Dropshot plan»
IN Lately Many people love America so much and criticize Russia and the USSR that I get the impression that they know little about the aggressiveness of this power. I would like to remind everyone about the “Dropshot” plan, according to which it would be destroyed 100 Soviet cities , would have died 50.000.000 people, and our country would be buried forever under chemicals... A word to the facts...
“The map to Appendix A (to the document of the Joint Intelligence Committee dated November 3, 1945) ... indicates 20 main cities of industrial centers Soviet Union and the Trans-Siberian Railway - the main Soviet line communications. The map also shows bases from which super-heavy bombers can reach seventeen of the twenty cities indicated and Trans-Siberian Railway. According to our assessment, operating from the indicated bases and using all 196 bombs(which includes 100% of the reserve), the United States could deal such a devastating blow to industrial sources military force USSR, that it could ultimately become decisive.”
On May 11, 1949, the committee presented a top-secret report, “Assessing the Impact of the Strategic Air Offensive on the Soviet War Effort.” Problem:
1. Assess the impact on the USSR military efforts of a strategic offensive as envisaged in current military plans, including an assessment psychological impact atomic bombings at the will of the Soviets to wage war...
3. The strategic military offensive plan... provides for two separate phases: a) the first phase: a series of raids mainly using atomic bombs on 70 cities (the Strategic Air Command currently plans to complete it in 30 days); b) second phase: continuation of the air offensive using both atomic and conventional bombs.
Implications for industry: ...
9. material damage, loss of life in industrial areas, other direct and indirect consequences of the first phase of the offensive will lead to a decrease in the industrial potential of the USSR by 30-40%. It will not be permanent - it will either be compensated by Soviet restoration work, or it will worsen, depending on the power and effectiveness of subsequent raids...
Casualties: ...
11. The first phase of the atomic offensive will lead to death 2 700 000 people and, depending on the effectiveness of the Soviet system passive defense, will lead to more 4 000 000 victims. Will be destroyed a large number of housing, and life for the surviving 28,000,000 people will be very difficult (there is a total population of cities targeted for atomic bombings).
Psychological impact:
12. A nuclear offensive by itself will not cause capitulation, will not destroy the roots of communism and will not fatally weaken Soviet leadership of the people.
13. For the majority Soviet people The atomic bombings would confirm the correctness of Soviet propaganda against foreign powers, arouse anger against the United States, unite the people and increase their will to fight. Among a minority whose size cannot be determined, atomic bombings may stimulate dissidence and hope for liberation from oppression. Unless far better opportunities opened up for dissidents, these elements would not have any significant impact on the Soviet war effort.
14. In the USSR there will be psychological crisis, which can be used to the benefit of allies by timely use armed forces and methods of psychological warfare. If we don't do this quickly and effectively, the opportunity will be missed and the subsequent psychological reaction The Soviets would adversely affect the achievement of Allied goals.
Impact on the Soviet Armed Forces:
15. The ability of the Soviet Armed Forces to quickly advance into selected areas of Western Europe, the Middle and Far East will not be seriously disrupted, but will subsequently kill progressively.”
Originally: protect the Western Hemisphere; conduct an air offensive; begin selective containment Soviet power approximately within the zone: North Pole– Greenland Sea – Norwegian Sea – North Sea – Rhine – Alps – about: Piava – Adriatic Sea – Crete – southern Turkey – Tigris Valley – Persian Gulf – Himalayas – Southeast Asia– South China Sea – East China Sea – Bering Sea – Bering Strait – North Pole; hold and secure critical strategic areas, bases and lines of communication; conduct psychological, economic and underground warfare, while simultaneously subjecting the Soviet stronghold to merciless pressure, using all methods to maximally deplete Soviet military resources.
In the subsequent period: conduct coordinated offensive operations with all types of armed forces.”
In the first period war was planned to be dropped on the Soviet Union over 300 atomic And 250 thousand tons conventional bombs, destroying up to 85% Soviet industry. Plans were outlined in detail to suppress Soviet air defenses against Soviet ground, sea and air forces.
In the second period The air offensive continues and ground forces are being prepared for action NATO- 164 divisions, 69 of them American. Control is established over sea and ocean communications, etc.
At the third stage go on the offensive from the west 114 divisions NATO, from the south (with landing on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea) 50 divisions that destroy the Soviet Armed Forces in Central Europe. These actions and the continued massive bombing of Soviet cities forced the USSR and its allies to surrender.
In the war against the USSR they will use up to 250 divisions – 6 million 250 thousand Human. In aviation, navy, air defense, reinforcement units, etc. 8 million people. In total, to implement the Dropshot plan, it was planned to use forces total number 20 million people.
In the last The fourth period, literally lovingly written out in the Dropshot plan, “in order to ensure the fulfillment of our national goals, the Allies must occupy” the Soviet Union and other socialist countries of Europe. The total needs of the occupying forces were determined to be 38 divisions, that is, approximately 1 million people per ground troops. Of these, 23 divisions carry out occupation functions on the territory of the Soviet Union.
The territory of our country is divided into four “areas of responsibility” or occupation zones: West Side USSR, Caucasus - Ukraine, Ural - Western Siberia– Turkestan, Eastern Siberia– Transbaikalia – Primorye. The zones were divided into 22 “subareas of responsibility.”
The occupation forces were distributed in the following cities: in Moscow - two divisions and one division each in Leningrad, Minsk, Murmansk, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Sevastopol, Rostov, Novorossiysk, Batumi, Baku, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Tashkent, Omsk , Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok.
Out of five air armies, intended for the occupation of all socialist countries, four were stationed on the territory of the USSR. Each army was to include five or six battle groups, one group of transport aircraft and one attack group. It was introduced into the Baltic and Black Seas via an operational aircraft carrier formation. It was especially emphasized that the strong saturation of the occupation forces with aviation “should provide visible proof of the power of the Allies” to the Soviet people.
Bearing in mind that the occupiers would have to perform punitive functions, the Dropshot plan provided for additional provision of troops with transport of all types to give them mobility. Both in the previous plans of aggression and in the Dropshot plan, the war against the Soviet Union and the occupation had a pronounced class character. The need for war was determined by “the serious threat to the security of the United States, which... represents the nature of the Soviet system...
