The Third World War: the main location in Germany

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The Third World War: Hauptschauplatz Deutschland (Original title: The Third World War: August 1985 ) is a novel by the former British General John Winthrop Hackett Junior from 1978. In the work, written in the style of a history book, Hackett describes a fictional military conflict between the armed forces the NATO and Warsaw pact , in which there is also a limited use of nuclear weapons.

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In 1985 the Soviet Union had to struggle with two major problems: on the one hand, the country is in a very bad economic position and, on the other hand, the Russians are increasingly losing control of their pact states. Therefore, the Politburo of the USSR decides to launch a large-scale invasion of Europe. At first the Russian offensive appears to be a success, but the Warsaw Pact is no longer up to the NATO armed forces. After long and costly fighting, NATO succeeds in stopping the Soviet advance. To prove to the world that the USSR is still a serious enemy, the Russians destroy the English city of Birmingham with a nuclear missile . In return, an American and a British submarine each fired two nuclear missiles at the Soviet city of Minsk . This leads to a political upheaval in the Soviet Union and ultimately ends in its dissolution.

Four years later, the book The Third World War: The Untold Story followed , which takes up and integrates some current developments of the late 1970s.

chapter

  1. Dawn in August: the first attacks
  2. The world in 1984
  3. Conflict hotspots: Middle East and Africa
  4. The West is paying attention
  5. Unrest in Poland
  6. No peace for Christmas
  7. Summits and aftermath
  8. Heidelberg, July 27, 1985
  9. The attack on Yugoslavia
  10. Soviet planning
  11. On the knife edge
  12. The NATO forces
  13. Warsaw Pact armed forces
  14. Let the game begin
  15. The Central Front - The storm breaks out
  16. The location at sea
  17. The battle in the Atlantic
  18. The war in near-Earth space
  19. The air defense of Great Britain and over the Eastern Atlantic
  20. The aerial warfare over the central section
  21. The middle holds
  22. At home and the war in a television company
  23. Vital peripheral areas of Europe: The Middle East, Africa and Asia
  24. Moscow opts for nuclear war
  25. The destruction of Birmingham
  26. A damning answer
  27. Thoughts about a war
  28. The future begins

Chapter Dawn in August: the first attacks

". Black horse one zero, black horse one zero, here shovel six. Confirm observation of Charlie Eins as follows: Large tank formation has crossed the inner German border Zero Three Zero Five Zulu roughly brigade strength. Consists of Papa Tango (PT) 76, Bravo Tango Romeo (BTR) 62, and Tango (T) 72. Notify Black Horse Six that Shovel is taking up the fight. "

- Radio message from the tank reconnaissance that enemy unit ROT has crossed the border and that the fire fight is now starting. Chapter Dawn in August: The First Attacks. John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. P. 19. ISBN 978-3570018613

The first chapter describes the situation of an anti-tank company of the 11th Panzer Cavalry Regiment , which forms the core of the cover forces of the 5th US Corps , at level 402 near Wildech. The events begin in the early morning hours of August 4, 1985. The three PzAbwKp trains watch from camouflaged locations on the motorway to Bad Hersfeld , the approach of a Soviet tank unit and immediately afterwards receive the order to fire with Shillelagh missiles sent by their Sheridan tanks are operated from. Cobra combat helicopters of the 11th ACR also intervene in the resulting firefight . Due to the oppressive superior force, however, the anti-tank company had to break away from the enemy and fall back on the next delay line ( VZL ). At the same time, the 8th Royal Tank Regiment (8 RTR), subordinated to the cover troops of the I. BR Corps, has come into contact with the enemy with T-72 battle tanks after having passed the code word BRAVO for moving into the sharp GDP positions. Furthermore, an aerial battle between F-15s, tornadoes and Mig fighters is described, which breaks out during the second attack wave of a combat squadron on WAPA airfields. Eight planes launch an attack on the NVA air base in Zerbst at low altitude . Due to the flight at low altitude and high speed, MiG fighters have no way of bringing their weapons into effect. In another scene, the Royal Artillery's 146th anti-aircraft battery secures the command post of the 1st BR Corps near the village of Nieder Einbecken with Rapier anti-aircraft missiles . A combat group of the Irish Guards , a battery of heavy M-107 175mm field artillery and a tank company with Leopard 2 KPz are also trying to counter the invasion from the east. The fighting troops perceive the first day of the war as a nightmare, mainly due to the unfamiliar harshness of the new everyday life and the high losses, and fear and panic quickly spread due to the superhuman stress in modern combat.

