Research Catalog

Title

Oceans ventured : winning the Cold War at sea / John Lehman.

Author

Lehman, John F.,

Publication

New York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2018]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxix, 330 pages : illustrations, maps; 25 cm

Summary

"When Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981, the United States and NATO were losing the Cold War. The USSR had superiority in conventional weapons and manpower in Europe, and had embarked on a massive program to gain naval preeminence. But Reagan already had a plan to end the Cold War without armed conflict. Reagan led a bipartisan Congress to restore American command of the seas by building the navy back to six hundred major ships and fifteen aircraft carriers. He adopted a bold new strategy to deploy the growing fleet to northern waters around the periphery of the Soviet Union and demonstrate that the NATO fleet could sink Soviet submarines, defeat Soviet bomber and missile forces, and strike aggressively deep into the Soviet homeland if the USSR attacked NATO in Central Europe. New technology in radars, sensors, and electronic warfare made ghosts of American submarines and surface fleets. The United States proved that it could effectively operate carriers and aircraft in the ice and storms of Arctic waters, which no other navy had attempted. The Soviets, suffocated by this naval strategy, were forced to bankrupt their economy trying to keep pace. Shortly thereafter the Berlin Wall fell, and the USSR disbanded. In Oceans Ventured, John Lehman reveals for the first time the untold story of the naval operations that played a major role in winning the Cold War"--

Subject

• 1900-1999
• Atlantic Ocean
• Cold War (1945-1989)
• Cold War
• Deterrence (Strategy)
• HISTORY / Military / Naval
• HISTORY / Military / Wars & Conflicts (Other)
• HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century
• Machtpolitik
• Marine
• Military relations
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Ost-West-Konflikt
• Sea control
• Sea-power > Soviet Union > History
• Sea-power > United States > History > 20th century
• Soviet Union
• Sowjetunion
• Strategy
• USA
• United States > History, Naval
• United States
• United States. Navy > History > 20th century
• United States. Navy
• World politics > 1945-1989

Genre/Form

• History.
• Nonfiction.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

American naval strategy and operations in the Cold War -- Ocean Venture '81, a bold new strategic operation -- Taking a new national strategy to sea : sending a message -- Soviet panic : misreading the message : the mobilization of 1983 -- Gaining global velocity, 1983/1985 -- The beginning of the end : Northern wedding, 1986 -- The Soviets (and others) get the message, 1987/1989 : the Cold War hurtles toward its end -- The Cold War ends.

ISBN

• 9780393254259
• 0393254259

LCCN

2018001680

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries