The Southern Flank D+21 (30 July, 1987)

AFSOUTH planning for offensive operations accelerated when word was received from Brussels that the NATO counterattack in Northern German was underway. Debate raged in Naples over what shape NATO’s counterblow on the Southern Flank would take. Sixth Fleet was pressing for a campaign against Soviet ports and airbases on the Black Sea coastline while officers …

Historical Rhymes: 1987 Vs. 2022

Mark Twain once remarked that “History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes.” I first encountered this quote back when I was in high school around 1994. As a know-it-all teenager at the time, I scoffed at Twain’s words. Yet as I grew older and experienced more of what life had to offer, it became …

The Southern Flank D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part I

From the NATO perspective, conditions on the Southern Flank were leaning in favor of the alliance. The successful attacks by US carrier aircraft on the Soviet amphibious group off the coast of Bulgaria had removed the threat of a Pact landing at the Bosphorus from the board. Meanwhile, the Pact offensive into Thrace was making …

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

The start time for Sixth Fleet’s planned airstrikes on the Soviet amphibious group in the Black Sea had been pushed to 0500 in order to coincide with other NATO air attacks set for the early morning hours. Kennedy’s airwing, with it’s two A-6 Intruder squadrons, was tasked to hit the Soviet amphibs. CVW-17 off Saratoga …

The Southern Flank D+14 (23 July, 1987) Part III

The Sixth Fleet carriers continued flying combat sorites against targets in Bulgaria through the early morning hours of D+13. At 0400 the last aircraft trapped aboard Kennedy and a short time later the two-carrier task force was steaming west. Carrier Air Wing 3 had received its baptism of fire and acquitted itself well. Its two …

The Southern Flank D+13 (22 July, 1987) Part I

Preparations continued in the Southwestern TVD’s area of operations through the first half of D+13. In Bulgarian Thrace six divisions were massed along the border with Greece and Turkey. Five more were located in staging areas 25-30 kilometers to the north. Convoys of armored vehicles and supply trucks motored south to the border area. After …

The Southern Flank D+11 (20 July, 1987) Part II

USS John F. Kennedy and her escorts cleared the Strait of Gibraltar at 0025 local time. Spanish frigates and US Navy P-3 Orions sanitized the area ahead of the battlegroup. Even though the Western Med was officially secure there was always the possibility of a Soviet sub lurking in the worst possible place at the …

The Southern Flank D+11 (20 July, 1987) Part I

Right before the morning briefing got underway, Southwestern TVD (SWTVD) commander General Ivan Gerasimov took a call from Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev, Chief of the General Staff in Moscow. Akhromeyev ordered him to be in Moscow by midnight and to bring with him the plans for the next phase of operations in …

The Southern Flank D+10 (19 July, 1987) Part II

Libya’s declaration of neutrality did not shake Moscow to its core. Frankly, the Libyan move was met with general indifference by Soviet leadership. By this point in the war, the focus had shifted almost fully to the Central European battlefront. Romanov and the Politburo regarded Libya, and the Mediterranean as an inessential sideshow. Gaddafi’s decision …

The Southern Flank D+9 (18 July, 1987) Part I

D+9 saw the first sustained ground combat between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces on the Southern Flank. In the pre-dawn shadows, Pact forces crossed the frontier into Eastern Thrace in force. The Soviet 179th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Parent division the 59th Guards MRD) moved south into Turkish territory from staging areas around Lesovo. Bulgarian …