Allied Forces Baltic Approaches


Allied Forces Baltic Approaches was a Principal Subordinate Command of the NATO Military Command Structure, with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002 and consisted of the Danish Armed Forces, units of the West German Bundeswehr and allied wartime reinforcements.
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, 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 defence 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 After France had withdrawn from the integrated military structure of the alliance, this task was undertaken by the United States and the United Kingdom.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 was responsible for the area of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, and was led by a British officer from RAF Germany, with headquarters in Mönchengladbach.
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. His deputy was a German officer of the same rank. From 1962 to 1993, COMBALTAP was under the NATO command Allied Forces Northern Europe in Kolsås outside Oslo in Norway. After a change in the NATO structure, it was placed under Allied Forces Central Europe 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 with its component commands AIRNORTHWEST and NAVNORTHWEST was made.

Organization 1989

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 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:
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. British infantry battalions and armoured regiments rotated every two years or so; thus locations are shown, but no unit identities.
All territorial army units were part of the reserve.
LANDZEALAND was tasked with defending the Danish Isles incl. Bornholm and preventing Warsaw Pact troops from amphibious landings. Order of battle in 1988.
The island of 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.
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:
Allied Air Forces Baltic Approaches was a NATO military formation under Allied Forces Baltic Approaches tasked with providing air support in the BALTAP area of operations. AIRBALTAP 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 defence units and the airfields in its sector. The commander of AIRBALTAP was the commander in chief of the Royal Danish Air Force. AIRBALTAP was formed in 1962 with its area of responsibility covering Germany north of the river Elbe and Denmark with the surrounding seas; however air defence for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein was the responsibility of Second Allied Tactical Air Force
The peacetime headquarters of AIRBALTAP were at Karup in Denmark. AIRBALTAP commanded the Royal Danish Air Force and flying units of the German Luftwaffe and Marine, as well as extensive air defence and radar installations manned by German and Danish personnel.
If needed AIRBALTAP would have been reinforced with units from the US Third, Eighth, Ninth and Twelfth Air Force, and with Royal Air Force units. At the start of hostilities AIRBALTAP would have had immediately almost 300 combat planes at its disposal. The following units would have come under AIRBALTAP in wartime in 1989:
AIRBALTAP was disbanded in 1993.

War Time Structure c.1989

Allied Naval Forces Baltic Approaches was located until 1976 in Kiel-Holtenau, and thereafter at Karup. Its commander was a Danish or German vice admiral and had the following deputy commanders:
The task of NAVBALTAP was to keep the Warsaw Pact's United Baltic Sea Fleets, consisting of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, Polish Navy and East German Volksmarine bottled up in the Baltic Sea by blocking the Danish straits and thus ensuring NATOs unchallenged control of the North Sea. To fulfill its mission NAVBALTAP commanded the entire German as well as the ships of the Royal Danish Navy based in Denmark. The ships based in Greenland and the Faroe islands were under the command of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

Flag Officer Denmark

The Flag Officer Denmark commanded the entire Danish home fleet. As the fleet's main tasks were to prevent Warsaw Pact naval forces from passing through the Danish straits and to prevent amphibious landings on the Danish coast. To fulfill its mission the Danish navy fielded a large number of minelayers and fast attack crafts. The first would have been used to mine all sealanes and potential landings beaches, while the latter would have harassed the enemy fleet with continuous hit and run attacks. Additionally the Danish navy fielded RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles mounted on Scania trucks as mobile coastal artillery.
The navy's main bases were
Minor naval bases were
The coastal fortification
Minor naval stations, as part of sea surveillance.
Aerial support was provided by the Danish Naval Air Squadron based at Værløse Air Base with 8x Lynx Mk.80 helicopters.
The torpedo boats had a mobile base with approximately 40 trucks. MOBA LOG supplied fuel, ordnance, freshwater and provided repair facilities outside the naval bases. MOBA OPS had mobile radars for tactical surveillance and target acquisition.

At the beginning of 1989 the Danish navy consisted of the following ships.
''Fregateskadren'' FGE (Danish Frigate Squadron) 2nd Squadron from April 1992
Support ships:
The Flag Officer Germany was the commanding vice admiral of the West-German Navy's Fleet Command. In peacetime he commanded all German naval units in the North and Baltic Sea. In case of war the command of German units in the North Sea would pass to the Commander German North Sea Subarea. Fleet Command was based during peacetime in Glücksburg, but would have moved to an underground command center in Glücksburg-Meierwik in case of war.
The German naval forces in the Baltic Sea had the task to prevent Warsaw Pact naval forces from passing through the Danish straits and to prevent amphibious landings on the German coast. To fulfill its mission the German navy fielded like the Danish navy a large number of minelayers and fast attack crafts. All German submarines were based in the Baltic Sea and tasked with mining enemy harbors and sinking enemy supply ships far from German waters. The main bases in the Baltic Sea were Naval Base Kiel, Naval Base Kiel-Holtenau, Naval Base Flensburg, Naval Base Flensburg-Mürwik, Naval Base Olpenitz, Neustadt Naval Base and Naval Base Eckernförde.
At the beginning of 1989 the Flag Officer Germany would have commanded the following ships. The peacetime administrative flotilla commands in Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven would have been removed from the chain of command in times of war.
The Commander German North Sea Subarea was the commanding Flottillenadmiral of the West-German Navy's fleet in the North Sea. In peacetime he was subordinate to the vice admiral commanding West-German Navy's Fleet Command, but in case of war he command a parallel command under NAVBALTAP. In peacetime the command was based in Wilhelmshaven, but would have moved to an underground command center in Wilhelmshaven-Sengwarden in case of war.
While German naval forces in Baltic Sea were tasked with preventing Warsaw Pact naval forces from passing through the Danish straits, the North Sea fleet was to patrol the German Bight and protect allied reinforcements and shipping heading for German ports. To GERNORSEA's East Allied Command Channel's BENECHAN command was tasked with patrolling the Western half of the Southern North Sea, while to North Allied Forces Northern Europe's SONOR command was patrolling the Southern Norwegian coast. Unlike in the Baltic Sea most vessels of GERNORSEA were destroyers and frigates. The main bases in the North Sea were Naval Base Wilhelmshaven and Naval Base Cuxhaven.
At the beginning of 1989 the Commander German North Sea Subarea would have commanded the following ships in wartime:
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 in Karup took the place of COMAIRBALTAP. The two national naval commanders were placed directly under COMBALTAP as Admiral Danish Fleet and Commander German Fleet.

Commanders

Literature