The Soviet WW3 Plan to Cut Europe in Half - Seven Days to the Rhine 

Actually... more of a plan to win WW3 (or end the world) if you think about the consequences of dropping that many nuclear bombs. Don't forget to check out our new Dark Skies video after you watch this one! It is a wild story about when Iraq (allegedly) equipped a Falcon business jet with exocet missiles and (accidentally?) attacked a US warship: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K7iKxFfadRI.html.

I can believe it. When stationed in Germany, our orders were to fight a war of attrition with an expected causality rate of 90% in five days. Our commander said that if the flag went up, he'd jump in a jeep and head for Calais.

Soviets nuke literally half of Europe killing millions of people and eradicating cities from the maps forever Also Soviets: "Boy i hope that doesnt trigger France and the UK"

A friend of mine was stationed in Germany in the 80's. He said WW3 would never start on a Monday because US forces and Russian forces were to hung over from the weekend to fight.

the more I learn of the cold war the more that I learn that it was pretty miraculous that a nuclear war didn't break out

This sounds like one of those fancy Imperial Japanese war plans, overly optimistic, underestimating the opposition.

A quick victory and home by Christmas almost never happens.

Ex-RAF engineer here (1976 - 1988) We were *specifically* told to expect attack by the Spetsnaz (Soviet Special Forces) and during exercises we had secondary duties as armed guards and sentries etc. Every RAF station had an SRF (Station Reaction Force) which was a mobile unit in a Land Rover including a guy with a big machine gun (usually me) who drive to any 'hot spot' on the fence and engage anyone breaking in. And while it was (sort of) fun setting up the gun on it's bipod and letting rip with a load of blanks, it was also deadly serious. Alert state was always known and changes rapidly discussed. The big exercise each year (TACEVAL) ended in a nuclear strike scenario. It was assumed *as a matter of course* that every single US base would be hit, along with all RAF active airfields and radar sites etc etc. We wore NBC gear outside for the last day of the three day exercise, and respirators, gloves, boots etc. And tasks were assigned, such repairing damaged network cables and comm links etc. Everyday life was routine, often dull, just like every other engineer/tech, but when the siren sounded it was an instant switch to becoming an armed trooper (if a slightly unfit one lol) and you KNEW the USSR was your enemy. It was ingrained, and the only exception was the IRA when they starting attacking the mainland UK. We *hated* the IRA with a passion, especially following the Hyde Park bombing. That was some evil shit right there, and unforgivable under any circumstances.... I think the only thing I can say with confidence that we could deal with back then was Soviet bombers. We had good radar coverage, extremely good anti-jamming, a good amount of fighters and both long range and short range SAMs. Everything else though? Probably just survival and hope for the best...

4:15 the berlin wall fell on the 9th November 1989, not 1986

The great irony of the Cold War is that both sides thought the other would strike first. Neither really had any intention of a first strike and both sides were terrified of each other.

"Alright who's not dead" - Soviet Army officer to Warsaw Pact forces in alternate reality where this plan was carried out.

Their was a Germann soldiers found alive in a German supply bunker several years after ww2 ,I would like to see you do that story.

"Battle plans rarely survive the first main engagement by the enemy" - Helmuth von Moltke the elder circa mid 1800s

Anybody , such as myself that was a teenager in the 1980's, had a true fear of nuclear Armageddon, for those watching that weren't, watch the British film called 'Threads'. To this day it's terrifying.

7 days to the river rhine was about as realistic as every 6th graders plan to get rich.

Switzerland just sitting in the middle of everything...

I am a veteran of the cold war. The cold war kept me in work for twenty years. I was assigned to the 762nd Radar Squadron at N. Truro AFS MA. During an exercise that was a planed for our response to a Soviet nuclear attack; I saw a document that showed the Soviet plan for Boston MA nuclear bombing targets. The document NAMED the technical and manufacturing companies, in the Boston area. I'm sure every major city in America had a similar document. There were Eleven HUNDRED aim points in Boston. Ponder the concept!!

