(Cold War) USSR and USA are on the brink of nuclear war and World War III
Translated from Russian to English using Google Translate by Russian Bear.
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After World War II, the relationship between the two countries, the USSR and the USA, changed dramatically, and from allies they turned into two opposing sides, which developed into the Cold War.
The Cold War was a global confrontational standoff, which did not reach the level of direct armed conflict, between two blocs of countries with different socio-political systems, led by the USSR and the USA, from 1946 to the end of the 1980s. It was characterized by geopolitical, military, economic and ideological rivalry. It was accompanied by local wars (the Korean War of 1950-1953, the Vietnam War of 1964-1975, the Afghan conflict of 1979-1989, etc.), which did not develop into direct military clashes between the established Western and Eastern military-political blocs.
The USSR had every reason to fear America, since Soviet intelligence knew about the conspiracy and betrayal of its former allies, the USA and Great Britain, against the USSR. Plan "Unthinkable": how the USA and Great Britain prepared an attack on the USSR in 1945. Great Britain declassified some of these documents. Read the article: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1665172
On January 14, 1949, representatives of the US State Department for the first time openly declared the existence of a threat to the security of Western European countries and the ineffectiveness of the UN due to the principle of unanimity of the permanent members of the Security Council. On April 4, 1949, the heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Great Britain, and the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty with 12 countries. The purpose of creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was to ensure collective security and mutual protection of member countries from external threats; an attack on one of the organization's members was considered an attack on the alliance as a whole.
The growing contradictions between the USSR and the Western allies, the latter's retreat from implementing previously adopted decisions on Germany and the refusal to pursue a joint course with the USSR in German affairs led to the formation in May 1949 of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on the basis of the American, British and French occupation zones. In response, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was proclaimed in October 1949 on the territory of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. This led to a serious aggravation of the situation in Europe and within Germany itself.
On May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, representatives of the countries of the socialist community of 8 countries - Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Czechoslovakia - signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Warsaw Pact). A military alliance of European socialist states was created with the leading role of the Soviet Union - the Organizer of this treaty. The concluded agreement was a response to the creation of NATO and provided for the provision of mutual assistance by the participating countries in the event of an attack on one of them, mutual consultations in crisis situations and the creation of a Joint Command of the Armed Forces.
On August 13, 1961, "on the recommendation of the meeting of secretaries of the communist and workers' parties of the Warsaw Pact countries", the GDR government introduced a state border regime with West Berlin. The construction of the Berlin Wall began, becoming a symbol of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain for almost three decades.
During the Cold War, humanity experienced a number of incidents that could have ended in its extermination. Technical failures, a solar flare, and the banal human factor could have led to a nuclear war. I will tell you about the most amazing cases when humanity, without even suspecting it, miraculously avoided Judgment Day. (These are not all the cases, as information is found, the article will be edited and supplemented with new historical facts).
Source:
This is an excerpt from the scene in Terminator 2 where the USSR launches nuclear warheads at the USA. This scene was one step away from reality. Moreover, there were a huge number of such moments between the USSR and the USA throughout history that would have led to World War III. Especially during the time of Yuri Andropov and Reagan in 1983, never in history have there been such escalations that almost led to the destruction of humanity. (A hair's breadth from death).
October 27, 1961 Tank standoff between the USA and the USSR in Berlin almost led to World War III
The "Tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie" (also known as the "Tank standoff on Friedrichstrasse" or the "Checkpoint Charlie incident") was an episode of the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Cold War in the form of a non-contact confrontation between the armed forces of the USSR and the USA.
The reason was the construction and strengthening of the Berlin Wall by the GDR authorities during August-October 1961 and the desire of the American military command in West Berlin to destroy these fortifications.
On October 27, 1961, at about 5 p.m., ten American M48 tanks, as well as armored personnel carriers and jeeps with soldiers, moved to Checkpoint Charlie, located on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse. The Americans stopped almost at the very edge of their sector, awaiting further orders. Soon, GDR border guards' equipment was sent to meet them, followed by Soviet T-54A tanks.
The distance between the American and Soviet tanks was no more than a hundred meters from each other. All tanks were armed with live ammunition, and both sides were ordered to open fire immediately if the enemy opened fire.
The tension between the sides was very high, since everyone understood that one salvo from a tank gun or a machine gun shot could lead not only to a clash in Berlin, but also to an exchange of nuclear strikes between the USSR and the USA, with the further possible outbreak of World War III.
The US and USSR tanks stood opposite each other for almost a day. Meanwhile, negotiations were underway between Kennedy and Khrushchev through diplomatic channels. The Soviet tank crews were the first to withdraw their tanks on the morning of October 28. After some time, American combat vehicles also left Friedrichstrasse.
The Soviet leadership decided to deploy their tanks first and see the reaction of their American comrades in order to avoid provocations.
The conflict in Berlin at the end of October passed without casualties or bloodshed.
Read more: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1665221
October 16, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
The world was on the brink of World War III
In 1961, the United States deployed Jupiter medium-range missiles in Turkey and Italy that could reach cities in the western part of the Soviet Union, including Moscow and the main industrial centers of the USSR. In response, the Soviet Union deployed regular military units and divisions on the island of Cuba, in close proximity to the coast of the United States. The second goal was to protect Cuba itself. The crisis was provoked by the fact that the United States received intelligence about the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, capable of reaching all major American cities. The deployment of missiles was regarded as a direct threat to US security.
In mid-October 1962, the threat of direct military clashes and nuclear war was greater than ever in history. The two superpowers brought missiles with weapons of mass destruction to a state of full combat readiness.
Those were 13 days that almost shook the World. On October 16, 1962, an American U-2 spy plane detected Soviet medium-range missiles in Cuba. Ambassador Zorin was asked to admit that the USSR had deployed and was deploying medium-range missiles in Cuba. The diplomat replied: I am not in an American court and therefore do not want to answer the question that is asked in the prosecutor's plan.
The USSR installed warheads in Cuba in response to the growing American threat. US missile launchers appeared in Italy and Turkey, but the main thing is that America was preparing for an armed invasion of the Island of Freedom (Cuba). The USSR could not allow this. Thus, the planet found itself on the brink of nuclear war.
John Kennedy: "All available forces should be prepared to invade as quickly as possible. War could begin in the next 24 hours."
Judging by the declassified documents, the White House even had a speech prepared by the US president about declaring war. Here is its first line: "This morning I ordered the army to attack and destroy nuclear installations in Cuba."
Many people in Washington were pushing Kennedy toward war at the time. The mood was to deal with the Soviet Union once and for all. Calls for negotiations with Moscow were perceived as a sign of weakness. But Kennedy went to negotiate with Moscow because he understood perfectly well how a nuclear conflict between the two largest powers could end.
As a result, the parties agreed that the USSR would withdraw its forces from Cuba, and the US would abandon its attempts to invade the island and remove its missiles from Turkey.
From that moment on, the world became bipolar, the USA took into account the USSR. There was no longer a country on the map that could dictate its terms to the United States.
"The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was caused by the aggressive actions of American imperialism against Cuba. The victory of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the implementation of radical measures by the revolutionary government that affected the interests of American monopolies met with a sharply hostile attitude from the ruling circles of the United States. From the very first months of 1959, they organized political and economic pressure on Cuba, an economic blockade, the sending of saboteurs, and the bombing of Cuban cities with the aim of eliminating the revolutionary hotbed on the American continent. In April 1961, these hostile actions resulted in an armed invasion of mercenaries in the Playa Girón area, which were quickly defeated by the armed forces of Cuba. But even after this, the ruling circles of the United States did not abandon their plans to strangle the revolution. In February 1962, Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States. In 1961-62, incursions into Cuban air and sea space became more frequent. In view of the obvious threat of a new intervention, the Cuban government took measures to strengthen the country's defense capability and, in particular, concluded an agreement with the USSR government on the deployment of strategic weapons in Cuba. Citing this, by the end of October 1962 the US government established a naval blockade of Cuba and concentrated large naval, air force, and marine forces in the Caribbean Sea for an invasion of Cuba. In this situation of grave international crisis, the Soviet government took a number of foreign policy measures aimed at eliminating the threat of an invasion of Cuba. It condemned the aggressive actions of the US government, called on the peoples of the world to block the path of the aggressors, and simultaneously decided to carry out military measures in the USSR. The steps taken by the Soviet Union and the firm determination of the Cuban people, which was reflected in the program for ensuring security in the Caribbean Sea put forward by the Cuban government, forced the US government to more soberly assess the situation that had arisen. In late October and early November 1962, Soviet-American negotiations were held with the participation of representatives of Cuba and the UN Secretary General on the conditions for resolving the crisis. As a result of the negotiations, Soviet strategic weapons were removed from Cuban territory, and the US government lifted the blockade of Cuba, withdrew from Guantanamo (an American military base in Cuba) the additional troops brought there during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and demobilized reservists, cancelled military preparations in Florida, and confirmed guarantees of non-aggression against Cuba." - The material is taken from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
Cuban Missile Crisis - Soviet Missiles in a Cube (read the article below in the link to post #4): "How the Cuban Missile Crisis Really Ended: The True Story"https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1665125
October 27, 1962 Black Saturday
The Cuban Missile Crisis took place from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen days, humanity came close to the brink when the Cold War could turn hot and nuclear.
