Sapad 81

From left: Marshal Nikolai Orgakov , Dmitri Ustinov and Alexei Jepischew together with airborne soldiers during the Sapad 81 military maneuver

According to US and NATO sources, Sapad 81 ( Russian Запад-81, translated "West 81"), in which the USSR participated, represented the largest operational and strategic military maneuver of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War .

Period and location

Sapad 81 took place from September 4 to 12, 1981 in Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast (western military district of the USSR - Baltic Sea area , Baltic States and northwestern Soviet Union ). The main armed forces involved were therefore Soviet and Polish troops. It was the last major military maneuver on Polish soil, as the Solidarność movement was destabilizing the country as a politico-military ally, according to the Soviet military leadership.

Forces and structure

A total of around 150,000 soldiers took part in the field maneuver. The Warsaw Pact successfully kept the exact scope of the forces involved a secret.

execution

Sapad 81 was a connected operation of the armed army (u. A. Also missile forces), Air Force and Navy . Among other things, new weapon systems were tested under combat conditions. These included the new RSD-10 medium-range missile and the Kiev aircraft carrier . During the field exercises, extensive amphibious landings were carried out near Gdańsk (marine concentrations with a focus on the Danzinger Bay). Sapad 81 was supposed to simulate a possible warfare on western territory. It was part of the Warsaw Pact military doctrine to carry out a military maneuver in order to cover up a massive deployment of troops and an actual attack. Sapad 81 resembled an invasion in many ways.

Sapad 81 also focused very strongly on the use of cruise missiles and new anti-tank weapons from NATO ( MILAN , TOW , HOT ), as well as the covered transfer to a state of war. Furthermore, the concept of operational maneuver groups (OMG - Operacyjna Grupa Manewrówa in Polish , OГM - оперативная группа маневров in Russian) was put into practice.

criticism

Sapad 81 was also used for propaganda purposes and was intended to be a weapons show to show the West the offensive potential of the Warsaw Pact. Extensive documentation was recorded and a large military parade was held. The US criticized Sapad 81 for violating the Helsinki Final Act because the exercise was not fully announced and the number of troops of 25,000 soldiers was far exceeded. Sapad 81 was also supposed to show the possibilities of a military demonstration of power, what a Soviet invasion might look like if the Solidarność movement continued to be successful.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Russia just put its military on high alert ahead of massive war games that'll be 'unprecedented in scale'. Business Insider Germany. 20th August 2018
↑ Zapad 2017: Russia's Huge Military Exercise And What You Need To Know. Forces Network
↑ Torsten Diedrich and Winfried Heinemann: The Warsaw Pact - From Founding to Collapse (1955-1991). Ch. Links Verlag. 2008. P. 310. ISBN 978-3-86153-504-1
^ Peter Pry: War Scare: Russia and America on the Nuclear Brink. Praeger Frederick A., 1999, p. 25, ISBN 978-0-275-96643-0 .
↑ Oliver Bange: Security and State: The Alliance and Military Policy of the GDR in an International Context 1969 to 1990. Ch. Links Verlag. 2017. p. 394. ISBN 978-3-86153-934-6 .
^ Planning, Preparation, Operation and Evaluation of Warsaw Pact Exercises, CIA Report. 1981. p. 18
^ The Soviet Operational Maneuver Group. CIA Report 1999
^ Airland Battle and the Operational Maneuvre Group. Strategic Studies Institute. US Army War College. Carlisle Barracks. Pennsylvania. 1983
^ The Soviet Army. Operations and Tactics. Field Manual No. 100-2-1. 1984
^ Sven F. Kraemer: Inside the Cold War from Marx to Reagan: An Unprecedented Guide to the Roots, History, Strategies, and Key Documents of the Cold War. Univers Press of America. 2015. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-7618-6622-0
↑ Torsten Diedrich, Walter Suess: Military and State Security in the Security Concept of the Warsaw Pact States. USSR and Warsaw Pact in the Polish Crisis 1980/81. S. 189. Ch. Links Verlag. 2010. ISBN 978-3-86153-610-9 .

[1] Russia just put its military on high alert ahead of massive war games that'll be 'unprecedented in scale'. Business Insider Germany. 20th August 2018

[2] Zapad 2017: Russia's Huge Military Exercise And What You Need To Know. Forces Network

[3] Torsten Diedrich and Winfried Heinemann: The Warsaw Pact - From Founding to Collapse (1955-1991). Ch. Links Verlag. 2008. P. 310. ISBN 978-3-86153-504-1

[4] Peter Pry: War Scare: Russia and America on the Nuclear Brink. Praeger Frederick A., 1999, p. 25, ISBN 978-0-275-96643-0 .

[5] Oliver Bange: Security and State: The Alliance and Military Policy of the GDR in an International Context 1969 to 1990. Ch. Links Verlag. 2017. p. 394. ISBN 978-3-86153-934-6 .

[6] Planning, Preparation, Operation and Evaluation of Warsaw Pact Exercises, CIA Report. 1981. p. 18

[7] The Soviet Operational Maneuver Group. CIA Report 1999

[8] Airland Battle and the Operational Maneuvre Group. Strategic Studies Institute. US Army War College. Carlisle Barracks. Pennsylvania. 1983

[9] The Soviet Army. Operations and Tactics. Field Manual No. 100-2-1. 1984

[10] Sven F. Kraemer: Inside the Cold War from Marx to Reagan: An Unprecedented Guide to the Roots, History, Strategies, and Key Documents of the Cold War. Univers Press of America. 2015. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-7618-6622-0

[11] Torsten Diedrich, Walter Suess: Military and State Security in the Security Concept of the Warsaw Pact States. USSR and Warsaw Pact in the Polish Crisis 1980/81. S. 189. Ch. Links Verlag. 2010. ISBN 978-3-86153-610-9 .