Американська історія і політика (Oct 2017)
The Black Sea basin in the operational and strategic planning of the US Armed Forces during the Cold War
Abstract
This article describes the importance of the Black Sea basin and the Black Sea Straits in the operational and strategic planning of the US Armed Forces during the Cold War. Initially the Black Sea region was considered one of the two main axis of American strategic offensive against the USSR in Europe. But in the 1960s, as a result of the deployment of the Soviet navy in the Mediterranean Sea and the overall reinforcement of the Soviet Army, the Black Sea Basin was closed to the US and NATO Armed Forces. US planners now opted for a strategic defense in the Black Sea Strait zone. Operations in the Black Sea basin were allowed only at the second or third stages of the war after achieving decisive success in the Central Europe and defeating SovietBulgarian forces in the Balkans. Due to the inability of the Turkish forces to defend the Black Sea Straits by themselves, strong US reinforcements of this area were planned. In the early 1980s, as the US Armed Forces were approached the technical superiority over the Soviet Army in conventional weapons, the US command returned to the concept of the offensive operations in the Black Sea basin. The beginning of the development of new operational concepts begun with the regular conduct of the so-called “Black Sea Ops” – the operational patrols of the US Sixth Fleet in the Black Sea.