The culmination of the crisis occurred on October 27, later called "Black Saturday". That day, shots were fired that could have been the first in World War III: a Soviet air defense crew shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over Cuba. Pilot Rudolf Anderson was killed. A few hours later, Cuban anti-aircraft guns fired at a couple more American naval reconnaissance aircraft. President John Kennedy found himself under intense pressure from the military, demanding decisive retaliatory measures from him. Fortunately, he rejected the offer to strike back.
Less well known is that two more events occurred that day that could have led to a global catastrophe. And we are not talking about the deliberate actions of one of the parties to the conflict. World War III could have started not because of orders from Washington or the Kremlin, but as a result of decisions by individual commanders and officials taken in a stressful situation, away from command.
October 27, 1962 The B-59 Submarine Incident
The first angel of the three "Angels of the Earth" (there were many such angels, but I will tell you about only three) - people who were obliged to start a nuclear war, but did not do so Vasily Arkhipov, who single-handedly prevented a nuclear attack on the US fleet at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The commander of the submarine on which Arkhipov served, having decided that his ship was attacked by the Americans, wanted to use nuclear weapons. Using his right of veto, Vasily Arkhipov did not support the commander and prevented a nuclear war. Also, General Pliev in Cuba did not start it - although he could have. After his discharge, the vice admiral lived in Kupavna near Moscow, worked as the chairman of the veterans' council of the city of Zheleznodorozhny.
The first incident occurred off the coast of Cuba. On that day, American ships discovered the Soviet diesel submarine B-59, which was trying to pass through the "quarantine" declared by Kennedy. Following the order, the Americans began dropping depth charges into the water, trying to force the B-59 to surface.
In the name of secrecy, the B-59 went into complete radio silence as it approached Cuba, cutting off communications with the command. Of course, the crew received civilian radio transmissions, from which it was clear that the war had not yet begun. But in order to escape the American ships, the B-59 had to dive to the maximum depth, where it was no longer possible to receive radio signals. No one on board the submarine knew what was happening on the surface. What if World War III was already in full swing there?
The Americans continued dropping depth charges. The tension on board the B-59 grew, and the submarine's commander, Captain 2nd Rank Valentin Savitsky, could not stand it.
He gave the order to prepare torpedoes with nuclear warheads for launch.
There are different stories about what happened next. According to the recollections of one of the witnesses of the incident, the deputy commander for political affairs Ilya Maslennikov and Captain 2nd Rank Vasily Arkhipov (chief of staff of the submarine brigade, which included B-59), who was on board the submarine, quickly calmed the commander. Western historians claim that the situation was much more dramatic. They say that both Savitsky and Maslennikov wanted to attack, and everything was decided by Arkhipov's composure, who rejected this option.
It is worth noting that under normal circumstances, the decision of the submarine commander and the deputy commander for political affairs is sufficient to use nuclear weapons. But this case was special. Arkhipov did not formally command B-59, but by status he was the senior on board. The decision to use nuclear weapons required his consent. One way or another, Arkhipov's opinion was decisive in preventing a catastrophe.
After the batteries were completely discharged, B-59 had to surface. American ships surrounded the submarine. For some time they continued to drop explosive packages into the water and fire warning shots. But after B-59 transmitted the message: "Stop provocations", the situation more or less returned to normal.
Of course, the incident with the B-59 submarine was classified. The fact that the submarine had nuclear weapons on board became known only in 2002 during a conference dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. After that, one of Kennedy's former advisers called this incident the most dangerous event in the history of mankind. Arkhipov himself did not live to see this day. He died in 1998 from kidney cancer.
A year before the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vasily Arkhipov sailed as a political officer on board the infamous nuclear submarine K-19, when it suffered an accident with a radiation release. Based on those events, Kathryn Bigelow made a film "K-19". Liam Neeson played a character based on Arkhipov.
October 27, 1962 Drama over the Arctic Ocean
Another, no less dangerous, incident of "Black Saturday" occurred on the other side of the globe. Although the world was on the brink of World War III, the Soviet and American military continued to test nuclear weapons as if nothing had happened. One of them took place on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago that day.
Shortly after the explosion, a U-2 aircraft piloted by Captain Charles Maultsby took off from a military base in Alaska. He was supposed to fly to the North Pole and collect air samples to test them for radioactive fallout. However, the routine flight almost ended in disaster. Maultsby took the samples, then turned the plane around and, as he thought, set a return course home. But soon the pilot realized that something was wrong: he could not find the right radio beacon. Since the flight took place beyond the Arctic Circle, the magnetic compass was almost useless. Usually in such cases, U-2 pilots used the stars to check their course. But that night, even the stars were not visible due to the very bright aurora borealis.
Maultsby contacted a rescue plane off the coast of Alaska and asked it to release signal flares. But despite all his efforts, the pilot did not notice their flashes. Moreover, the rescue signal was becoming weaker and weaker, while the transmissions of Soviet radio stations were becoming louder. Maultsby realized that he had made a terrible mistake. The U-2 was not returning home. It had entered Soviet airspace over Chukotka. This happened an hour and a half after Rudolf Anderson's U-2 was shot down over Cuba.
Soviet air defense detected the appearance of the U-2. MiGs were scrambled with instructions to shoot down the intruder. Having intercepted the Soviet radio traffic, the Americans, in turn, launched a pair of F-102 fighters with instructions to escort Maultsby's plane home and, if necessary, protect it from the MiGs. Since the Pentagon had previously ordered all units to switch to a heightened level of combat readiness, conventional weapons were removed from the planes.
Instead, nuclear missiles were installed on the fighters.
But it did not come to combat: the MiGs' "ceiling" was lower than the U-2's flight altitude. Soviet fighters escorted the intruder, but were unable to shoot it down. As a result, Maultsby managed to get his bearings and leave Soviet airspace before the F-102 arrived.
When US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was informed of the incident, he was furious. According to eyewitnesses, he ran out of his office shouting: "This means war with the Soviet Union! The President must contact Moscow immediately!" As for Kennedy, upon learning of what had happened, he immediately ordered the suspension of further U-2 flights. The American leader realized that the situation was about to get out of control and that something urgently needed to be done. The next day, the parties managed to reach an agreement that put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ironically, on "Black Saturday" Maultsby set a new record for the duration of a U-2 flight: in total, he was in the air for 10 hours and 25 minutes.
October 28, 1962 Okinawa Incident (At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis)
The second of the three "Angels of the Earth" - people who were obliged to start a nuclear war, but did not - was born on August 27, 1931. This is US Air Force Captain William Bassett - who received the order to launch Mark 28 thermonuclear missiles (the great-grandfather of the giant B-52) at Beijing, Hanoi, Pyongyang and Vladivostok. The code in the order matched the code in the secret envelope, but the DEFCON1 level (the highest level of danger - the war has begun) was not entered.
The military stopped preparations for the launch, although the launch lieutenant (who had previously declared that he was ready and dreamed of "destroying the communists") said "I do not recognize your authority, everyone proceed with the launch." Bassett then ordered “to send two pilots with weapons and shoot everyone at the controls if they try to launch the missiles without my order or confirmation from Washington.”
But due to a number of discrepancies between the order and the real geopolitical situation (for example, neither North Korea nor China participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis), Bassett doubted its correctness and suspended the preparation of the missiles for launch. After a very nervous time, it turned out that the order was transmitted by mistake and demanded that his subordinates not tell anyone about what happened. As a result, he got through to the control center - where the accidental order was canceled. The officer died in 2011, without telling about his actions - it was declassified only in the mid-2000s.
I will tell you about the third angel later in the article...
May 1967 Unread Weather Report
Humanity survived the Cuban Missile Crisis, but the threat of a nuclear conflict was not a thing of the past. The Cold War was gaining momentum, the US and the USSR continued to arm themselves. By 1967, they had a total of 40,000 nuclear charges - enough to guarantee the destruction of each other several times over.
At that time, the Pentagon was very afraid that the USSR could launch a surprise nuclear strike on the US. So the American military paid a lot of attention to the BMEWS radar stations, which could warn of a missile attack from the USSR 15 minutes before the strike. The key station was located in Greenland at the Thule Air Base. As part of Operation Hard Head, B-52 bombers kept it under visual surveillance every day. In the event of a sudden loss of contact with the base, the aircraft crews had to confirm the fact of the attack, which would be a signal for the beginning of World War III.
On May 23, 1967, the radars of three BMEWS stations, including the very same Thule, simply stopped working. Strong interference was also noted on other radars. For the American military, it looked as if the entire early warning system had been jammed by electronic warfare. This could only mean one thing: a huge gap had opened up in the defense of North America, into which Soviet missiles and aircraft were about to pour. Every minute counted. An alarm was declared, the Air Force began to hastily prepare all available bombers with nuclear weapons for takeoff. Their crews had a list of approved targets on Soviet territory.
