NATO, or the Organization of North Atlantic Bloc Countries, is a military-political alliance created in 1949 as a counterweight to the growing danger posed by the Soviet Union, which pursued a policy of supporting communist movements in Europe. Initially, the organization included 12 states - ten European, as well as the USA and Canada. NATO is now the largest alliance of 28 countries.
Alliance formation
A few years after the end of the war, at the end of the 40s, there was a danger of new international conflicts - a coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia, undemocratic regimes were established in the countries of Eastern Europe. The governments of Western European countries were concerned about the growing military power of the Land of Soviets and its direct threats to Norway, Greece, and other states. In 1948, five countries of Western Europe signed the Treaty of Intent to create a unified system to protect their sovereignty, which later became the basis for the formation of the North Atlantic Alliance.
The main goal of the organization was to ensure the security of its members and the political integration of European countries. Over the years of its existence, NATO has several times accepted new members. At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, after the collapse of the USSR and the Warsaw Treaty Organization, the North Atlantic bloc adopted several East European countries and former Soviet republics, which increased the number of troops of NATO countries.
Containment strategy
The duration of the agreement between the NATO member countries at the time of its signing was determined at twenty years, but its automatic extension was also envisaged. The text of the treaty emphasized the obligation not to carry out actions contrary to the UN Charter, to promote international security. A strategy of “containment” was proclaimed, which was based on the concept of “shield and sword”. The basis of the policy of “containment” was supposed to make the military power of the union. One of the ideologists of this strategy emphasized that of the five regions around the world with the possibility of creating military power - the United States, Britain, the USSR, Japan and Germany - one is controlled by the Communists. Therefore, the main goal of the “containment” policy was to prevent the spread of the ideas of communism in other regions.
The concept of "shield and sword"
The claimed concept was based on the superiority of the United States in the possession of nuclear weapons. The retaliatory strike on aggression was the possible use of nuclear weapons of small destructive force. The “shield” refers to the ground forces of Europe with the strong support of aviation and the Navy, and the “sword” refers to US strategic bombers with atomic weapons on board. According to this understanding, the following tasks were considered:
1. The United States had to carry out strategic bombing.
2. The main naval operations were carried out by the American and Allied Navy.
3. The number of NATO troops provided mobilization in Europe.
4. The main forces of the short-range air force and air defense were also provided by European countries, led by Britain and France.
5. The rest of the countries that are members of NATO, had to assist in solving special problems.
Alliance Armed Forces
However, in 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea. This military conflict has shown the insufficiency and limitations of the “containment” strategy. It was necessary to develop a new strategy, which would be a continuation of the concept. It became the “forward defense” strategy, according to which it was decided to create the Joint Armed Forces of the bloc — the coalition forces of NATO member states, deployed in Europe under a single command. The development of the united forces of the bloc can be divided into four periods.
The NATO Council has developed a “short” plan for four years. It was built on the possibility of using the military resources that NATO had at that time: the number of troops was 12 divisions, about 400 aircraft, a certain number of ships. The plan provided for the likelihood of conflict in the near future and the withdrawal of troops to the borders of Western Europe and to the ports of the Atlantic. At the same time, the development of "medium" and "long-term" plans. The first of these included maintaining the armed forces in a state of alert, and in the event of a military conflict, deterring enemy forces to the Rhine River. The second was designed to prepare for the likely "big war", which provided for the conduct of major military operations already east of the Rhine.
The strategy of "massive retaliation"
As a result of these decisions, over the course of three years, the strength of NATO troops has grown from four million in 1950 to 6.8 million. The number of US regular forces has also increased - from one and a half million people in two years, it has grown 2.5 times. The transition to the strategy of "massive retaliation" was characteristic during this period. The United States no longer had a monopoly on nuclear weapons, but they had superiority in their means of delivery, as well as in numbers, which gave them some advantages in a likely war. This strategy involved a total nuclear war against the Soviet country. Therefore, the United States saw its task in strengthening strategic aviation for delivering nuclear strikes at the enemy’s deep rear.
The Doctrine of Limited War
The beginning of the second period in the history of the development of the armed forces of the bloc can be considered the signing of the Paris Agreements of 1954. According to the doctrine of limited war, it was decided to provide European countries with short- and long-range missiles. The role of the Allied Ground Forces as one of the components of the NATO system has grown. The creation of missile bases on the territory of European countries was envisaged.
The total number of NATO troops was more than 90 divisions, more than three thousand nuclear delivery vehicles. In 1955, the OVR, the Warsaw Pact Organization , was created , a few months later the first summit was held, devoted to the problems of defusing tensions. During these years, a certain warming of relations between the USA and the USSR took place, nevertheless, the arms race continued.
In 1960, NATO had more than five million troops. If we add reserve units, territorial formations and the national guard to them, then the total number of NATO troops amounted to more than 9.5 million people, about five hundred installations of tactical missiles and more than 25 thousand tanks, about 8 thousand aircraft, of which 25% carriers of atomic weapons on board and two thousand warships.