Nukes all of Europe USSR: "The US probably won't retaliate" Remembers the US leveled Japan over some boats USSR: "uhhh hopefully?"

My father was a soldier in People's Polish Army and he told me as a joke how they were training how to survive nuclear attacks. How he stood still when the NCO asked them to show what to do when the nukes fell and answered to his commander that there is no sense of hiding since atomic blast would kill them instantly, or in suffer due the radiation. The army were even training special sapper groups to defuse tactical nukes hidden in West Germany in a strategic places like bridges, valleys, conjuctions. My father was shocked when i've shown to him NATO nuclear counter strike planes on Poland due to stop second army groups to pass Vistula and Oder rivers. He told me that's why he left military when the strikes in 1980s have started and joined Solidarność movement because he didn't wanted to live in a world like that and no matter how they could benefit soldiers, it was not worth it.

I was there-U.S. Army 1981-1984. When I arrived, we weren't ready, by the time I left, we had all of the tools we needed. Thanks to Ronald Reagan.

I was stationed in Nuremberg from 1980-83. We were under no illusions. Our forces would only serve as a speed bump for the massive Soviet assault. Our hope was that if we could delay a couple of weeks we could gather enough NATO forces to stop the Soviets. But as this video shows, the Soviets planned to be at the Rhine bridges in a week. I’m glad that never happened for both sides. Still, I still occasionally remember the briefings from back then and a small shudder runs down my back. Reagan stared down Gorbachev and the Berlin Wall fell. It’s hard to believe we now have US Forces in Poland, Czech Republic and the Baltic Nations and that a permanent base is being considered for Poland. Hard to believe. But I worry about us putting our forces in the traditional Russian sphere of influence.

The irony is that the prevailing winds would likely have brought the fallout east leaving the entire eastern bloc as a irradiated wasteland.

The slower reading pace is appreciated, as are your pauses. Thank you. It really improves the overall experience one has while enjoying your informative and rather compelling videos.

Am I only one that read plane in the title and watched the whole video waiting to see the Tupolev Tu-95 that’s is in the thumbnail...

It’s interesting that they were going to after Austria even though it’s not a member of NATO

“I do not know what weapons will be used in World War 3; I do know that World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.”

"He'll burn the world if he can be king of the ashes"

It honestly blows me away how entertaining this channel is; the production, footage, and depth of research of these videos is top notch

Yep, Seven Days to Rhine, Three Days to Kyiv... what could possibly go wrong?

Well I was in Germany in the 80s. The Russian I met told me half of there men would not show up for this kind of thing . Because there equipment was junk. So we got drunk and had a Fantastic time with them.

Nobody would win in this outcome. Humanity would cease to exist.

To the spies of russia who im sure can see this, as lovely as your nuclear idea is, you jave forgotten a simple law of nature called the western meridian wind. When you drop those nukes the worlds air flow moves around the globe coing from the west, so when the fallout from all those 200 bombs hits the upper aircurrents it is going to quite literally drop all the fallout right onto moscow in a month or so. Just thought id point that out.

It's interesting to see how bith sides believed the other side is going to make the first strike

I did my military service in 1992 and we were still trained to handle nuclear/biological/chemical warfare situations. Our military handbook (still have it) contains lots of instructions for recognisins Warsaupact vehicles, planes, uniforms, arms etc. Guards at the army base were armed all day. And till today every week Russian Bears enter European airspace to test vigilance and response. I think the threath is never far away.

Sounds like more of a "throw everything we got at them" than an actual plan. I was on the East German border for most of the early 80's. Things got a bit tense more than just a few times. It is more interesting to look at their plan for a first strike which includes the airborne assault of Rhine Main AFB and such so that after the first flights of the USAF they would not have bases to return to. I was in the Fulda Gap and we expected approx. 30 divisions to come through. Our mission was to drive east and cause as much havoc as possible with no RTB.