Who knows what would have happened next, if someone in the military had not come up with the idea to contact the Air Weather Service (AWS). Since 1964, it had been observing the Sun and producing space "weather" forecasts for the US Air Force. Having received an urgent request from NORAD, whether any unusual activity was currently being observed, one of the AWS employees responded:
"Yes, half of the Sun just broke off."
It turned out that on that day, our Sun had experienced a powerful flare that could even be seen with the naked eye. AWS issued a bulletin warning of an imminent geomagnetic storm. But it seems that none of the military simply read the report. Having learned about the solar storm, the Americans calmed down and stopped preparing for an attack. All three "jammed" stations were on the illuminated side of the Earth - and it was the Sun that was the source of powerful interference that temporarily disabled their radars.
For many years, information about the unread weather report that almost started World War III was classified. It became public knowledge only in 2016. This incident could have become the basis for a tragicomedy in the spirit of "Dr. Strangelove." Humanity is lucky: if a similar storm had happened a few years earlier (say, during the Cuban Missile Crisis), everything could have ended much more tragically.
November 9, 1979. A Call at 3 AM
In the Terminator universe, a nuclear war began because the defense computer system Skynet gave the order to launch nuclear missiles at Russian territory, provoking a retaliatory strike (attached link to the video at the beginning of the article). In reality, such a scenario could have happened without the cunning AI. Technical miscalculations and the human factor would have been enough. Early warning systems have repeatedly issued false messages about a missile attack. But most of these incidents could not escalate into a nuclear war. As a rule, operators immediately realized that some kind of error or failure was involved. For example, once a false warning about a Soviet attack followed the failure of a microchip worth 46 cents.
But there were also cases when the situation almost developed into a worst-case scenario. One such happened on the night of November 9, 1979. By that time, the tentative détente in Soviet-American relations had given way to another round of tension. Just a month later, the USSR would send troops into Afghanistan, and the US would announce a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
At three o'clock in the morning, Zbigniew Brzezinski, the president's national security adviser, was awakened by an emergency phone call. A representative of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) told him the terrible news: the USSR had just launched 250 missiles at American territory.
By his own admission, Brzezinski did not know what to do in this situation. Should he wake President Jimmy Carter to authorize a retaliatory strike? Brzezinski knew that the president would have three to seven minutes to make a decision. But what if there had been a mistake? So Brzezinski asked for confirmation of the information. Another call followed soon after.
According to new data, the USSR had launched no less than 2,200 missiles at targets in North America.
The military initiated emergency protocols prepared in case of nuclear war. The crews of a thousand Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles were ordered to prepare them for launch. Fighter jets were scrambled, as was Air Force One (though without Carter himself). Brzezinski was about to dial the president's number when the third call came. It turned out that there had been no attack. One of the technicians had inadvertently loaded a training program into the computer designed to practice actions in the event of a Soviet attack. Six minutes had passed from the time the alarm was declared until it was cancelled.
Upon receiving the news of the Soviet attack, Brzezinski did not wake his wife. He saw no point in doing so, since he believed that in half an hour they would all be dead.
Given the scale of the alarm, November 9 received wide coverage in the American press. It got to the point that Leonid Brezhnev sent a message to Carter in which he declared that such situations were unacceptable. Unfortunately, the wish was in vain. The following year alone, the American system issued at least three more false alarms.
National Anthem of the USSR:
Soviet Army:
Andropov vs. Reagan: Judgment Day 1983
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, which had never been easy, gradually became more complicated. The Soviet Union was expanding its sphere of influence, and its armed forces were becoming stronger.
The United States, in turn, was suffering defeats on foreign fronts. The USSR made several important steps in foreign policy in the late 1970s. On the one hand, the red superpower began to get bogged down in Afghanistan, where Soviet troops entered in 1979, on the other hand, the USSR won a serious victory in Nicaragua, where local leftist rebels overthrew the US-backed dictator Somoza. A leftist government came to power in Grenada. Soviet intelligence agencies successfully thwarted the CIA's plans. The USSR won in Vietnam. The citadel of democracy did not look very convincing. Especially against the backdrop of the rapid growth of the USSR's power. The Soviet Union was at the height of its military might and was challenging the sole leadership of the United States even at sea, where it seemed to have absolute dominance. The United States was convinced that if anyone were to start World War III, it would be the Soviet Union. However, the Kremlin was convinced of the opposite. It is worth remembering that the youth of literally all the leaders of the USSR was spent, at a minimum, in the shadow of World War II, and most often these people were its direct participants. For people who lived through the Great Patriotic War (1940-1945), an invasion by a hostile superpower became the most terrible threat for the rest of their lives. In fact, both sides had just reached the stage where a major war would be completely pointless. The colossal number of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems of the superpowers would make World War III in any form a suicidal decision - the Russians and Americans understood this. But there was no confidence in the enemy. The thing is, a nuclear strike is a pretty quick thing. The flight time of missiles, especially if they are launched not from the Appalachians or Siberia, but from somewhere closer, like a submarine or a base in Europe, is very short. So, theoretically, it would be possible to launch a disarming strike with some non-zero probability. Another thing is that the chances of success of such an undertaking were very theoretical, and if such a nuclear blitzkrieg failed, a devastating nuclear war would begin.
On December 12, 1979, at the NATO summit in Brussels, a decision was made to deploy 572 medium-range missiles in Europe, including 108 Pershing-2 ballistic missiles. This was done in response to the Soviet Union's deployment of the Pioneer missile system, which was upsetting the military-strategic balance in Europe. The flight time was set at 10 minutes, so that in the event of an emergency, a situation could arise in which even the top leadership of the USSR would not have time to go down to the bunkers. In America, they were sure that they were only demonstrating their determination to defend themselves by any means necessary.
Of course, one could say that this was a response to the US lagging behind the USSR in nuclear weapons by the mid-1970s. But Soviet leaders believed that the RSD-10 medium-range missiles in Europe did not threaten the US. The US believes that the crisis was caused by the build-up of the USSR's "Eurostrategic" arsenals and the pressure of Soviet propaganda on the European establishment to achieve the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from Western Europe.
Allegedly, realizing the lag behind the "precise" NATO systems, Moscow decided to deploy RSD-10 "Pioneer" missiles and Tu-22M2 bombers, which shook the balance of power and caused a harsh response from the North Atlantic Alliance. All this is true, but here we need to clearly understand what exactly caused such behavior on the part of the Soviet side.
The geographic dimension of the confrontation between the two systems was traditionally asymmetrical: the US was located in relative comfort across the oceans, while the USSR lived with the "aggressive NATO bloc" and a large American military group literally next door.
This was evident back in the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviet Union tried to balance American missile and air bases on its borders by deploying medium-range missiles in Cuba. Such conditions favored the delivery of quick disarming nuclear strikes against the USSR, disabling critical elements of the strategic forces control system. The development of high-precision weapons in the 1970s made it possible to create the basis for this method of conducting military operations.
As a result, American nuclear strategy began to drift from an emphasis on "countervalue strikes" (the use of nuclear weapons against cities and industrial centers) to "counterforce" (against nuclear weapons infrastructure) and "counterelite" (against command centers and locations of the highest military-political leadership). The key role in solving these problems was to be played by low-observable delivery vehicles with a short flight time.
Observing the changes in the enemy's strategy, the Soviet Union did exactly what is attributed to it as a thrown stone that touched off an avalanche from the mountains. Since 1977, the obsolete single-warhead medium-range missiles R-12 and R-14 (the heroines of the Cuban missile crisis) began to be withdrawn from combat service in favor of the newest mobile RSD-10 Pioneer complexes, carrying three independently targetable nuclear warheads. (The successor to the Pioneer, already with an intercontinental range, is the well-known RS-12 Topol missile.) Additionally, since 1976, Tu-22M2 bombers were deployed, and since 1978 - Tu-22M3. In 1979, NATO, in response to the obvious strengthening of the "Eurostrategic" nuclear potential of the Warsaw Pact, decided to deploy Pershing-2 medium-range complexes and ground-based Tomahawk cruise missiles (GLCM) in Western Europe by 1983. The crisis entered the observable phase.
Eurostrategic bargaining
Thus, the cards were dealt, and then the traditional preference of disarmament negotiations began.
The Americans never hid the fact that the monstrous buildup of nuclear forces in Europe (572 units: 108 Pershing-2 and 464 land-based Tomahawks) was a kind of starting bid for bargaining with the Soviet Union. A massive, heavy bid, designed to show that Washington was not going to joke around.
The Reagan administration adhered to a seemingly simple idea of exchange: you remove the Pioneers, we remove the Pershings. Moscow, taking into account all the above considerations, was not going to back down just like that either.
The USSR agreed to remove the Pioneers, but in return demanded almost total nuclear disarmament of Western Europe: in addition to the Pershings, the US was to remove all tactical nuclear weapons from there along with the basing infrastructure and to get Paris and London to eliminate French and British medium-range nuclear missiles.