Chapter: The Central Front - The storm breaks loose

The core of the book is the central chapter “The central front - the storm breaks loose”. Hackett has the Warsaw Pact (WAPA ) ground offensive begin on Sunday, August 4th, 1985 at 4:00 a.m.CET . The hostilities begin with attacks on US communications links and reconnaissance satellites , which lead to a sudden failure of surveillance on the part of NATO . Electronic and radar interference from WAPA, on the other hand, is not very effective, since NATO's ELOKA has proven to be technically superior. These disruptive measures are flanked by massive air strikes and rocket attacks with HE shells as well as C-warfare shells on tactical targets such as air bases, NATO command posts, supply rooms, as well as on HAWK - and NIKE - anti-aircraft missile positions to shut down the enemy air defenses. C attacks only take place selectively and on certain front lines. The combat patrol of the US corps in southern Germany is deliberately excluded because the WAPA fears a possible counter-reaction from the Americans, also in the form of chemical weapons. NORTHAG does not have this possibility, so that in its section , C-warfare agents are increasingly used with BM-21 rocket launchers, FROG rockets equipped with conventional warheads, cannulated artillery or launched by ground- attack aircraft with spray tanks. Military airfields are mainly fought with yellow cross , G- and V-warfare agents, which makes the work of the ground personnel very difficult, since all activities can only be carried out with full NBC protection. The performance of the infantry also decreases by up to 60% under these conditions. While volatile chemical weapons do not show the desired effect, sedentary warfare agents prove to be extremely effective, since they can practically not be removed and act for a long time in the contaminated zone.

At the same time, in the hinterland of Germany, subversive task forces (mainly from special troops such as Spetsnaz commandos ) carry out a series of attacks on military and civilian facilities in order to weaken the country's infrastructure . However, the sabotage attacks do not have the desired effect, as they are thwarted to 75%. A tactically significant blow to the NORTHAG headquarters fails.

The actual land operations on day 1 (D1) will initially take place primarily in the central section of the NATO defense line. The planned surprise attack by WAPA does not come into play, as all NATO forces in their advanced positions have already been alerted in good time. The positions of their army units are loosened up and widely spread out so that they do not offer a worthwhile nuclear target. One hour after the start of the attack, four strong WAPA armored wedges made the first break-ins. The break-ins were carried out through rapidly opened gaps in the border defense of advance groups of regimental strength and a subsequent armored division . The 1st squadron of the main thrusts consists of T-72 tank regiments on a width of two to eight kilometers, depending on the nature of the terrain. Behind the main battle tanks follow BMP armored personnel carriers, which have been given the task of holding down and eliminating the NATO anti-tank defense. Motorized infantry (mostly one tank and three motorized rifle regiments) then follow in the third order of battle in order to widen the breakthrough section achieved in bulk.

In the run-up to the start of the hostilities, SHAPE anticipated strong pressure on the entire defense section. And only in the second step with a focus on defined breakthrough sections, as well as with mock attacks and reconnaissance advances in order to track down possibilities for a deep penetration of the NATO defense. The force of the attack at several breakout points surprised the NATO command posts. The main focus now is to identify as early as possible where the WAPA is developing its main attack axes, for example the 3rd Shock Army or the 8th Guard Army , so that countermeasures can be initiated there in good time.

The tactical air force and the air defense of NATO responded quickly to the advance of WAPA and the COMAAFCE (Comander Allied Air Forces Central Europe - Commander Allied Air Forces Central Europe Center) commands Counter-air operations of F-15 fighter planes, at least temporarily, the air superiority to win. The resulting battles are of high intensity. In order to fight stubborn resistance, the WAPA also uses napalm for close air support to its ground troops . While battle tanks can usually pass through the affected area quickly, NATO wheeled vehicles have high failures. The WAPA also suffers a high failure rate of fighter-bombers , which no longer justify a further loss-making mission. On the NATO side, F-111 Aadvark , Buccaneers and Tornados are ready, which are withheld by the contingent of conventional air warfare in order to be able to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary.

