Allied Forces Baltic Approaches

Allied Forces Baltic Approaches
Active 1962-2002
Allegiance NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Location Karup, Denmark

Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP) was a Principal Subordinate Command (PSC) of the NATO Military Command Structure, with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002.

The NATO command Baltic Approaches was created on 8 January 1962, with headquarters in Karup, Denmark. It was created at Germany's urging, in order to end the previous separation of the German naval forces between the NATO commands Northern Europe and Central Europe. After the changes in the international security situation in 1990, the command was restructured in 1993 and deactivated in 2002.

The area of responsibility of BALTAP comprised the territory of Denmark (without Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the German states Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and the eastern North Sea, the Baltic approaches with Skagerrak, Kattegat, the Danish straits, and the Baltic Sea. One peculiarity was the responsibility for air defense over the German part of the BALTAP area. Until 1990, the western Allies were responsible for air defence over the whole Federal Republic of Germany on the basis of the occupation statute. After France had withdrawn from the integrated military structure of the alliance, this task was undertaken by the United States and the United Kingdom. The Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) was responsible for the area of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, and was led by a British officer from RAF Germany, with headquarters in Mönchengladbach.[1]

BALTAP was led by a Danish officer with the rank of a Lieutenant General or a Vice Admiral, who had the designation Commander Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (COMBALTAP). His deputy was a German officer of the same rank. From 1962 to 1993, COMBALTAP was under the NATO command Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) in Kolsås outside Oslo in Norway. After a change in the NATO structure, it was placed under Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) on 1 October 1993. For the operational command of the air and sea forces, a partial assignment of these forces to Allied Forces Northwestern Europe (AFNORTHWEST) with its component commands AIRNORTHWEST and NAVNORTHWEST was made.

Organization

In case of war, COMBALTAP would have had to lead the NATO forces assigned to it. According to plans, all Danish forces with the exception of some units in the outer regions were to be placed under COMBALTAP. Germany had provided for its land and air forces stationed in the BALTAP area, and its entire naval and naval air forces, to be subordinated to COMBALTAP. In addition, external reinforcements from the United States and Britain (UK Mobile Force, primarily 1st Infantry Brigade) were planned.

1962 to 1993

The structure that was brought into being with the creation of BALTAP remained with few changes from 1962 to 1994. During this time, BALTAP comprised 4 subordinate commands:

Commander, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland

Structure of Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland in 1989 (click to enlarge)
LANDJUT
1st Jutland Bde
3rd Jutland Bde
2nd Jutland Bde
Jutland Battle Group (Jutland Light Bde)
Corps Artillery (DK units)
Jutland Div Artillery
LANDJUT and its Danish units and Corps units in 1989
LANDJUT
600th AirDef Reg (Corps)
Corps Artillery (HQ & GE units)
16th PzGrBde
17th PzGrBde
18th PzBde
6th Artillery Reg (DivArt)
6th Aviation Reg (Div)
6th AirDef Reg (Div)
51st Home Defense Bde
LANDJUT and its Germans units and Corps units in 1989

LANDJUT was tasked with defending the Jutland peninsula. Holding Jutland was crucial for the mission of NAVBALTAP to keep the Danish Straits blocked and thus prevent the Soviet Baltic Fleet from breaking out into the North Sea. In case the Jutland peninsula would fall into Soviet hands, the LANDZEALAND units defending the Danish Isles would have been dangerously flanked. Therefore LANDJUT was to be reinforced at the earliest with British and American troops to ensure that advancing Soviet forces would be prevented from crossing the Kiel Canal and Eider river.

British and American formations earmarked to reinforce LANDJUT included the British 1st Infantry Brigade and the American 9th Infantry Division.[2] British infantry battalions and armoured regiments rotated every two years or so; thus locations are shown, but no unit identities.

Jutland Division

6th Panzergrenadier Division

Territorial Command Schleswig-Holstein

Territorial Command Jutland and Funen

All territorial army units were part of the reserve.