The negotiations were sluggish, the parties periodically made curtseys to each other, agreeing to certain minor concessions. Since 1983, a parallel conflict began to mount around the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), and the Soviet side began the practice of "linkages" well known to the Americans: it refused to negotiate on the "Eurostrategic" problem in isolation from the negotiations on space weapons.
In December 1983, Washington began the planned deployment of Pershings in Western Europe. In response, the Soviet leadership moved tactical nuclear missiles into the territory of the Warsaw Pact countries, which put the Pershing launch sites in West Germany at risk. At the same time, the USSR essentially repeated the Cuban missile crisis-style deployment: Project 667A nuclear missile carriers were deployed to the central Atlantic, with the task of delivering a “dagger” strike on US territory if necessary – with a short flight time.
Moscow responded to the current dangerous situation: the enemy was preparing to start a war! In May 1981, at a closed meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, to which high-ranking KGB officers were invited, the then General Secretary of the USSR L. I. Brezhnev and the Chairman of the KGB Yu. V. Andropov (the future General Secretary of the USSR) announced that the USA was preparing a nuclear attack on the USSR. Andropov initiated a grandiose intelligence operation - "Operation Nuclear Strike".
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, Chairman of the State Security Committee of the USSR (KGB). After the death of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (November 10, 1982, aged 76), he became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CC CPSU), Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and led the entire country from November 12, 1982. (LEADER OF THE USSR, a man who was terribly feared by all of America)
Party comrades noted his isolation, distrust of people, conservatism in assessing life phenomena. In everyday life, he was distinguished by modesty verging on asceticism, did not like excesses and luxury.
Yuri Vladimirovich had a reputation as a well-read, intelligent person, under whose external softness hid an unbending will and determination. According to Andropov's former subordinate, Securitate General Ion Mihai Pacepa, Andropov is remembered in the West for suppressing political dissidence and for his role in planning the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
In addition, in January 1984, the American magazine Time named Yuri Andropov "Person of the Year" (previous, 1983), but on the cover of the magazine there was a collage: Ronald Reagan was depicted next to the Soviet General Secretary. The choice was related to the tension in Soviet-American relations at that time.
Some characteristics of Andropov:
• An extraordinary politician. Toughness and integrity were combined in him with refined intellectuality and deep knowledge of art, the desire for economic reforms and progress - with stern conservatism.
• He had extraordinary abilities and extensive experience in apparatus work. They expected a real program of action from him to improve the economy, improve people's lives and normalize international relations.
• In everyday life, he was distinguished by modesty bordering on asceticism, did not like excesses and luxury.
• He had a reputation as a well-read, intelligent person, under whose external softness hid an unbending will and determination.
• Party comrades noted his isolation, arrogance, distrust of people, conservatism in assessing life phenomena, excessive bureaucracy.
Andropov launched a fight against corruption, violations of party, state and labor discipline, which led to significant personnel changes.
In 1981, the anti-Soviet position of the new US President Ronald Reagan alarmed the chairman of the KGB of the USSR Yuri Andropov. Andropov initiated a large-scale intelligence operation RYaN (Rocket-nuclear attack), which in the West is called "Ryan" due to the coincidence in transcription.
The goal of the operation was to collect information about the possibility of a first nuclear strike by the United States or other NATO countries.
Some of the operation's activities:
• KGB agents were to monitor indirect signs of preparation for a nuclear attack, such as lights in government buildings at night, unusual movements of important government officials, and increased blood donation.
• Not only the KGB and GRU were involved in the operation, but also the special services of the Warsaw Pact countries.
According to various sources, the operation lasted until 1984 or 1989.
"Operation Nuclear Strike" was a whole system of measures to track possible preparations for an attack. A whole set of possible signs of an impending attack was sent to the residencies, including the accumulation of donor blood, and not only the KGB (the USSR State Security Committee) and the GRU (the USSR Main Intelligence Directorate) participated in the operation, but also the secret services of the Warsaw Pact countries (the Warsaw Pact included eight socialist states: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. The treaty was signed on May 14, 1955 and entered into force on June 5, 1955), in particular, the entire military might of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). East German intelligence recruited agents, monitored NATO troop movements, mobilization plans and production in Western Europe.
In the same year, large-scale exercises were held that were held every year, but this time everything was much more serious, there was another preparation for World War III. The USA and NATO alliance were preparing for the War:
"West-81" is the code name for the operational-strategic exercises of the army and navy of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries, which took place from September 4 to 12, 1981, on the territory of the Belarusian, Kyiv and Baltic military districts, as well as in the Baltic Sea.
The "West-81" exercises were the largest military exercises. They took place from September 4, 1981 and lasted about eight days. It was a joint operation involving units of all branches of the USSR troops and using a number of new systems. The total number of participants was up to 150,000 people. The 1st Belorussian Front alone involved over 6,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles, 6,000 guns and mortars, over 160 rocket launchers, and over 400 combat aircraft and helicopters. Below are some major Soviet military exercises, read the article: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1665210
In September 1981, the largest military-strategic maneuvers "Zapad-81" took place, which became a significant milestone in the development of the Soviet Armed Forces.
International situation
By the end of the 1970s, relations between the two political systems - the capitalist system led by the United States and the socialist system led by the USSR - had become extremely tense.
The United States, having resolved its internal problems that arose after the Vietnam War, began to curtail the policy of easing international tensions. One of the main tasks of the American ruling circles was defined as the work on the planned, gradual, thoughtful destruction of the Soviet Union. It was planned to bleed the USSR economy dry by sharply reducing foreign exchange earnings by collapsing world oil prices and cutting the country off from advanced Western technologies with the help of behind-the-scenes diplomacy. The decisive factors in this process were the unprecedented increase in the arms race and subtle technical disinformation.
The Americans organized massive military, material and financial support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan with the aim of transferring military operations from Afghan territory to Soviet territory.
The Polish People's Republic was chosen as the direction of the main attack on the world socialist system. The USA did not skimp on secret financial, intelligence and political assistance to the Solidarity movement. Time has shown that such actions often bring success to what would later be called color revolutions.
Back in the spring, the situation in Poland began to get out of control of the legitimate authorities. Extraordinary measures were required.
Beginning of the Exercises
The Soviet Union's leadership was prepared for much more than just sending troops into the country. As a warning to the West that the USSR's patience was not limitless, preparations began for large-scale exercises of the Warsaw Pact troops and fleets called "West-81". Their first phase, as if a demonstration and warning one, was held at the end of March. At the Gornosulinovsky training ground in Poland, elite units of the Soviet airborne troops and GRU special forces worked out response options "in case of unforeseen circumstances" together with related units of the troops of Poland, the GDR and Czechoslovakia. Of course, all the necessary "information leaks" were made. The United States and Western Europe received a general idea in advance of the planned composition of forces in the upcoming exercises and the possible operational-strategic scope of the training combat operations. The Soviet leadership had to make sure of the combat readiness of its Armed Forces, as well as mentally prepare its allies for a military scenario, if one was still required. For obvious reasons, the leader of the Polish People's Republic, General W. Jaruzelski, needed this much more than others. Moscow was pushing him to introduce martial law in Poland and resolve internal problems on his own. The general had to believe not only in his own strength, but also in the fact that if they were not enough, the Soviet Union would not remain on the sidelines.
Do not use the triad
It should be noted that in connection with the growing international tension in those years, nuclear war scenarios no longer seemed to anyone to be the inventions of staff fatalists. Nevertheless, the Soviet command set the task of practicing an operation during the Zapad-81 exercises, during which victory was achieved without nuclear weapons, only due to superiority in forces in the necessary areas and advanced methods of using artillery, aviation and some types of high-precision weapons.
From September 4 to 12, 1981, up to 150 thousand Soviet servicemen took part in maneuvers at the training grounds of the Belarusian, Kyiv and Baltic military districts of the USSR, in the waters of the Baltic Sea. The 1st Belorussian Front alone involved over 6,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 6,000 guns and mortars, over 160 missile launchers, and over 400 combat aircraft and helicopters. The Baltic Fleet was reinforced by detachments of ships from the Northern and Black Sea Fleets, led by the heavy aircraft carrier Kiev and the anti-submarine helicopter cruiser Leningrad, respectively.
“In 1981, as part of the crew of one of the Baltic Fleet’s reconnaissance ships, I had the opportunity to take part in the Zapad exercises,” recalls retired Captain 1st Rank Viktor Maksimenko. “We carried out assigned tasks in the Baltic Sea. I had never seen so many ships participating in the maneuvers before or after these exercises. Of course, all this was accompanied by enormous activity from NATO intelligence agencies, both air and sea.
