NATO and the Baltic Approaches 1949–1989 - When Perception was Reality

This is the first comprehensive analysis ever of the build-up of NATO’s defence of the Baltic Approaches during the Cold War, including war plans and exercise reports, emphasizing the perspective of the miilitary actors rather than their political masters’ views. The overall theme is the creation of tactics for littoral warfare - war in confined waters as opposed to the more common blue ocean perspective. The research regards how NATO perceived the goals of the enemy; what the purposes were of the NATO organisations, what military instruments they had to organise, how cooperation was organised among units from sovereign states, and how they tested their military capabilities. The book analyses war plans and tactics of the Danish and West German navies and their planned support from air forces. We follow the modernisations of the navies from guns to missiles. Tactical discussions among military top officers are laid bare, and intelligence reports about the Warsaw Pact and its military capabiliities are presented. Exercises are analysed based on the military reports. The book is a must for any one interested in the tactical considerations of military leaders, the details of war planning, and the evaluations of the military capability.