Never before in history have the intentions and strategic goals of the aggressor been so clearly defined. For centuries, victory in class struggle the proletariat against the bourgeoisie is defined as the means by which communism will dominate the world."
“Dropshot” was a turning point in American military planning in that, unlike previous plans that had in mind aggression by purely military means, in this war against the USSR attention was paid to the use of class allies on the other side of the front, that is, “dissidents”. The term becomes accepted in military plans.
Of course, staff planners had no illusions about the strength of the “dissidents” themselves: “It will be more difficult to apply psychological warfare methods to the people of the USSR than to the people of the United States... But psychological warfare– an extremely important weapon for promoting dissidence and betrayal among the Soviet people; will undermine his morale, will sow confusion and create disorganization in the country...
Broad psychological warfare is one of most important tasks U.S.A . Its main goal is to destroy the support of the people of the USSR and its satellites for their current system of government and to spread the awareness among the peoples of the USSR that the overthrow of the Politburo is within the realm of reality... Effective resistance or uprisings can only be expected when Western allies will be able to provide financial assistance and leadership and assure dissidents that liberation is near..."
These arguments, in essence, were a paraphrase of special American research of that time on the reasons for the failure of Hitler Germany’s campaign against our country. American theorists felt that Berlin in 1941-1945 lost sight of political aspects, which were formulated by K. Clausewitz, namely: “Russia is not a country that can be conquered, that is, occupied... Such a country can only be defeated by internal weakness and the effects of internal strife”. Now American strategists set out to correct the mistakes of the leader of the Reich.
But why did the United States suddenly become alarmed at the USSR?
To do this, it is worth remembering the words of Allen Dallas, placed at the top of this page. For some, these words seem at least illogical - well, let’s try to figure it out... It’s so good to have facts at hand - you don’t have to invent anything and then foam at the mouth to prove your case to skeptics who don’t care! So, let's get the facts into the studio!
The year 1947 was an epochal and sternly majestic year in the history of our Fatherland. This year, the first wounds left by the war on the body of the Motherland were healed - in the fall, the level of industrial production reached the pre-war level. Behind the dry and precise lines of the Central Statistical Office lay the gigantic work of the people to restore the traditional territory of Russia, swept away and destroyed by the war in the west, where the gigantic battles of the Great Patriotic War took place.
On the ashes of cities and villages, plants and factories, it was reborn peaceful life, which was built by yesterday's soldiers. Overcoats, padded jackets, and tunics, written off as by diligent foremen, became the work uniforms. They, impregnated with gunpowder and storing the dust of Europe, were worn by the army of builders and creators. Life was difficult, the problems facing the country were gigantic. Nothing else was given, by our own and only on our own to firmly put the state on its feet in order to look confidently into the future. To quickly return normal life to the heroic people who bore the heaviest war in history on their shoulders.
The Soviet people deserved and won the right to a sharp rise in living standards, and finally, rest after the crushing hardships of the war. Although everything possible was done, there was still plenty of work left to do. It was not just a matter of the legacy of the war, which reminded itself at every step. Even after the victory, the country's resources were diverted by military, now called defense, needs. They powerfully reminded of themselves when the guns of the Red Army had not yet fallen silent.
Flares brighter than a million suns - atomic bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki - sternly warned humanity of what an armed last word science imperialism. Already at the turn of war and peace, it was necessary to find and spend enormous funds on the creation of new expensive weapons systems, first of all atomic. And every ruble counted! It couldn't help but affect life. Soviet people, inevitably affected everything and everyone.
In 1947, Colonel General E.I. Smirnov, who headed the medical service of the Armed Forces during the war, like many, changed his military uniform to a civilian suit. To him, the magnificent organizer of a gigantic undertaking in the years armed struggle, was now entrusted with the post of Minister of Health of the USSR. He brought his wealth of experience to the ministry - no army in the world had such high percentage The country did not know soldiers returning to duty after healing from wounds during the most severe time of infectious diseases.
Representative of the humane profession, E.I. Smirnov, with his characteristic energy, took up the organization of post-war health care. He traveled around the devastated areas and was shocked. In the Donbass, in Makeyevka, the hospital could not offer patients any other utensils other than cans. These same jars with curved edges in the hands of patients were in the mind's eye of the minister when he reported on priority health needs to the government.
Need money. They were released, but not in the required quantities. The minister was raging, proving the obvious, but without great success. I.V. Stalin, recognizing his concern as certainly legitimate, pointed out: it was not appropriate for Smirnov, who knew about the development of atomic weapons by virtue of his position, not to understand where the funds were going. The satisfaction of many, many crying needs was postponed. But there was no other way out.
A mortal threat once again loomed over the Soviet people, who saved civilization and themselves. Then in the world there was the only country, which had abundant resources, was the United States. They did not suffer, but, on the contrary, flourished in those years when the fate of humanity was decided on the battlefields. We were in the same formation during the war, but our and the American contributions to it turned out to be different. Not a single shell exploded on American soil, not a single house was destroyed. We lost 28 million forever dear lives, and Americans – 400 thousand people. For every 70 Soviet people who died, there was one American.
Some overseas historians, who do not at all share our views, nevertheless cannot help but recognize the validity of this comparison, although, of course, not very willingly. American historian Professor J. Gaddis in the book “Russia, the Soviet Union and the United States. An Experience of Interpretation” (1978) noted: “The author, although emphatically, pointed out precisely that for every American killed in the war, fifty Russians died.”
The material losses turned out to be completely different. The war took away a third of the national wealth. Let us remember: our Motherland lost the same share of national wealth as a result of the World War and the civil war that followed. In numbers, what we lost in 1941-1945 looks like in the following way. According to the exchange rate at that time, the war cost the USSR 485 billions of dollars (taking into account the cost of the destruction). US military expenditures for World War II - 330 billions of dollars. The United States provided Lend-Lease assistance to the opponents of the Axis powers, spending $43.6 billion on this. Lend-Lease deliveries to the Soviet Union amounted to about $10 billion, or approximately 3,5% of total US military spending during the Second World War.