During the Zapad-81 exercises, Soviet troops tested a whole arsenal of new weapons, in addition, the automated control systems of the Air Force "Vozdukh-1M" and the Air Defense "Almaz-3", as well as the "Maneuver" front were tested. Individual elements of the latter automated control system were used to control the troops, and a year later, after the identified deficiencies were eliminated, they were accepted into service as part of a single complex. During the maneuvers, such techniques as the "fire umbrella" were practiced en masse. Tanks and armored vehicles advanced under the cover of shells already flying in the air, with a double barrage of fire in front. The fire was transferred to the next line only 500 meters before the equipment approached the previous one. In some areas, up to 300 different guns were fired per kilometer of the front! This and many other methods are being improved and are capable of working perfectly well even now. It is no wonder that a lot of materials on the Zapad-81 exercises are still classified.
Participation of the Baltic Fleet
The practical actions of the Baltic Fleet forces in the Zapad-81 exercise were clearly linked and corresponded to the theoretical solution of the tasks set for the Baltic Fleet Commander for the amphibious operation. The scale of the forces involved made it possible to practice new tactical methods of their use. Firstly, during the maneuvers, for the first time in the fleet, practical experience was gained in using a complex for receiving space reconnaissance data on the actual situation in the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic. In addition, strikes on the "enemy" naval grouping by missile boats and small missile ships using passive detection systems (Monolith, Titanit, etc.) were practiced, and an air squadron - two successive salvos of Kh-22M missiles from low altitudes (1,500-1,200 meters) and range (100-150 kilometers). Coastal complexes attacked maneuverable groups of the "enemy" at extreme distances in conditions of electronic warfare and change of positional areas.
The Baltic Fleet anti-submarine aviation practiced group torpedo-dropping at "enemy" submarines using Il-38, Be-12 aircraft and Mi-14PP and Ka-25PL helicopters.
About 200 ships and vessels, 400 aircraft and 100 helicopters participated in the amphibious operation. A landing force of 4.5 thousand people was landed, for which all new Navy ship projects were used, including the Ivan Rogov large landing ship, the Dzheyran type landing ship, and the Skat and Kalmar air-cushion landing craft. By the way, the crews' preparedness was personally checked by Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov before the exercise.
– A few days before the start of the exercises, we, the commanders of the landing detachment ships, were gathered at the Baltic Naval Base Officers’ Club for a tactical briefing, – recalls retired Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Zakharov. – At that time, a storm broke out at sea, with gusts of wind reaching 25 meters per second. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy sent me to the ship straight from the hall, ordering me to check the practical feasibility of landing troops from a hovercraft in such weather.
It should be explained that the wind direction was directly at the stern of the ships on the combat course for landing troops. In such a situation, if the speed of the hovercraft is less than the wind speed, the hovercraft, like a weather vane, will turn in the opposite direction.
Having gone out to sea and reached the coastline at a speed of 48 knots, the commander of the MDK-165 set the propeller thrust to "0", and then the ship weighing 350 tons was simply blown onto the shore for more than 100 meters. To the question of the observer from the coastal control point of the fleet's ZNS about the possibility of landing troops in such weather, Senior Lieutenant N. Zakharov answered: "I will land, I can't speak for others."
On the day of the landing, instead of a storm, the weather presented another surprise - thick fog, but it could not prevent the Baltic Fleet from honorably coping with the task.
Following the maneuvers, many participants were awarded orders and medals, and Nikolai Vasilyevich Zakharov was prematurely awarded the next military rank of "captain-lieutenant".
Results of the exercises
The large-scale maneuvers demonstrated to the entire world the increased capabilities of the USSR Armed Forces, and the widespread use of modern weapons and equipment at the limit of their capabilities became the main factor due to which "Zapad-81" was assessed by foreign experts as "extremely successful in the event of the outbreak of hostilities."
It became clear to Western "partners" that even without the use of nuclear weapons and their destructive power, the Soviet Union was capable of pacifying any aggressor. And NATO staff officers assessed the scope of the exercises in their own way: the Alliance could not counter with anything sensible in the Central European direction, and military strategists from the United States and Western European countries were ready to sacrifice the central and eastern part of the continent, just to prevent the Soviet "throw to Lisbon."
The USSR made it clear that it did not intend to tolerate international rudeness. And it achieved its goal then - the United States and NATO were forced to forget about their plans for another ten years.
In 1981, Ronald Wilson Reagan became the President of the United States (from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989), known for his radical views on the USSR and never hiding them (just look at his statement that the USSR is the "Evil Empire").
Some characteristics of Reagan:
• A convinced opponent of communism. Took part in "exposing the facts of communist penetration into Hollywood", testifying at the House Un-American Activities Committee.
• Advocated for reducing government control over the economy, against the idea of a welfare state and unjustified taxes in the federal budget.
• Pursued a line of tough government opposition to the demands of trade unions. For example, in 1981 he fired all striking air traffic controllers.
• Advocated for strengthening US leadership in world politics, pursuing a policy towards the USSR "from a position of strength". In a speech on March 8, 1983, he called the USSR an "evil empire." His administration took a course on creating strategic superiority of the United States over the USSR in the military sphere.
• Expanded military and economic aid to governments of third world countries, and also supported opposition forces in states with left-wing governments. This policy was called the "Reagan Doctrine."
• Conducted a special economic policy, which was called "Reaganomics." It implied low taxes, reduced government regulation and a free market economy.
For the American right, Reagan is a symbol of neoconservatism, a statesman who played an outstanding role in achieving victory in the "Cold War." Liberal circles and left-wing forces, on the contrary, invariably condemn Reagan's socio-economic and militaristic course, pointing to its negative consequences.
Excerpt from Reagan's video "Evil Empire"
In the USSR, on November 10, 1982, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev died at the age of 76,
Brezhnev's Funeral:
and Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (who was the head of the KGB of the USSR), came to power from November 12, 1982 to February 9, 1984, after Brezhnev's death and led the entire country.
In 1982, after Yuri Andropov was elected to the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, the USSR continued to propose various options for resolving the issue of medium-range missile systems (IRMS) in the framework of negotiations with the United States.
On December 21, 1982, at a ceremonial meeting dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR, Andropov voiced the main idea of the initiatives: the Soviet Union is ready to reduce the number of its ISR launchers in Europe to the level of Great Britain and France in exchange for the cancellation of the deployment of American missiles.
Andropov believed that there were opportunities for developing compromise agreements on nuclear weapons. He called on Washington to respond with "a show of good will" and repeated the Soviet proposals at the talks on strategic and medium-range weapons in Geneva.
The United States rejected Andropov's proposal, as it would have required the United States to cancel plans to deploy 572 new missiles in Europe.
At the same time, Andropov had always distrusted R. Reagan and was convinced that as long as he occupied the White House, it would be impossible to reach a consensus with the Americans.
The situation was heating up to a critical level. The Americans were conducting a series of military exercises, the goals of which were obvious in advance - to practice combat operations against the USSR. On the one hand, it was a training operation off the coast of the Soviet Union with ships approaching at a distance that would allow an effective strike on targets on the territory of the USSR, and on the other hand, it was a secret war game in which a nuclear conflict was being practiced (the game showed that "there would be no winners", but Russian intelligence learned of the fact of a rehearsal of a strike on the USSR). Moreover, American aircraft approached the airspace of the USSR at a dangerous distance and even violated the air border. Which was assessed in an understandable way in Moscow.
In 1982, Andropov conducted the Shield-82 military maneuvers.
This is a demonstration video of the 1972 Shield 72 exercises, this is roughly how it all happened during the 1982 Shield 82 exercises:
The Soviet Union again gave orders from Moscow to Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia to prepare for war against the United States and NATO by conducting exercises to protect their borders.
Shield 82 is the code name for the strategic exercises of the army and navy of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries, which took place from June 14 to September 30, 1982. At the end of the exercises, on October 1, 1982, a parade of troops participating in the final stage of the exercises took place in Burgas. The exercises covered the entire territory of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries. In the West, the exercises were called the "Seven-Hour Nuclear War".
"Shield-82", 1982
Strategic exercises of the army and navy of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries, held from June to September 1982. The objectives of these exercises were varied, but the main ones were: practicing delivering a nuclear strike on the enemy, repelling his missile attack, conducting combat operations in space, in the air, at sea and on land. All components of the USSR nuclear triad were to take part in the exercises.
On the day of the start of the maneuvers, in just seven hours, the following were launched:
Pioneer medium-range combat missile (hit a simulated target at the Emba test site in Kazakhstan);
R-29 sea-based ballistic missile (hit a simulated target at the Kura test site in Kamchatka);
Two UR-100 intercontinental ballistic missiles;
A launch vehicle with an interceptor satellite "Cosmos-1380";
Launch vehicle with the photo reconnaissance satellite "Cosmos-1381";
Two A-350R anti-missiles;
14 cruise missiles from the boards of strategic bombers TU-95 and TU-160 and submarines of the USSR Navy.
