Two major strategic alliances emerged in opposition in the wake of World War II in Europe: NATO in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Navigating a tense geopolitical landscape with extraordinary new technology, including atomic weapons, each faction perceived an imminent threat of war and both began intensive military planning operations. While hindsight may exaggerate fears of total war, the Cold War had the potential to turn hot at any time, and it seemed that Europe would be the central battleground. Few realize just how close the world came to erupting into a global firestorm. Analyzing the Cold War as a global conflict, "Blueprints for Battle" describes military planning at the operational level in preparation for total war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Utilizing material from recently opened archives, editors Jan Hoffenaar and Dieter Kruger assemble an international group of scholars to examine the complex plans of the two alliances for a better understanding of the strategies employed by both sides from the end of World War II to the beginning of détente. A meticulous study of the early Cold War, "Blueprints for Battle" examines the perceptions and actions of the rival coalitions, exploring debates about the proper role of NATO, the implications of nuclear weapons, anxieties about America's commitment to Europe, and the coordination of logistical planning among member states. Though the Cold War never wholly exploded, peripheral conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan threatened strategies of nuclear deterrence. Including works originally published in English as well as newly translated material, "Blueprints for Battle" envisions how the world would have changed if NATO and the Warsaw Pact had clashed on the battleground of Central Europe. Although the Cold War has long been subject to discussion and debate, "Blueprints for Battle" offers essential new perspectives on military planning at the brink of war.

Foreword / David T. Zabecki -- Preface / Dieter Kruger -- A note on the English edition -- List of abbreviations and common terms -- Introduction: the plans of the Warsaw Pact and NATO / Jan Hoffenaar and Dieter Krüger -- Strategic problems and the central sector, 1948-1968: an overview / Lawrence S. Kaplan -- Aims and realities: NATO's forward defense and the operational planning level at NORTHAG / Bruno Thoss -- Soviet and Warsaw Pact military strategy from Stalin to Brezhnev: the transformation from "strategic defense" to "unlimited nuclear war," 1945-1968 / Matthias Uhl -- Waiting to be kissed? NATO, NORTHAG, and intelligence / Richard J. Aldrich -- East German military intelligence for the Warsaw Pact in the central sector / Jan Hoffenaar -- Waste and confusion? NATO logistics from the Dutch perspective / Herman Roozenbeek -- The logistics system of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact armed forces in the 1950s and 1960s / Dimitri N. Filippovych -- Soviet Union military planning, 1948-1968 / Viktor Gavrilov -- War games in Europe: the U.S. Army experiments with atomic doctrine / Donald A. Carter -- Fighting for the heart of Germany: German I Corps and NATO's plans for the defense of the North German plain in the 1960s / Helmut Hammerich -- The German Democratic Republic / Torsten Diedrich -- The British Army of the Rhine and defense plans for Germany, 1945-1955 / Robert Evans -- The Dutch contribution to the defense of the central sector / Jan Hoffenaar -- Concluding remarks: warfare in the central sector / Gregory W. Pedlow.