Editing Red Storm Rising

{{short description|1986 novel by Tom Clancy}}
{{For|the game|Red Storm Rising (video game)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title   = <!--(see above)-->
| name           = Red Storm Rising
| image          = Red storm rising.jpg
| caption        = First edition cover
| author         = {{ubl|[[Tom Clancy]]|[[Larry Bond]]}}
| cover_artist   =
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| subject        = [[World War III]]
| genre          = {{flatlist|
* [[War novel]]
* [[Techno-thriller]]
* [[Military fiction]]
}}
| publisher      = [[G.P. Putnam's Sons]]
| publisher2     = 
| pub_date       = August 7, 1986
| media_type     = Print ([[Hardcover]], [[Paperback]])
| pages          = 656
| awards         = 
| isbn           = 0399131493
| oclc           = 
| dewey          = 
| congress       = 
}}

'''''Red Storm Rising''''' is a [[war novel]], written by [[Tom Clancy]] and [[Larry Bond]],{{efn|While Bond is not credited on the book's jacket, Clancy's "Author's Note" preface states that he and Bond were "co-authors" and that "this book is [Bond's] as much as mine."}} and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a [[Third World War]] between the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] and [[Warsaw Pact]] forces, and is notable for depicting the conflict as being fought exclusively with [[conventional weapons]], rather than escalating to the use of [[weapons of mass destruction]] or [[nuclear warfare]]. It is one of two Clancy novels, along with ''[[SSN (novel)|SSN]]'' (1996), that are not set in the [[Ryanverse]].

The book debuted at number one on [[the New York Times bestseller list]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The New York Times bestseller list for the week of August 17, 1986 |url=http://www.hawes.com/1986/1986-08-17.pdf |access-date=27 December 2018}}</ref> It eventually lent its name to game development company [[Red Storm Entertainment]], which Clancy co-founded in 1997.

==Plot==
[[Militant Islamism|Muslim militants]] from [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Azerbaijan]] destroy an oil production refinery in [[Nizhnevartovsk]], threatening to cripple the Soviet Union's economy due to oil shortages. After much deliberation, the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Politburo]] decides to seize the [[Persian Gulf]] by military force in order to recoup the country's oil losses. Knowing that the United States had pledged to defend the oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf, the Soviets decide that neutralizing [[NATO]] is a necessary first step before its military operation can take place. If West Germany were to be neutralized and occupied, the Soviets believe that the United States would not move to rescue the Arab states since it could meet its oil needs from the Western Hemisphere alone.

To divert attention from the impending operation, the Politburo embarks upon an elaborate ''[[Russian military deception|maskirovka]]'' to disguise both their predicament and their intentions. The Soviets publicly declare their [[arms reduction]] proposal to scrap their obsolete nuclear missile submarines. The [[KGB]] then carries out a [[false flag]] operation involving a bomb being detonated in a [[Kremlin]] building, framing a KGB [[sleeper agent]] as a [[Federal Intelligence Service|West German intelligence]] spy involved in the incident. The Politburo publicly denounces the West German government and calls for retaliation.

Even though a planned attack on a NATO communications facility in [[Dohm-Lammersdorf|Lammersdorf]] was compromised when a [[Spetsnaz]] officer was arrested, the [[Soviet Army]] pushes through with their advance operations in Germany. They suffer reverses on the first night of the war, however, when NATO [[stealth aircraft|stealth]] and [[fighter-bomber]] aircraft achieve [[air superiority]] over Central Europe by eliminating Soviet [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] and [[airborne early warning and control|AEW&C]] aircraft, and destroying key bridges that much of the Soviet Army has yet to cross.

Nevertheless, the [[Soviet Navy]] achieves a decisive early victory by launching a bold amphibious landing on Iceland, taking control of the NATO airbase in [[Naval Air Station Keflavik|Keflavík]].  This is followed up by a substantial air attack against a combined American-French carrier battle group that was originally sent to reinforce Iceland with several landing ships full of US Marines.  The battle results in the loss of several ships including the French carrier ''[[French aircraft carrier Foch|Foch]]'' and the landing ship [[USS Saipan (LHA-2)|USS ''Saipan'']].  Damage was also done to other ships like the US carrier [[USS Nimitz|USS ''Nimitz'']], forcing her to drydock in Britain to undergo repairs.  This leaves the Soviets in control of the strategically important [[GIUK gap]].