This is the number - 3,5% , which accurately reflects the US contribution to the gigantic battles on the main front of the struggle against Germany and its allies, must always be remembered when we mentally return to the military cooperation of our countries in those years.
First post-war years The Soviet Union was visited by many influential or famous Americans in their country. They were warmly welcomed, bearing in mind the recent military cooperation. I.V. received some of them or answered their questions. Stalin. To United Press correspondent H. Bailey, who asked “is Russia still interested in receiving a loan from the United States?”, J. V. Stalin answered on October 29, 1946: “Interested.” H. Bailey busily inquired: “How long does it take to restore the devastated areas Western Russia? Answer: “Six to seven years, if not more.”
The son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, E. Roosevelt, on December 21, 1946, in an interview with I.V. Stalin posed the question differently: “If an agreement is reached between the USA and the USSR on a system of loans or credits, will such agreements bring long-term benefits to the US economy?”, to which he received the answer: “The system of such loans is undoubtedly mutually beneficial to both the United States and the Soviet Union.”
The logic of the not very young, and therefore capable of thinking, son of the late president was amazing: what else could the now rich United States get from the wounded Soviet Union! As if it wasn’t enough that the Soviet people covered America and the last war with their breasts! And at that time, it was indeed expected that the United States would lend a hand to a wartime ally in defense not only of our Motherland, but also of the cause of the United Nations.
All this remained at the stage of discussions, because opposite decisions were made in the highest echelon of power in the United States. Two decades after the events described, J. Kennan (then a counselor at the US Embassy in Moscow) wrote in the first volume of his memoirs, published in 1967:
“The then American administrations, both F. Roosevelt and Mr. Truman, were subsequently often criticized for the fact that in the summer of 1945, Lend-Lease assistance to Russia was abruptly stopped; we did not offer the Soviet Union larger loan, and, according to some, Soviet leaders made it clear that they could count on him... As for the high command of the American armed forces, it identified the Soviet Union as a potential “enemy” long before the end of the Second World War. The initial premise of the remarkable conclusion at first was not at all speculative considerations, but factors that could be taken into account quantitatively - which state, besides the United States, would turn out to be the most powerful in the post-war world. This could be and turned out to be only and exclusively Soviet Union, hence, here it is, the “enemy”!
The parameters of the enemy were determined, therefore, not by his intentions, but by his physical capabilities great power– The Soviet Union – to wage war. Wingless professionalism (from a political point of view, obvious cretinism) could not help but decisively strengthen anti-communism as an ideology, giving it, in any case, tangibility in the eyes of official Washington. All this went hand in hand with the development at American headquarters of a new military doctrine, the main contours of which became clear quite early.
Already in 1943, discussing post-war problems, Deputy Secretary of the Navy D. Forresol publicly taught: “The concept "safety" no longer exists, and let's erase this word from our vocabulary. Let's write it in school textbooks axiom – power is like wealth: either you use it or you lose it.”
Meanwhile, the balance of power between the United States and the USSR was being explored. In the face of the victories of the Soviet Armed Forces, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff came to realistic conclusions about the consequences armed conflict between countries. These were formulated in a series of recommendations presented by the committee to the government, starting in the second half of 1943, that is, after Stalingrad and Kursk. Perhaps the most instructive among them were the recommendations sent on August 3, 1944 to Secretary of State C. Hale, which explicitly warned the government against taking off into the political stratosphere without taking into account real opportunities USA:
“The successful conclusion of the war against our present enemies will lead to profound changes in the relative military power of the world, which can only be compared in the last 1500 years with the fall of Rome. This is of cardinal importance for subsequent international settlements and all discussions relating to them. Besides the elimination of Germany and Japan as military powers, changes in the respective economic power of the major states, technical and material factors contributed significantly to these changes. Among them: the development of aviation, the general mechanization of armed struggle and a noticeable shift in the military potential of the great powers.
After the defeat of Japan, only the USA and the USSR will remain first-class military powers. In each case, this is due to a combination of their geographical location, size and enormous potential. Although the United States can transfer its military power to many remote areas of the world, however, the relative power and geographical position these two powers exclude the possibility of one of them inflicting military defeat on the other, even if the British Empire takes one of the sides.”
American senior headquarters timely understood and appreciated what was happening then: the gigantic victories of the Soviet Union led to the creation of a military balance of power between the USSR and the USA, and, in a broad sense, between socialism and capitalism.
The origins of everything are rooted here post-war development international relations. If " Great October"was a breakthrough in the chain of capitalism, then the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War created a balance between socialism and capitalism. Reverse, overturn what has happened as a result Soviet victories the balance of forces—Washington saw this as its general task.
The American military, thinking in the usual categories of naked force, began to look for the appropriate means to strike the “enemy,” that is, the Soviet Union. The philosophical stone in solving a problem that seemed insoluble in the recommendations dating back to 1943-1944 was atomic weapons.
Even before its creation and testing, a threat emerged in the highest councils of Washington that the threat atomic bomb, encrypted under code name S-1 , will force the Soviet Union to “liberalize” its system and abandon the fruits of victory in Europe. One of the notes from Secretary of War Stimson after a meeting with Roosevelt states: “The need to bring Russia into the fold of Christian civilization... Possible use S-1 to achieve this..."
After the burning of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs and even before the surrender of Japan, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff began developing plans new war. They were recorded in Directive 1496/2 “Basis for the formulation military policy" and 1518 "Strategic Concept and Plan for the Use of the US Armed Forces", approved by the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff on September 18 and October 9, 1945, respectively. So, for Japan, the United States had two bombs; by the end of 1945, it turns out that in the American arsenals there were at least Internet Conferences constantly held on the Keys of Knowledge website. All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite everyone who wakes up and is interested...
The final chord of the Second World War, American style
The Cold War long before Cuban missile crisis could move into a completely different phase. After the end of World War II, the United States developed a plan to completely “disable” the Soviet Union. The Pentagon planned to launch a massive bomb attack on the cities of the USSR.
