East and West practise war

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32425, 12 October 1970, Page 13

East and West practise war

(N.Z Press Association—Copyright) BRUSSELS, October 11. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has begun its largest military exercise of the year in the Eastern Mediterranean, while the Russians and their allies concentrate their own manoeuvres far to the north, in East Germany.

The separation of roughly 1000 miles, is of a more symbolic than practical importance, but it gives some satisfaction at N.A.T.O. headquarters; The East bloc has called its exercise "Brotherhood in Arms,” and it is its largest since the Second Wbrld war. Reports of the strength of the forces engaged go as high as 580,000 men from seven countries.

The eight Western countries are using about 100,000 in their exercise “Deep Express.” Both involve air, sea and land forces and both include landing operations. The East bloc manoeuvres marjt a diplomatic victory for one of Moscow’s weakest allies, the independent-minded Government of Rumania; the exercise is not being held on Rumanian soil, as seemed inevitable only a few months ago. That would have brought them more than half-way across Eastern Europe toward the explosive Mediterranean area.

During the spring, Western diplomats were reporting Rumanian observers as saying that there seemed no way of avoiding a visit by Soviet Union troops for the first time since they withdrew in 1958; but this has not occurred.

In July, Rumania and the Soviet Union signed a treaty containing nothing that could be interpreted as allowing in Soviet Union troops. It was very different from the treaty that Czechoslovakia’s leaders

had had to sign two months before. Now Rumanian units are reported to have joined “Brotherhood in Arms,” something they would not normally have done; but it is expected that the whole exercise will be confined to East Germany. General Heinz Hoffman, the East German Minister of Defence, is the commander, though Marshal Ivan Yakubovsky, of the Soviet Union, who is com-mander-in-chief of all the Warsaw Pact forces, is also on hand. The undisclosed East bloc war play scenario may be something like this: The Atlantic Alliance is supposed to have attacked from West Germany, and landings attempted on East Germany’s Baltic coast. The Soviet Union and their allies will counter-attack with air, sea and ground forces. The manoeuvres are thought to have begun last Tuesday. They go on until October 20. The Western allies are also silent about the kind of battle they are simulating in NorthEastern Greece, Turkey and the Aegean Sea. It will last until October 22. All that is known for certain is that 50,000 Greek and Turkish troops are involved. Probably as many more have come from six other countries, including the United States, Britain and West Germany.