Protocols of the staff game for working out the scenario of the third world war declassified after 30 years
As ITAR-TASS reported yesterday, the minutes of the headquarters of the British game, held in March of 1981 under the scenario of repelling fictional Soviet aggression, were declassified. In the course of the government game “Transition to War”, a scenario was worked out according to which the USSR allegedly committed an attack on several European countries simultaneously - using chemical weapons. British cities were bombed by the Soviet aviation. According to one of the scenarios, Margaret Thatcher ordered the use of nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union. Material about the declassified archival find was published in the Daily Mail.Government staff games, the participants of which would work out scenarios of military conflicts, finding themselves in the game roles of commanders or politicians, existed in different forms for a long time. In 70-80's The British government held major events of this type every two years. The games were attended by members of the Cabinet Office. It should be noted that in the period when relations between the countries of the West and the USSR became aggravated - after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan - the “red threat”, judging from the published documents, seemed to the British quite real.
On the 250 pages of documents from which, after thirty years, the secrecy stamp was removed, a fantastic scenario of events is given. General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Brezhnev lost power as a result of a coup organized by senior officers of the State Security Committee. The new government of the country pursues a tough political course: Soviet troops invade Yugoslavia, significant military forces are concentrated on the borders with Norway and Turkey. There is a growing tension in the world.
And in the UK there are demonstrations organized by an organization receiving funds from the Soviet Union. In Northern Ireland and Wales separatism is growing. The British are experiencing a crisis: there is a shortage of food and energy, there are arsonists and terrorists all around, important urban arteries are being cut. The government is beginning to use harsh suppression measures. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Labor Party, who had come to Trafalgar Square to protest against the new war, was arrested.
And then, in the early March morning, Soviet bombers bombed key UK military targets. The simultaneous invasion of Soviet troops in Turkey, Norway, Germany, Italy and Greece begins. A few days later, M. Thatcher makes a difficult decision, agreeing with NATO’s plan to launch a nuclear strike on the USSR. Here the game scenario ends - at an event, obviously, preceding a nuclear world war.
It is clear that the gaming "events" are now incredible. However the game represents historical testimony: one of the brightest stereotypes on the topic of how in the early 1980s. the British government perceived the USSR.
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