In human memory, the end of the confrontation with Hitler and the harbinger of the Cold War is associated with three words - Potsdam, Hiroshima (Nagasaki) and "Dropshot".
The Potsdam Conference, which brought together the leaders of the three victorious countries: Stalin, Churchill and Truman, took place from July 17 to August 2. The day before it began, the Americans tested an atomic bomb for the first time. And already on August 6 and 9, these charges, like punishment from heaven, fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Cold War could have entered a different phase long before the Cuban Missile Crisis
It is clear that the Americans tried in every conceivable and inconceivable way to show the rest of the countries who “is boss.” That is why the nuclear bomb test took place before the conference, and the attack on Japan took place after. After all, in fact, there was no need to deal so brutally with the Japanese, but the Pentagon could not do without a real demonstration of force.
"Carthage must be destroyed"
Roman general and statesman Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder ended any of his speeches in the Senate with this phrase. Much the same thing happened in the US government. The very existence of the Soviet Union caused allergy attacks among American statesmen. Therefore, already on November 3, 1945 (only two months after the surrender of Japan), the US Joint Intelligence Committee was presented with report No. 329 of the Joint Intelligence Committee. The very first paragraph said: “Select approximately twenty targets suitable for strategic atomic bombing of the USSR.”
Carthage must be destroyed
The logic of the American Cato the Elders cannot be denied. It's hard to think of a better moment for fatal blow. The USSR is recovering from a difficult war, having lost twenty-seven million people. While the Americans themselves lost incomparably less - about five hundred thousand. Soviet industry lies in ruins, but in the United States, thanks to the war, it began to develop rapidly - thanks to numerous (and multimillion-dollar) military orders. By the end of the war with Germany, America had managed to “snatch” two-thirds of the industrial production of the entire planet, as well as half of the steel production.
According to declassified Pentagon documentation, it can be understood that as soon as Germany was finished, the United States began to prepare for a new war. This time, with a recent ally - the USSR. The leading roles in developing strategy and tactics were given to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and its subordinate Joint Military Planning Committee.
Together, on December 14, 1945, they issued Directive No. 432/d. It stated that “the most effective weapons that the United States can use to strike the USSR are the atomic bombs available.”
Four years later (April 4, 1949), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created. In essence, this was a thinly veiled anti-Soviet coalition, which attracted countries afraid of the “Red threat”. NATO grew, and the United States increased its number by leaps and bounds atomic charges. Feeling the increasing strength and power, the Pentagon began to adjust original plan. “Big Sam’s” appetite grew in proportion to the number of bombs. The scale of the alleged aggression against the Soviet Union changed accordingly. In the new plan, which was called “Troyan,” the Americans planned to strike not just twenty cities on the territory of the USSR, but already seventy.
According to the Trojan plan, the United States planned to strike 70 cities of the USSR
The Trojan was replaced in 1949 by a new one, the well-known Dropshot. It even indicated the specific date of the attack on the Union - January 1, 1957. And the targets were one hundred cities, which would be hit by three hundred atomic bombs. It is interesting that all countries belonging to NATO were required to participate in the war. Thus, the United States could partially protect itself from a possible response from the USSR. After all, the main blow would probably fall on Europe.
Failure of plans
It is impossible to accurately predict the actions of the Soviet Union if Dropshot were to be implemented. That didn't happen, thanks to one event that brought the Pentagon to a screeching halt.
On September 3, 1949, an American B-29 bomber made a patrol flight over the northern part of Pacific Ocean. And his instruments detected excessively increased radioactivity in the upper layers of the atmosphere. The data obtained were verified and the Americans came to a disappointing conclusion: the Soviet Union tested its own atomic weapons. Despite all the difficulties, the USSR was only four years behind the United States.
When Truman was informed about this, he, confused, asked: “What should we do now?” Washington remained silent for three weeks and did not announce to the public what had happened. The government was afraid that panic might begin among ordinary Americans. But the Pentagon soon found an answer to the president's question. A new race has begun - this time for the hydrogen bomb. And the Americans wanted to be the first to get it at any cost in order to regain military superiority.
When the USSR tested a nuclear bomb, Washington was silent for three weeks
But this plan was not destined to come true. On August 20, 1953, TASS reported: “Recently, an explosion of one of the types of hydrogen bombs was carried out in the Soviet Union for test purposes.” And on October 4, 1957, the USSR dealt another blow to Washington’s ambitions - it launched artificial satellite. This meant that the Union had intercontinental-range missiles and America could no longer count on the fact that they simply “won’t get it.” The “residents” of the White House were shocked. Having started an arms race, they could not even imagine that the USSR would be able to respond, not just with dignity, but at least somehow. But the Pentagon strategists miscalculated on all counts.
What would await the Soviet Union if Dropshot were finally implemented? As you might guess, nothing good. The American military decided that the defeated USSR should be occupied and divided into four “zones of responsibility”: the Western part, the Caucasus - Ukraine, the Urals - Western Siberia - Turkestan and Eastern Siberia - Transbaikalia - Primorye. These areas were to be divided into another 22 parts. At the same time, the couple American armies was supposed to be stationed in Moscow. They decided to allocate one division each to Leningrad, Murmansk, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Kyiv and fifteen other cities.
The last stage of the Second World War and the prologue of the long Cold War bring our memory back to the following words- Potsdam, Hiroshima, Dropshot. The Potsdam Conference of the leaders of the three allied countries, Stalin, Churchill and Truman, took place from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The day before the start of this conference, the Americans tested an experimental nuclear warhead on their territory for the first time in history. And after the end of the meeting, on August 6 and 9, they turned it into ashes with similar atomic bombs Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even then, one was struck by the obvious desire to time the first tests of a new type to the beginning of the “Big Three” meeting, and by the end of the meeting to demonstrate the terrible capabilities of atomic weapons.
All this demonstrated that World War II could become the prologue to an even more terrible and destructive war. Thus, only the American plan “Troyan” provided for a massive air strike against the USSR. The bombs were supposed to fall on 20 Soviet cities, on which the aggressor planned to drop 300 nuclear and 20 thousand conventional bombs. If this actually happened, it would become a new, much more terrible “Hiroshima”, the victims of which would be difficult to imagine.