On the afternoon of D1, Soviet airborne troops succeed in winning an air landing head near Bremen and smashing a US brigade at Bremen Airport . Further south, three divisions of the 2nd Guards Armored Army break through the weak line of defense of the I. NL Corps and advance further in order to establish contact with the Bremen Airborne Head. Another division of the 2nd Guards Armored Army and two Polish divisions turn north to Schleswig-Holstein , aiming at Kiel . The 6th Polish Airborne Division as well as special and naval troops from Neuruppin and the air storm regiment 40 “Willy Singer” are integrated into this association for special tasks . WAPA troops succeed in isolating the LANDJUT corps defending Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein by an advance south of the Elbe . The Hamburg Senate asks SHAPE to declare Hamburg an “open city”, which is granted after pressure from the federal government . A little later, the NVA and the Polish army successfully invade Denmark .

Strong refugee movements from the sparsely populated northern Germany are hindering troop movements and marches on both sides. Ground attack aircraft of WAPA shelling targeted refugee convoys with on-board weapons and cluster bombs , the main traffic routes for their own armored advance freizukämpfen ruthless. Destroyed vehicles on the road are pushed aside by the company's own pioneer tanks in order to ensure the fastest possible advance for their own tank columns.

In the section from NORTHAG, two tank divisions and three more of the 3rd shock army are moving towards Hanover . The 20th Guard Army follows on the same axis as the 2nd season . At CENTAG , two tank divisions are marching towards Frankfurt , only 100 kilometers from the demarcation line of the inner-German border , but are stopped by the Rhön and Vogelsberg mountain chains in the difficult terrain of the Fulda Gap . In Bavaria , a combat unit, presumably the 1st Armored Guard Army , is threatening Nuremberg . The III. CENTAG's DE Corps comes under increasing pressure and is bound by the WAPA offensive from Fulda to Hanau via the Kinzig valley . However, terrain bottlenecks initially prove to be an effective obstacle to a further advance of the enemy. In addition, the covered, heavily forested and hilly terrain prevents a lightning-fast advance, so that some time can be saved. In the battles around Hünfeld and Schlitz , the enemy loses valuable time and suffers serious losses. Despite an hour-long artillery barrage, a WAPA regiment made up of 100 T-72 tanks finds its way into a well-organized network of NATO anti-tank defense and can be fought effectively. The losses of the NATO cover troops, however, have reached a ratio of 1: 5 in comparison to the enemy and they have to retreat 15 to 20 km. The overwhelming power of the enemy is overwhelming. Sometimes a NATO brigade has to defend itself against four Soviet tank regiments at the same time, which have bored into its flank.

After the onset of darkness, the situation on D1 was fatal for NATO. In all sectors of the front, with the exception of units east of Frankfurt, between Alsfeld and Bamberg , their own cover troops were pushed back, if not even destroyed. Massed tank formations, in connection with air support, succeeded in breaking through in several places, at least in regimental strength, or in circumventing strong NATO defensive positions. Further airborne landings by WAPA force several bridgeheads on the Weser in order to enable the advancing armored wedges to quickly cross the water. The resistance of the I. NL and I. BR Corps is still strong, but not well enough coordinated to achieve major defensive successes. In the North German Plain , the I. DE Corps and the I. BR Corps have to regroup and free themselves from a grip in order to face the main threat north of Hanover. The area in the Lüneburg Heath and its extensive urban sprawl offers the possibility of delaying anti-tank defense. British units develop the so-called “ sponge tactics ”, whereby individual villages are integrated into a network of small anti-tank units . British and German infantry platoons and / or Jagdkommandos deploy MILAN -PALR with overlapping areas of activity in a radius of around two kilometers and fight from the third vehicle of a WAPA battle group. If the enemy takes countermeasures, the tank destruction squad immediately evades to the neighboring village on pre-explored routes. Thus, the force of the numerically superior tank attack can initially be weakened.