Commander, Allied Land Forces Zealand

Structure of Allied Land Forces Zealand in 1989 (click to enlarge)
LANDZEALAND
1st Zealand Bde
2nd Zealand Bde
Bornholms Værn
Corps Artillery
1st Zealand BG
2nd Zealand BG
3rd Zealand BG
4th Zealand BG
LANDZEALAND and its major units in 1989

LANDZEALAND was tasked with defending the Danish Isles incl. Bornholm and preventing Warsaw Pact troops from amphibious landings. Order of battle in 1988.

Bornholm Værn

Bornholm was in wartime independent, due to the long distance from Zealand and agreements after World War II said that no foreign units could reinforce Bornholm. Therefore Bornholm had only the Battlegroup and homeguard units of the 7th Territorial Region.

Territorial Commander, Allied Land Forces in Zealand

Except for the Royal Guard Company and the Mounted Hussar Squadron, which were made up of conscripts, all territorial units were part of the reserve:

Commander, Air Forces, Baltic Approaches

Commander, Allied Air Forces Baltic Approaches (COMAIRBALTAP) was a NATO military formation under Allied Forces Baltic Approaches tasked with providing air support to the three other BALTAP commands.

COMAIRBALTAP commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector. The commander of COMAIRBALTAP was the commander in chief of the Royal Danish Air Forc. COMAIRBALTAP was formed in 1962 with its area of responsibility covering Germany north of the river Elbe and Denmark with the surrounding seas; however air defense for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein was the responsibility of Second Allied Tactical Air Force

The peacetime headquarters of COMAIRBALTAP were at Karup in Denmark. COMAIRBALTAP commanded the Royal Danish Air Force and flying units of the German Luftwaffe and Marine, as well as extensive air defense and radar installations manned by German and Danish personnel.

If needed COMAIRBALTAP would have been reinforced with units from the US Third (UK based), Eighth (reconnaissance and bombing), Ninth (immediate reinforcements) and Twelfth Air Force (follow on reinforcements), and with Royal Air Force units. At the start of hostilities COMAIRBALTAP would have had immediately almost 300 combat planes at its disposal. The following units would have come under COMAIRBALTAP in wartime:

COMAIRBALTAP was disbanded in 1993.

War Time Structure c.1989

Allied Naval Forces Baltic Approaches

The command was located until 1976 in Kiel-Holtenau, and thereafter at Karup, with the subordinate commanders:

The task of NAVBALTAP was to keep the Soviet Baltic Fleet bottled up in the Baltic Sea by blocking the Danish straits and thus ensuring NATOs unchallenged control of the North Sea. NAVBALTAP commanded the entire German as well as the entire Danish Navy.

1993 to 2002

On 1 October 1993, a restructuring took effect, which took into account the changed military situation in the Baltic Sea. Whilst the two land forces commands remained in place, the two headquarters of the naval and air forces were deactivated. The Interim Combined Air Operations Centre 1 (ICAOC 1) in Karup took the place of COMAIRBALTAP. The two national naval commanders were placed directly under COMBALTAP as Admiral Danish Fleet (AdmDanFleet) and Commander German Fleet (COMGERFLEET).

References

  1. ↑ Brian Wanstall; Luftverteidigung im Ostseeraum - Dänemark bewacht die Meerengen; in: Interavia 12-1982, S. 1297ff
  2. ↑ Gen. Lyng: "If the 9th Infantry Division is reduced or disbanded we will need other reinforcements," said Gen Lyng. "The Soviets would be able to concentrate a substantial number of divisions against the 6th Panzergrenadier Division and the Jutland Division and we would have no division behind them. The UKMF is very good but it only has 14 tanks, it is only a brigade and we need a division.” 1990 Complete Edition of Jane's Defence Weekly page 850.
  3. ↑ http://www.stall.dk/RDAF.html
  4. ↑ http://www.luftvet.dk/

Sources

  • Peter Monte, Die Rolle der Marine der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in der Verteidigungsplanung für Mittel- und Nordeuropa von den 50er Jahren bis zur Wende 1989/90; in: Werner Rahn (Hrsg.), Deutsche Marinen im Wandel, S. 565 ff.. München 2005. ISBN 3-486-57674-7
  • Norbert Rath; Headquarter Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (HQ BALTAP); in Marineforum 4-1997, S. 3ff.

Literature

External links

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