Let's fast forward to the now distant past. There was still a year left before the end of World War II, but experts from the United States were already eager to look into the future. On May 16, 1944, the US Committee of Chiefs of Staff informed the government that after the end of the war the Soviet Union would become powerful country. After this, a clash of economic interests of the USA, Great Britain and the USSR will become quite real. Just before the event Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff provided the country's leadership with a more detailed analysis possible development events. Experts on the other side of the Atlantic believed that after the war, the Soviet Union would be forced to reduce its armed forces to 3 million people in order to free up the labor needed to rebuild the war-torn economy. It was believed that this period would last until 1952 and would be the most opportune time for a possible attack on the USSR.
Relations between the allies slowly but steadily deteriorated. More and more angry articles appeared in the Soviet press, which contained cartoons by Kukryniksy and Boris Efimov, denouncing the “warmongers.” The American press responded with ideological attacks on the Soviet Union. At the same time, the matter was not limited to a furious verbal skirmish in the press. Top management The United States, just a few months after the end of World War II, turned to the military with instructions to develop plans for an attack on the Soviet Union, such treachery from former allies in anti-Hitler coalition.
On November 3, 1945 (that is, just two months after the surrender of Japan), Report No. 329 from the Joint Intelligence Committee was submitted to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff for consideration. The very first paragraph of this document read: “Select approximately 20 targets suitable for strategic atomic bombing of the Soviet Union.” In the opinion of American military strategists, the moment was most opportune. The USSR paid for victory in World War II with more than 27 million lives (disputes about the figure continue to this day), while the United States lost less than half a million of its citizens in the war. At the same time, the industrial potential of the states not only did not suffer from the fighting, but also increased immeasurably, thanks to the huge number of military orders. At the end of World War II, the United States accounted for 2/3 of all world industrial production and half of all steel production.
Already on December 14, 1945, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff would issue a directive, which, among other things, noted: “The most effective weapons that the states can use to strike the Soviet Union are the atomic bombs available.” The plans that were created at that point in time envisaged achieving decisive success primarily through the massive use of atomic bombs and bombing of the territory of the USSR, which was supposed to undermine the economic potential of the country and cause psychological shock among the army and the population. True, it was recognized that psychologically the bombing could, on the contrary, lead to the rallying of the population of the USSR around its government.
Beginning in late 1945, one military plan for the war with the Soviet Union invariably gave way to another. Moreover, each of these plans promised the Americans unconditional victory in the war. There were enough arguments for optimism about a possible conflict, and the most important one was that Washington at that time already had a ready-made atomic bomb, and Moscow was just creating this terrible weapon. The debut American plan for war against the USSR, called “Pincher,” was ready on March 2, 1946. The Middle East was chosen as the likely region of hostilities against the Soviet Union, since it was in this region, according to American military analysts, that the Soviet Union would try to create a barrier to ensure the defense of its most industrially and agriculturally developed regions - Ukraine and the Caucasus. The plan called for a powerful nuclear strike that would lead the United States to victory.
In subsequent years, employees of the American headquarters managed to draw up a huge number of plans, putting their development almost on stream. One after another, the plans for “Bushwhacker”, “Crankshaft”, “Halfmoon”, “Cogville”, “Offtech” were released. In 1948, the Americans presented the Chariotir plan, which included dropping 200 atomic bombs on 70 Soviet cities. Thus, each new day could turn the Cold War into a real planetary conflict. After the formation of the NATO bloc, Washington gained more allies, which means the US military potential increased. At the same time, the plans of the American military became more cruel and cynical.
On December 19, 1949, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff approved one of the most famous plans military aggression against the USSR under the name “Dropshot” (short blow in tennis), recently one can also find translations of the name of this operation “short blow”, “instant blow”, “ the last shoot" The plan called for a strong bombing attack. It was planned to drop 300 atomic bombs and 250 thousand tons of ordinary bombs on the Soviet Union. At the same time, the territory of the defeated and ruined state had to be occupied. In total, the territory of the country was divided into 4 parts: Western part of the USSR, Ukraine-Caucasus, Ural - Western Siberia - Turkestan, Eastern Siberia - Transbaikalia - Primorye. All these zones were divided into 22 subzones of responsibility, in which the occupation divisions were to be located. In terms of the thoughtfulness of its actions, the plan was superior to Barbarossa.
The first day's bombing would have resulted in the Soviet Union losing 85% of its industrial capacity. The plan detailed actions against Soviet ground, air and sea forces, and the suppression of the air defense system. The second period followed the first nuclear strike and included a continuation of the air offensive with the deployment of 164 NATO divisions, including 69 American ones. It was planned to establish control over ocean and sea communications. The third stage of the campaign provided for 114 NATO divisions to go on the offensive in the west, and another 50 divisions were to land from the south (on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea). These formations were supposed to destroy the armed forces of the USSR in Central Europe. These actions, combined with the ongoing massive bombing of peaceful Soviet cities, were supposed to force Moscow and its allies to capitulate. In total, it was planned to involve 250 divisions - 6.25 million people - in the war against the Soviet Union. At the same time, it was planned to deploy about 8 million more people in aviation, navy, air defense and reinforcement units. And in total, to implement the Dropshot plan in practice, it was planned to use armed forces with a total strength of 20 million people.
At the same time, members of the US Chiefs of Staff decided, when conducting war games, to check how great the chances are of disabling 9 strategic regions of the Soviet Union: Moscow, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, the Urals, the Caucasus, objects of the Black Sea coast, Tashkent - Alma-Ata, Baikal, Vladivostok. In theory, everything went smoothly, but analysts came to not the most comforting conclusions. The probability of a successful attack was estimated at 70%, but aviation losses were estimated at 55% of the total number of bombers involved in the attack. The figure was very impressive. In order to more clearly assess this percentage of losses, we can take a case from the history of World War II. The heaviest damage was suffered in March 1944 by a group of 97 Allied bombers targeting Nuremberg. At that time, 20 aircraft did not return from the mission, which accounted for 20.6% of all aircraft involved in the strike.
