Since the founding of NATO, the Soviet threat has become a global threat, no longer conveniently (for the Alliance) confined to the European central front, its flanks, and the transatlantic shipping routes north of the Tropic of Cancer. This extension of the threat has increased the option open to Soviet Russia in its long-term campaign of worldwide strategic advancement. (Michael Chichester, “Britain and NATO: the case for revision,” The World Today, Vol.38, No. 11(Nov., 1982) p. 415-416)
What does the European central front mean?
Is it an organization or a concept of an area?
Thank you.
In this context, it means in Central Europe. Basically the region south of Baltic sea, north of the Carpathian mountains along the east to west axis.
You will also see references to the “German plain” - because it’s basically flat, it would be the obvious route for an invasion from the Warsaw Pact countries.
My guess is, territory such as the Fulda Gap, and the flat space that’s suitable for Soviet tanks.
Pretty much just a fancy term for divided Germany during the Cold War.
The Fulda Gap is the obvious entry point for a large scale mechanized attack by either Red Army forces but “European Central front” is essentially the entirety of the Warsaw Pact nations from Poland to Bulgaria and Romania as @AK84 notes. Obviously, nobody is going to attempt to drive tanks across the Alps but that entire front was monitored and protected by land and air, and maintained naval presence in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The author of the paper is obviously arguing that Soviet military presence is extending (or at least capable of projecting) beyond that theatre and that the traditional NATO domain should be extended globally.
I assume the basis for this was the increasing size and operating range of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet, which originally operated in just the Northwestern Pacific but extended its operational domain down to the Indian Ocean and East Africa. However, except for Cuba the Soviets never established any permanent military bases or presence in the Western Hemisphere, and I doubt that NATO powers would really be willing to extend large scale operations beyond North Africa. Note that this does come soon after the Falklands War (April–June 1982), which while not involving NATO overall or any Soviet naval forces whatsoever, did expose weaknesses in naval defense strategy and capabilities that put the ability of joint USN-RN operations to protect Atlantic shipping lines from Soviet attacks in question, the SOSUS line covering the GIUK Gap notwithstanding.
In reality, the Soviet economy was already badly strained and they had no real ability to extend any kind of permanent military influence to East Africa or Latin America much less attempt a conventional Red Dawn-style incursion onto US soil, and post-Warsaw Pact it became clear that while the Red Army had a massive amount of military forces stationed on the East Bloc front they didn’t even have enough refined petroleum reserves at any point to logically support an invasion of Western Europe. While not quite a ‘Potemkin Village’, the Warsaw Pact military really existed just to prevent invasion by NATO forces, and even setting aside the disparity in operational readiness and warfighting capability, the Soviets were not prepared to push through the German plain and fight a European land war.
Stranger
That’s really what they mean; originally the big threat from the Soviets was a ground threat, in Central Europe, i.e. East Germany/West Germany and Czechoslovakia.
As time went on, the creation/expansion of the Warsaw Pact and support of other Communist nations like Cuba, and the expansion of the Soviet Navy meant that they posed a credible threat worldwide, not just in Germany/Czechoslovakia (Central Europe), the flanks (Norway/Baltic Sea, Mediterranean/Italy/Greece) and the transatlantic shipping routes (US/Europe).
The area being a battleground is not unique to the Cold War. Its been the invasion route for centuries. The Teutonic Knights. Napoleonic Wars etc all saw this area as being the main route for attacking armies.
I think that would be along the north-south axis. I don’t think there were any serious fears that the USSR would try to invade Western Europe by swinging north through Scandinavia, nor south though the Adriatic Sea and the Alps.