USSR invasion plans (request)

[Cantabro]

Hey guys
I'm here tasked with a history proyect (i'm a military officer cadet) and I'm having quite a hard time finding any info on ussr invasion plans for occidental europe. I was thinking maybe there's someone here who has any info on it and wants to share it. It'd make a nice topic anyway.

Thanks in advance

[pacifist]

I'm sure the guys in STAVKA kept those plans to themselves.

[Sand Man]

It has a website! --> sovietinvasionplan (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=USSR+invasion+plans+&aq=f&oq=)


This one looks better --> How the Russians plan to invade... (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=russia+plan+to+invade+europe)

[Abbadon the Despoiler]

you might start here

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=148748

[silentpartner]

If you search for Soyuz 83 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&fkt=&fsdt=2578&q=%22soyuz+83%22&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=) then that should give you lots of information that you're looking for.

---
Edit: As a little side note, there was even a medal instituted for the eventuality: Order of Blücher (http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47888)

[Atlantic Friend]

Wait, wait, there can be no such plans. Russia is, was, and will ever be a peace-loving nation ! ;)

[Jacknola]

Seriously, about 25 years ago, a Russian author using the nom-de-guerre of Viktor Suvorov published a number of books that were highly thought of.. looks into the inside story of life in the Soviet Army.

One book named "The Liberators" contained the plans for the soviet attack on the NATO allies complete with three army fronts, tanks maps etc. He also wrote a book explaining Stalins plans, ad a couple of books "Inside the Soviet Army" that were real eye-openers.

The author was angrly denegrated in the USSR... but since the fall of that empire, his works have gotten to be more and more highly regarded.

I suggest looking on Amazon, or some such and getting his books. You will find an outline of what you need and a useful cretique that clearly explains why it couldn't happen, the corruption, breakdowns,and the total absence of any professional NCO control-the backbone of western armies, etc. that made the Soviet Army less than advertised.

[Dan2004]

I read "The Liberators," borrowed it from my old SL. It was quite eye-opening.

[FLIPO]

Saludos Cantabro. Respecto lo que preguntas, no podrás encontrar nada decente. Especulaciones - sí , pero una vez que lo analizas, verás que no tienen nada que ver con la realidad. Suvorov este, que te aconsejan tanto, era un desidente y especulador. Súpo como ganarse una fortuna con su poco conocimiento de la historia sovietica y del funcionamiento de la armada. Escribia lo que la gente occidental querría leer. Y lo que querría leer era eso, la temida Union Sovietica que quiere tragar toda la Europa... Eso le parece más interesante a la gente...

[Bolt]

The author was angrly denegrated in the USSR... but since the fall of that empire, his works have gotten to be more and more highly regarded.

By who? There are dozens of sites and books (published ones) where authors point out his mistakes (usually, intentional ones).

[badly_packed_kebab]

Im pretty sure "advance west" covered most of it.

[AmoebaProject]

Seriously, about 25 years ago, a Russian author using the nom-de-guerre of Viktor Suvorov published a number of books that were highly thought of..

Yep and at least his WW2 books were proven of being hoax.
Almost every quote in his books was distorted a little to fit in or ripped of context.

This guy was a typical attention whore.

[Indiana Jones]

Seriously, about 25 years ago, a Russian author using the nom-de-guerre of Viktor Suvorov published a number of books that were highly thought of.. looks into the inside story of life in the Soviet Army.

One book named "The Liberators" contained the plans for the soviet attack on the NATO allies complete with three army fronts, tanks maps etc. He also wrote a book explaining Stalins plans, ad a couple of books "Inside the Soviet Army" that were real eye-openers.

The author was angrly denegrated in the USSR... but since the fall of that empire, his works have gotten to be more and more highly regarded.

I suggest looking on Amazon, or some such and getting his books. You will find an outline of what you need and a useful cretique that clearly explains why it couldn't happen, the corruption, breakdowns,and the total absence of any professional NCO control-the backbone of western armies, etc. that made the Soviet Army less than advertised.

The works of Viktor Suvorov alias Mr. Vladimir Rezun generally consist of little more then outright fabrication and enjoy no credibility whatsoever in academic circles.
That is not to say that every observation of his concerning the Red Army and its satellites was off the mark, however.
Cheers,
IJ.

[Cornerstone]

It has a website! --> sovietinvasionplan (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=USSR+invasion+plans+&aq=f&oq=)


This one looks better --> How the Russians plan to invade... (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=russia+plan+to+invade+europe)
Wow I had never heard of this website before thanks for posting, is it new(Joke)

[Lokos]

The author was angrly denegrated in the USSR... but since the fall of that empire, his works have gotten to be more and more highly regarded.

No, they haven't.

L.

[AmoebaProject]

The author was angrly denegrated in the USSR... but since the fall of that empire, his works have gotten to be more and more highly regarded.