On August 5, 1985, the enemy's land gains at Alsfeld were brought to a standstill for the time being. The 5th US Corps has to defend a front line from Alsfeld to Schlüchtern and the VII US Corps has to defend itself against a major attack along the attack axis Meiningen - Schweinfurt . In the section of the II. DE Corps there were heavy rearguard battles near Nuremberg. In the Bavarian Forest , the cover troops there could not gain enough time to prevent the WAPA from crossing the Danube and thus the 1st Armored Guard Army is directly threatening Munich . Due to strong artillery support and local air superiority (a local concentration of weapon systems and firepower ), the offensive forces of the WAPA are able to force deep breakthroughs in at least six places that cannot be sealed off by NATO through immediate counterattacks. Even with massed artillery fire at the break-in point, defensive successes can hardly be achieved due to the force of the enemy's attack and his complete indifference to the loss of people and material. For example, the 3rd Shock Army deployed 30 artillery batteries and 800 tanks in a single breakthrough section.

The learning curve increases on both sides. Practical operational experience on the battlefield shows the weaknesses of the WAPA's attack tactics. Your armored personnel carrier BMP proves to be extremely vulnerable to concentrated anti-tank defense (especially PALR) and the Soviets' losses of this type of tank are already enormous on the first day of the war. For the army command of the WAPA, therefore, the central question arises whether they should use their Mot rifle associations up or better dismounted. The purpose of dismounted infantry attacks is to throw the opponent's riflemen who have survived artillery and air strikes in their positions. A major disadvantage is the high speed of the battle tanks, with which the mot riflemen cannot keep up. If the order comes to hold down the enemy anti-tank defense with motorized infantry, the attack speed of the entire unit automatically slows down, as battle tanks on both sides are already dueling over long distances and have a completely different mobility and maneuverability. The interaction of the various weapon systems on the battlefield leads to major problems in command. Especially in the coordination of different speeds of combat, rifle and reconnaissance tanks, as well as self-propelled howitzers (self-propelled guns), the ideal time of the infantry disembarkation and the right time for the use of combat helicopters . The combined arms battle is an enormous burden, especially at the level of the battalion commander, who only has a small staff of four, has to deal with an extremely high level of information and has to lead a 700-man battle group.

On the part of NATO, whose combat troops work with JTDIS , the principle “ hold on tight, duck your head and see where the commander is ” has become established. They fight command tanks with first priority in order to deprive the enemy of leadership opportunities in the ongoing battle. Attempts are also being made to drive wedges between the lines of movement of the main Soviet axes of attack.

The character of the land war is gradually beginning to change. Was it mainly an encounter between WAPA tanks vs. NATO anti-tank defense turns into a confrontation of WAPA firepower and NATO countermeasures, and in the end it crystallizes into a “ battle between rival electronic systems ”. In the meantime the enemy has succeeded in building war bridges over the Weser near Minden in order to advance further into Holland . In the course of the fighting, the I. BE Corps was pushed west of Kassel , while the I. BR Corps in the suburbs of Hanover and in the Harz Mountains still offered bitter resistance. They can hold on for a while using the “ sponge tactic ”. The I. DE Corps has now lost a lot of ground and has to withdraw to the Teutoburg Forest . Behind it is only the 2nd BR Corps. The rapid advances of the WAPA also mean that the combat patrols of the NATO army groups have to be repeatedly shifted for tactical reasons. The I. BE Corps is now so worn out that it is placed under CENTAG, whose VRV (Front Edge of Defense) now runs from Alsfeld to Würzburg .

On August 7, 1985, NORTHAG demanded retaliation from SACEUR for the continued C-attacks on their units. The NATO commander in chief therefore authorizes the COMAAFCE to deploy a squadron of F-4 Phantom of the 2 ATAF , which is provided with spray tanks, against tactical targets of the WAPA in the 2nd squadron. C-weapons are sometimes also fired with 150mm field guns of the artillery. The use of sedentary warfare agents in the rear of the war zone leads not only to high failures but also to a strong slowdown in troop movements, as NBC protective suits and continued decontamination limit mobility enormously. To prevent further escalation, the two sides reached a tacit agreement not to use chemical weapons directly on the battlefield from now on.