Arms race
The third period was characterized by a new “flexible response” strategy and the rearmament of the combined forces. In the 60s, the international situation worsened again. The Berlin and Caribbean crises occurred, then there were the events of the Prague Spring. A five-year plan for the development of the armed forces was adopted, providing for the creation of a single fund for communication systems and other measures.
In the 70s of the 20th century, the fourth period of the development of the combined forces of the coalition began and the next concept of a "decapitation strike" was adopted, which made it a priority to destroy the enemy's communications centers so that he did not have time to decide on a retaliatory strike. Based on this concept, the production of the latest generation of cruise missiles was launched, with high striking accuracy of the set targets. NATO troops in Europe, the number of which increased every year, could not but disturb the Soviet Union. Therefore, he also began to modernize the means of delivery of atomic weapons. And after the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan , a new aggravation of relations began. However, when the new leadership came to power in the Soviet Union, a radical turn took place in the country's international politics, and at the end of the 1990s the Cold War was put to an end.
NATO arms reduction
As part of the reorganization of NATO forces, by 2006 it was planned to create a NATO Response Force, the number of troops of which would be 21 thousand people, representing the ground forces, the Air Force and the Navy. These troops should have had all the necessary means for conducting operations of any intensity. The Rapid Response Force will include units of national armies, replacing each other every six months. The bulk of the military force should have been provided by Spain, France and Germany, as well as the United States. It was also necessary to improve the command structure by type of armed forces, reducing the number of command and control bodies by 30%. If we look at the number of NATO troops in Europe by years and compare these numbers, we can see a significant reduction in the number of weapons that the alliance held in Europe. The United States began to withdraw its troops from Europe, some of them were transferred home, and some to other regions.
NATO expansion
In the 1990s, NATO began consultations with partners in the Partnership for Peace program - both Russia and the Mediterranean Dialogue took part in it. Within the framework of these programs, the organization decided to admit new members to the organization - the former Eastern European states. In 1999, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO, as a result of which the unit received 360 thousand troops, more than 500 military aircraft and helicopters, fifty warships, about 7.5 thousand tanks and other equipment.
The second expansion wave added seven countries to the bloc - four East European, as well as the former Baltic republics of the Soviet Union. As a result, the number of NATO troops in Eastern Europe increased by another 142 thousand people, 344 aircraft, more than one and a half thousand tanks and several dozen warships.
NATO-Russia Relations
These events were negatively perceived in Russia, however, the terrorist attack of 2001 and the emergence of international terrorism again brought Russia and NATO closer together. The Russian Federation has provided its airspace to block aircraft for bombing in Afghanistan. At the same time, Russia opposed the eastward expansion of NATO and the incorporation of the former republics of the USSR. Especially strong contradictions between them arose in connection with Ukraine and Georgia. The prospects for relations between NATO and Russia today concern many, and various points of view are expressed on this issue. The number of troops of NATO and Russia is almost comparable. No one seriously represents the military confrontation of these forces, and in the future it is necessary to search for options for dialogue and compromise decisions.
NATO involvement in local conflicts
Since the 90s of the 20th century, NATO has been involved in several local conflicts. The first of these was Operation Desert Storm. When the armed forces of Iraq entered Kuwait in August 1990, a decision was made to transfer multinational forces there and a powerful group was created. The number of NATO troops in Operation Desert Storm amounted to more than two thousand aircraft with a stock of materiel, 20 strategic bombers, more than 1,700 tactical aircraft and about 500 carrier-based aircraft. The entire aviation group was transferred to the command of the 9th Air Force of the United States Air Force. After lengthy bombing, coalition ground forces defeated Iraq.
NATO peacekeeping operations
The North Atlantic bloc also participated in peacekeeping operations in the regions of the former Yugoslavia. With the approval of the UN Security Council in December 1995, alliance ground forces were deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina to prevent military clashes between the communities. After the air operation, code-named “Deliberate Force,” the war ended with the Dayton Accord. In 1998-1999 during the armed conflict in the southern region of Kosovo and Metohija, a peacekeeping contingent was commissioned under NATO command, the number of troops amounted to 49.5 thousand people. In 2001, in the armed conflict in Macedonia, vigorous action by the European Union and the North Atlantic bloc forced the parties to sign the Ohrid Agreement. NATO’s major operations are also “Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan and Libya.
NATO's new concept
At the beginning of 2010, NATO adopted a new strategic concept, according to which the North Atlantic bloc should continue to fulfill three main tasks. It:
- collective defense - in an attack on one of the countries that are members of the alliance, the rest will assist it;
- ensuring security - NATO will help strengthen security in partnership with other countries and with open doors for European countries, if their principles comply with NATO criteria;
- crisis management - NATO will use the full range of effective military and political means to overcome emerging crises, if they threaten its security, before these crisis situations develop into armed conflicts.
To date, the number of NATO troops in the world is, according to 2015, 1.5 million soldiers, of which 990 thousand are American troops. Joint quick reaction units comprise 30 thousand people, they are supplemented by airborne and other special units. These armed forces can arrive on purpose in a short time - within 3-10 days.
Russia and the member states of the alliance are in constant political dialogue on critical security issues. The Russia-NATO Council created working groups for cooperation in various fields. Despite disagreements, both sides are aware of the need to find common priorities in international security.