The exercises "Shield-82" were so large-scale, so grandiose in the use of nuclear weapons, that in the West they were officially called a "seven-hour nuclear war". Military experts believe that it was these exercises that demonstrated to the States the intention of the Soviet Union to launch the so-called "first strike" - a massive nuclear attack. Soon (six months) after the exercises "Shield-82", prompted US President Reagan on March 23, 1983 to announce the creation of SDI - a strategic defense initiative, known in our country as the American "star wars" (SDI - Strategic Defense Initiative), which later turned out to be a bluff to inflate the military spending of the USSR on defense. Within the framework of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which was supposed to provide protection for the United States from a possible nuclear strike by the USSR, it was proposed to place missiles and weapons in space that could destroy Soviet nuclear intercontinental missiles using new physical principles. From the point of view of analysts, SDI was initially unrealistic, but the authorities of the Soviet Union took it very seriously. Within its framework, it was proposed to implement various far-reaching ideas for the fight against intercontinental ballistic missiles, which bordered on science fiction. In particular, the initiatives included the deployment of various types of weapons based on new physical principles in near-earth orbit. These could include, for example, nuclear-pumped lasers (the Excalibur program), chemical lasers, orbital mirrors that would redirect laser beams sent from Earth to enemy missiles, and "beam weapons" that would destroy enemy missiles with a stream of neutral particles flying almost at the speed of light.
Other proposals included using the energy of a nuclear explosion to accelerate projectiles (the Prometheus program), deploying combat missile stations and railguns in space, as well as miniature satellites that would destroy missiles upon collision (the Shiny Pebble project).
In addition, the SDI was supposed to involve a large group of sensor satellites that would quickly and accurately detect the beginning of a nuclear attack.
In turn, Senator Bennett Johnston described the SDI program as "utter stupidity." In 1987, the American Physical Society published a report assessing the prospects for SDI and the various weapons proposed under the program. The report found that none of the proposed systems under study or development were even remotely close to practical use.
CHRONICLE OF NUCLEAR DAY
On June 14, 1982, in numerous military garrisons scattered across the vast expanses of the country, life flowed in its usual rhythm: in Kamchatka, servicemen were returning from lunch, and on the western borders, soldiers were still watching their last dreams. The alarm signal sounded, as it should have, "unexpectedly", and instantly set in motion a gigantic military machine called the Armed Forces of the USSR. Soldiers and officers hastily took their workplaces, as prescribed by orders, turned on equipment, warmed up the engines of tanks and planes, received instructions from higher headquarters.
HOW IT WAS
According to the "legend of the exercises", the ill-considered and often provocative actions of the United States and its NATO allies led to a sharp aggravation of relations between the two opposing systems. Attempts by Soviet diplomats to normalize the situation led to nothing. Moreover, in Central Europe, on the line dividing the armies of potential adversaries, armed clashes occurred, which further inflamed the situation. With each passing hour, the parties were getting closer and closer to the moment when it would be impossible to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. The first to cross the "Rubicon" The symbol of a conditional or real border, the consequences of crossing which cannot be predicted and prevented (crossing the Rubicon is making a dangerous and irrevocable decision) was decided by the US President, who ordered his armed forces to begin full-scale military action against the USSR. Under these conditions, the leadership of our country decided to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on the territory of the USA and other NATO member countries. This "strike" became the apotheosis of those exercises. It was "delivered" on Friday, June 18. In just seven hours (hence the unofficial name of the exercise so beloved by all) the Soviet Union launched:
three space launch vehicles
two land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles
one sea-based ballistic missile
one medium-range ballistic missile
two anti-missiles.
The chronicle of that day is impressive.
First, at 6 o'clock Greenwich time (all times hereafter are given in Greenwich Mean Time, GMT) is a time standard based on mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London., from one of the sites of the 4th State Inter-Service Testing Range of the USSR Ministry of Defense (the Kapustin Yar range) the medium-range ballistic missile Pioneer (15Zh45) was launched. A quarter of an hour later, the missile's training warhead successfully hit a target in the Emba test site area in Kazakhstan.
Then, from the K-92 nuclear missile submarine (Project 667BD), submerged in the Barents Sea, a sea-based ballistic missile R-29M (RSM-50, 3M40) was launched,
the warhead of which hit the target at the Kura test site in Kamchatka.
Following them, two UR-100 (15A35) intercontinental ballistic missiles were launched from silo launchers in the area of the 5th
research test site of the USSR Ministry of Defense (Baikonur Cosmodrome). Their warheads were successfully
intercepted by two A-350R anti-missiles launched from the Sary-Shagan test site in Kazakhstan.
At 11:04 a.m., the Cyclone-2 (11K69) launch vehicle was launched from the 90th platform of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which launched the interceptor satellite Cosmos-1379 (IS-P`Uran) into near-earth orbit. On the 2nd orbit, it attempted to intercept the target, the role of which was played by the target satellite Cosmos-1378 (IS-M Lira), which imitated the American navigation satellite of the Transit type. The interception was unsuccessful - Cosmos-1379 failed to approach the target at the required distance and was blown up without causing damage to the "enemy". At 11:58 a.m., the launch vehicle "Kosmos-3M" (11Kb5M) with the navigation satellite "Kosmos-1380" on board was launched from the 2nd launch pad of the 132nd platform of the 53rd research test site of the USSR Ministry of Defense (Plesetsk Cosmodrome). This launch, as well as the flight of the interceptor satellite "Kosmos-1379", was unsuccessful - the spacecraft entered an unplanned orbit and after 9 days, on June 27, burned up in the dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere. At 13:00, the Soyuz-U (11A511U) launch vehicle was launched from the 6th launch pad of the 31st site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, putting the Kosmos-1381 (Zenit-6) photo reconnaissance satellite into orbit. This was the only space launch of the day that was successful - the reconnaissance satellite fully completed its task and, after a 13-day flight, on July 1, the descent vehicle landed safely on the territory of the USSR.
In addition, during this time interval, several cruise missiles were launched from the Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, as well as from the ships of the USSR Navy, land-based operational-tactical missiles were launched, and anti-aircraft missiles were launched. And much more happened that day that shook our planet, literally and figuratively.
The leaders of the United States and other NATO countries were truly shocked by the power that was demonstrated to them. Some experts believe that the numerous missile launches carried out as part of those exercises prompted President Ronald Reagan to declare the so-called "strategic defense initiative" a year later.
THE GENERAL STAFF PLANS
But the most interesting thing in this whole "seven-hour epic", as it seems to me,
was not the course of the exercises, but the plans that the General Staff began
to develop long before the measured life of the military garrisons was disrupted by the alarm signal. What the military strategists wanted to do that day is striking in its gigantism.
The initial plans could not be implemented due to their high cost and for political reasons, but it is worth telling about them. I will touch only on those fragments that related to the actions of the strategic forces and space forces, since everything else, in comparison with this, can be considered no more than "pinpricks".
So, after the confrontation turned into a full-scale thermonuclear conflict, a real "missile bacchanalia" was supposed to begin. Almost simultaneously, it was supposed to launch dozens of land-, sea-, and air-based missiles. In order not to get confused in all the intricacies of this plan, I will tell you about the actions of each of the components of the "nuclear triad" without interconnection with the others.
Nuclear submarines were supposed to launch 20 missiles. At the same time,
it was planned, or rather intended, that one of the submarines would launch
the entire ammunition load (16 missiles). Another launch was supposed to be carried out by breaking the ice in the area of the North Pole. Two missiles were supposed to be launched from the Sea of Okhotsk, one from the Barents Sea.
Strategic bombers were supposed to conduct a salvo launch of cruise missiles (from 16 to 24 pieces) at combat fields in the area of Novaya Zemlya and in the Kamchatka area.
All units of the Strategic Missile Forces were supposed to take part in the exercises. During the training, it was planned to launch at least 14 intercontinental ballistic missiles of different types from their permanent deployment sites in Ukraine (from the area of the city of Pervomaysk), in Russia (from the areas of the cities of Yoshkar-Ola, Orenburg, Perm, Aleysk and the Drovyanaya station) and in Kazakhstan (from the area of the Baikonur cosmodrome). The command to launch was to be received from the 15A11 command missile, created in the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk under the Perimeter program. It was planned to launch it from the Kapustin Yar test site.
The anti-missile defense forces were also to take part in the exercises. By that time, one missile defense system was on combat duty - around Moscow. But it was not supposed to involve it in real firing, only at the level of simulated launches. However, a number of units, together with their equipment, were to leave the Moscow region for the Sary-Shagan test site in advance and repel a "massive missile attack by a potential enemy" using A-350R missiles. The role of targets was assigned to the warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles launched during the exercises.
But the most spectacular moment of the global training was to be the launches of spacecraft for various purposes. In near-earth space, it was planned to "fight at full speed." Combat crews from the 16th, 32nd, 43rd and 133rd sites of the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the 1st, 31st, 69th, 90th and 200th sites of the Baikonur cosmodrome were supposed to be involved in the work. If everything had gone as planned, then within 24 hours ten unmanned spacecraft and one manned spacecraft would have been launched from the territory of the USSR.
Let me list these launches with their launch locations:
1. Two detailed and overview photo reconnaissance satellites of the Zenit-6 type were to
be launched from the 16th site of the Plesetsk cosmodrome and the 31st site
of the Baikonur cosmodrome.