NATO and Soviet air and ground forces continue to battle ferociously in Germany, with both sides taking heavy losses. General-Colonel Pavel Alekseyev, the de-facto Soviet senior commander on the ground, scores a breakthrough in a tank battle at [[Alfeld]], opening the possibility of a Soviet advance beyond the [[Weser River]] with far less opposition from NATO forces. Meanwhile, a naval attack on Soviet bomber bases with cruise missiles launched by US Navy submarines opens a window for an amphibious assault on Iceland, retaking the island and effectively closing the Atlantic to Soviet forces. Among the action, a Soviet prisoner captured during the retaking of Iceland reveals the true cause of the war, and a NATO air offensive swiftly destroys much of the Soviet military's readily-available fuel supplies.

With Iceland re-taken, the United States is able to resupply the rest of NATO via the reopened sea lanes. By this point Soviet tank and strategic bomber formations have taken punishing losses, forcing them to further cede the initiative as NATO prepares to mount a decisive counteroffensive. The Soviet leadership begins to realize that they face the possibility of outright defeat—either through a NATO military breakthrough or a war of attrition which, given their desperate lack of oil supplies, would amount to the same result. The General Secretary considers using nuclear weapons to force a favorable end to the war. This infuriates Alekseyev, who had been mobilizing for a final counterattack on Germany but faces execution by the Soviet government for its slow timetable. The KGB chief organizes a coup along with Alekseyev and other members of the Politburo. The new Soviet government then negotiates for a ceasefire with NATO and a return to ''[[status quo ante bellum]]'', ending the war.

==Characters==
===NATO===
* Edward Morris: Commanding officer of {{USS|Pharris|FF-1094|6}} and later {{USS|Reuben James|FFG-57|6}}.
* Daniel X. McCafferty: Commanding officer of {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine|2}} {{USS|Chicago|SSN-721|6}}.
* Robert A. Toland III: [[National Security Agency|NSA]] analyst and naval reservist, later promoted to commander in the [[United States Navy Reserve]].
* Michael D. Edwards, Jr.: [[First lieutenant]] in the [[United States Air Force]] serving as a meteorological officer at [[Naval Air Station Keflavik]] in Iceland. Leads intelligence gathering there during the Soviet occupation of the island with the code name of "Beagle", later receiving a [[Navy Cross]] for his bravery.
* Jerry "The Hammer" O'Malley: Lieutenant Commander in the USN serving as a helicopter pilot aboard ''Reuben James''. Receives a [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] for his antisubmarine warfare work.
* Amelia "Buns" Nakamura: [[F-15 Eagle|F-15C]] pilot for the USAF who becomes the first American female [[fighter ace]] by shooting down three [[Tupolev Tu-16|Tu-16 Badger]] bombers while on [[Ferry flying|ferry]] duty and later using [[ASM-135 ASAT|ASM-135]] anti-satellite missiles to destroy at least two Soviet [[RORSAT|naval radar reconnaissance satellites]]. She also becomes the first Space Ace because of her satellite shoot-downs.
* Terry Mackall: Sergeant First Class in the [[United States Army]] serving as an [[M1 Abrams]] tank commander in the [[11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (United States)|11th Armored Cavalry Regiment]] on the German front. Receives a [[battlefield promotion]] to lieutenant for his valor and leadership skills.
* Colonel Douglas "Duke" Ellington: USAF officer and commander of the [[F-19]] Stealth squadron
* Colonel Charles DeWinter "Chuck" Lowe: Officer in the [[United States Marine Corps]] who works with Bob Toland before the conflict and later as the commanding officer of a Marine regiment in the invasion force that recaptured Iceland. Lowe served three [[Tour of duty|Tours of duty]] in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] and received a [[Navy Cross]] for his bravery in that war.
* General Eugene Robinson: [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe]]. Robinson served three [[Tour of duty|Tours of duty]] in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] and commanded the [[101st Airborne Division]]. Robinson is a supremely-skilled gambler, which he uses to hide how desperately-overstretched NATO forces are late in the war when personally meeting with Colonel-General Alekseyev to negotiate a cease-fire.
* William Calloway: British [[Reuters]] correspondent and [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]] agent.
* James Smith: Sergeant in the [[United States Marine Corps]] serving under lieutenant Edwards in Iceland.