But most of all, the Americans and their allies were frightened by the danger of a retaliatory strike from the USSR. Including the start of a large-scale ground offensive. For this reason, the Americans never tried to implement their plans. At the same time, Major General S. Anderson, chief operational management Headquarters of the US Air Force, reported to Secretary of State of the Air Force S. Symington that the American air force would not be able to carry out all planned operations against the USSR, as well as provide air defense for the territory of Alaska and the United States.
At that moment, the Kremlin maintained a truly icy calm. One of the arguments in the dispute with the United States was the creation of its own nuclear bomb, as announced by Deputy Council of Ministers Kliment Voroshilov. However, even this did not lead to the extinction of work on creating plans for war with the USSR. In 1952 American President Harry Truman said: “We will wipe out from the face of the earth any cities and ports that will need to be destroyed to achieve our goals.”
But all this remained just harsh rhetoric. The Third World War did not start, but only for the reason that the USSR became more and more nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles appeared. Moreover, in the Soviet Union full swing work was underway to create an air defense system for cities and important industrial and strategic facilities, bearing the code “Berkut”. As part of this project, a weapon that was fundamentally new at that time was created - anti-aircraft guided missiles. In 1955, the system, designated S-25, entered service with the army. The characteristics of the system were quite satisfactory to the military; this air defense system could seriously rebuff the air threat from a potential enemy.
American plans nuclear strikes in the USSR in the 1940-50s were not fantasies or fiction. They were really studied and analyzed. For a country that lost more than 25 million of its citizens in the last war and worked day and night to restore what was destroyed, literally living in dugouts, this would be a severe blow. The paradox of democracy is that Washington not only developed these monstrous plans of aggression against a former ally in the war, but also made them public in the 1970s. The Americans themselves declassified their programs. Perhaps in 20-30 years we will again be able to find out the details of the operations planned by the Americans against our country, but now during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, because even now in the 21st century the world can still hardly be called stable. We are still sitting on a powder keg, even though it is balanced modern systems nuclear deterrence and a layered air defense system.
In 1949, the Pentagon adopted the Dropshot plan, which called for dropping 300 atomic bombs on 100 Soviet cities and then occupying the country with 164 NATO divisions. The operation was scheduled to begin on January 1, 1957. Through bombing they wanted to destroy up to 85% of Soviet industry. Massive attacks on Soviet cities were supposed to force the USSR and its allies to surrender. It was planned to involve about 6 million 250 thousand people in the war against the Soviet Union. The drafters aimed to conduct not only military action, but also psychological warfare, emphasizing that “psychological warfare is an extremely important weapon for promoting dissidence and betrayal among the Soviet people; it will undermine his morale, sow confusion and create disorganization in the country.”
It was assumed that all NATO countries would act together with the United States. Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, Iran, India and Pakistan "will try to remain neutral but will join allies if attacked or seriously threatened." The "overall strategic concept" of the plan was as follows: “In cooperation with our allies, impose military goals on the Soviet Union, destroying the Soviet will and ability to resist through a strategic offensive in Western Eurasia and strategic defense in Far East. Initially: protect the Western Hemisphere; conduct an air offensive; begin selective containment of Soviet power approximately within the zone: North Pole - Greenland Sea - Norwegian Sea - North Sea - Rhine - Alps - about: Piava - Adriatic Sea - Crete - southern Turkey - Tigris Valley - Persian Gulf - Himalayas - Southeast Asia - South China Sea - East China Sea - Bering Sea - Bering Strait - North Pole; hold and secure critical strategic areas, bases and lines of communication; conduct psychological, economic and underground warfare, while simultaneously subjecting the Soviet stronghold to merciless pressure, using all methods to maximally deplete Soviet military resources. In the subsequent period: conduct coordinated offensive operations by all types of armed forces.".
During the first period of the war it was planned to drop over 300 atomic and 250 thousand tons of conventional bombs on the Soviet Union, destroying up to 85 percent of Soviet industry. They described in detail the suppression of Soviet air defense against Soviet ground, sea and air forces.
In the second period The air offensive continues and NATO ground forces are ready for action - 164 divisions, of which 69 are American. Control is established over sea and ocean communications, etc.
At the third stage 114 NATO divisions go on the offensive from the west, and 50 divisions from the south (landing on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea), which destroy the Soviet Armed Forces in Central Europe. These actions and the continued massive bombing of Soviet cities forced the USSR and its allies to surrender.
In total, up to 250 divisions - 6 million 250 thousand people - will be involved in the war against the USSR. In aviation, navy, air defense, reinforcement parts, etc. another 8 million people. In total, to implement the Dropshot plan, it was planned to use a force totaling 20 million people.
In the last The fourth period literally lovingly written out in the “Dropshot” plan, - "to ensure the fulfillment of our national goals, the Allies must occupy" Soviet Union and other socialist countries of Europe. The total requirements of the occupation forces were determined to be 38 divisions, that is, approximately 1 million people in ground forces. Of these, 23 divisions carry out occupation functions on the territory of the Soviet Union.
The territory of our country is divided into four “areas of responsibility”, or occupation zones: Western part of the USSR, Caucasus - Ukraine, Ural - Western Siberia - Turkestan, Eastern Siberia - Transbaikalia - Primorye. The zones were divided into 22 “subareas of responsibility.” The occupation forces were distributed in the following cities: in Moscow - two divisions and one division each in Leningrad, Minsk, Murmansk, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Sevastopol, Rostov, Novorossiysk, Batumi, Baku, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Tashkent, Omsk , Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok. Of the five air armies intended to occupy all socialist countries, four were stationed on the territory of the USSR. Each army was to include five to six combat groups, one group of transport aircraft and one attack group. An operational aircraft carrier formation was introduced into the Baltic and Black Seas. It was especially emphasized that the strong saturation of the occupation forces with aviation “should provide visible proof of the power of the Allies” to the Soviet people. Bearing in mind that the occupiers would have to perform punitive functions, the Dropshot plan provided for additional provision of troops with transport of all types to give them mobility. Both in the previous plans of aggression and in the Dropshot plan, the war against the Soviet Union and the occupation had a pronounced class character.