I was stationed in Germany from 1983 to 1984, and from 1985 to 1989. No one knows just how close things were to starting WW3. I was stationed in field artillery battalions both times. There was huge protests against American perishing 2 missiles and lance missiles being station stationed in Germany. The protest happened a few times right up to when I left in 1989. What the Germans didn't know was conventional tubes artillery was nuclear weapons capable. Scary times indeed.

It was called Seven Days to the Rhine because that's how much time ground forces would have before dying from radiation poisoning XD

The boogaloo almost happened so many times its amazing we are still alive

4:14 Berlin wall didn't officially come down until 90-91 and practically fell in 89. West Germany won the World Cup in 90.

The Berlin Wall fell in '89. Just saying. I remember it. I wasn't in Berlin, but, like everyone else, I watched it happening on TV.

The soviets almost certainly never intended to execute this plan. I'm also positive that the western allies had their own counterpart to this plan. Being militarily prepared means having a plan for dispatching any potential foe.

A couple of good reads on the subject from a western point of view are "The Third World War August 1985" & "The Untold Story The Third World War" both by General Sir John Hackett. Published in the late '70's early '80's, it portrays the more likely scenario of a conventional conflict, initiated by the Warsaw Pact, and the ultimately successful western response. It is out of print, however, they were quite popular at time of release & used copies are to be had.

Russia when the Poles reveal this plan: *NOW WE HAVE TO MAKE A NEW ONE, BLYAT!*

Russia 1979: We're going to smash through Europe in a week. Russia 1989: Crumpled like a souffle without firing a shot.

The 80's were great.

The use of language is interesting: just as the Viet Minh was called the 'Viet Cong' to make it seem more malevolent, the 'Warsaw Pact' was used to imply something dark and sinister, as opposed to an ' Organisation'. In reality, the USA effectively controlled all nuclear weapons in the European theatre ( apart from the French) through the ' dual key' protocol. In the event of a warPact* invasion, the use of nuclear weapons would probably be on a 'use it or lose it' mentality. The significant differences were that stated US protocol was that Tactical nuclear use could be restricted and controlled ( ie: lose Europe), whereas Soviet mentality was ' nuclear is nuclear' ( ie: once you've crossed the threshold, there's no turning back). The important factor is that Soviet domination of Europe was a constructed myth: Russia has always put security of the Motherland first, not Imperialism. All Soviet gains after WWII were to form a buffer between the States that kept invading and Russia itself.

The primary battle plans of both sides were written for retaliating against an enemy attack. In other words, they had indeed reached the same conclusion as the computer WOPR: the only winning move is not to play.

The soviets were absolutely insane to consider an attack like this. What would the soviets gain by doing this? It would create a nuclear wasteland prohibiting any type of occupation by their armies. What the hell were the rooskies thinking? Insanity in its purist form. Maybe General Patten was correct during WW II. Take the war all the way to Moscow when we had the chance back in 1945.

The reason it didn’t happen was logistics. The Soviets didn’t have the capacity to win such an engagement. The Russian military was large but poorly organized, feed and equipped. The Warsaw Pact would likely collapse/be unwilling to cooperate.

Once I talked to a guy who was stationed in West Germany, he said that they were a 'speed bump' if war broke out. Yep, spirits were high.

Sounds like the Soviet version of Operation Able Archer.

Tom Clancy's book Red Storm Rising is about this scenario. Interestingly Clancy reckons the war would start because of Soviets needing to capture more oil. Very good book that's worth a read. I also read claims that the conscripts from the other Warsaw Pacts countries outside of Russia wouldn't have had the desire or appetite to fight and probably wouldn't have done much.

I'm re-reading Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising. " Written in 1986, it's really ironic to see how far technology has progressed. Still a great read.

