Able Archer ’83


The Exercise that Turned the Cold War Hot


Steve Miller-Rat Palace Gamers-Red Oak, Texas-Spring 2020

Global Scenario Excerpts taken from: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/able-
archer-83-timeline-of-a-third-world-war-in-1983.279881/

Mini Campaign context and rules taken from: “At The Sharp End”-Two Fat Ladies Campaign
Guide

Battle Rules: “7 Days to the Rhine” Great Escape Games



Author’s Note:

As a child of the 1960s, growing up in the shadow of global thermonuclear war was a daily
occurrence both at school and at home. “Duck and Cover” drills were coupled with seeing
signs that said “Fallout Shelter”. I watched the Twilight Zone and was a rabid consumer of
books like “Fail Safe” (later a movie with Henry Fonda and Dan O’ Herlihy), “Testament”, and
“after the war” books such as “Alas, Babylon” and “Starman’s Son”. We knew that something
small could be the trigger for a rain of nuclear weapons upon both the United States and the
Soviet Union. 

The advent of the more hard line governments in both the Soviet Union and the United States
in the early 1980s plus public outcry about IRBMs in Europe gave rise to the novel genre by
authors such as Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle, Sir John Hackett, etc. I never knew about the
events surrounding the NATO exercise known as Able Archer that nearly sent the world into a
war in Europe. This Pint Sized Campaign (ladder/mapped campaign) is a result of the
combination of my love for alternative history and how the poem “For Want of A Nail” may be
more truthful than we give it credit to be.

Background and Igniters: from https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/able-archer-83-

timeline-of-a-third-world-war-in-1983.279881/



“On November 2nd, the RYAN matrix was almost full when NATO launched its command post
exercise, the ABLE ARCHER 83. In the first day of the maneuver, the NATO command and
control centers, especially the main command post of Casteau (Belgium), began to simulate
the breakdown of negotiation and the preliminary orders for a conventional war in Europe. Both
GRU and KGB were put on highest alert.



The Opening Phases:

On November 3rd, NATO command and control centers began to simulate the preliminary
phases of a conventional war in Europe, with a hypothetical Soviet invasion of Norway,
Germany and the Balkans. They simulated a DEFCON-4 alert for nuclear forces. The nature of
the exercise was very realistic. Codes used to encrypt the messages were different from those
used for the previous exercises, radio silences were adopted, all the civilian channels of
communication were cleared. Those are all symptoms for a surprise nuclear attack, from a KGB
and GRU point of view. GRU residents in Europe transmitted the alert to the Soviet high
command, which ordered a precautionary partial mobilization of conventional and nuclear forces
in Europe and Soviet Union. Sleepy cells of Spetnatz were activated all over Europe by GRU.
Many other Spetznatz began to cross the borders of NATO countries disguised as athletes,
tourists and students. Arms caches and explosives were planted by GRU agents in secret
locations, close to NATO bases.

November 4th: while NATO was continuing its command post exercise at a DEFCON-4 level of
alert, the Warsaw Pact forces began their partial mobilization. All the Frontal Aviation units in
East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia were put on heightened alert and armed. The
ground forces secretly move to their combat stations. Some of the North Fleet and Baltic Fleet
surface unites took the see, while the ballistic missile submarines took their positions in
Northern and Eastern “bastions”, protected by ASW surface units. Typhoon class ballistic
missile submarines head to the Arctic. In Soviet Union, the Strategic Rocket Forces began to
prepare ICBMs for a possible launch; escalation in Lebanon: Amal militias hit the Israeli
command center in Tiro and Israel air force retaliated against Islamic positions in the Chouf
mountains; Us Sixth Fleet in Eastern Mediterranean was reinforced; KGB was persuaded that
the “provocation” in Lebanon and the deployment of other nuclear armed naval units in the
Mediterranean were all part of the plot for a surprise nuclear strike

