Able Archer 83: On the Brink of Nuclear Armageddon
In November 1983, NATO started a 10-day exercise simulating a conventional conflict escalating from DEFCON 5 all the way to DEFCON 1 and culminating in a full-on nuclear confrontation.
The Realism of Able Archer 83
The exercise involved 40,000 men across all of Western Europe. The aim of this exercise was to be as realistic as possible. Therefore, all communications were encrypted and radio silence was used in several places near the “front.” Meanwhile, Reforger was in full effect, and thousands of troops were being ferried from the US to Europe.
The problem is… It was all too realistic! Soviet spies suddenly saw a spike in ciphered communications between the USA and the different European Military Headquarters, coupled with massive troop movements in Europe. Meanwhile, normal radio traffic had dropped to nothing.
Soviet Response and Escalation
Fearing NATO was using its annual exercise as a cover for a real attack on the USSR, the Soviets placed their forces in East Germany, Poland, and Russia on high alert.
Tensions rose steadily throughout operation Able Archer 83: On the one hand, the Soviets, believing a nuclear attack was being prepared against them, were being tempted to strike the West pre-emptively. Soviet nuclear assets were being scrambled for action, strategic bombers were being equipped with nuclear warheads, and SSBNs were being ordered to head to the Arctic to avoid detection and be ready to launch…
The Critical Tension and Resolution
On the other hand, the NATO bloc was forging ahead with its exercise while at the same time noticing a stronger than usual response from the Soviet side and taking steps to keep up with it…
By the time the exercise wrapped up, the world was on the edge of a full nuclear exchange.
A simple exercise had brought NATO and the Warsaw Pact on a possible collision course. The exercise ended without an actual war being fought, but from that point onward, both sides accepted that they should be a little more open and inform their counterparts of any exercise that involved the simulated launch of nukes…
-RBM
