Ukraine

[thedoug]

What level of alert would we be on right now if we were still there.  I remember a practice run to Templehof when things blew up in the middle east.

Topic

[R. W. Rynerson]

One difference between the Ukraine fight and our situation in Berlin is that the Soviet Union didn’t need to invade because they had already done that in 1945.  That’s a reason for the frequency of alerts — it would not have taken much time to get something started.

On move-out alerts we were clocked by the opposition.  In October or November 1969, a middle-aged woman sitting in this car a few streets west of Andrews Barracks was there for over two hours as our units moved out.  A well-run move-out sent a message to the Warsaw Pact countries that a surprise operation might not work.

-- rwr

[R. W. Rynerson]

Here is my rough Google translation of the statement by

ALLIED MUSEUM DIRECTOR DR. JÜRGEN LILLTEICHER ON RUSSIA’S ATTACK ON UKRAINE

With Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the previous peace order in Europe was destroyed. This order had guaranteed the inviolability of borders and the territorial integrity of the states in Europe.

In 2020, our museum commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Two Plus Four Treaty on German Unity and in 2021 the 50th anniversary of the Four Power Agreement on Berlin. Negotiations, treaties and mutual agreements have so far secured peace in Europe. The Allied Museum views the unilateral denunciation of these principles and the military enforcement of imperial interests with great concern and fears for peace in Europe. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an attack on our democracies and our fundamental values, values ​​that the Allied Museum also upholds. Our museum therefore stands firmly and in solidarity with Ukraine and condemns this war in the strongest possible terms. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine!

-- rwr

[John Hamilton]

Soo what is the answer.? JMH

[R. W. Rynerson]

My estimate is that we would have had a move-out alert for a day, with media coverage.  And that leaves would have been canceled.  But I wasn’t privy to the top levels.

Here’s what happened when Syria attacked Jordan in 1970, per Wikipedia: Syria sent an armored division into Jordan to reinforce the Palestinian forces under attack by [Jordan’s King]  Hussein’s army. By July 1971, Syria had broken off diplomatic relations with Jordan over the issue.

Here’s what we saw:  The Nixon administration ordered an airborne unit that was in field training in one of our sites in the former American Zone of Germany to pack up and return immediately to their barracks.  They did so, followed on the autobahn by Soviet Military Liaison officers who snapped lots of photos, followed by a long traffic jam that made the front pages of the German papers.  When our guys reached their base, the staff of the JAG office was waiting with prepared wills for any soldier who didn’t have one, and there was more media coverage.  A stereotypical senior NCO was quoted as never having seen such a serious movement since Korea.

I asked some of my friends in Service Company if they had been put on alert for supporting the airborne with various technical skills.  Nope.  And then there was a pause while the British-trained Jordanians pushed back the Syrians.  Diplomatic news was that the Soviet Union was urging the Syrians to back off — and probably showing them 8×10 glossies of the long column of airborne soldiers on the autobahn.

So based on how an outside incident that did not directly involve the U.S. was handled I would estimate that we would have taken actions for preparedness and publicity.  NATO is doing that right now in the eastern border countries.

-- rwr

[Author]

Replies