November 5th: NATO command and control centers simulated a Soviet use of chemical
weapons and a breakthrough of NATO lines in Europe, then simulated a DEFCON-3 level of
alert as a retaliation for nuclear forces. The KGB estimated a 7 to 10 days (which means: from
November 12th to November 15th) countdown for nuclear war and diffused this information to
all its residents in Europe, asking for confirmations; mobile launchers components began to
arrive also in the Sigonella air base, Sicily, Italy. In Moscow, during the first celebration day for
Red October; in front of a crowded Plenum, in the Kremlin, Central Committee Secretary
Grigorij Romanov declared that Soviet Union “will not stay idle” in front of the deployment of the
new missiles in Western Europe; in Lebanon, the Syrian army and fractions of Olp dissidents
besieged Arafat main base in Tripoli, Israel menaced to intervene deep in Lebanon and the US
fleet closed in; from a Soviet point of view, those events are all parts of NATO’s preparations for
a strike from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

November 6th: while NATO was continuing its exercise at a DEFCON-3 level of alert, in
Brussels the German spy Reiner Rupp dismissed the KGB’s concern for Western war
preparation. He told Moscow that there was no mobilization of NATO’s nuclear forces. Asked
again about the participation of Western leaders to the exercise, he confirmed the news. The
KGB considered important only this last part of the report: top level politicians participating to an
“exercise” means impending nuclear attack disguised as an exercise. The lack of mobilization of
nuclear forces means only that they could be mobilized quickly on November 12th (the last day
of the exercise) or immediately after. Escalation in the Gulf: heavy barrages of Iraqi Scud
missiles against the Iranian cities close to the Shatt al Arab region; US didn’t exclude the option
of a naval intervention to protect the oil traffic in the Gulf, in case of further escalations. Moscow
reply stating that US “will pay consequences” in case of a naval deployment in the Gulf. China
turned-down the Soviet propasals for a non-aggression pact

November 7th: Red October celebrations in Moscow. Andropov was absent, due to his illness,
but all the rest of political leadership (mostly unaware of the KGB’s and military alert)
participated regularly to the parade. No leaves were conceded to troops at all levels and
preliminary mobilization moves continued. Hidden from US satellite’s eyes, the Moscow ABM
system was loaded. In the meantime, in the Middle East, both Israel and Syria began a partial
mobilization of their forces, while the fratricide struggle between Syrians and OLP continues in
Lebanon

November 8th: NATO simulated a DEFCON-2 level of alert when the commanders “in the field”
asked for the nuclear release. The KGB Central command sent a urgent message (“molnya”) to
all its residencies in NATO countries, asking for confirmations. A request for nuclear release
could be followed by real preparations for a nuclear strike. All the residencies in European
capitals denied ongoing real war preparations: nuclear systems were not at all deployed. But
they confirmed a heightened alert in all US military bases (because of the Beirut bombing). And
the participation of all top Western leaders to the exercise was confirmed by local KGB agents:
as scheduled, they would be relocated to secret and safe shelters, where they could simulate a
complete nuclear release procedure. That part of maneuver would take place early in the next
morning, on November 12th. The KGB confirmed all its fears and considered the Operation
RYAN accomplished. War is now certain and could start in the next four to six days.


November 8th, 8PM: extraordinary meeting of the GKO in the Kremlin. Despite his illness, also
Yuri Andropov attends the event; Foreign Minister Andrej Gromyko strongly opposes a
preemptive attack against NATO and dismissed a danger of an enemy surprise nuclear strike;
NATO countries, he argues, has no intentions to strike first and the evidence provided by KGB
and GRU is too weak. But Gromyko is only a minority voice, because all the other GKO’s
members, beginning with Andropov, strongly believe in an imminent NATO’s attack. There is no
certainty on the date of the enemy’s attack. But Andropov insists that Warsaw Pact forces have
to take action immediately, at before the Western leaders could take cover in their shelters.
Ustinov opposes a nuclear preemptive attack, stressing the point that the Soviet Union has no
first-strike disarming capability and could lose at least 80 million people and the 65% of its
industrial capability in case of US retaliation. Ustinov agrees with a conventional military option.
A complete surprise could be achieved. NATO needed, at least, four to seven days to complete
its preparations for a nuclear first strike (no nuclear weapon system is still deployed, nor cities
are evacuated) then it could be prevented with conventional means. NATO conventional forces
needed at least 2 days to be put on war footing, while Soviet forces in Europe are already
mobilized and ready to attack. A bold advance in Central Europe is possible and could eliminate
the main source of danger, disrupt the enemy plans for nuclear war and buy time for Soviet
preparations for a possible nuclear escalation. Once the river Rhine is reached (during the sixth
or seventh day of operations, according to the military plans) it could be possible to reach a
peace agreement from a position of strength. Gromyko opposes the military option at all and
insists that all diplomatic emergency channels (including the hot line) have to be used before
any irreversible military action. But the majority of the GKO voted against his line. Any
communication with the enemy could indeed uncover Soviet war preparations and precipitate a
NATO first strike. “The most important and risky decision since the Red Revolution in 1917” is
thus taken. Andropov gives Marshall Nikolai Ogarkov (commander in chief of Soviet Armed
Forces) the authorization to launch a preemptive attack. All necessary orders are dispatched to
the all branches of the armed forces


