Warszaw Pact War Plans ( The Effects of a Global Thermonuclear War ...)

classy wrote:
In article
(Phil McGregor) wrote:

(mike) wrote in message
.com...
Oliver Neukum wrote in
message ...

But your query assumes that the USSR
believes in the possibility of a
"limited" nuclear war ... Soviet commanders
simply couldn't believe
the massive stupidity of the US analysts
who proposed the idea. They
made it plain in their own comments that
there was no such thing ...

Well, a 'limited' war is one that was only
to be done in Europe only,
in Pentagon think.

Nope. "Limited" Nuclear Wars are ones that
were "limited" to 100 nukes
a side (I think) ... the detailed, scary, stuff
is out there doing a
Google search under "Limited Nuclear War" +
Plans ... including ...

www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa009.html

and

www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/pagepub/ch2.html

The assumption was a minimum 100 million dead
in *each* of the US and
USSR ... I dunno if that includes Warpac or
Nato deaths as well, I
don't think so.

A "moderate" assumption was 1 billion dead
worldwide.

And this was a *limited* war :-P

Phil


You are right - in the case of war, only the
Czechoslovak
army planned to use 131 nuclear weapons...


from the Cold War Parallel History site

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_1.htm



Plan of Actions of the Czechoslovak People's
Army for War
Period

Map 1: 500,000, published 1963


"Approved"
Single Copy

Supreme Commander

of the Armed Forces of the CSSR

Antonin Novotny

1964



1. Conclusions from the assessment of the enemy

The enemy could use up to 12 general military
units on the
Central European military theater for advancing
in the area
of the Czechoslovak Front from D1 to D 7-8.

-- The 2nd Army Corps of the FRG [Federal Republic
of
Germany] including: 4th and 10th mechanized
divisions, 12th
tank division, 1st airborne division and 1st
mountain
division,

-- the 7th Army Corps of the USA including:
the 24th
mechanized division and 4th armored tank division;

-- the 1st Army of France including: 3rd mechanized
division, the 1st and 7th tank divisions, and
up to two
newly deployed units, including 6 launchers
of tactical
missiles, up to 130 theater launchers and artillery,
and up
to 2800 tanks.

Operations of the ground troops could be supported
by part
of the 40th Air Force, with up to 900 aircraft,
including
250 bombers and up to 40 airborne missile launchers.

Judging by the composition of the group of NATO
troops and
our assessment of the exercises undertaken by
the NATO
command, one could anticipate the design of
the enemy's
actions with the following goals.

To disorganize the leadership of the state and
to undermine
mobilization of armed forces by surprise nuclear
strikes
against the main political and economic centers
of the
country.

To critically change the correlation of forces
in its own
favor by strikes against the troops, airfields
and
communication centers.

To destroy the border troops of the Czechoslovak
People's
Army in border battles, and to destroy the main
group of our
troops in the Western and Central Czech Lands
by building
upon the initial attack.

To disrupt the arrival of strategic reserves
in the regions
of Krkonose, Jeseniky, and Moravska Brana by
nuclear strikes
against targets deep in our territory and by
sending
airborne assault troops; to create conditions
for a
successful attainment of the goals of the operation.


Judging by the enemy's approximate operative
design, the
combat actions of both sides in the initial
period of the
war will have a character of forward contact
battles.

The operative group of the enemy in the southern
part of the
FRG will force the NATO command to gradually
engage a number
of their units in the battle, which will create
an
opportunity for the Czechoslovak Front to defeat
NATO forces
unit by unit. At the same time, that would
require building
a powerful first echelon in the operative structure
of the
Front; and to achieve success it would require
building up
reserves that would be capable of mobilizing
very quickly
and move into the area of military action in
a very short
time.



2. Upon receiving special instructions from
the Supreme
Commander of the Unified Armed Forces, the Czechoslovak
People's Army will deploy to the Czechoslovak
Front with the
following tasks:

To be ready to start advancing toward Nuremberg,
Stuttgart
and Munich with part of forces immediately after
the nuclear
strike. Nuclear strike against the troops of
the enemy
should be targeted to the depth up to the line
Würzburg,
Erlangen, Regensburg, Landshut.