The need for war was determined by “the serious threat to the security of the United States, which... represents the nature of the Soviet system... Never before in history have the intentions and strategic goals of the aggressor been so clearly defined. For centuries, victory in the class struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie has been defined as the means by which communism will dominate the world.” “Dropshot” was a turning point in American military planning in the sense that, unlike previous plans that had in mind aggression by purely military means, in this war against the USSR attention was paid to the use of class allies on the other side of the front, that is, “dissidents.” The term becomes accepted in military plans. Of course, staff planners had no illusions about the strength of the “dissidents” themselves: “It will be more difficult to apply psychological warfare methods to the people of the USSR than to the people of the United States... But psychological warfare is an extremely important weapon for promoting dissidence and treason among the Soviet people; will undermine his morale, will sow confusion and create disorganization in the country... Broad psychological warfare is one of the most important tasks of the United States. Its main goal is to destroy the support of the people of the USSR and its satellites for their current system of government and to spread awareness among the peoples of the USSR that the overthrow of the Politburo is within reality... Effective resistance or uprisings can only be expected when the Western allies can provide material assistance and guidance and reassure dissidents that liberation is near..."
These arguments, in essence, were a paraphrase of special American research of that time on the reasons for the failure of Hitler Germany’s campaign against our country. American theorists believed that Berlin in 1941-1945 lost sight of the political aspects that were formulated by Clausewitz, namely: “Russia is not a country that can be conquered, that is, occupied... Such a country can be defeated only by internal weakness and action internal strife." Now American strategists set out to correct the mistakes of the leader of the Reich.
So, for Japan the United States had two bombs; by the end of 1945, it turns out that there were at least 196 atomic bombs in the American arsenals... for the Russians!
Berlin had not yet fallen and the surrender of Germany had not been signed when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill set the Joint Command Planning Staff (Great Britain, USA) the task of creating a plan for an offensive operation against the USSR, the name of which, “The Unthinkable,” spoke for itself. The operation was developed, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff were critical of it. However, the Americans were developing Totality, which would later replace the Dropshot plan, approved by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on 12/19/1949.
Churchill's proposal
What happened and why, without finishing one war, are they planning another against their allies? And the reasons were more than compelling. This is the eternal struggle for divisions of spheres of influence in the world. The victory of the USSR over Germany and the liberation of half of Europe. Notorious Polish question. It became clear that the USSR would not give up its influence on the liberated countries and would reach Berlin, and maybe even further. This is what caused the Prime Minister to become hysterical.
This frightened both Great Britain and the United States. If Churchill’s headache was the fate of post-war Europe, where at that time they had great sympathy for the USSR, then for the Americans Japan was also added to this. Common interests It was the same in the East - in Iran and Turkey. All this led to the development of the Dropshot plan.
But at the end of the war, when the fate of Europe was not entirely clear, half of which lay in ruins, the USSR army was the most powerful in the world, and there was no nuclear bomb yet, it was unsafe to start a new massacre. Churchill's proposal did not find proper understanding among the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the two powers.
Atom bomb blackmail
The nuclear weapons created by the Americans before the Dropshot plan were the bludgeon that was supposed to frighten Moscow and make it agree to all the conditions and demands of the United States and Great Britain. But Stalin was aware of everything that was happening in the United States in the development of the atomic bomb since 1942, when Soviet agents were infiltrated into the Manhattan Project.
After Truman, on July 24, 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, informed Stalin about the creation of a new weapon capable of causing colossal destruction, Stalin only smiled and did not ask a single question. He was in a very good mood. To this, Churchill replied to the perplexed Truman that he simply did not understand what he was talking about.
Stalin understood everything perfectly; he knew about the American test of the bomb back on July 16, 1945, that is, from the day of its test explosion. On the 12th day after the assembly of the nuclear bomb in the USA, its full description, with all the documents, was already in Moscow. Soviet scientists worked with them. Therefore, a baton made from a nuclear bomb did not work. Although for another three years the “sword of Damocles” hung over the USSR in the form of US nuclear weapons.
Plan Prerequisites
The situation in the post-war world was very difficult. Having signed the surrender of Germany, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition split into two camps, which firmly defended their positions in the international arena. In addition to the eternal influential powers of Europe: England, France and Russia (USSR), a new state appeared that had nuclear weapons and dreamed of ruling the world at its own discretion and only in its own interests.
It was the USA - the most powerful and developed state. They assessed the situation in the world from the point of view of power and believed that their opinion should be shared by everyone. Having England as an ally, still strong country with numerous colonies, from time immemorial weaving cunning intrigues, being the secret instigator of more than one war in Europe, the United States posed a certain danger. This was shown by the explosions of two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was also shown by the development of the “Dropshot” plan to destroy the USSR.
Worsening relations
Seeing in the Soviet Union strong opponent with enormous international prestige as a country that had defeated the most dangerous enemy and had a powerful, battle-hardened army, England and America took all measures to curb it. IN largest countries Europe - France and Italy - the role of communists has sharply increased.
The Soviet Union did not hide its connections with the communist parties of these countries and made certain calculations on them. The former allies were seriously afraid of the armed support of these parties from the USSR. In addition, during this period serious disagreements arose on three very important issues, leading to the start of the Cold War and the creation of the Dropshot plan. We will briefly discuss their reasons below.
Iranian oil
The first aggravation between the British-Americans and the USSR occurred at the end of 1945 due to the withdrawal Soviet troops from Northern Iran. In 1941, troops from Britain, the USSR and the USA were brought into Iran to protect oil fields. On the territory controlled by the Soviet Union, at the time of the conflict, there were two unrecognized republics - Mekhabad (Kurdish) and South Azerbaijan.
Confrontation three countries- Iran, Great Britain, the USA on the one hand and the USSR on the other was quite serious. The Soviet Union made concessions and withdrew its troops. But this conflict became one of the reasons for the start of the Cold War.