I was a US soldier stationed in Germany in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Was an invasion possible? Yes. Likely? No. The Soviets were many things but suicidal and stupid were not among them. Remember they had lost 25 million in WW II. NATO and the US was much more powerful than Germany was in WW II. NATO also had many, many nuclear weapons of their own. Soviet and Warsaw Pack outnumbered us by quite a bit. Remember Israel was outnumbered by about the same ratios in the 1973 war but successfully defended itself without nuclear weapons.

So pretty much, Soviets didn’t think the French had the stomach to fight. 😂

It's interesting how both sides thought that the other would pull the trigger first. That the other side was the aggressor. It makes the whole Cold War just seem like fear and misunderstanding :(

No better feeling than seeing a Dark Docs video that says "___ MINUTES ago"

Warpack's wet dream, the Fulda Gap.

2 great fictional novels wrt conventional WW3 are Team Yankee by Harold Coyle and Red Army by Ralph Peters. US & Soviet perpectives.

200 nuclear weapons ? - what would there be to 'win' after that ?

And the world would’ve never been the same. Imagine all of the fallout and resulting radiation. I can’t tell you enough, how much I enjoy your channels “Dark Guy”...👍🏻👍🏻

warsaw pact changed nothing except cosmetics i.e. propaganda. "it was meant as a counterbalance to western NATO alliance" LOL, NO son. NATO was a defensive alliance versus the communist armies which ALL were commanded from Moscow. For example, in a real war, People's Polish Army units would be integrated into Soviet Union's armies and corps. ALSO: soviet retaliation for attack = look up Finland in 1940 or the Gleiwitz Incident in 1939.

Well, that’s not something that you learn in school, or in online class.

This would make an awesome setting for an alt history videogame.

I've been sitting here for a while, trying to figure out what to write. I guess the only thing is, that I'm glad not to have known at that time.

Got news for you: There are an infinite number of 'plans' drawn up for many scenarios that never happen.

I l served during that era. It was a very scarey time.

If this happens, it would be like World in Conflict scenario... Scary

In an alternate universe, this actually happened.

Somehow, the "duck and cover" exercises that we as children practiced under our desks in grade school seem wholly inadequate.

Yeah the Warsaw Pact was somehow unable to comprehend MAD, if they used tactical nukes the US will use all of theirs. The most probably would've been a conventional invasion engagement with orbital bombardment from shuttles.

There was quite common belief (here in former Czechoslovakia) that Soviets would use ČSLA (=Czechoslovak People Army) as sort of a meatshield for their proper assault and that this plan was only a "motivational plan" for the satelite states while the real(=more realistic) plan was only know to the Soviet Red Army. The thing you need to understand about comunism is that it does not matter if it is realistic or properly planned, it just has to sound really good (or not as bad) so your supperior can pass the good results to his supperior and so on... There was a former military area next to my town which was as I learned was to be used as firing possition for short range missiles targeting places in Bavaria...

NATO defence plans: Do not make me hurt you more Warpack: Try something i will beat you to nuclear hell.

This is extremely interesting stuff. Thank you.

Hmmm 🤔 ... i think this is a flawed plan. This grossly underestimates NATO and more importantly US (re)actions. This plan is very slow to need 7 days. If this is supposedly a battleplan to counter a NATO invasion. Why would NATO or US forces act in such a limited way. If the US plans a first strike it would be a decapitation strike. If this is the case then it wouldn’t need 7 days. It will be all over 1 day. Tops. Also if we assume that this plan would be initiated by Warsaw pact / USSR would strike first they should plan for decapitation also. As it will be assured that NATO and US will hit them with everything they’ve got.

The plans were devastating and swift. One never realized how much of a knife edge everything was sitting on till you watch documentaries like this

fascinating details about our past that shouldnt be forgotten...

Britain and France would have been pummeled by dozens of ICBM-s directly from the Soviet Union or submarines, thats why they were not included in the Warsaw Pact ground attack plan anymore. Watch the movie "Threads" on youtube, Britain was one of the hardest target in the Cold War.

I've never heard of copenhogan before, is it close to Copenhagen.......

Everybody has a plan until they get hit in mouth. Mike Tyson!

