Soviet Military Objectives in the Artic Theater and How They Might be Attained

Abstract

This Research Memorandum discusses the USSR's wartime objectives in the Arctic Theater of Military Action (TVD), and lays out a plausible Soviet strategic approach to the problem of attaining them during a war fought entirely with conventional weapons. The memorandum argues that the Soviets believe it necessary to gain control of the entire Arctic TVD--an area substantially larger in their definition than that commonly designated in the West, reaching as far south as the Greenland-Iceland-Norway Gap, the Canadian Arctic passages, and the Bering Strait. These choke points and adjacent littorals such as Norway--all of Norway, not just its northern end-will play a key role in determining the outcome of the struggle for mastery of the theater, and the memorandum argues that the Soviets will attempt their seizure and blockade as the war opens.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA175359

Entities

People

  • Charles C. Petersen

Organizations

  • Center for Naval Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arctic Ocean
  • Cognition
  • Geography
  • International Relations
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Oceans
  • Second World War
  • Terrain
  • Topography
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Polar and Arctic Studies