2. The Parus navigation satellite was to be launched from the 133rd
site of the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
3. The Tselina-D radio-technical reconnaissance satellite was to
be launched from the 32nd site of the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
4. The Oko missile attack warning system satellite was to
be launched from the 43rd site of the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
5. Three satellites of the GLONASS navigation system were planned to be launched from the 200th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
6. The R-36 (orbital) rocket with the head unit of the partial-orbital bombing system was to be launched from the 69th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
7. An interceptor satellite was planned to be launched from the 90th site of the same cosmodrome.
8. Finally, a manned spacecraft of the Soyuz T type with two cosmonauts on board was to be launched from the 1st site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The purpose of these devices spoke for itself. Most of them were to replace similar satellites that were "conditionally" disabled during combat operations. The interceptor, naturally, was to destroy the enemy device in space. Well, the satellite of the partial-orbital bombing system was supposed to join the intercontinental ballistic missiles to "hit targets on the territory of a potential enemy."
The launch of the manned spacecraft was intended to strengthen the crew of the military orbital station of the Almaz type, which, according to the calculations of the Soviet military, was supposed to be actively functioning in space at that time. At the same time, it was supposed to test a new scheme for launching a manned spacecraft, which would ensure its docking with the station already on the second orbit.
In addition, a number of other spacecraft that were already in orbit were supposed to "take part" in the exercises. I will not even list the ground infrastructure facilities that ensured these launches and the operation of this space armada. It is easier to say that only those of them that were not yet completed or were undergoing repairs were not involved in the exercises.
As we can see, there were huge plans. Almost 70 strategic and space missiles were supposed to be launched within 24 hours. Well, it was like a real movie "Star Wars"
THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE CUT OFF
The initial plan of the exercises (not the outlines and wishes, but the plan itself) was sent to the Old Square, to the relevant department of the CPSU Central Committee, not in such a global form as described above. It no longer included many launches of ICBMs (Intercontinental ballistic missiles) from the areas of their permanent deployment, there was no launch of the manned spacecraft "Soyuz T", a number of other combat missions were also cut back.
Well, then cuts began taking into account political factors, the availability,
or rather, the lack of necessary financial resources, and so on, and in the same spirit. The Soviet leadership decided not to irritate our potential adversaries too much with these exercises: of course, it is necessary to show strength, but not to such an extent! Therefore, it was decided to completely abandon the launches of missiles from their permanent basing sites and launch them only from the Baikonur area. It was recommended not to use the 15AN command missile during the exercises, which was supposed to give the "launch command" - its development was only underway, and it was dangerous to assign a task of "national importance" to a system that had not yet been adopted for service. What if something went wrong!
Due to fear of possible embarrassment, they also refused to conduct a salvo launch
of missiles from a nuclear submarine-missile carrier. A similar experiment, code-named "Begemot-2", was carried out only nine years later and to this day remains the only missile firing in the world with a full set of ammunition.
The actions of the anti-missile and anti-space defense forces, bomber aviation and all other branches and types of the USSR Armed Forces were also curtailed.
And yet, even what ultimately remained was able to astound the world. And
what would have happened if the General Staff's plans had been fully realized
It is quite possible that the world would be different today. If it existed at all.
Result: the main missile forces, infantry, landing troops and the navy were trained. Even the anti-space system "Satellite Destroyer" was used during the exercises. The missile targets, launched from the Barents Sea, were located at the Kamchatka training grounds. The culmination of the missile firing exercises lasted seven hours, so the press sometimes called these maneuvers "Seven-hour nuclear war".
The Soviet Union repeatedly took diplomatic steps to exit the Cold War and de-escalate the situation: after analyzing the results of the "Shield-82" exercises, the Soviet leadership came to the conclusion that there would be no winners in a nuclear war, and already on December 30, 1982, the leader of the USSR Yu. V. Andropov proposed that the United States, Great Britain and France, together with the Soviet Union, completely destroy tactical nuclear weapons and medium-range missiles. However, Washington refused. In addition, it continued to escalate the situation.
At that time, the American authorities believed that if they could launch a nuclear strike on the USSR first, the Soviet troops would not take retaliatory measures and would agree to a truce. However, the war game conducted in this vein led to the opposite result - the American team, playing the role of the Soviet Union, launched a powerful nuclear strike in response, after which the war quickly acquired the character of a general nuclear war.
In 1983, relations between the USSR and the USA were the most tense in history ON THE VERGE OF HUMAN EXTINCTION.
The escalation of confrontation was initiated by US President Ronald Reagan, who in March 1983 called the Soviet Union an "evil empire." A few days later, Reagan announced a nuclear threat from the USSR and the possibility of America launching the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
Four days later, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Yuri Andropov responded to Reagan's speech through the newspaper Pravda, where he stated that the US President's intention to disarm the Soviet Union and thereby gain military superiority over it was unrealistic.
April 26, 1983 Letter from American Girl Samantha Smith written to Yuri Andropov.
Samantha Smith's letter to Yuri Andropov was sent to the USSR in November 1982.
On April 19, 1983, the letter was published in the newspaper Pravda. On April 26, 1983, Samantha received a reply from Andropov, dated April 19.
A special contribution to the easing of tensions was made by a little American girl who wrote and sent a letter to Yuri Andropov in the USSR, after which she came to the USSR. This was done at the peak of tensions. If the US government frightened Americans with propaganda about the Evil Empire, then the girl took the first serious steps that revealed the true intentions of the USSR, which were not voiced in the American media.
A letter from a little American girl to Yuri Andropov: "I am very worried that a nuclear war will start between Russia and the United States. Are you going to vote for the start of the war or not? If you are against the war, please tell me how you are going to help prevent the war? Of course, you are not obliged to answer my question, but I would like to get an answer. Why do you want to conquer the whole world, or at least our country? God created the world for us to live together and take care of it, not to conquer it." Read the article: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1664908
In the summer of 1983, in response to numerous threats from NATO, the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries conducted the exercises "Shield-83". Their goal was to repel a possible attack by the North Atlantic Alliance on the territory of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania.
The exercises practiced offensive operations from the very beginning of the conflict. The main goal of which was to develop methods of countering the nuclear threat from the North Atlantic Alliance. Analyzing the results of these exercises, the Soviet Union came to the conclusion that real combat operations using nuclear weapons would be catastrophic and there would be no winners in such a war.
The United States, in turn, conducted the US 'Global Shield-83' Exercise, which ended on June 21, 1983.
The climax of tensions was the tragedy of September 1, 1983, when a Soviet Su-15 fighter jet shot down a South Korean Boeing 747 that had violated the border over Sakhalin, mistaking it for a reconnaissance aircraft. The Russians considered it a provocation (they had reason to do so in the current tense situation), and the US, of course, demonized the sinister "Soviets" who, as they said, almost deliberately destroyed a peaceful aircraft. The Soviet military had no doubt that the aircraft was on a reconnaissance mission. It was flying without identification signals and did not respond to communications, deviating 500 km from its route. This tragic incident caused indignation throughout the world and led to an escalation of the conflict between the USSR and the US. US President Ronald Reagan called the incident "a crime against humanity that must never be forgotten," "an act of barbarity and inhuman cruelty." (Read the article below, link to post #3 Which really proves that it was a planned provocation by America: Why did the USSR shoot down a Korean passenger plane and kill 269 people? https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1665121
On September 29, 1983, Pravda published a sharp statement by Andropov that it was impossible to agree on anything with the Americans.
In response to the US deployment of Pershing-2 medium-range ballistic missiles within 5-7 minutes of targeting in the European territory of the USSR, in November 1983 the USSR withdrew from the negotiations on Euro-missiles held in Geneva. Andropov stated that the USSR would take a number of countermeasures: deploy operational-tactical nuclear missile carriers on the territory of the GDR and Czechoslovakia and move Soviet nuclear submarines closer to the US coast.
The reports of Soviet and allied intelligence services at that time looked frightening. The US was rearming with more modern missile systems, deploying new weapons systems in Europe, creating a missile defense system in the form of Reagan's famous "Strategic Defense Initiative," preparing public opinion for the destruction of the USSR. So, against the backdrop of all this, both the USSR and the US were conducting military exercises on a colossal scale.
Half an Hour to Armageddon (Judgment Day 1983)
Perhaps the most dangerous case of a false alarm of the early warning system occurred on September 26, 1983. In other circumstances, this incident might not have had such significance. But we must take into account the historical context.
The fall of 1983 went down in history as the most tense period of the Cold War since the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the spring of that year, Ronald Reagan, who had recently called the USSR an "evil empire," announced the Strategic Defense Initiative program. In the USSR, it was perceived as an attempt by the Americans to ensure victory in an all-out nuclear war. In addition, the American military began preparing to deploy Pershing-2 missiles in Western Europe. This was a response to the USSR's nuclear superiority over the United States, whose flight time to Moscow was only six minutes, reducing to a minimum the time the USSR leadership had to make a decision on a retaliatory strike.
NATO planned a command exercise, Able Archer 83, in November 1983, to simulate a nuclear war. It was so realistically organized that Soviet leaders seriously feared that it was in fact a disguised preparation for an invasion of the USSR.