8:28 Oddly specific. I wonder why the Soviets didn't target Rome, Milan and Turin?

Those revelation first came to be known many years before thanks to general Kukliński. He was a Polish General that escaped to USA and he was the first one to tell the West what was Russians atomic plans against West.

Great documentaries like this one show just how close humanity came to voluntarily ending itself. It also puts things like the current pandemic in proper context

Seven Days to The River Rhine - sounds like a good name for a video game, tv show or movie 🤓

Strange, Kuklinski was not mentioned here

Just a small note, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 not in 1986. I really like your content. Keep up the good work.

That thumbnail really shows the true scale of the bear The f4 isn’t a small jet either

These mini documentaries are brilliantly made, I love them 👍

It’s interesting to see how stupid soviet Leadership actually was... just the thought that, A: The US wouldn’t retaliate at such a massive nuclear strike B: The Russian Air Force and Navy would be able to fight Europe’s and American Air Forces and Navy’s. The US is unbeatable on the seas since WW2. And in the Air the West also had technological and numerical advantage. C: That in the 80s the Russians would be able to conquer Europe with desolate equipment All in all it’s good that the USSR did collapse. You would have just needed one madman that is even more paranoid then most the other madmen, and we all would have lived in a nuclear wasteland!

In a way it gives you hope that both sides consider the other is going to strike first means they neither are considering striking first and hopefully nothing will ever come out of it.

Mention Denmark while showing a map of Holland - how hard was that to get wrong? :-D

There are some problems with this assessment: 1. The attribution is exclusively to one Warsaw Pact nation. 2. Many of us felt that Southern West Germany (Sw Hesse, and Bavaria, where the main US efforts were concentrated) would have been in the Czechoslovakian Military's Zone of Invasion. 3. Soviet/DDR Joint Forces made featured strategic usage of Force Recon units. The USSR defeated the Third Reich with force Recon, and remains the only major army in Earth willing to use manned Frontline armored vehicles that are dropped right in front of the Russian Infantry. Growing up in Hanau and Frankfurt, we were debriefed once per year by the Army to know that these force Recon units would capture Fulda, And Hanau simultaneously: which made the 40-60 miles of Autobahn between the two mopping up ops, since Hanau est at the end of the Fulda Gap. We were going to be given a choice: accept arms, and fight the Czechs, or run to Rhein Mein, And evac. My group of friends chose to fight, so our siblings and mother's could escape. We feared the Red Brigades more than the Soviets. We feared the DDR more than the Soviets. But, we feared the Czechs more than anyone. Conventional wisdom: the force Recon units shall be in our front yard (Old Argonner Kaserne) within 30 minutes of an invasion.

Question of the day..... General Paton wanted to keep going to Moscow, and beyond. Was it a big mistake to stop him?

I can remember seeing a map in german museum of what the Warsaw Pact would do in Germany in WW3. Their main thrust would go through the Fulda Gap to split the US and UK forces and head for Frankfurt then turn south to take the US Army on. Then turn their attention north and mop up the British forces because they were seen as a lesser threat. The video showed what Russia hope to do, but with no responses from NATO like they would be sitting on its hands. One erie thing in the museum was what looked like a concrete pipe stood upright which would have housed a nuclear demolitions charge in it, which would be blown up next to rivers or canals and canal locks to flood large areas or forests to set them on fire and the like. The problem with modern Russia it's never really accepted what it did in the cold war keeping half of Europe under its thumb. The Poles have got every right to upset them.

Soviets: We will cut Europe in half! Brexit: Hold my Euros.

Just the fact that so much potential/ planning had gone into their scheme, man creates both awesome & devastation, it’s really got under my skin now...

That vintage footage looks great where'd you find it

Has this channel just become a military history channel? Every new documentary you release is related to the military.

And in the end the people suffer thanks to the sociopaths in charge.

Ive seen less commercials on diy car repair videos. Why ill just wiki the title