The Central Front D+4 (13 July, 1987) Part III

Warsaw Pact activity in NORTHAG’s southern area in the first half of the day was centered around a series of aggressive medium-sized probes and supporting attacks along the length of the Belgian, British, and West German lines.  3rd Shock Army had discovered, to its surprise, that NATO forces had fully withdrawn from Braunschweig during the …

The Central Front D+4 (13 July, 1987) Part II

NORTHAG D+4 opened on the North German Plain in much the same way the previous day ended. Warsaw Pact pressure on Dutch lines was constant although not heavy. Probing and limited attacks continued along the length of I NL Corp’s line. Dutch forces held firmly to their positions with little trouble as the morning progressed. …

The Central Front D+4 (13 July, 1987) Part I

In the pre-dawn hours of D+4, Group Soviet Forces Germany commander General Snetkov stood over an expansive table map of the central front region. The latest positions of Warsaw Pact units, as well as the known, or suspected positions of enemy units were displayed. Every so often an intelligence officer would come over and make …

Gaming World War III: Introduction

As a young boy growing up in the 80s, the idea of large armies and fleets engaging in titanic battles to decide the fates of nations never failed to get my heart pumping, or inspire my imagination. I played soldier along with the rest of the neighborhood kids. With our trusty plastic toy M-16A1s and …

The Politics of Global War: NATO’s Vulnerable Member States

    Within minutes of the balloon going up in Europe, the member-states of the NATO alliance, as well as the rest of the free world, instinctively rallied around the United States. In Washington, the Reagan administration breathed a collective sigh of relief. This moment of truth had long been anticipated by US politicians, diplomats, …

The Southern Flank D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part II

In the central Mediterranean the task force centered on the Giuseppe Garibaldi spearheaded NATO ASW efforts from the Straits of Sicily to the Ionian Sea. US Navy P-3s and Italian Atlantiques out of Sigonella supported the operations. In large part, the strait was sanitized, yet the first NATO convoy carrying war supplies bound for Greece, …

The Southern Flank D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part I

  NATO naval capabilities in the Black Sea were severely degraded by the morning of D+3. Turkish and Greek naval losses north of the Turkish Straits had been heavy. Surviving warships and submarines had been mostly redeployed to the Aegean, except for a single Turkish submarine, and a handful of fast attack craft. These units …

The North Atlantic D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part II

The scene at the GIUK gap on D+3 is best described as one of confused chaos. Efforts against Russian attack subs heading into the Atlantic continued. The high kill claims by P-3 and Nimrod crews and surface ship commanders, had collided  with conflicting reports of enemy submarines approaching the Atlantic sea lanes to create a …

The North Atlantic D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part I

At 0556 EDT an ASM-135 Anti-Satellite missile launched from a US Air Force F-15A Eagle destroyed a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite (RORSAT) in low-earth orbit over the Labrador coast. The successful intercept would create a twelve hour hole in Soviet satellite coverage over the North Atlantic. The mission had been timed, planned, and undertaken …

The Northern Flank D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part III

  Allied Forces Northern Norway (NON) was reeling from the introduction of Soviet ground forces into its area of responsibility on D+3. Even before the first Soviet motor rifle troops crossed the frontier, NON’s plans for the defense of its region were severely disrupted. Soviet air superiority, coupled with the seizure of the air station …