November 8th, 10 PM: all the residencies in Europe, Usa, Canada and Japan, receive the
combat order and KGB agents go into the wilderness; embassies receive the full alert order and
begin to destroy all their documents and contact the Soviet citizens abroad, giving them the
instructions on how to take cover; Spetnatz units already infiltrated in Europe, Usa and Canada,
unearth their prepositioned weapons caches

November 8th: 11 PM: all air assault units are put on war footing, rush on their air strips,
waiting to be taken by a large fleet of An-22 Antonov and civil Aeroflot planes; the Northern,
Black Sea Marine Brigades and the Pacific Marine Division are put on war footing and
embarked in their naval units; submarines receive the order to attack US missile submarines;
thanks to the Walker family spy ring (which provided the Soviets all the codes of US Navy’s
communications), the Soviet attack submarines receive data on their estimated position, speed
and route of the enemy boats.

November 8th, 12 PM: deserters or “suspect” elements in KGB and GRU abroad are secretly
killed by death squads of GRU. Only few agents, although, manage to alert Western intelligence
services, but all indications of an impending Soviet attack are dismissed as nonrealistic,
because, despite some disturbing movements are spotted on the Eastern side of the Iron
Curtain, NATO’s intelligence never spotted a huge mobilization, which is seen as a necessary
and preliminary preparation for a large war in Europe.



November 9th, 4 AM: a Spetnatz commando kills the German chancellor Helmut Kohl,
bombing his car while he was on the way to his nuclear shelter in the Ahr Valley, near Bonn;
KGB counter-information agencies send to all the German newspapers a false claim by the
Rote Armee Fraktion; the Soviet Northern Fleet leaves the Kola Peninsula and the units already
at sea head to Northern Norway

November 9th, 5 AM: a Spetnatz unit sabotages the power plants of London, creating a vast
blackout; another Spetnatz commando tries to exploit the confusion created by the blackout, to
kill the premier Margaret Thatcher; although, the British MI-5 is already well aware of the danger
(in 1981 a GRU defector gave the MI-5 all the plans for an assassination attempt) and alerts all
the security forces just in time to prevent a terrorist attack; meanwhile, in Washington DC, the
vice-president George W.H. Bush and the Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger helicopters,
heading to the Alternate National Military Command Center, in Pennsylvania, are shot down by
a Spetnatz commando armed with shoulder anti-aircraft missiles; Spetnatz could not find the
Reagan’s helicopter, because the president has already left Washington for his scheduled Asia
trip (and the KGB didn’t know that); all NATO forces are alerted; Soviet air assault units take off
from their bases; Soviet marine units take the sea in the Kola Peninsula, Kamchatka and
Crimean Peninsula; Polish and East German units take the sea in the Baltic; all the Warsaw
Pacts units receive the order to move. Spetnatz commando units already infiltrated in Trade
Unions, sabotages dozens of electric power plants, disrupting the energy distribution all over
Europe; other Spetnatz commandos, already infiltrated in the peace movement, launch a
successful surprise attack against the bases of Comiso and Sigonella (in Italy), Greenham
Common (in England) and Schwaebishes Gmund (West Germany), where the Gryphon and
Pershing2 missiles are supposed to be stocked; other Spetnatz commando units attack various
traits of the NATO pipelines in Benelux and Germany. Rep-Osnatz units begin to jam NATO
radars and radio transmissions; NATO nuclear forces goes suddenly to DEFCON-2, the US
B-52 begin to disperse, along with all the FB-111 in Europe; submarines receive the order to
take the sea immediately; nuclear warheads are withdrawn from their fortified igloos and
dispersed to war time locations in Germany, closer to their weapon systems; anti-aircraft
batteries and interceptor squadrons are put on high alert.

