Teeming with a lot o' news
Philip Warner
'Ourpurpose,' says the author at the end of this book, '...is to tell a cau- tionary tale (with such adjustments as the passage of time suggest) in an attempt to persuade the public that if, in a dangerous and unstable world, we wish to avoid a nuclear war, we must be prepared for a con- ventional one.' The book does not advocate nuclear disarmament; it does, however, im- ply that the troubles of the world are not to be solved by delivering nuclear warheads on to a variety of targets. There may be good reasons to suppose that Soviet arms on land, sea, and air, are purely defensive, and that Soviet political activities in other na- tions are for reasons of the purest ideology, but ,General Hackett thinks otherwise.
His earlier book (The Third World War: August 1985) which was published in 1978 gave a vivid, comprehensive picture of an Armageddon which the West won by a whisker. This one purports to be a fuller history of the same conflict, published in 1987 (shades of 1984 and 1948). The authors, as well as Sir John himself, include certain military, naval and air experts and, by no means least, two Russians, Mr Vladimir Bukovsky and Mr Viktor
Suvorov.
Fortunately, the 'cautionary tale' is il- luminating and entertaining. Apart from the progress of the war itself — which even in 'a conventional rOle' is so devastating that it seems a miracle any of the com- batants survive — there are masterly sum- maries of events in various parts of the world before and after 1982. These include a good measure of wishful thinking; the predicted future of the governments of Libya and Iran may perhaps rely more on optimism than probability. The arrival of 'a formidable and respected leader' who unites the guerrillas, and disposes of the Russians in Afghanistan does not occur till 1985. We shall look out for him.
In General Hackett's Third World War only two nuclear weapons are used (only two were used in the Second World War but on that occasion the same country received both). In this, Minsk and Birmingham are destroyed. The bomb on Minsk caused such chaos in the Russian administration that another revolution became possible. The Soviet War Machine, already heavily bat- tered, ceased to function. The fate of members of the KGB and certain other government employees is described with some gusto.
But fact and fiction are easily distinguish- able, and in spite of this being a work of im- agination, lively and entertaining to read, it is a deadly serious project. General Hackett is possibly unique among army generals. After a boyhood in Australia and the ex- perience of both Greats and History at Ox- ford, he was commissioned into the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars (and learnt sword fighting on horseback as a good cavalry officer should in 1931). Subsequent duties took him all over the Middle East, the Western Desert, and Italy, and event- ually to Arnhem, where he commanded 4th Parachute Brigade. In the course of all this he collected three wounds and three decora- tions for gallantry. After various high level appointments at home and abroad, he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine. Then, putting down the sword, he took up the gown again and became Principal of King's College, Lon- don. Thereafter, instead of doing what retired generals traditionally do, which is to fight and re-fight the battles of the past, he has proceeded to fight and re-fight the bat- tles of the future. His extensive experience could have made him unpopular in an egalitarian, anti-hero world, but fortunate- ly he refuses to take his own achievements very seriously and has an impish sense of humour. We find that in 1983 The Times has become 'The Times-Guardian'. After that a Third World War might seem to come as light relief.
A virtue of military training is that it teaches officers to write simply and clearlY (or attempts to do so). Many a young man with, what he believes, is a promising literary style arrives at the Staff College full of confidence. Some months later, having had all his fine phrases ruthlessly crossed out in red ink, he pursues clarity and brevi- ty above all else, even though abbrevia- tions, acronyms and technical specifications make the task far from easy. There are 3 few passages in this book when technical jargon slows the reader down: 'There was an interesting and promising heliborne system in the United States Forces known as SOTAS (Stand Off Target Acquisition System with a moving-target indicator radar).' But the majority of the writing is crisp, clear and often ironical: 'An im- mediate offer to halt the deployment of SS-20's would have cut the ground from under NATO's feet. They were already be- ing installed and would reach a total of some 250 by mid-1981, with a final total of 300 in 1982. Since, in Soviet eyes, this did no more than improve the effectiveness of an already established policy, no need was seen to depart from it and the offer was not made. The SS-20, the argument ran, was only replacing the less efficient SS-4 and 5, with a greater range which would, as a bonus, enable all China to be targetted from inside the Soviet Union as well. The NATO move, however, was seen as a new and threatening departure even though none of the modernised missiles [Pershing and Cruise] would be ready before 1983 at the earliest.'
But while all the horrors of super" weaponry are being discussed, the soldier O n the battlefield is kept firmly in mind The Russian lieutenant, who seems compet- ent and amiable, is described sympathetical- IY. He is no superman as he is generally thought to be. He has many problems: he cannot speak the obscure languages of some of the soldiers under his command, he distrusts Soviet propaganda, particularly When it talks about the American army, and he knows that his reserve troops are poor quality and badly trained. But he knows too that with the order to kill or be killed, and With KGB battalions behind to make sure there is no sliding out of battle, he does not need to worry. There is, apparently, con- siderable contrast between tactical methods: the Americans believed in disper- sion, while the Russians believed in concen- tration of force, even in a nuclear war. The number of non-combatant soldiers in the American army is a mystery to him. Most of this must have come from Viktor Suvorov, who commanded an almost iden- tical motor rifle company in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
From the British side we have Squadron- Leader Whitworth who flies Tornadoes, and Senior Aircraftsman Illingworth who writes a long letter to his parents (he is in hospital, so presumably has the time and Paper). Behind all this one feels that General Hackett is stressing the importance of the fighting soldier, sailor or airman, all of whom are taught to use a weapon and each of whom, in the last resort, could be the ordinary infantryman capturing the last vital piece of ground. There are reminders of the basic facts of military life: that soldiers need food and sleep eventually and that automatic weapons use up ammunition a lot more easily than it is carried to them. The Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifle uses up all the ammunition the owner car- ries in one minute. And what goes for Kalashnikov, goes for SLRs and GPMGs, Just as it did for Brens and Tommyguns in the Second World War.
But there is a sobering thought over Rus- sian policy with obsolete arms. When NATO tanks and carriers go out of service they are destroyed: when Soviet arms are replaced the old ones are buried up to their turrets so that their guns can still be fired against advancing troops.
In short, General Hackett knows a lot about places and people and weapons Which most of us do not. He rates the Swedes as having considerable military Potential. In the Third World War, France and Ireland play an unexpectedly important Part. Internal peace in Ireland has been secured by the influence of one of their Rugby football heroes who has distinguish- ed himself in the World Rugby Cup com- petition. Very rightly.
The maps are excellent. The illustrations are interesting and all look as if they were Photographs taken by concealed cameras. At the end we are left with an impression that it has all happened — and that what's left of us has a reasonable chance of a secure and happy future if we don't make the same mistakes all over again.
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