Exercise Mainbrace

Exercise Mainbrace
Part of Cold War (1947–1953)
NATO Northern Flank
Type	NATO combined naval training exercises
Location	North Atlantic Ocean, GIUK Gap, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, North Sea, Jutland Peninsula, and Baltic Sea
Planned by	SACLANT & SACEUR
Objective	Deployment of NATO anti-submarine warfare forces, aircraft carrier strike forces, and supply convoys
Date	September 14–25, 1952
Executed by	Admiral Sir Patrick Brind, RN (CINCNORTH)
Outcome	Exercise successfully executed.

Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a series of NATO exercises jointly commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Matthew B. Ridgeway, U.S. Army, during the Fall of 1952.

Background

Operation Frostbite (1946)

Naval activities in north Atlantic, 1946-1951

The strategic importance of control of Norway and the adjacent Norwegian and Barents seas was recognized by Anglo-American naval planners as early as the First World War. The invasion and Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany Norway during World War II confirmed the importance of the region, as Germany was able to establish bases to be established for submarine and air operations against Allied convoys bound for the Soviet seaport of Murmansk.^[1]

Following the Second World War, several former allied navies executed a number of individual and multi-lateral naval exercises, including:

• Operation Frostbite (pictured), a 1946 naval exercise involving U.S. Navy Task Group 21.11 led by the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVB-41) that operated in the Davis Straits between Labrador and Greenland;^[2]
• Exercise Verity, a 1949 combined naval exercise involving the British, French, and Dutch navies which carried out naval bombardment, convoy escort, minesweeping, and Motor Torpedo Boat attack evolutions;^[3]
• Exercise Activity, a 1950 Dutch-led naval exercise to refine combined communications and tactical procedures;^[3] and
• Exercise Progress, a 1951 French-led combined naval operation with Belgian, French, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and British naval units that participating in antisubmarine warfare operations, air defense maneuvers, minesweeping operations, and convoy exercises.^[3]

Soviet containment strategy

Initially with his "long telegram" and subsequently in his article "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" that appeared in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs, American diplomat George F. Kennan argued that Joseph Stalin would not (and moreover could not) moderate the determination of the Soviet Union to undermine and overthrow Western governments following World War Two, noting:

"... the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies... Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points, corresponding to the shifts and manoeuvers of Soviet policy, but which cannot be charmed or talked out of existence."^[4]

Kennan's advocacy for a policy of containment against the Soviet Union formed the basis of American foreign policy during the Cold War, giving rise to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the formation of NATO.

NATO command structure

With the establishment of NATO’s Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) on 30 January 1952, the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) joined the previously created Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as one of the alliance’s two principal military field commanders.^[5] Also, a Channel Command was established on 21 February 1952 to control the English Channel and North Sea area and deny it to the enemy, protect the sea lanes of communication, and Support operations conducted by SACEUR and SACLANT.^[6][7]

Operational history

Initial planning for Exercise Mainbrace was initiated by General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to his resignation as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to run for the President of the United States.^[8] The exercise itself was commanded jointly by SACLANT Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, and SACEUR General Matthew B. Ridgeway, U.S. Army, with the immediate theater commander being Admiral Sir Patrick Brind, RN, who was in Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Mainbrace was conducted over twelve days between September 14–25, 1952, and involved nine navies: United States Navy, the British Royal Navy, French Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, Portuguese Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, and Belgian Naval Force operating in the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea, the North Sea near the Jutland Peninsula, and the Baltic Sea. Its objective was to convince Denmark and Norway that those nations could be defended against attack from the Soviet Union.^[8] The exercise featured simulated carrier air strikes against "enemy" formation attacking NATO's northern flank near Bodø, Norway, naval air attacks against aggressors near the Kiel Canal, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations, and U.S. marines landing in Denmark.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Force composition

Eighty thousand men, over 200 ships, and 1,000 aircraft participated in the Mainbrace. The New York Times' military reporter Hanson W. Baldwin described this NATO naval force as being the "largest and most powerful fleet that has cruised in the North Sea since World War I."^[16][17]

Blue Fleet Fast Carrier Task Force

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) with Carrier Air Group 17 (CVG-17):^[18]

USS Midway (CVB-41) with Carrier Air Group 6 (CVG-6):^[19]

USS Wasp (CV-18) and Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1):^[20]

HMS Eagle (R05):^[21]

HMS Illustrious (R87):^[22]

• 4 Naval Air Squadron
• 824 Naval Air Squadron
• 860 Naval Air Squadron - Royal Netherlands Navy

Light aircraft carriers

• USS Wright (CVL-49)
• HMS Theseus
• HMCS Magnificent

Escort aircraft carriers

• USS Mindoro (CVE-120)
• USS Salerno Bay (CVE-110)

Battleships

• USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
• HMS Vanguard

Cruisers

• USS Quincy (CA-71)
• USS Columbus (CA-74)
• USS Des Moines (CA-134)
• HMS Swiftsure
• HMCS Quebec