November 9th, 6AM: the Warsaw Pact Frontal Aviation launch a massive air strike against
NATO bases and command centers in Northern Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway Netherlands,
Belgium, Luxemburg. The effects of this first attack is devastating, but also the Soviet and WP
losses are huge, mainly due to NATO’s new F-15 and F-16 interceptors already up in the air and
the massive launch of Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missiles already alerted

Meanwhile, Sierra and Alpha Soviet attack submarines sink the USS Ohio and four US
Lafayette class submarines in North Atlantic. In the Western Pacific, three Soviet Charlie guided
missiles submarines sink the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier.

News of a sudden Soviet attack in Europe and about the assassination of the vice-president, the
secretary of defense and “other allied leaders” comes as a bombshell to the ears of Ronald
Reagan, still on board of his Air Force One, flying over the Pacific Ocean. Once it is sure that no
nuclear weapons are employed by the enemy (not yet), Reagan bars the nuclear option and
authorizes only conventional retaliation.”
Mini Campaign: Ladder/Mapped Campaign Overview:

This mini campaign takes elements of “At the Sharp End” by Too Fat Lardies and combines
them with fast play tactical battle rules from Great Escape Games-“7 Days to the Rhine River”.
This initial campaign represents a snapshot of jthe area between the DDR and Osnabruck.
The game will follow a 4 game scenario system ala “At the Sharp End”. 



Winners/Losers:

Soviets breakthrough to the Rhine River-Big Win!

British hold and mount a limited counterattack with West German and US reinforcements,
pushing the WP back and denying Hannover to the WP



Both Win?=No nuclear exchanges! Those cards are mixed into the deck.
Overarching Objectives (Soviet 20th Division)

1. Occupy Hannover and control the bridges across the Weser River for follow on forces

pushing to the Rhine River. 

2. Take the small town of Hameln and cut off NATO communications and logistics node from the 

BAOR base in Hameln.

3. Push across the Weser River to the towns of Minden and Bielfeld to establish beachhead/

strong points for the following force if possible. 



Objectives: BAOR (British Army of the Rhine)

1. Organize and fight a deep, flexible defense of Hannover using terrain and superior training.

2. Do not allow the WP forces to force the Weser crossing at Bielfeld or Minden as NATO 

Reforger units are concentrating at Osnabruck.

3. WP must not be allowed a breakthrough to the Rhine River. That would force Her Majesty’s 

government to sue for peace terms.






Red Sky at Morning-Sailor Take Warning


Problem 1: 0300 Somewhere on the Inner German Border

Soviet Situation:

The powerful People’s Air Force and Rocket Forces have scored a decisive first blow upon
NATO arrayed along the Inner German Border. Berlin has been re-unified in a brief bloodletting
between weak NATO forces and heroic Motor Rifle troops of the fraternal socialist allies, the
DDR. Persistent Chemical agents have cleared the border while Special Spetznaz details have
disarmed the nuclear mines scattered across the border area by the bastardly NATO war
mongers. 



The Colonel has assigned your company the honor of finding lines of safe passage on your
route to Hannover. Loyal Germans and DDR Humint have given you the general disposition of
the 1st Battalion of the BAOR.It is deployed between Wolfsburg and Braunschweiger. Your job
is find and push back the British observation, listening and ground radar posts in/around
Braunschweiger. The ground is hilly and re-forested after the last war. Wolfsburg was flattened
in the opening hours of the liberation by the Rocket Forces and divisional artillery and poses
little threat according to the Battalion Intelligence officer’s briefing. 