The immediate task is to defeat the main forces
of the
Central Group of the German Army in the southern
part of the
FRG, in cooperation with the [Soviet] 8th Guards
Army of the
1st Western Front; by the end of the first day--reach
the
line Bayreuth, Regensburg, Passau; and by the
end of the
second day--move to the line Höchstadt, Schwabach,
Ingolstadt, Mühldorf, and by the fourth day
of the attack
--reach the line Mosbach, Nürtingen, Memmingen,
Kaufbeuren.

In the future, building upon the advance in
the direction of
Strasbourg, Epinal, Dijon, to finalize the defeat
of the
enemy in the territory of the FRG, to force
a crossing of
the river Rhine, and on the seventh or eighth
day of the
operation to take hold of the line Langres,
Besançon.

Afterward develop the advance toward Lyon.

To have in the combat disposition of the Czechoslovak
Front
the following units:

-- the 1st and 4th Armies, 10th Air Army, 331st
front
missile brigade, 11th, 21st and the 31st mobile
missile
support base in the state of combat alert.

-- the reserve center of the Army, the 3rd,
18th, 26th, and
32nd mechanized rifle divisions, 14th and 17th
tank
divisions, 22nd airborne brigade, 205th antitank
brigade,
303rd air defense division, 201st and 202nd
air defense
regiments with mobilization timetable from M1
to M3.

-- the formations, units and facilities of the
support and
service system.

The 57th Air Army, arriving on D1 from the Carpathian
military district before the fifth or sixth
day of the
operation, will be operatively subordinated
to the
Czechoslovak Front. If Austria keeps its neutrality
on the
third day of the war, one mechanized rifle division
of the
Southern Group of Forces will arrive in the
area of Ceske
Budejovice and join the Czechoslovak Front.
The following
forces will remain at the disposal of the Ministry
of
National Defense: the 7th air defense army,
24th mechanized
rifle division and 16th tank division with readiness
M20,
reconnaissance units, and also units and facilities
of the
support and service system. Under favorable
conditions two
missile brigades and one mobile missile support
base will
arrive some time in advance in the territory
of the CSSR
from the Carpathian military district:

-- 35th missile brigade--past Cesky Brod, past
Ricany,
Zasmuky,

-- 36th missile brigade – past Pacov, past
Pelhrimov, past
Humpolec,

-- 3486th mobile missile support base – woods
5 kilometers
to the East of Svetla.

Formations and units of the Czechoslovak People's
Army, on
permanent alert, upon the announcement of combat
alarm
should leave their permanent location in no
more than 30
minutes, move to designated areas within 3 hours,
and deploy
there ready to carry out their combat tasks.
Formations,
units and headquarters that do not have set
mobilization
dates, leave their locations of permanent deployment
and
take up the identified areas of concentration
in the time
and in the order determined by the plan of mobilization
and
deployment. The following disposition of forces
is possible
in the area of operations of the Czechoslovak
Front for the
entire depth of the operation:

-- in divisions – 1.1 to 1.0

-- in tanks and mobile artillery launchers –
1.0 to 1.0

-- in artillery and mine-launchers – 1.0 to
1.0

-- in military aircraft – 1.1 to 1.0, all
in favor of the
Czechoslovak Front.

In the first massive nuclear strike by the troops
of the
Missile Forces of the Czechoslovak Front, the
front aviation
and long-range aviation added to the front must
destroy the
main group of troops of the first operations
echelon of the
7th US Army, its means of nuclear attack, and
the centers of
command and control of the aviation.

During the development of the operation, the
troops of the
Missile Forces and aviation must destroy the
approaching
deep operative reserves, the newly discovered
means of
nuclear attack, and the enemy aviation.

Altogether the operation will require the use
of 131 nuclear
missiles and nuclear bombs; specifically 96
missiles and 35
nuclear bombs. The first nuclear strike will
use 41
missiles and nuclear bombs. The immediate task
will require
using 29 missiles and nuclear bombs. The subsequent
task
could use 49 missiles and nuclear bombs. 12
missiles and
nuclear bombs should remain in the reserve of
the Front.

