium
  23. Central European Time 1600 hours, Eastern Standard Time, The White House, Washington, D.C.
  24. Lielvārde Air Base, Latvia
  25. Lielvārde Air Base, Latvia
  26. Camp David, Catoctin Mountains, Maryland
  27. British Embassy, 5, J.Alunana Street, Riga, Latvia
  28. The Russell Arms, Butler’s Cross, Buckinghamshire
  29. HMS Queen Elizabeth Middle Slip Jetty, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth
  30. National Defense Control Center, Moscow
  31. Comprehensive Crisis Operations Management Center (CCOMC) SHAPE headquarters, Mons, Belgium
  32. Somewhere in the forest, Gauja National Park, Latvia
  33. 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, London
  34. HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Baltic Sea
  35. Control Room, Kilo Class submarine Krasnokamensk, Baltic Sea
  36. PART TWO
  37. Prime Minister’s Office, House of Commons, London
  38. The Presidential Dacha Barvikha, Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast
  39. The White House, Washington, D.C.
  40. NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
  41. Gauja National Park Forest, Latvia
  42. PART THREE
  43. “The Tank,” Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
  44. North Atlantic Council NATO Headquarters, Brussels
  45. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Cheltenham, England
  46. GCHQ, Cheltenham, England
  47. Forest south of Pravdinsk, Kaliningrad, Russia
  48. Headquarters, Kaliningrad Special Region, Kaliningrad
  49. The President’s Office, The Kremlin, Moscow
  50. Forest south of Pravdinsk, Kaliningrad, Russia
  51. Comprehensive Crisis Operations Management Center (CCOMC) SHAPE headquarters, Mons, Belgium
  52. Command Bunker, Iskander Missile Battery Pravdinsk, Kaliningrad
  53. Over Wroclaw, Poland
  54. Forest north of Pravdinsk Iskander Battery, Kaliningrad
  55. 25,000 feet above Kaliningrad
  56. Close to the Pravdinsk Iskander Battery, Kaliningrad
  57. Epilogue
  58. Glossary
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. Notes

Walker looked at the Prime Minister with a huge grin on his face. “You’ve done it, PM. You’ve bloody pulled it off . . . Congratulations.”

The Prime Minister smiled back. “We have, haven’t we? That’ll show that bastard who is boss. Now, let’s see how the media react . . .”

Meanwhile, Walker and Spencer watched, first in astonishment and then in growing amusement as the mud-splattered, angry President continued to shout and swear at his protectors on live TV, before screaming at the camera to stop filming. It took almost a minute before terrified aides led him off toward a waiting armored vehicle and out of camera shot.

Instead of stopping, the camera turned back to the humiliation and horror of two helicopters burning in the forest behind them, smoke rising from their funeral pyres and the sound of ammunition cooking off in the intense heat, making it sound as if there was an intense firefight taking place among the trees.

“Well, PM,” said Walker finally. “You asked for a spectacular and you certainly got one. What do you think? A Military Cross for our man in charge out there? Or perhaps even a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. That would cheer everyone up and show them that Britain means business.”

“I thought the idea was not to let the Russians know we were behind this, Trev. Remember what they did to Litvinenko? He’ll get his gong, but we’ll keep it well under wraps. I’ll tell you what, though. I’ll have another chat to the Americans. Ask what they have done to stop the Russians lately.”

0800 hours, Saturday, May 27, 2017

HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Baltic Sea

THE REPEATED CLANG of the electronic bell, with the disembodied voice announcing, “This is not a drill. This is not a drill. General Quarters. General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations. All hands man your battle stations,” sounded over the carrier’s PA system. Unless already in position, the men and women of the ship’s crew immediately stopped whatever they were doing and moved swiftly to their designated action stations. Commander James Bush RN, Executive Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, stood on the bridge, receiving calls from each department as it reported ready for action, and took keen note of how the crew were making themselves ready for war. Getting better, he thought to himself grudgingly, but I’m not giving these buggers an inch. There’s still a long way to go before this crew is as slick as it needs to be.