===Soviet Union===
* Pavel Leonidovich Alekseyev: Deputy Commander of the Southwest Front and then Commander in Chief-Western Theater after briefly serving as second in command. Exceptionally brave and given to leading from the front personally, Alekseyev briefly takes command of a Soviet tank division after NATO artillery fire wipes out its entire command staff, leading to the key Warsaw Pact victory at Alfeld. After the coup, he is made Deputy Minister of Defense and [[Chief of the General Staff (Russia)|Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces]].
* Mikhail Eduardovich Sergetov: [[Ministry of Energy and Electrification|Energy Minister]] and non-voting member of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Politburo]]. After the coup, he becomes acting [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]].
* Ivan Mikhailovich Sergetov: Alekseyev's ''[[aide-de-camp]]'' and Sergetov's son. Promoted to [[Major (rank)|major]] during the war.
* Major Arkady Semyonovich Sorokin: Soviet [[Soviet Airborne Forces|VDV]] officer whose daughter Svetlana dies in the Kremlin bombing. Later recruited by Alekseyev for the coup.
* Boris Georgiyevich Kosov: Chairman of the [[KGB|Committee for State Security]] (KGB). Mastermind of the coup, only to be killed in revenge by Major Sorokin.
* Marshal Andrei Shavyrin: Chief of the General Staff. Later executed by the Politburo for failing to bring favorable results on the war.
* Marshal Yuri Rozhkov: [[Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces|Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army]]. Executed along with Marshal Shavyrin.
* Marshal Fyodor Borisovitch Bukharin: Commander of the [[Kiev Military District]]. Later promoted to the head of the General Staff after Shavyrin and Rozhkov's execution, then forced into retirement after Alekseyev's Coup.
* Andrei Ilyich Chernyavin: [[Spetsnaz]] officer assigned to sabotage the NATO command post at [[Dohm-Lammersdorf|Lammersdorf]].

===Other characters===
* Vigdis Agustdottir: Icelandic civilian rescued by Edwards from Soviet soldiers in Iceland and later married Edwards as the novel closes.
* Patrick Flynn: [[Associated Press]] Moscow Bureau chief
* Ibrahim Tolkadze: Militant [[Islamist]] of Azerbaijani descent working as an oil field engineer. He and his confederates Rasul and Mohammed instigate the road to war by infiltrating the oil refinery where Ibrahim works, murdering multiple security and technical personnel, and triggering numerous pipe ruptures that set the entire refinery and adjacent oil field ablaze. All of them are killed when security forces storm the control room.
* Gerhard Falken: Alleged West German [[Federal Intelligence Service]] agent behind the Kremlin bombing.

==Themes==
[[File:Redstormrisingmap.png|thumb|right|300px|Allegiances of nations involved in the war described in the book.]]

''Red Storm Rising'' depicts a future [[Third World War]], chiefly between the United States and the Soviet Union. It follows the "future war" genre first popularized by the 1871 [[novella]] ''[[The Battle of Dorking]]'' by [[George Tomkyns Chesney]] as well as the [[science fiction]] novel ''[[The War in the Air]]'' (1908) by [[H.G. Wells]]. ''Red Storm Rising'' is unusual among Cold War examples of the genre in that it presented a war fought entirely using [[conventional weapons]] rather than one with nuclear weaponry or chemical weaponry. For instance, ''[[The Third World War: August 1985]]'' describes a conflict based on fairly similar assumptions, but involving heavy use of chemical weaponry and with limited use of strategic nuclear weapons at the conclusion of the conflict.