Building on the results of the first nuclear
strike, the
troops of the Front, in coordination with units
of the 1st
Western Front must destroy the main group of
troops of the
7th US Army and the 1st French Army in cooperation
with
airborne assault troops, force the rivers Neckar
and Rhine
in crossing, and defeat the advancing deep strategic
reserves of the enemy in advancing battle, and
by D7-8 take
control of the areas of Langres, Besançon,
and Epinal.

Upon completion of the tasks of the operation
the troops
must be ready to develop further advances in
the direction
of Lyon.

The main strike should be concentrated in the
direction of
Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Epinal, Dijon;
part of the
forces should be used on the direction of Straubing
and
Munich.

The operative structure of the troops of the
Czechoslovak
Front is to be in one echelon with separation
of two tank
and five mechanized rifle divisions for the
reserve as they
arrive and are deployed. The first echelon shall
consist of
the 1st and 4th armies and the 331st front missile
brigade.

The reserve of the front includes: Headquarters
of the 2nd
Army (reserve), mechanized rifle division of
the Southern
Group of Forces by D3, 14th tank division by
D3, 17th tank
division by D4, 3rd mechanized rifle division
by D3, 26th
mechanized rifle division by D4, 18th mechanized
rifle
division by D5, and 32nd mechanized rifle division
by D6.

Special reserves include: 22nd airborne brigade
by D2, 103rd
chemical warfare batallion by D2, 6th engineering
brigade by
D3, and 205th antitank artillery by D4.



3. On the right – the 8th Guards Army of
the 1st Western
Front advances in the direction of Suhl, Bad
Kissingen, and
Worms and with part of its forces to Bamberg.


The separation line with the Army is the CSSR-GDR
border as
far as As, then Bayreuth, Mosbach, and Sarrebourg,
Chaumont
(all points exclusively for the Czechoslovak
Front).

The meeting point with the 8th Guards Army should
be
supported by the forces and means of the Czechoslovak
Front.

On the left – the Southern Group of Forces
and the Hungarian
People's Army will cover the state borders of
Hungary.

The dividing line with them: state border of
the CSSR with
the Hungarian People's Republic, and then the
northern
borders of Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.




4. The 1st Army (19th and 20th mechanized rifle
divisions,
1st and 13th tank divisions, 311st artillery
missile
brigade) with 312nd heavy artillery brigade,
33rd antitank
artillery brigade without 7th antitank artillery
regiment,
the 2nd bridge-building brigade without the
71st
bridge-building battalion, the 351st and 352nd
engineering
battalions of the 52nd engineering brigade.


The immediate task is to defeat the enemy's
group of the 2nd
Army Corps of the FRG and the 7th US Army in
interaction
with the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Western
Front, and to
develop advance in the direction of Neustadt,
Nuremberg,
Ansbach, and with part of forces in interaction
with units
of the 8th Guards Army in the direction of Bamberg,
by D1 to
take control of the line Bayreuth, Amberg, Schmidmühlen;
and
by the end of D2 to arrive on the line Höchstadt,
Schwabach,
Heiden.

The further task is to advance in the direction
of Ansbach,
Crailsheim, Stuttgart; to defeat the advancing
operative
reserves of the enemy, and by the end of D4
take control of
the line past Mosbach, Bietigheim, Nürtingen.


Subsequently to be ready to develop the advance
in the
direction of Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Epinal.


The dividing line on the left is Pobezovice,
Schwandorf,
Weissenburg, Heidenheim, Reutlingen (all the
points except
Heidenheim, are inclusive for the 1st Army).


Headquarters – in the forest 1 kilometer
south of Stribro.

The axis of the movement is Stribro, Grafenwöhr,
Ansbach,
Schwäbisch Hall.



5. The 4th Army (2nd and 15th mechanized rifle
divisions,
4th and 9th tank divisions, 321st artillery
missile
brigade) with7th antitank artillery brigade
and 33rd
antitank artillery brigade, 71st bridge-building
battalion
of the 2nd bridge-building brigade, 92nd bridge-building
battalion and 353rd engineering battalion.