Axis of March/Correlation of Forces:

The Colonel has high esteem for your ability to “see” terrain and use the knowledge learned at
Frunze to get the job done. There is a Main Highway to the north of Wolfsburg and a secondary
road through Braunschweiger connecting with the Main Highway. NATO air and helo assets
have been pounding the second echelon of the division. Speed, movement and decisive action
are the keys to your victory. Service to the State!

Points and Support Points: You have 250 points of 7 Days to the Rhine River points to use. Use
them wisely.

British Situation:

Communications from the Scout troop at the border crossings and the Royal Engineers
controlling the border mines have been silenced since 0500. Reports via West German media
cite mass casualties across the Inner German Border due to persistent chemical agents. VX
and Sarin are suspected. American TR-2s and Rivet Joint C3I aircraft report a mass
concentration at Divisional strength between Celle and Goslar. German civilians are evacuating
these towns but the process is disorderly. It is expected that the primary objective is Hannover
and the secondary objective is forcing the Weser River at Minden or Bliefeld. Royal Engineers
report the two bridges at the Weser are wiring and waiting for demolition on your orders. Your
company was to receive a formation of infantry and APCs. The troops are delayed and may not
be ready for this action. You do have several Milan ATGM teams that will be needed to support
your mechanized company. Reforger has started with a major concentration point at Osnabruck.
Keep Ivan out of Hannover and away from the logistical gold mine at Osnabruck. 



Points and Support Points: You have 250 points of 7 Days to the Rhine River points to use. Be
judicious as munitions, and men are at a premium. The government is in total disarray with the
sabotage of several points of the British electrical grid. More chemical weapon attacks may be
in the offing. Be MOPP ready. 



Soviet Win? Go to Problem 2-British Fighting Retreat-No British replacements 

British Win? Go Back to Problem 1 and fight again-Soviets may replace up to 50 points in
losses

Problem 2: “A Close Run Thing”-fight only if Soviets win Problem #1


Soviet Situation: 

You were successful in driving through the initial band of British regulars. The Colonel rewards
success! You receive 100 points (7 Days to the Rhine points) as replacements. Your company
is faced with a grim duty of pressing retreating British elements on the western edge of
Braunschwieger. Your objective still remains Hannover and the Weser River bridges. Succeed
and promotion is in your future. The colonel has contacted Division and as a result, you will
receive a preliminary bombardment on the retreating British as per 7 Days rules. 



British Situation:

WP forces have pushed through your initial phase line. You give ground grudgingly. The ground
is more open and suitable to a battle of maneuver. You have just received a troop (3) of
Challengers from the Divisional Reserve. Your mechanized infantry has finally finished their char
break and arrives ready for the match. Your veterans give them all the stink eye. The larger
tactical situation revolves upon the action of the WP commander. Do you retreat and fight from
the village of Celle or risk it all on the open farmland that lays before Hannover? You know
there is a bridge to the south of Hannover that just invites Ivan’s attention. You receive word of a
depleted West German company in the forested areas north of Hannover. You do not know the
strength of this unit. The Germans operate different radio systems than the British. NATO strikes
again. The Germans will not be available in this battle due to high amounts of jamming and
frequency difficulties. You are still on your own…as usual. 

What do you fight with? (British)

Your remaining company elements left after last problem, 3 Challengers and 4 infantry stands
and 4 FV432 APCs.




Problem 3: “Push and Shove-Scrum Down on the 22”




Previous WP victory? WP pushes toward the outskirts of Hannover.and the Weser. A classic
attack and defend scenario ensues. The Colonel continues to reward success; sending you an
additional motor rifle platoon (3 BMPs, 3 infantry stands), a BDRM ATGM troop (3 BDRMS), and
3 T64s. You notice right off that the replacement tanks are not Category A and crewed by Poles.
You wonder how the war is progressing? 