According to a document released by [[the National Archives (United Kingdom)|the UK National Archives]] in December 2015, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] had recommended ''Red Storm Rising'' to [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] shortly after the [[Reykjavík Summit]] in 1986 between him and Soviet general secretary [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] so as to gain an understanding of the Soviet Union's intentions and strategy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ronald-reagan-prepared-for-historic-cold-war-meeting-by-reading-tom-clancy-thriller-a6790036.html |title=Ronald Reagan 'prepared for historic Cold War meeting by reading Tom Clancy thriller' |first=Cahal |last=Milmo |date=30 December 2015 |newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/583822/reagan-to-thatcher-read-a-tom-clancy-thriller-to-understand-the-soviet-union/ |title=Reagan to Thatcher: Read a Tom Clancy thriller to understand the Soviet Union |website=Quartz |date=December 30, 2015 |first=Aamna |last=Mohdin}}</ref> Some of the advanced weapons systems described in the novel were deployed four years later in the [[Gulf War]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenberg |first1=Martin H. |title=The Tom Clancy Companion |pages=11–17 |edition=revised}}</ref>

==Development==
[[Tom Clancy]] met [[Larry Bond]] in 1982. The two discussed ''Convoy-84'', a wargame Bond had been working on at the time that featured a new [[Battle of the North Atlantic]]. The idea became the basis for ''Red Storm Rising''. "We plotted out the book together, then, while I researched the military issues, Tom wrote the book," Bond said.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Greenberg |editor-first=Martin H. |date=1992 |title=The Tom Clancy Companion |url=https://archive.org/details/tomclancycompani00clan/page/2/mode/2up/ |location=New York |publisher=Berkley |page=2 |isbn=0-425-13407-5}}</ref> "I'm listed as co-author, but I wrote like 1 percent of the book," Bond stated in a 2013 interview.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/10/11/the-names-bond-larry-bond/ |title=The Name's Bond, Larry Bond |last=Peck |first=Michael |date=2013-10-11 |website=[[Foreign Policy]] |access-date=2022-08-13}}</ref> For research on the Politburo scenes, Clancy and Bond interviewed Soviet defector [[Arkady Shevchenko]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=LaGrone |first1=Sam |title=Interview: Larry Bond on Tom Clancy |url=https://news.usni.org/2013/10/08/interview-larry-bond-tom-clancy |website=USNI News |date=October 8, 2013 |access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref>

Clancy had purchased Bond's [[wargame]] ''[[Harpoon (series)|Harpoon]]'' as a primary source for his future novel ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]'' (1984).<ref name="cgw199807">{{Cite magazine |last1=Sipe |first1=Russell |last2=Wilson |first2=Johnny |last3=Clancy |first3=Tom |last4=Meier |first4=Sid |date=July 1988 |title=An Interview with Tom Clancy |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1988&pub=2&id=49 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=22–24}}</ref> Clancy and Bond used the board game's second edition miniature rules to test key battle sequences, notably the Soviet operation to seize Iceland and the attack on the carrier battle group in the "Dance of the Vampires" chapter.

=== Dance of the Vampires ===
This refers to the chapter where the Soviets lure a NATO carrier group into a trap and almost manages to wipe it out.<ref name="vice"/>

The game sessions typically involved several players on each side (Clancy among them) acting in various roles.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/pieces/choreographing-dance-vampires |title= Choreographing the Dance of the Vampires|access-date=October 3, 2013|archive-date=May 26, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180526162643/http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/pieces/choreographing-dance-vampires |url-status=dead}}</ref> with Bond refereeing. The games did not influence the outcome — the chapter's ending was already decided — but they gave Clancy and Bond a "better understanding of what factors drove each side's thinking".<ref name="wgv">{{cite web | url= https://www.wargamevault.com/product/140136/Dance-of-the-Vampires | title=Dance of the Vampires - Admiralty Trilogy Group &#124; Wargame Vault }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/harpoon-and-red-storm-rising/ | title=Tom Clancy used this wargame for 'Red Storm Rising' | date=February 5, 2020 }}</ref>

This attention to detail made Vice consider Red Storm Rising a "great example of fictional military history."<ref name="vice">{{cite web | url= https://www.vice.com/en/article/make-believe-battles-that-seem-more-real-than-history/ | title=Make-Believe Battles That Seem More Real Than History | date=May 14, 2018 }}</ref>

The collected and annotated notes on the three Dance of the Vampires scenario playthroughs would later be published by Bond.<ref name="wgv"/><ref>{{cite web | url= https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameaccessory/178155/dance-of-the-vampires | title=Dance of the Vampires }}</ref>

==Publication==
{{Expand section|date=January 2023}}

In 1987, the book was published in French as ''Tempête Rouge'' (Red Storm), translated by France-Marie Watkins, with the collaboration of [[Jean Sabbagh]].

