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Intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group

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Aldrich, Richard J. (Richard James), 1961-. (2008) Intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group. Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol.31 (No.1). pp. 89-122. ISSN 0140-2390

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402390701785443

Abstract

During the Cold War the UK's principal military role was its commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) through the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), together with wartime command of NATO's Northern Army Group. The possibility of a surprise attack by the numerically superior Warsaw Pact forces ensured that great importance was attached to intelligence, warning and rapid mobilisation. As yet we know very little about the intelligence dimension of BAOR and its interface with NATO allies. This article attempts to address these neglected issues, ending with the impact of the 1973 Yom Kippur War upon NATO thinking about warning and surprise in the mid-1970s. It concludes that the arrangements made by Whitehall for support to BAOR from national assets during crisis or transition to war were - at best - improbable. Accordingly, over the years, BAOR developed its own unique assets in the realm of both intelligence collection and special operations in order to prepare for the possible outbreak of conflict.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Alternative Title:	Strategy and counter-surprise: intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Great Britain. Army. British Army of the Rhine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Great Britain. Government Communications Headquarters , Intelligence service -- Great Britain, Israel-Arab War, 1973, Special operations (Military science)
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Strategic Studies
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	0140-2390
Date:	February 2008
Volume:	Vol.31
Number:	No.1
Page Range:	pp. 89-122
Identification Number:	10.1080/01402390701785443
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/932