WP loss in Problem 2? Limited British Spoiling Counter Attack

Soviet Situation:

Your special ops scouts reported British reinforcements have started to trickle in. They also
report that a West German company is to the north in the forested area. Strength unknown.
Your orders are to continue the push to the Weser bridges but bypassing Hannover. The
Colonel does not want his best mobile elements bogged down in city fighting. You listen. He is a
veteran of the African wars. You see a bridge to the south of Hannover. It looks inviting but will
expose your flank unless you move quickly to grab it. Yes, one must break eggs to make an
omelet. You have received assets from Division. Make them count. Your company has been
reconstituted back to 250 points plus the reinforcement assets. You grow stronger as NATO
withers on the Weser.

British Situation:

German Territorials and civilians have evacuated some of the population of Hannover. Additional
High Explosive and Chemical attacks keep civilians deep in their homes. They are an unknown
quantity. The West German company turns out to be a depleted mechanized company
consisting of 4 Leopards, 1 Gepard, 3 Marders with infantry. You assign them to a northern
watch to keep the Ivans from double enveloping Hannover. Command has informed you that
Hannover is to be abandoned and a new phase line called Abba be reconstituted on the west
side of the Weser on the heights. Your orders are to fight a classic fire and maneuver battle. You
may call in the Germans but they are undermanned. Command has made it clear that
committing them or sending them directly into reserve across the Weser is your decision. You
have all the reinforcements available at the present time. No assets are available. A preliminary
bombardment is available if you choose to use it. 

What do the British have? Use what you brung to the dance minus asset casualties

WP win? Go to final Breakthrough battle on the Weser Bridges…


British Loss? See above

WP loss? Retreat to Hameln and reconstitute losses via Division. Play battle 3 over..
Problem 4: The Battle of 3 Bridges

Soviet Situation:

You have reached the Weser and have been reinforced with a second company consisting of 8
T-72s, 3 BMPs with 3 infantry, 1 Hind D, preliminary rocket artillery bombardment (organic
Battalion Rocket Artillery). Your orders are simple; cross the Weser, create the breakthrough for
the follow on units behind you and start the race for the Rhine River. The Colonel takes you
aside for a moment and gives you the Order of the Red Star for your performance so far. You
shake your head and wonder….”why?” He opens a bottle of German schnapps and offers it to
you asking “What do you think we should do with the civilians in Hannover if they become a
hazard to our tanks? Inwardly, you cringe at the thought of killing civilians but you answer him
with “I serve the Soviet Union!” Some of the men at officer’s call were boasting about a “football
game” played out on the Fulda River Bridge by some of their comrades. Over 1000 civilians
were dumped into the river as the Rocket Artillery shot short, hitting and dropping the bridge.
What will you do? 



British Situation:

You have been reinforced with a West German company consisting of 6 Leopards, 2 Gepards, 4
Marders with HOT/Milan teams. Command has confirmed the successful mining of the open
country to the north of Hannover. The West German company was cut off and destroyed in the
forest to the north. Sad day. You expect Ivan to press the 3 bridges and force the breakthrough
at the Weser. Your orders are to hold the western bank of the Weser allowing the Reforger US
reinforcements mate up with their equipment in Osnabruck. You have been reconstituted with
your original 250 point TO&E plus the Germans. Their commander is a short guy with a bad
scar on his face and a grim attitude. Command has told you a West German CAS Tornado is
loitering just west of the Weser available with cluster munitions. 

It’s game on! Can you hold Phase Line Abba or do the Americans commit early without all their
equipment.? It’s up to you. You are the Thin Red Line!

Ending the Mini Campaign:

The WP wins if they can force a breakthrough at the Weser and drive to the Reforger assembly
point. NATO sues for peace if the WP reaches the Rhine. 



The British win if they can stop the breakthrough at the Weser. They conduct a fighting retreat
back to the Reforger assembly point, meet up with the Americans and conduct a lightning
counter attack between the elements of the 20th Division like a knife through butter. The
Russian Government authorizes the release of tactical nuclear, and binary chemical weapons
upon this counter attack. The unthinkable has been released. President Reagan calls Margaret
Thatcher. It’s time for the codes.

Hope you liked it! Fulda Gap is next. Now I have to paint a load of US miniatures.

Steve Miller

Rat Palace Gamers