Surprise!
Every book that was banned in USSR was highly regarded in the West.
Part of a propaganda warfare.

[Mousepad]

No, they haven't.

L.

In the beginning of 90-s he was in big demand here, actually, anything that was anti USSR was in big demand in Russia, so was the mood, but lately, when archives were open, Suvorov was made a laughing stock, by serious historians. Anyone, who wants to use him as a flag-stone in his arguments must bear in mind, that he was making a buck on things that he could sell in USA, and only things he could sell, it was his SU origin, and anti-USSR books, he reminds me of ex-Soviet stand-up comedian in USA who was in demand in times of Iron Curtain, and was disposed shortly after it fell (don't remember his name).

[Captain China]

Before U get into studies, I think it's better to figure out what were those evil Russian thinking when the NATO was screaming an incoming invasion.
http://www.php.isn.ethz.ch/collections/index.cfm this website is excellent in cold war related documents collection. War plan, OOB, record of confrence, U can find anything on it.
U can search this

MILITARY PLANNING FOR
EUROPEAN THEATRE CONFLICT
DURING THE COLD WAR
AN ORAL HISTORY ROUNDTABLE
STOCKHOLM, 24 – 25 APRIL 2006

the recall from former WP general will suprise U, it had already suprised me. Cause they just like their NATO competitor, their brain is full filled by fear. All their strategies are based on defence, their job is to defend their people from a group of capitalist pigs's invasion. It's interesting to find out both sides were ruled by fear, and that fear kept peace for almost 50 years

[Captain China]

And from NATO perspective, I have read a Belgium general's book, I don't know the english name of the book, the Chinese name is "Soviet Blitzkrieg" (苏联闪击战) I think it was translated literally. It hypothesis the Soviet Blitzkrieg the NATO with only mobilize the GSFG, suprise NATO in a holiday, defeat NATO's resistance in 72-96 hours and conquer the whole germany.
and if my memory serves me well, John Hackett's book "3rd world war" was inspired by this hypothesis. Although John claimed totally suprise and shock NATO is impossible for WP to achieve.

[Captain China]

Seriously, about 25 years ago, a Russian author using the nom-de-guerre of Viktor Suvorov published a number of books that were highly thought of.. looks into the inside story of life in the Soviet Army.

.
No offense, and I admit that I have never read MR Suvorov's book in english edition, I have only read his book in chinese translation. But after reading his book, I have 2 thoughts, 1, he drunk too much Vodak ,or, 2, he was a secret KGB agent whose task was to confuse the NATO's knowledge about SU.

[Troubadour]

In the beginning of 90-s he was in big demand here, actually, anything that was anti USSR was in big demand in Russia, so was the mood, but lately, when archives were open, Suvorov was made a laughing stock, by serious historians. Anyone, who wants to use him as a flag-stone in his arguments must bear in mind, that he was making a buck on things that he could sell in USA, and only things he could sell, it was his SU origin, and anti-USSR books, he reminds me of ex-Soviet stand-up comedian in USA who was in demand in times of Iron Curtain, and was disposed shortly after it fell (don't remember his name).


Yakov Smirnoff?

[Anatolian_eagle]

http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/WarPact.html - the structure and history of warsaw pact..

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i found it in a forum :

http://img27.exs.cx/img27/5954/sovietinvasioneurope.jpg

A Landing Operation in Denmark
The Polish Military's Losses in the First Phase of a Warsaw Pact Offensive Were to Reach 50 Percent
by Paweł Piotrowski
first published in Wprost [Warsaw], no. 25, 23 June 2002, p. 82-84.

The idea of creating a new front within the Warsaw Pact in the northern segment of the western theater of war was born after the October 1956 watershed, when Poles replaced Soviet officers in the leadership positions of the General Staff of the Polish People's Army. To Gomułka's team, the creation of a national front manifested the sovereignty of the People's Republic. But Moscow viewed Poland's aspirations with distrust. Even though the Politbureau had approved the decision in 1958, it was not until 1961 that the Kremlin agreed to this form of involvement in the Warsaw Pact for Poland.

A Polish delegation went to Moscow then to collect a handwritten directive from the USSR's minister of national defense, Rodion Malinovsky, which spelled out the Polish Front's mandate. On the basis of this directive, the Poles drew up a front operational plan for their People's Army. The Soviet side charted the operational direction of the front and its basic parameters.

The Rhine
According to the Polish Front's operational plan, codeword OP-61, the First and Second Armies formed by the Pomeranian and Silesian Military Districts were to attack first. It was assumed that the attacking NATO forces (it was always the imperialists who started wars) would be stopped by Soviet units stationed in the GDR. At the same time, units of the Polish Front would reach their areas of concentration in northern Poland and the GDR, where a developed military infrastructure and ammunition, fuel, and equipment warehouses were located. The Polish attack would head from western Mecklenburg toward Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. In two or three days, the attacking armies would break up NATO's Jutland Military Corps, reach the Elbe and the Danish-German border.