The immediate task is to defeat the enemy group
of the 2nd
Army Corps of the FRG in cooperation with the
troops of the
1st Army and to develop advance in the direction
of
Regensburg, Ingolstadt, Donauwörth, and with
part of forces
in the direction Straubing, Munich; and by the
end of D1 to
take control of the line Schmidmühlen, Regensburg,
Passau;
by the end of D2 – Eichstätt, Moosburg, Mühldorf.


The subsequent task is to advance in the direction
of
Donauwörth, Ulm, to defeat the advancing formations
of the
1st French Army and by the end of D4 to take
control of the
line Metzingen, Memmingen, Kaufbeuren.

Subsequently to be ready to develop advance
in the direction
of Ulm, Mulhouse, Besançon. Headquarters –
6 kilometers
northwest of Strakonice.

The axis of movement is – Strakonice, Klatovy,
Falkenstein,
Kelheim, Rennertshofen, Burgau.



6. The Missile Forces of the Front must in
the first
nuclear strike destroy the group of forces of
the 7th US
Army, part of forces of the 2nd Army Corps of
the FRG, and
part of the air defense forces of the enemy.


Subsequently, the main efforts should be concentrated
on
defeating the advancing operative and strategic
reserves and
also the newly discovered means of nuclear attack
of the
enemy.

In order to fulfill the tasks set to the front,
the
following ammunition shall be used:

-- for the immediate task--44 operative-tactical
and
tactical missiles with nuclear warheads;

-- for the subsequent task--42 operative-tactical
and
tactical missiles with nuclear warheads;

-- for unexpectedly arising tasks--10 operative-tactical
and
tactical missiles with nuclear warheads shall
be left in the
Front's reserve.

The commander of Missile Forces shall receive
special
assembly brigades with special ammunition, which
shall be
transferred to the Czechoslovak Front in the
following
areas: 2 kilometers to the East of Jablonec,
and 3
kilometers to the East of Michalovce.

The use of special ammunition–only with permission
of the
Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces.




7. Aviation. The 10th Air Force– the 1st
fighter division,
2nd and 34th fighter-bomber division, 25th bomber
regiment,
46th transport air division, 47thair reconnaissance
regiment and 45th air reconnaissance regiment
for target
guidance.

Combat tasks:

With the first nuclear strike to destroy part
of forces of
the 2nd Army Corps of the FRG, two command and
targeting
centers, and part of the air defense forces
of the enemy.

Upon the beginning of combat actions to suppress
part of air
defense forces of the enemy in the following
regions:
Roding, Kirchroth, Hohenfels, Amberg, Pfreimd,
Nagel, and
Erbendorf.

To uncover and destroy operative and tactical
means of
nuclear attack, command and control aviation
forces in the
following regions: Weiden, Nabburg, Amberg,
Grafenwöhr,
Hohenfels, Regensburg, and Erlangen.

During the operation to give intensive support
to combat
actions of the troops of the front: on D1 –
6 group sorties
of fighter bombers, from D2 to D5 – 8 group
sorties of
fighter bombers and bombers daily, and from
D6 to D8 – 6
group sorties of fighter bombers and bombers
daily. The
main effort should be concentrated on supporting
the troops
of the 1st Army.

In cooperation with forces and means of the
air defense of
the country, fronts and neighbors – to cover
the main group
of forces of the Front from air strikes by the
enemy.

To ensure the landing of reconnaissance troops
and general
airborne forces on D1 and D2 in the rear of
the enemy.

To ensure airborne landing of the 22nd airborne
brigade on
D4 in the area north of Stuttgart, or on D5
in the area of
Rastatt, or on D6 in the area to the east of
Mulhouse.

To carry out air reconnaissance with concentration
of main
effort on the direction of Nuremberg, Stuttgart,
and
Strasbourg with the goal of locating means of
nuclear
attack, and in order to determine in time the
beginning of
operations and the direction of the advancing
operative
reserves of the enemy.