Turkish relations
The second reason can be called relations between the USSR and Turkey. At the beginning of 1946, Stalin announced territorial claims to this country. They were to return the territories belonging to Russia and transferred to Turkey in 1921. But the main reason was the Black Sea straits. Negotiations took place between the two countries, which greatly alarmed the governments of the former allies.
The Union's claims were voiced back at the Potsdam Conference. Territorial issues remained without consideration. The decision on the straits was included in the minutes of the meeting, which indicated that the agreement on the Black Sea straits, signed in Montreux, does not correspond to the realities of the present time and requires revision.
Berlin
This is the “blockade of West Berlin” from June 1948 to May 1949. It was introduced in response to the ignoring by the allies, the USA and England, of the quadripartite agreement on Germany and Berlin, signed at the Yalta Conference. These countries began to resolve economic issues related to the restoration of Germany, in particular, to introduce new money secretly, without the participation of the Soviet Union.
Retaliatory measures were taken: the borders with the western zone of occupation were closed and transport blockade West Berlin. The USSR hoped that this would be followed by negotiations at which it would be possible to resolve this issue, but this did not happen. It is well known that Stalin did not intend to divide Germany. But for America, questions of profit have always come first. US allies fully shared his position.
The Americans saw that the Union was pursuing its clear policy according to the right of a victorious country, and had earned, with the blood of millions of its citizens, a respectful attitude, an honest partnership, and you couldn’t put pressure on it by waving it in front of it like a club, nuclear bomb. The Americans are developing “Chariotir”, the predecessor of “Dropshot” - a plan for an attack on the USSR, which was approved by the US Committee of Chiefs of Staff in 1949, to eliminate an obstinate ally. That is, he was taken into action.
The plan and its premises
- The Soviet Union seeks to establish its world domination and the spread of communism throughout the world.
- Western Europe, according to the authors, was main goal USSR attacks.
- According to the authors, the capabilities of the USSR are limited so far. But if measures are not taken, then in 1955 the Union will have nuclear weapons. He will have the opportunity to attack the United States using nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons.
- On this moment The USSR does not have such an opportunity, but as its economic power increases, it can attack the USA and Western Europe.
Basic moments
They determined the time of the Soviet Union’s attack on the USA and Western Europe, and also named the allies of the USSR and NATO countries, neutral countries.
- According to the authors, by January 1, 1957, the USSR, USA, and NATO countries will find themselves in a state of war.
- Countries were classified as allies of the USSR of Eastern Europe, Balkan countries, excluding Yugoslavia, Korea, communist China and Finland.
- The US allies included NATO countries, the British Commonwealth without India and Pakistan, and the Philippines.
- Were classified as neutral European countries who remained neutral during the war, Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, India.
- Countries were also classified as neutral Latin America, but with the condition that some of them may join NATO. Those that remain neutral will have unhindered access to their resources.
- It was also taken into account that Western European countries would be economically stable by 1957. Their military-industrial complex will work at full capacity.
Additional points
In the plan for the war against the Soviet Union, additional points were specified that would have an impact on the course of hostilities, which gives NATO countries the right to attack first:
- Later receipt by intelligence agencies of NATO countries of information about mobilization in the USSR. The start of mobilization in these countries will be significantly late.
- Use of nuclear weapons by warring parties.
- Relations between the USSR and the USA at the time of development of the plan will be built in accordance with the prevailing circumstances.
- There will be no emergency rearmament programs in the Soviet Union until the time of the attack.
Strategy
The strategic requirements included in the plan consisted of the following items:
- Strengthening the border along the line of contact between the zones of influence of the USSR and NATO countries in Europe along the Piave-Alps-Rhine line. In Asia, the line of defense must pass through Turkey and Iran. The USSR landing on Japan must be prevented by air strikes on large settlements Union.
- Air strikes should be carried out on cities of the USSR. The “Dropshot” plan also included a list of cities, which included all the largest industrial centers of the country and the Commonwealth countries, onto which it was planned to drop 300 nuclear ammunition and 250 thousand tons of conventional ammunition. With their help, more than 85% of the industry of the USSR and almost all of the industry of countries friendly to the Union should be destroyed. Human losses were estimated at 7 million lives.
- Landing of 250 NATO divisions on the territory of the USSR and Commonwealth countries, supported by 7,500 aircraft.
- All ports and ships must be captured by the NATO Navy.
- The next stage should be the erasure of the USSR from the political map of the world using all types of weapons - atomic, chemical, radiological, bacterial. Since by this point all the cities will be destroyed, it should be assumed that the “erasure” will affect the people and especially the communists, on whose destruction special emphasis was placed.
- Divide the entire country into four parts and station NATO troops on their territory.
THE USSR. Counter attack
The first atomic bomb test was carried out on September 1, 1949. The Americans learned about this after collecting and analyzing air samples taken from an American military aircraft. It was a shock. The American press was silent for several days. The Pentagon reassured the president that scientists are working on even more powerful weapon- a hydrogen bomb.
On August 20, 1953, the USSR officially announced the creation and testing of a hydrogen bomb. It was a low blow.
09/26/1956 performed an ultra-long flight with in-flight refueling.
On October 4, 1957, when, according to American plans, the USSR should not exist, the first Earth satellite was launched. Intercontinental range missiles were created. America realized that it was within reach.
Other plans
Before the advent of the Dropshot plan to destroy the USSR, such plans were developed for every important confrontation with US interests. After the Iranian crisis in late 1945, the Totality Plan was adopted. In response to the blockade of Berlin in mid-1948, the Chariotir plan was developed. Following this, the Fleetwood plan is adopted. They all assumed atomic bombing USSR, extermination of millions of Soviet people. All of them have now been declassified and put on public display. For what purpose? Probably to scare me again.
Afterword
The United States realized long ago that Russia cannot be reached in military operations. The arms race will lead to the fact that there will be no one to fight and no one with whom. But there are proven weapons in the form of sanctions, economic blockades, bribery of corrupt officials, which work very well, destroying the economies of entire countries. The USA managed to hook the whole world on the dollar needle, forcing everyone to play by their rules. Moreover, it costs them nothing except paper costs.