Baltic Approaches D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part II

The importance held by Denmark in Soviet and Warsaw Pact war plans was absolute. Seizing control of the country shortly after the start of a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict would grant the Soviet Baltic Fleet an ability to breakout into the North Sea and beyond unmolested and at its leisure. A breakout would increase the amount …

Baltic Approaches D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part I

The Soviets controlled Gdansk. The shipyard was secure, as were other key areas of the port city. The outskirts though, remained unsettled. Pockets of Solidarity members and rebellious Polish military and police, who’d been ejected from the city, fight on into the morning. As the day carries on, the plight of the city becomes a …

Baltic Approaches D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part III

1300-1600 In the early afternoon, fighting in eastern Jutland intensified as the GDR  17th Motor Rifle Regiment is fully committed and pushes forward. For the next three hours, the East Germans fight a series of engagements against the West German 16th PzG Brigade and sub-units of the US 1st Brigade/9th Infantry Division. The NATO defenders …

Baltic Approaches D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part II

0700-1200 0700- The first purely military move against Gdansk by Soviet forces was the use of heliborne troops to seize the highway bridge spanning the Vistula River east of the city and the smaller bridges connecting the island of Wyspa Sobieszewska to the city. The operations were conducted by two Soviet airmobile battalions out of …

Baltic Approaches D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part I

0000-0700 Hours 0015- Just after midnight, CINC-West learned that the GDR government was in the process of ordering all units of its armed forces to either halt in place or return to their installations at once. Immediate attempts to contact Potsdam, as well as division headquarters and airbases belonging to the East German military all …

The Northern Flank D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part II

Moscow’s warning about continued NATO air operations over the Kola was being taken seriously by the United States and its NATO allies. On the previous day, Strike Fleet Atlantic’s aircraft had, in large part, left the Kola alone. AFNORTH, at the direction of Brussels, followed suit on D+16. The early morning air missions against targets …

The Northern Flank D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part I

The military paradigm on the Northern Flank had shifted almost completely by the pre-dawn hours of D+16. It was the Soviet Union that was now on the defensive in the air, at sea and on land. NATO was now conducting offensive operations in preparation for the time when a coordinated offensive would be launched to …

Baltic Approaches D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part III

The journey of the surviving vessels of the Soviet amphibious group ended up taking nearly eighteen hours. Course revisions, increasing harassment by Swedish forces and the incomplete picture on the situation in Poland each contributed to the lengthier-than-expected transit. The original plan had been for the group to skirt the East German and Polish coastlines, …

Baltic Approaches D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part II

Operations against the rebelling Polish Army divisions in Western Jutland had been scheduled to commence at 0200 hours. The failure of the expected East German regiments to arrive at the scheduled time, and massive traffic logjams on the roads in the Pact rear areas had forced Northern Group of Forces (NGF) to delay the start …

Baltic Approaches D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part I

0000-0700 0015- The remaining vessels of the Soviet amphibious group depart Bornholm and sail east. Their destination has not yet been determined, though Baltic Fleet has advised the group commander to be prepared to make an opposed landing on the Polish coast along with other Baltic Fleet warships and embarked naval infantry later in the …