In order to fulfill the tasks set for the front,
it will be
required to use the following weapons:

-- for the immediate task -- 10 nuclear bombs;

-- for subsequent tasks – 7 nuclear bombs;

-- for resolving unexpectedly arising tasks
– 2 nuclear
bombs shall be left in the Front's reserve.

The 57th Air Force, consisting of the 131st
fighter
division, 289th fighter-bomber regiment, 230th
and 733rd
bomber regiment and 48th air reconnaissance
regiment,
arriving by D1 from the Carpathian military
district, is to
remain under operative subordination to the
Czechoslovak
Front until the fifth to sixth day for 5 army
sorties.

The Army has a determined the limit of: combat
sets of air
bombs – 3, combat sets of air-to-air missiles
– 2, combat
sets of aviation cartridges – 2, and fuel
– 3 rounds of army
refueling.

Combat tasks:

-- in cooperation with the 10th Air Force to
find and
destroy the means of nuclear attack of the enemy,
its
aviation and command and control centers with
concentration
of main efforts on the direction of Nuremberg,
Strasbourg;

-- to support combat actions of the troops of
the Front when
they force the rivers Naab, Neckar, Rhine, and
when they
counter attackof the enemy;

-- to support combat actions of the 22nd airborne
brigade in
the areas of its landing;

-- to protect the troops of the front from air
strikes by
the enemy;

-- to carry out air reconnaissance with concentration
of the
main effort on discovering the means of nuclear
attack and
deep operative and strategic reserves of the
enemy.

The 184th heavy bomber regiment of long-range
aviation
should use nuclear bombs in the first nuclear
strike against
headquarters of the 2nd Army Corps of the FRG,
7th US Army,
2nd/40 Corporal artillery batallion, 2nd/82
Corporal
artillery batallion, 5th/73 Sergeant artillery
batallion,
and the main group of forces of the 4th mechanized
division
and 12th tank division of the 2nd Army Corps
of the FRG.
Total use of nuclear bombs – 16. Use of special
combat
ammunition –only with permission of the Supreme
Commander of
the Unified Armed Forces.



8. Air Defense

7th Air Defense Army of the country – 2nd
and 3rd air
defense corps.

Combat tasks:

-- in cooperation with air defense forces of
the Front and
the air defense of the neighbors in the united
air defense
system of countries of the Warsaw Treaty to
repel massive
air strikes of the enemy with concentration
of main effort
on the direction Karlsruhe, Prague, Ostrava.


-- not to allow reconnaissance and air strikes
of the enemy
against our groups of forces, especially in
the area of the
Czech Lands, against aircraft on the airfields,
and against
important political and economic centers of
the country, as
well as communications centers. The main effort
should be
concentrated on protecting the areas of Prague,
Ostrava,
Brno and Bratislava;

-- upon the beginning of combat actions, troops
of the
Czechoslovak Front with anti-aircraft missile
forces to
continue to defend most important areas and
objects of the
country, with forces of fighter aviation to
defend objects
of the Front after the advancing troops.


Air Defense troops of the Front

Combat tasks:

--Upon the beginning of combat action of the
Front, to take
part in the general air defense system of the
Warsaw Treaty
countries with all forces and resources to cover
the main
group of the Front's troops.

--During the operation, in cooperation with
the 7th Air
Defense Army, units of 10th and 57th Air Force
and the air
defense of the 1st Western Front, to cover the
troops of the
front from the air strikes of the enemy in the
process of
their passing over the border mountains, and
also during the
crossing of the rivers Neckar and Rhine to cover
the missile
forces and command and control centers



9. The 22nd airborne brigade is to be ready
to be deployed
from the region of Prostejov, Niva, Brodek to
the region
north of Stuttgart on D4 or to the region of
Rastatt on D5,
or to the region to the east of Mulhouse on
D6 with the task
of capturing and holding river crossings on
Neckar or Rhine
until the arrival of our troops.



10. Reserves of the Front.

The 3rd, 18th, 26th, and 32nd mechanized rifle
divisions of
the Southern Group of Forces, the 14th and 17th
tank
divisions are to concentrate in the regions
designated on
the decision map in the period from D3 to D5.


