From Comrade Counter-Admiral Joe Kussey, an in-depth analysis of the options available to Warsaw Pact for Operation Garbo – the invasion of Sweden. The document is also available for download at this link.

After playing Scenario #3 several times and invading Denmark, I thought I would take a look at the difficulties of invading Sweden.  Invading Denmark seemed pretty straight forward – capture Copenhagen’s three city hexes and win the game.  Because of the WP helicopter and air transport fleet, supply is not major concern in that scenario, unless WP loses Air Superiority over Copenhagen.  Given the massive advantage of ground support vs brigades with a defense of “1”, it was just a matter of getting units into position and providing air support to the Polish Marines.  Would this be the case with Sweden?  After setting up, it is clear that this will be more difficult than invading Denmark. 

Upon review, several things stand out.  Unlike Denmark’s situation further southwest, Soviet airfields are more distant from Sweden, ruling out attack helicopter support until an airfield is secured and repaired.  In addition, Soviet forces set aside to conduct the opening invasion are relatively light given the size of Sweden: 3 Air-Drop battalions, a Marine and a parachute brigade.  This will make splitting forces risky.  With no major geographic objective that could end the game (such as the fall of Copenhagen), Soviet forces will have to capture a ground to win.  WP will need to fight on a broader front.  In addition, Sweden also has a better equipped army and will receive NATO reinforcements.