==Reception==
Like its predecessor, ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]'', the book received critical acclaim for its accurate military narrative. [[Publishers Weekly]] praised it as "fascinating and totally credible story, told with authenticity and great suspense".<ref>{{cite web |title=Book Review: Red Storm Rising 12-Copy Floor Display by Tom Clancy |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-399-13167-7 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref> [[Kirkus Reviews]] hailed it as "an informative, readable, sometimes dazzling speculation on superpower war".<ref>{{cite web |title=RED STORM RISING by Tom Clancy |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tom-clancy/red-storm-rising/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref>

==Game adaptations==
In December 1988, [[MicroProse]] released a ''[[Red Storm Rising (video game)|Red Storm Rising]]'' computer game, in which the player commanded an American submarine against Soviet forces. The player had the option of choosing between both single missions or campaign and which era to play in; modern missions offered the player more advanced submarines and weapons, but also a more technologically advanced adversary as well.

In 1989, [[TSR, Inc.]] released the ''[[Red Storm Rising (board game)|Red Storm Rising]]'' [[board game]] designed by [[Douglas Niles]], based on the book. The game won the [[Origins Award]] for Best Modern-Day Boardgame and Best Graphic Presentation of a Boardgame in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1989|title=Origins Award Winners (1989)|publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design|access-date=2007-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105015044/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1989 <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=2007-11-05}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[The Third World War: The Untold Story]]'', by [[John Hackett (British Army officer)|John Hackett]]
** [[Team Yankee]] by [[Harold Coyle]]
* ''[[Red Army (novel)|Red Army]]'', by [[Ralph Peters]]
* [[World War III in popular culture]]
* [[Seven Days to the River Rhine]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Further|Tom Clancy#Further reading}}
* Gallagher, Mark. ''Action figures: Men, action films, and contemporary adventure narratives'' (Springer, 2006).
* Griffin, Benjamin. "The good guys win: Ronald Reagan, Tom Clancy, and the transformation of national security" (MA thesis, U of Texas, 2015).  [https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/32361/GRIFFIN-MASTERSREPORT-2015.pdf?sequence=1 online]
* Hixson, Walter L. "''Red Storm Rising'': Tom Clancy Novels and the Cult of National Security." ''Diplomatic History'' 17.4 (1993): 599–614. 
* Outlaw, Leroy B. "Red Storm Rising-A Primer for a Future Conventional War in Central Europe"" (Army War College, 1988). [https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a195010.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706053510/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a195010.pdf |date=July 6, 2019 }}
* Payne, Matthew Thomas. ''Playing war: Military video games after 9/11'' (NYU Press, 2016).
* Terdoslavich, William. ''The Jack Ryan Agenda: Policy and Politics in the Novels of Tom Clancy: An Unauthorized Analysis'' (Macmillan, 2005). [https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Ryan-Agenda-Politics-Unauthorized/dp/0765312476/ excerpt]

==External links==
*{{bgg|3707|''Red Storm Rising''}}
{{Books by Tom Clancy}}

[[Category:1986 American novels]]
[[Category:American thriller novels]]
[[Category:American war novels]]
[[Category:American speculative fiction novels]]
[[Category:Novels set during the Cold War]]
[[Category:Novels about submarine warfare]]
[[Category:Novels about terrorism]]
[[Category:Novels by Tom Clancy]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Novels set in Germany]]
[[Category:Novels set in Iceland]]
[[Category:Novels set in Moscow]]
[[Category:Novels set in Scotland]]
[[Category:Novels set in Siberia]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Novels set during World War III]]
[[Category:Soviet Union war fiction]]
[[Category:Techno-thriller novels]]
[[Category:Novels about space warfare]]
[[Category:Works about the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Novels about the United States Marine Corps]]
[[Category:Military of the United States in fiction]]
[[Category:G. P. Putnam's Sons books]]