The 6th engineering brigade by D3 is to be concentrated
in
the region of Panensky Tynec, and Bor, past
Slany, to be
ready to ensure force crossing of the rivers
Neckar and
Rhine by the troops of the Front.

The 103rd chemical warfare batallion from D2
to be stationed
in the region of Hlubos, past Pribram, past
Dobris. The
main effort of radiation reconnaissance should
be
concentrated in the region of Horovice, Blovice,
and
Sedlcany.

Objects of special treatment should be deployed
in the areas
of deployment of command and control centers
of the Front,
the 331st front brigade, and also in the regions
of
concentration of the reserve divisions of the
Front.



11. Material Maintenance of the Rear The main
effort in the
material maintenance of the rear of the troops
of the Front
should be concentrated throughout the entire
depth of the
operation in the area of the 1st Army's advance.


To support the troops of the 1st Army, the 10th
and 57th Air
Forces should deploy to the forward front base
number 1 and
the base of the 10th Air Force in the region
to the West of
Plzeň by the end of D2; troops of the 4th
Army should
deploy the forward front base number 2 in the
region to the
south of Plzeň.

Field pipeline is to be deployed in the direction
of
Roudnice, Plzeň, Nuremberg, and Karlsruhe and
used for
provision of aircraft fuel.

Rebuilding of railroads should be planned on
the directions
Cheb-Nuremberg or
Domazlice-Schwandorf-Regensburg-Donauwörth.


Two roads should be built following the 1st
Army, and one
front road throughout the entire depth of the
operation
following the 4th Army.

The Ministry of National Defense of the CSSR
will assign
material resources, including full replacement
of the
ammunition used during the operation for the
troops of the
Czechoslovak Front.

Support for the 57th Air Force should be planned
taking into
account the material resources located in the
territory of
the CSSR for the Unified Command.

Use of material resources should be planned
as follows:

-- ammunition – 45,000 tons

-- combustible-lubricating oil – 93, 000 tons

-- including aircraft fuel – 40, 000 tons

-- missile fuel:

-- oxidizer--220 tons

-- missile fuel – 70 tons

Automobile transportation of the Front should
be able to
supply the troops with 70, 000 tons of cargo
during the
operation.

Transportation of the troops should be able
to carry 58, 000
tons of cargo. By the end of the operation the
troops should
have 80% of mobile reserves available. In D1
and D2 hospital
bed network for 10 to 12 thousand sick and wounded
personnel
is to be deployed.

By the end of the operation the hospital bed
network should
cover 18% of the hospital losses of the Front.




12. Headquarters of the Front should be deployed
from the
time "X" plus 6 hours –5 kilometers to the
east of Strasice.
The axis of movement – Heilbronn, Horb, Epinal.

Reserve Command Post – forest, to the north
of Brezova

Advanced Command Post – forest 5 kilometers
to the east of
Dobrany


Rear Command Post – Jince-Obecnice

Reserve Rear Command Post – past Dobrany,
Slapy, past Mnise

Headquarters of MNO – object K-116, Prague.





Minister of National Defense of the CSSR

General of the Army [signed] Bohumir Lomsky

Head of the General Staff of Czechoslovak People's
Army

Colonel General [signed] Otakar Rytir



Head of the Operations Department of the General
Staff

Major General [signed] Vaclav Vitanovsky

11 October 1964



[Rectangular seal:]

Ministry of National Defense

General Staff – Operations Department

Section: Operations Room

Received: 20.10.1964

No. 008074/ZD-OS 64, 17 sheets



Executed in one copy of 17 sheets

Executed by Major General Jan Vostera


[signed] Gen.
Vostera

14 October 1964



[Translated from the original Russian by Dr.
Svetlana
Savranskaya, Research Fellow, National Security
Archive,
George Washington University, and Anna Locher,
Research
Assistant, Center for Security Studies and Conflict
Research, Zurich.]



I would bet that after '68 the Soviets probably made sure the Czechs didn't
get any nukes in war planning. And aren't they being very optimistic about
keeping the armed forces intact after the first day or so of a major nuke
exchange?

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