Page 628 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

628 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

additional talks between Sofia and Moscow.
The “problem” with the Romanian withdrawal was compensated as well by the sig-
nificant increase of Intelligence information on NATO exercises and operational plan-
ning in Southern European flank between Hungary and Bulgaria. The established since
1969 close cooperation of the Information and electronic intelligence departments of the
two countries was intensified visibly in 1972-1973 with further exchange of experts and
regular comparison of acquired operational data.
The reconnaissance of the last NATO FALLEX exercise of September 1968 (with its two
phases Silver Tower and Golden Rod) was discussed according to the approved pattern – a
preparatory session for coordination of the joint measures in July 1968 in Budapest, and a
forthcoming evaluative session in Budapest in March 1969. Following the agreements of
July, the Bulgarian Military Intelligence service sent until the end of 1968 several summa-
rized dispatches both to its political and state leadership and to GRU in Moscow, acquired
by HUMINT and SIGINT sources. The information stressed on the visits of Supreme Allied
Commander, Gen. Lyman Lemnitzer to Italy, Greece, and Turkey; a large amount of techni-
cal data over NATO Southern Flank intercommunication command and staff system and its
code signals during the exercise, NATO strike and submarine Mediterranean fleet activity
(with special attention on US Sixth Fleet), etc. These topics were as well the key points of
the three Bulgarian intelligence reports at the Budapest session in March 1969. The main
conclusions about FALLEX-68 were announced by Gen. Patrakeev, Deputy Chief of GRU
Information Department, and by Col. Osiecky, Deputy Chief of Hungarian MI service, who
made a detailed comparison with the previous FALLEX exercises, starting of 1960. The
most significant changes, according to the analyses, referred to the requirement for reduc-
tion of the war readiness of NATO troops during the threatening period, the improvement
of the four stages alert system in the transition from peacetime to military actions, the spe-
10
cific views for use of nuclear weapons, etc. Gen. Patrakeev clarified especially that NATO
military strategists had acknowledged that the level of Warsaw Pact battle readiness shown
11
during the invasion in Czechoslovakia was much higher than their previous evaluations . A
new tendency appeared in the last two FALLEX exercises. While in 1966 France withdraw
from NATO military activities, in 1967-1968 Greek and Turkish military commands avoided
participation in joint drills due to the aggravation of their dispute over Cyprus.
In the beginning of the 1970s FALLEX was changed with WINTEX/CIMEX joint exer-
cise, organized biannually in February – March, while in 1976 started another series of large
scale summer exercise AUTUMN FORGE with participation of about 250 000 – 300 000
troops. A significant part of AUTUMN FORGE was the massive transportation of US troops
to Germany (Reforger exercise, which started in 1969), and the final phase with use of strate-
gic and tactical nuclear weapons was ABLE ARCHER exercise. The Bulgarian and Hungar-
ian MI services focused their reconnaissance on the regional South European and Mediter-
ranean exercises, substantial part of AUTUMN FORGE series, like DAWN PATROOL (first
started in 1969, and renamed in 1981 to DISTANT HAMMER), DEEP FURROW (started
in 1969), DISPLAY DETERMINATION (a joint Air Force exercise, started in 1977), DE-

10 Military Vigilance, Simple Alert, Reinforced Alert, General Alert.
11 COMDOS, VR, MF No. 01288, A.E. 1057, 1058; MF No. 00467, A.E. I-808.