Plans To Transport US Troops To The Front Line With Russia
An overview of the five corridors being planned to transfer US troops over Europe in case of an escalation of war in Ukraine.
There are increased talks of the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and it’s spread to the rest of Europe or the direct involvement of western troops in Ukraine. All of these scenarios would results in the involvement of US troops in Europe.
My personal belief is that it will not come to that.
Nevertheless, sources say that NATO officials are already in the process of designating land corridors which would be used to transfer US troops, along with US Armour, to the front lines in case of a hot war between Europe and Russia.
In case of a great continental war in Europe, US troops would disembark in one of five European harbors and would be shipped via preplanned routes to the hypothetical front line. The location of these harbors as well as the proposed routers are shown bellow.
The primary plan is for US troops to land in the Dutch ports before being transported by train through Germany towards Poland. The alternative plans are in place in case Russian preemptively strike the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
In the case where Russians destroy the northern ports (1,5), NATO would focus on the ports in Italy, Greece and Turkey (2,3,4). Route 2 would involve Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary, routes 3 and 4 Bulgaria and Romania.
What is interesting is that NATO armies will not be limited by local laws, meaning the will be able to transport goods without border checks. A potential hotbed of smuggling.
It should be noted that NATO officials have warned they only have 5% of the necessary air defense to cover its eastern flank, which also translates to its ability to defend key logistical centers. This is potentially worrisome after observing the situation in Ukraine, where RAF specifically and successfully targets Ukrainian logistical centers (as one does in war).
The solution of this is the abandonment of the large logistical bases we saw during GWOT in Iraq and Afghanistan, as it is assumed they would be attacked and destroyed early in the conflict. However, the issue of air defense is a constant - you can never have enough air defense.
Another potential issue is that some NATO members, trying not to antagonize Russia, might not allow their territory to be used for troop transport. Namely, these are Hungary and Turkey. However, it is assumed they will cave under pressure from the rest of NATO states.
Finally, the possibility that all of this is a red herring has to be mentioned. All of this could be NATO disinformation placed to divert Russian attention from actual plans for troop movements.
Alternative options are Spain and Portugal, however these would result in a lot longer land travel time.