Red Storm Rising

Lore & Background

The world of Red Storm Rising is one of razor-thin margins. The Soviet Union's economy is threatened when Muslim militants from Soviet Azerbaijan destroy an oil production refinery in Nizhnevartovsk. After much deliberation, the Soviet Politburo decides to seize the Persian Gulf by military force to recoup the country's oil losses. Knowing the United States had pledged to defend the oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf, the Soviets decide that neutralizing NATO is a necessary first step.

The Politburo embarks upon an elaborate maskirovka to disguise both their predicament and their intentions, publicly declaring an arms reduction proposal to scrap their obsolete nuclear missile submarines. The KGB then carries out a false flag operation involving a bomb being detonated in a Kremlin building, framing a KGB sleeper agent as a West German intelligence spy. The war is fought exclusively with conventional weapons, with no escalation to nuclear warfare.

The Soviet Navy achieves a decisive early victory by launching a bold amphibious landing on Iceland, taking control of the NATO airbase in Keflavík. A substantial air attack against a combined American-French carrier battle group results in serious losses to NATO's navies: the French Navy's Foch is sunk, the landing ship USS Saipan explodes taking over 2,000 sailors and Marines, and the USS Nimitz is forced to drydock in Britain for lengthy repairs.

The Soviets are left in control of the strategically important GIUK gap. NATO and Soviet air and ground forces continue to battle ferociously in Germany, with both sides taking heavy losses. General-Colonel Pavel Alekseyev scores a breakthrough in a tank battle at Alfeld, opening the possibility of a Soviet advance beyond the Weser River. A naval attack on Soviet bomber bases with cruise missiles launched by US Navy submarines opens a window for an amphibious counter-assault on Iceland, retaking the island and effectively closing the Atlantic to Soviet forces.

A Soviet prisoner captured during the retaking of Iceland reveals the true cause of the war, and a NATO air offensive swiftly destroys much of the Soviet military's available fuel supplies. With Iceland retaken, the United States is able to resupply the rest of NATO via the reopened sea lanes. The Soviet leadership begins to realize they face the possibility of outright defeat. The General Secretary considers using nuclear weapons to force a favorable end to the war, infuriating Alekseyev.

The KGB chief organizes a coup along with Alekseyev and other members of the Politburo. The new Soviet government then negotiates for a ceasefire with NATO and a return to status quo ante bellum, ending the war.

Reader's Guide

Red Storm Rising is a war novel written by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond, released on August 7, 1986. It is set in the mid-1980s and features a Third World War between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. The conflict is fought exclusively with conventional weapons, with no escalation to nuclear warfare. The plot begins with Muslim militants from Soviet Azerbaijan destroying an oil production refinery in Nizhnevartovsk, threatening to cripple the Soviet Union's economy due to oil shortages.

Knowing that the United States had pledged to defend the oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf, the Soviets decide that neutralizing NATO is a necessary first step. The Politburo embarks upon an elaborate maskirovka to disguise both their predicament and their intentions. The Soviets publicly declare their arms reduction proposal to scrap their obsolete nuclear missile submarines. The KGB then carries out a false flag operation involving a bomb being detonated in a Kremlin building, framing a KGB sleeper agent as a West German intelligence spy involved in the incident.

This is followed up by a substantial air attack against a combined American-French carrier battle group that was originally sent to reinforce Iceland with several landing ships full of US Marines. While NATO's naval forces remain a significant threat, the Soviets are left in control of the strategically important GIUK gap.