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 …

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

Soviet ambassador to Finland Vladimir Sobolev had hoped to conduct the meeting with Finnish President Mauno Koivisto earlier in the morning. The Finns had been insistent on 10 AM, however. Reluctantly, Sobolev conceded the matter with Moscow’s blessing. He arrived at the Presidential Palace and was escorted to Koivisto’s office, still uncertain what the end …

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

Author’s Note: I originally intended to post the Baltic Approaches D+3 Part III this morning and then learned that I left it on a flash drive back in my Washington office. I’ll catch up with that later next week. In the meantime, the Northern Flank beckons. 😊 At 0300 hours local time on D+3 the …

Baltic Approaches D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part II

The 174th Panzer Battalion succeeded in holding the Soviet 80th tank regiment long enough for the remainder of its parent brigade to disengage and fall back in good order through friendly lines. The 174th then followed suit, and the battle was finally handed off to the 16th Panzergrenadier Brigade. The fighting that ran through the …

Baltic Approaches D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part I

Colonel-General Ivan Korbutov was the Northern Group of Forces (NGF) commander. He had assumed command of operations in Schleswig-Holstein when the 2nd Guards Tank Army handed off operations in this sector to the NGF, and attached Polish forces. His command now consisted of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division (MRD) 20th Tank Division (TD) group …

The Central Front D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part III

Supply, fuel, and munition expenditures were also on SACEUR’s mind as D+3 progressed. Like his land commanders, General Galvin was keenly aware that NATO ground and air forces were burning through everything from tank rounds, to spare parts at a brisk clip. Fortunately, NATO war stocks contained enough munitions and material for ten days of  …