In the second phase of the offensive, the Polish Front troops would cross the Elbe and reach the Rhine and Moselle Rivers across the plains of Lower Saxony and Holland. The General Staff's planning did not go beyond this line, since the front's subsequent goals would be set by the Warsaw Pact leadership. The Fourth Army deployed by the Warsaw Military District had a different mission. In peacetime, its units were heavily reduced (below 30 percent of the strength planned for the eventuality of war). Their equipment also differed significantly from that of the Pomeranian and Silesian Districts. Compensating for this disadvantage would be nuclear strikes accompanied by concentrated acts of sabotage and propaganda. The Fourth Army's mission was to mobilize quickly, deploy its troops over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (from northern Mazovia and Warmia to Hamburg), make the transition "from marching" to fighting and controlling the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish isles, and then occupy Denmark.

The Danish Straits
The Navy was to support the northern wing of the front attacking along the coast. The first exercises of this "teamwork between naval and land forces" were conducted in 1954. At that time, the naval forces were stronger than what was planned for mobilization. This changed in subsequent years, as less investment was made in the navy than in the other armed forces. After the Warsaw Pact was founded in 1955, cooperation was built up with the USSR's Baltic Fleet and the GDR navy. From the early 1960s on, these forces together formed the United Fleet. Its main goals were to dominate the Baltic Sea, cooperate on a landing operation on the Danish isles, and secure free access to the North Sea.

A landing on the Danish coast was prominent in plans being made in 1961-63. Selected for this mission were the Seventh Landing Division ("blue berets") and the Sixth Air-Landing Division ("red berets"). These units were being prepared for an air-sea operational landing on the Danish isles located between Great Belt and Øresund (including Zealand). The Polish divisions would be backed up by the Baltic Fleet, Soviet air-landing and marine units, and a landing regiment of the National People's Army of the GDR.

In 1962-73, Polish shipyards constructed 23 ships intended for the Second Brigade of Landing Ships stationed in Świnoujście. Plans were also made to buttress the landing forces with ships mobilized from the civilian fleet. After gaining control of Zealand, the landing forces could be used to launch an attack on southern Norway, around Oslo.

The Nuclear Sword
From the 1960s, the leadership of the Warsaw Pact attached great importance to equipping its armies with missiles, considered the best carriers of nuclear warheads. In 1961-68, the Polish army formed four artillery brigades equipped with operational-tactical rockets and fourteen artillery units armed with tactical missiles. In virtually every exercise, the concentrated use of nuclear weapons presaged success. In an offensive operation, the exercises assumed the use of nuclear strikes of various magnitudes (on the territory of the FRG alone, there were to be some 100 of them). Every attacking unit would use 30-40 operational-tactical missiles (with a 300 km range), 50-60 tactical missiles (with a range of up to 65 km), and conduct 6-15 nuclear bombardments.

If the enemy used nuclear weapons, the operational plans expected major losses. Estimates made in the early 1970s projected operational troop losses of 48-53 percent in the first front operation.

Plans for the Polish Front continued to be perfected until the end of the Warsaw Pact. It is fortunate that we managed to avoid seeing our troops march in the streets of Copenhagen or Hamburg, transformed into a radioactive desert. At the same time, the streets of Warsaw, Cracow, and other Polish cities would have looked similar.

A Polish Nuclear Attack
"It is desirable to consider (...) nuclear attacks on such centers as Hannover or Brunswick, Kiel and Bremen. The destruction of these cities will likely cause a complete disorganization of political life, the economy, etc. It will significantly influence the creation of panic in areas of nuclear strikes. The exploitation of the effects of strikes by our propaganda may contribute to the spread of panic among enemy armies and populations (...). In order to exclude Denmark from the war as quickly as possible, nuclear strikes should be launched at Esbjerg (an important strategic point in the NATO system) and Roskilde (Zealand Island), and subsequently a widespread special propaganda action aimed at deepening the existing panic should be conducted to warn Denmark's troops and civilian population of the consequences of further resistance and the threat that, in the event of continuation of the war, further atomic strikes will occur."
(Excerpt from a presentation by the commander of the Polish Front, General Zygmunt Duszyński, in 1961)

Paweł Piotrowski works as a historian in the Wrocław division of the Institute of National Remembrance, specializing in the military affairs of the Polish People's Republic.

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soviet war plans for nordic states:

http://www.php.isn.ethz.ch/collections/colltopic.cfm?lng=en&id=46465&nav1=1&nav2=6&nav3=12

+ + + +

some news reports

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563692/Soviet-plan-for-WW3-nuclear-attack-unearthed.html

there is a useful site for cold war acrhieves of soviet bloc

http://www.php.isn.ethz.ch/

[afreu]

Thanks alot for those links anatolian eagle. Great read!