On August 10, 1985, all of Northern Germany (the North German Plain of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) is occupied by WAPA, whose advance departments are already in the Netherlands . The I. BR Corps only exists in the Paderborn area . It is badly worn and bled and could only survive that long with the help of its “ sponge technique ” in the anti-tank defense against the flanks of the enemy. NATO is successful with its strikes against supplies and command systems of the WAPA (targeted attacks on their command posts ). In addition, the telecommunications traffic is permanently disrupted. As soon as telecommunication nodes are located by ELOKA, they are systematically destroyed in the next step.

The evening of August 11, 1985 gives the picture of the situation that the I. DE Corps is no longer able to keep the Weser breakthrough in Minden and that now focus on the defense of the Ruhr area and Rhineland with the key position to Venlo are placed must . CENTAG has also gotten into serious trouble. New attacks on fresh WAPA reserves are expected at the VRV between Kassel and Würzburg. COMCENTAG is killed if a rocket hits the main command post. The mobile subsidiary command post of the Army Group now takes over and the commanding general of the 5th US Corps is appointed the new COMCENTAG.

On August 12, 1985, SACEUR and US President talked over a secure satellite communications link. When asked by the President whether the front could be held in Central Europe, SACEUR replied that this only depends on successful REFORGER measures (consequently the naval battle in the North Atlantic) and the airlift. The first four REFORGER convoys (a complete US Army Corps, including material) had already left on August 8, 1985, but were severely decimated by attacks by submarines and naval aviators. Around 25% of the ships were sunk. The rest of them managed to find shelter under the umbrella of Great Britain and Northern France . A further 70,000 men from a reinforcement unit are flown in via the airlift.

August 13, 1985 was marked by two important SACEUR decisions. On the one hand, the tactical use of nuclear weapons continues to be rejected. The second important decision concerns the use of the reserves, seven heavy US divisions, from REFORGER convoy. These are to be used in the section of CENTAG, but are still under the command of SACEUR. The order is given to all other army groups that they have to get by with their own operational reserves.

reception

Hackett's book has sold over 3 million copies and has been translated into multiple languages. It was published in German by Bertelsmann and as a paperback by Goldmann Verlag . The foreword to the German edition was written by General a. D. Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg . In a speech, Federal President Horst Köhler mentions the opening sequence from Hackett's bestseller: “ The opening scene takes place on an August morning in 1985 between Eisenach and Fulda, and 350 pages follow, on which the war that never took place is described with oppressive urgency. That never happened - also thanks to the Bundeswehr ”. The book makes it clear that a surprise attack by the Warsaw Pact on West Germany might have succeeded if NATO combat units had not mobilized and alarmed beforehand. It describes the possible course of the war that could have happened if the armies of both sides “ collided ” with one another . Hackett describes the horror version of a third world war to the readers: " Tanks roll down refugees, Northern Germany is overrun by the Soviet armies, millions of people perish ... " Due to the special knowledge of the author, a former NATO general, the science fiction is characterized by a particularly high authenticity. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung , the work is “ tightly written, very technical and professional down to the last detail ”. The “New York Times” mentions the “high realism” of his descriptions, which would not have been possible for a civil author. Hackett reproduces from different perspectives and in different arenas on land, air and sea how NATO military planners would have imagined an initially conventional confrontation with the USSR in Central Europe . The expert knowledge of various planning units was incorporated into the manuscript . The Times even suspected that secret information was being processed. To be prepared against a tank invasion from the east, Hackett calls in his concluding remarks for a further upgrade in the conventional area, especially in the British air defense, a general conscription in the USA and the rapid introduction of technologically superior weapon systems. The British publisher Sidgwick & Jackson approached Hackett in 1976, he wanted to write a book about his own ideas about World War III, which he later realized with the help of co-authors and defectors from the Eastern Bloc countries. The scenarios described, starting with the period of tension through to the open exchange of blows between the two superpowers, are based strongly on previous WINTEX / HILEX exercises. The WAPA succeeds in using deception maneuvers to conceal the actual troop deployment on the East German border, after having carried out extensive military maneuvers in the staging area. In the initial phase of the Third World War, the WAPA showed a clear superiority and “ the breakthrough of the enemy cannot be averted ”. Ultimately, the Soviet Union loses the war that has been started because, despite its high quantitative superiority in terms of troops and weapon systems, it fails to achieve “complete victories”.

