Going Nuclear, but How? The Netherlands Army and Tactical Nuclear Warfare in Europe, 1953–1968

Abstract

In the historiography of nuclear arms in the Cold War the political and military strategic levels are dominant; little attention has been paid to the sub-strategic levels. This is understandable, because most archival material has been destroyed or is still classified. However, it is also remarkable because tactical nuclear weapons (tnw) were a crucial element in nato strategies and because all nato forces had to prepare, down to the lowest levels, to fight a war by nuclear means. Based on previously unused archives, this article analyses how the Dutch army, as an army of a small nato-member state, adapted step by step to the nuclearisation of land warfare in the period 1953 to 1968. Which role were the tnw s assigned in the war plans? But also, how realistic would these plans have been, given the influence of (inter)national political developments, moral and psychological aspects, and military-technical and military-tactical issues?