Between 1947 and 1991, from the post-war period to the collapse of the Soviet Union, a Cold War simmered between the West and the USSR. Relations were so tense that both sides were constantly preparing to repel an attack.
According to the recently revealed documents, 1983 was a critical year. In November, NATO forces conducted an exercise called Able Archer. Its purpose was to simulate a scenario for World War III, where the Warsaw Pact forces (including the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and East Germany) would attack NATO. Moscow was expected to use chemical weapons, forcing the West to respond with nuclear weapons.
Exercises or Preparation for an Attack?
The Soviets quickly concluded that these exercises were not just drills but real preparations for an invasion. The U.S. bore some responsibility for this perception. Since 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan had been escalating propaganda and heightening tensions, famously referring to the USSR as the "Evil Empire" and drawing on themes from "Star Wars". By the time Able Archer began, Moscow was already convinced that the U.S. planned to destroy the USSR, similar to how Hitler had attacked in 1941.
To make matters worse, KGB intelligence indicated that these exercises were different from previous ones. Nuclear weapons specialists were being sent to Europe, and high-ranking members of the U.S. military were involved in the drills.
"An Attack Will Happen Within Hours"
The Americans inadvertently fueled the tension by announcing that both the U.S. president and his vice president would participate in the exercises. The paranoia of the Cold War era led the Soviets to believe these signals pointed to a real attack, with the drills serving as a smokescreen. Panic spread within the Soviet military command, with nuclear-armed aircraft, including those stationed in Poland, ready to take off at a moment’s notice, engines running.
On the Verge of Issuing the Order
Why didn’t the USSR strike? Fortunately, alongside the information about the exercises, Soviet leaders received other reports. No signs of U.S. activity around the world indicated plans to attack the Warsaw Pact.
Able Archer continued according to its prearranged script, as the Americans were unaware that their actions were being interpreted as preparations for an invasion.
Hours passed. NATO, unaware of the growing Soviet panic, completed the exercises. On the eighth day, the president issued a simulated order to use nuclear weapons, halting the Soviet advance on France. Neither Reagan nor his secretary of defense found the time to personally participate in the exercises. On the ninth day, the maneuvers ended, and the Soviet nuclear alert was lifted
- explains "Wyborcza".
New Documents
The recently released documents related to Able Archer suggest that World War III may have been averted due to the health of Yuri Andropov, the Soviet leader, who was ill during the exercises and unable to make decisions in his usual manner. As Arstechnica reports, it was also the instincts of mid-level Soviet officers that likely saved the world from nuclear disaster - they suspected the drills were just exercises after all.