On September 26, 1983, a message was received at the control panel of the Serpukhov-15 command post located near Moscow. The new Oko space early warning system (it had been put on combat duty only a few months earlier) had detected the launch of several missiles from American territory.
The Oko system consisted of satellites in highly elliptical orbits, capable of determining the moment of missile launch by the infrared radiation from their engines. It was believed that the system would give the Soviet military about 10 additional minutes to decide on further action.
By the will of fate, the duty officer at the command post that night was Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, an engineer-analyst. His duties included monitoring devices recording the state of Soviet military satellites over US territory. He was replacing a colleague who had fallen ill. According to instructions, Petrov was supposed to immediately notify his superiors about the incident, who, in turn, would report the attack to the General Secretary, the Minister of Defense, and other senior officials of the country.
But Petrov did not do this. Instead, he told the commander that the system had falsely triggered.
Petrov's logic is easy to understand. If war had broken out, the Americans would have used their entire arsenal, and would not have launched a couple of missiles from one base. In addition, Petrov did not trust the new system. As an engineer, he rightly believed that the computer could make mistakes. But it is one thing to reason like that in a calm environment, and quite another to be on duty and understand that the fate of the country depends on your assessment.
“The machine shows that reliability is at the highest level. The siren is howling like crazy. On the wall above us, big red letters are burning: “START”. This means that the missile has definitely been launched. I looked at my combat crew. Some even jumped up from their seats, people turned and looked at me. I raised my voice and ordered them to take their posts immediately. I had to check everything. It cannot be that this really was a missile with warheads. (…) Nothing can be analyzed in two or three minutes. All that remains is intuition. I had two arguments. First, missile attacks do not start from one base, they are launched from all at once. Second, the computer is an idiot by definition. You never know what it might mistake for a launch ... ”, Petrov said.
The next 15-20 minutes were the longest in Petrov's life.
That was how long it took for missiles launched from the United States to appear on the radars of the second tier of the Soviet early warning system. When the time was up and nothing happened, everyone at the command post could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It later turned out that the false triggering of the system was caused by sunlight reflecting off high-altitude clouds. This defect in the Oko system was only corrected in 1985. By that time, Petrov had already left the army. He did not receive any awards for his decision. On the contrary, he was accused of incorrectly filling out the combat log. According to Petrov's recollections, the state commission investigating the incident consisted of people who designed Oko. It was easier for them to blame the duty officer than to admit their own mistakes.
We can only guess how events would have unfolded if Petrov had acted as the instructions required. Or if it had been not he but the duty officer at the command post that day. Petrov, of course, did not have the right to make the decision to start a nuclear war on his own. The system of protecting the Soviet nuclear arsenal from technical failures and fools was developed and multi-stage. But given the state of the country's top leadership at the time, the Kremlin's reaction to the "as is" message could have been unpredictable. What decision would Andropov have made upon learning of the missile launch? Would he have waited for information from the second-tier systems? Or, having received confirmation of his long-standing fears, would he have given the order for an immediate retaliatory strike? Fortunately, thanks to Petrov, he did not have to make such a choice.
What happened became known after the end of the Cold War. In 2006, Stanislav Petrov was presented with a special award in the form of a hand holding the globe at the UN headquarters in New York. It was engraved with the inscription: "To the man who prevented a nuclear war." In 2014, a feature documentary film, “The Man Who Saved the World,” was released about the events of that night. And on May 19, 2017, Petrov passed away. (I would like to add that the generals he was subordinate to blamed him for disobeying the regulations and not following military protocols.)
If you want to see these events in detail, watch this film, a reconstruction of those events, filmed by a foreign director (the director had to persuade the Russian hero to give an interview in this film):
Trailer:
Film:
This is the third “angel” - Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov received a signal from a computer system about a US nuclear attack on the USSR. Although Petrov himself was the author of the instruction "to inform the Secretary General about the need for a retaliatory strike", he changed the message of a real alarm and transmitted it as a false alarm. Petrov was right - the computer crashed, considering the "light" from the cloud layer as the work of rocket engines. The world press called him "The one who did not press". The lieutenant colonel, who worked as a security guard and a watchman in the wild 90s, died in his poor apartment. In fact, there were many angels - these are people who participated in preventing World War III. We do not know their names, but they were there. Their actions changed the course of events and a nuclear conflict did not occur. God acts through people, just like the devil.
The US did not know what had happened... The conflict continued to escalate! ! !
How the NATO staff exercises "Able Archer-83" were adopted in the USSR to prepare for a surprise attack
In November 1983, NATO "responded" with the Able Archer exercises.
Able Archer 83 (from English - "Experienced Archer") is a ten-day NATO command exercise that began on November 2, 1983 and covered the territory of Western Europe.
During the exercises, the Alliance's actions were practiced in the event of an escalation of the conflict leading to a nuclear war.
Some features of the exercises:
• new unique communication codes and a regime of complete radio silence were used for the first time;
• the heads of state of NATO member states were involved in the exercises;
• the maximum combat readiness mode (DEFCON 1) was practiced, corresponding to the possibility of using nuclear weapons.
The exercises caused concern among the Soviet leadership, which decided that the Americans were going to launch a preemptive strike against the USSR. In response, the Soviet government put the USSR Strategic Missile Forces on alert No. 1, transferred additional aircraft of the USSR Air Force to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Polish People's Republic (PNR), and also put them on combat alert. According to the plot of the exercises, the "Soviets" invaded Yugoslavia and Finland, after which a full-scale world war began with the use of chemical and nuclear weapons. Thus, the Americans and their allies experienced all levels of the threat of nuclear war, including DEFCON-1 (one step away from the mass use of weapons of mass destruction, a nuclear war is inevitable or already underway). Previously, such a level of combat readiness had never been declared, even DEFCON-2 was "turned on" only during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition, the exercises used a new encrypted communications format, and with news of the imminent arrival of Pershings in Europe, the USSR began to fear, which grew into confidence, that the exercises would escalate into a real US offensive against the USSR. Able Archer 83 simulated real attacks, and even planned to involve politicians in the exercises, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and US President Ronald Reagan. Thus, while these exercises were underway, the Soviet side on the Cold War front was already fully prepared to counterattack in case the maneuvers actually escalated into an offensive. Soviet air units in Europe were preparing for battle around the clock, reconnaissance aircraft were working non-stop...
These exercises were held from November 2 to 11, 1983. They staged an escalating conflict with the Warsaw Pact countries, ending with a nuclear strike on the USSR. It was a sort of dress rehearsal, which both opposing sides resorted to many times.
The exercises were large-scale. 40 thousand servicemen took part in them. NATO headquarters worked out a scenario in which the "orange" tried to invade Norway on the northern flank of the bloc and Greece on the southern. The "blue" had to protect their allies. According to the plan, the conflict gradually escalated and developed into a missile-nuclear conflict.
Soviet intelligence closely monitored the exercise and reported to the country's leadership. The Politburo, headed by Andropov, found signs of preparation for a preventive nuclear strike. The exercise was assessed as a trick to cover up the true intentions of the United States. The Kremlin reacted so nervously to the exercise because it was conducted with the use of encrypted messages and alarm signals, and also during the preparation and holding of a national holiday.
The KGB and GRU residencies located in Western European countries received orders from the Center to increase surveillance of the situation near American military bases, communication centers, government and headquarters bunkers and to immediately report any activity observed there. This period coincided with increased security measures at the bases in connection with the attack on American peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The Center received the corresponding reports and the Soviet Union began to prepare its nuclear arsenal:
• The Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) were put on high alert.
• Missile submarines were put on combat duty.
• Strategic bombers stationed in East Germany began to be equipped with nuclear weapons.
Such activity was noted by US intelligence services. Their analysts could not understand the real reason, which was the fear of the Russians to be the first to receive a nuclear strike. US President Reagan did not realize the full danger of the situation.
Traitor Gordievsky managed to reduce the heightened tension. It was he who reported to his MI6 handlers about how the Politburo headed by Andropov was reacting to the exercises being held in Europe. The British immediately informed the Americans that the Kremlin considered the NATO exercises "Sharp Archer-83" a prelude to the beginning of the war.
Reagan gave the order to curtail the exercises. The dangerous situation, unnoticed by the general public, came to an end. Both sides gradually began to cover their weapons and a nuclear catastrophe was avoided.
Andropov died soon after on February 9, 1984 (he was 69 years old)
Heads of state and government of many countries, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US Vice President George Bush Sr., and representatives of the CIA, arrived for the funeral ceremony to pay their respects to Andropov. They saw and said goodbye to the man the whole world feared.
Farewell to Andropov:
After Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko took over the country and continued large-scale exercises to defend the Motherland. (He wanted to return the country to the Stalin era and implement Kosygin's reforms, which were very useful for the USSR. But that's a separate topic.)
The article continues below:
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Re: (Cold War) USSR and USA - on the brink of a nuclear war that did not happen in 1983, World War III.
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