The Northern Flank D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part I

The next round of NATO air missions against targets on the Kola peninsula started at 0230. It soon became clear the focus of the early morning sorties would be different from what it had been just twenty-four hours before. Fighter bases and long-range radar sites were the primary targets. The NATO fighter-bombers were accompanied in …

The Central Front D+14 (23 July, 1987) Part II

NORTHAG’s preeminent responsibility was the defense of the Weser, and more precisely to prevent the Soviets from bridging the Weser and flooding NATO’s rear areas. To the west of the river lay the Ruhr Valley, the industrial heartland of the Federal Republic. Beyond this invaluable region were the Low Countries. A breakthrough in the next …

The North Atlantic D+13 (22 July, 1987) Part I

In June, 1987 the Soviet doctrine for direct attacks against a US Navy carrier taskforce called for the commitment of 2-3 bomber regiments per carrier. This translated to roughly one hundred Badgers and Backfires with two-thirds of them armed with anti-ship missiles. The remainder would primarily carry decoys, chaff, and jammers. For a multi-carrier enemy …

Baltic Approaches D+10 (19 July, 1987) Part III

0600- The Warsaw Pact thrust into Jutland was preceded by a limited number of company-sized heliborne assaults on key strategic targets behind the NATO lines. These attacks were not as effective as those launched against NATO positions in Schleswig-Holstein in the opening hours of the war eleven days earlier. The lessons learned on D+0 had …

Baltic Approaches D+7 (16 July, 1987) Part I

The speech by the Finnish president early on D+7 made it clear Finland would continue to resist the Soviet incursions underway in Lapland, as well as any future military actions made against Finnish territory elsewhere. This meant a large chunk of the available Soviet military strength in the Baltic region was going to be tied …