Amphibious force flagship

• USS Mount Olympus (AGC-8)

Gallery

• 

  HMS Vanguard

• 

  USS Midway

• 

  HMS Vanguard

• 

  Admiral McCormick

Other NATO Military Exercises - Fall 1952

Exercise Mainbrace was part of a series of NATO exercise jointly commanded by Admiral McCormick and General Ridgeway during the Fall of 1952 involving 300,000 military personnel engaged in maneuvers from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea.^[10][12]

NATO Central Front

Four exercises were conducted on NATO's central region during the Fall of 1952. Blue Alliance was a major allied air force exercise for the Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) to achieve air supremacy over the Central European front and provide close air support to NORTHAG ground forces under the overall command of Lt. General Lauris Norstad, USAF.^[13][23] Two 1952 central region exercises involved air-ground combined forces. Equinox was a major air-ground exercise involving French-American tactical air units and a French airborne unit under the command of Général d'Armée Alphonse Juin, French Army.^[13] Holdfast was a major allied air-ground exercise involving 150,000 British, Dutch, Belgian and Canadian troops of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in coordination with the Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AIRCENT) while maneuvering east of the Rhine River in the British Zone under the overall command of Lt. General Sir Richard Nelson Gale, British Army.^{[10][12][13][23]} Finally, Rosebud involved ground maneuvers by the U.S. Seventh Army in the American Zone of occupied Germany.^[13]

NATO Southern Flank

Two exercises were conducted on NATO's southern region during the Fall of 1952 under the overall command of Admiral Robert B. Carney, USN, NATO's Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH).^[24] Ancient Wall was a series of military maneuvers involving ground small unit tactical training, land-based tactical air support, and carrier-based air support.^[25] Longstep was a ten-day naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea during November 1952 involving over 170 warships and 700 aircraft under the overall command of Admiral Carney. The objective of the Allied ("Blue") forces was to dislodge enemy ("Green") invasion forces from their occupying positions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Blue naval forces were centered around the U.S. Sixth Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral John H. Cassady, USN, and its two aircraft carriers, the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wasp. Green forces included submarines and land-based aircraft. The exercise concluded with an amphibious landing at Lebidos Bay south of İzmir, Turkey, involving 3000 French, Italian, and Greek troops, including the Battalion Landing Team 3/2, under the overall command of General Robert E. Hogaboom, USMC.^[24][26]

Aftermath

The Soviet Union characterized Mainbrace, Holdfast, and other NATO military exercises as "war-like acts" by NATO, with particular reference to the participation of Norway and Denmark, while the USSR was preparing for its own military maneuvers in the Soviet Zone.^[10][12]

See also

	Cold War portal
	NATO portal

• Cold War (1953-1962)
• Northern Wedding
• Operation Grand Slam (NATO)
• Operation Strikeback

Notes

Sources and references

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Allard, Dean C. (January 2001). "Strategic Views of the US Navy and NATO on the Northern Flank, 1917-1991". The Northern Mariner (Le Marin du nord) XI (1): 11–24. http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol11/nm_11_1_11to24.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
• Fry, Roger (2007 October). "HMS Vanguard: A short history of Britain’s last battleship". Vanguard: the Official Journal of the Royal Navy Association No. 10: 33. http://www.rna-10-area.net/files/VanguardOct07.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
• Gary, USN (Ret.), GMC Richard M. (Summer 2009). "USS QUINCY CA-71". U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association (USNCSA) magazine: 34. http://www.navycruisers.org/su09current-articles2.html. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
• L’Heureux CD, RCN (Ret’d), Commander E.J.. "Aircraft Carriers Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)". Canada Aviation Museum. http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/assets/pdf/e_AircraftCarriers.PDF. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
• Till, Geoffrey (April 2005). "Holding the Bridge in Troubled Times: The Cold War and the Navies of Europe". The Journal of Strategic Studies (Taylor & Francis Group Ltd) 28 (2): 309–337. doi:10.1080/01402390500088379. ISSN 0140-2390. http://yurizhukov.com/files/CWaS_309-337_european_navies.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
• Sydney Morning Herald - "NATO Ships Enter Baltic Sea" - September 16, 1952
• Time Magazine, "Operation Mainbrace", September 22, 1952
• Time Magazine, "NATO: Hedgehogs", September 29, 1952
• Thompson, Roger (2007). Lessons Not Learned: The U.S. Navy's Status Quo Culture. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-865-0. 

External links

• All Hands magazine online
  • October 1952
  • November 1952
  • January 1953
• Photo Gallery - Operation Mainbrace- CV41.org
  • Senior officials in the NATO military structure, from 1949 to 2001
  • NATO the first five years 1949-1954:
    • Chapter 7 — The Military Structure
    • Chapter 9 — The Increase in Strength - International Exercises
    • Appendix 1 — Chronicle
    • Annex — Chapter IX-B: Soviet armed strength (as estimated in 1954)
• "Exercise Mainbrace" - Pathé Films online

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