Text output

  • John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 .

Web links

  • Preprint by John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany . Battlefield Germany. DER SPIEGEL, October 30, 1978 (Title of the original edition: The Third World War . August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 . Part I Dawn in August: the first attacks.
  • Preprint by John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany . Battlefield Germany. DER SPIEGEL, November 6, 1978 (Title of the original edition: The Third World War . August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 . Part II The Battle of the Atlantic. In the first part of his study on a possible Third World War, which is based on secret NATO documents, the former NATO general Hackett described how he imagines the outbreak of war: The armies of the Eastern Bloc have overran NATO defenses and northern Germany in a surprise attack occupied. In the second part, the author describes the battle in the Atlantic, which in his opinion decides whether NATO can bring in enough reserves to force a turnaround on the front in Germany.
  • Preprint by John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany . Battlefield Germany. DER SPIEGEL, November 13, 1978 (Title of the original edition: The Third World War . August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 . Part III Moscow opts for nuclear war. In his study of the course of a third world war, the former NATO general Hackett describes how Eastern Bloc troops occupy northern Germany in a conventional blitzkrieg, but are pushed back again by a NATO counteroffensive. Moscow did not achieve its war goal and the Warsaw Pact partners are in danger of secession from the USSR. The Kremlin leadership therefore decides to take an atomic strike.
  • Lothar Ruehl : Visionary battle painting In: Die Zeit NR. 49, 1978

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. S. 19ff. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3
  2. ↑ Presumably Wildeck in Hesse, near the zone border, is meant
  3. ↑ General Defense Plan - NATO operational plan
  4. ↑ possibly the small town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony is meant
  5. ↑ John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. pp. 165ff. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 .
  6. ↑ High Explosive
  7. ↑ Army supplies
  8. ↑ G for “Made in Germany”: Tabun (GA), Sarin (GB) and Soman (GD)
  9. ↑ VE - Russian VX and VX
  10. ↑ presumably meant OMGs - operational maneuver groups of the WAPA
  11. ↑ Offensive / Defensive Counter-Air (OCA / DCA): Measures to take away the opponent's air superiority
  12. ^ City that is excluded from acts of war on both sides
  13. ↑ Anti-tank guided missile
  14. ↑ John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. P. 180. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 .
  15. ↑ John Hackett: The Third World War. Main location Germany. (Title of the original edition: The Third World War. August 1985) Bertelsmann Verlag, 1989. P. 181. ISBN 978-3-570-01861-3 .
  16. ^ Commander CENTAG
  17. ↑ The clearance of nuclear weapons is not the responsibility of SACEUR, but its corresponding application must be approved by a NATO council and the US president
  18. ^ Novel on World War III has a sequel. New York Times, September 1, 1982
  19. ↑ Andy Hahnemann: Nobody gets away. The Third World War in German literature of the 1950s
  20. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Third World War. Macabre warning. Former NATO soldiers drew the horrific picture of a clash between the armies of the Atlantic Alliance and the Warsaw Pact - imaginative and yet based on the latest NATO findings. DER SPIEGEL October 30, 1978
  21. ↑ The Guns of August 1985. New York Times, March 25, 1979
  22. ↑ The Third World War, where and where not in Germany? Wake news
  23. ^ NATO staff exercise
  24. ↑ Bernd Lemke: Die Allied Mobile Force 1961 to 2002. de Gruyter Verlag, 2015. S. 182. ISBN 978-3-11-041104-1 .
  25. ↑ http://www.zeit.de/1978/49/visionaeres-schlachtengemaelde/komplettansicht Lothar Ruehl: Visionary battle painting. Retired NATO general is practicing active war theater. In: Die Zeit NR. 49, 1978