Square Leg
Square Leg was a British government home defence Command Post and field exercise which was held from 11 to 25 September 1980[1] and which tested the Transition to War and Home Defence roles of the Ministry of Defence and British government. Part of the exercise involved a mock nuclear attack on Britain; the exercise scenario of 150[2] nuclear weapons striking Britain, with "almost all" of these weapons having a yield ranging from 500 kilotons to 3 megatons[3] and a resulting total yield of 280.5 megatons,[2] was felt to be reasonably realistic, but the post-exercise report stated that a total strike in excess of 1,000 megatons would be likely. An increased ratio of ground bursts to air bursts was depicted to provide all the regional NBC cells with radioactive fallout challenges,[4] with underwater bursts also being depicted.[5] Furthermore, the scenario was altered from official assessments as these were highly classified and many participants did not have the appropriate clearance to see them.[4]
While official casualty figures were not provided, Stan Openshaw and Philip Steadman produced an independent estimate of 29 million deaths (53 percent of the population) and 7 million seriously injuried (12 percent), with short-term survivors numbering 19 million (35 percent).[nb 1][6]
Square Leg was criticised for a number of reasons: the weapons used were exclusively in the high-yield megaton range, with an average of 1.5 Mt per bomb, but a realistic attack based on known Soviet capabilities would have seen mixed weapons yields, including many missile-based warheads in the low-hundred-kiloton range. Also, no targets in Inner London were attacked (for example, Whitehall, the centre of British government), though collateral damage from strikes on Outer London targets and on Potters Bar and Ongar[nb 2] meant that much of the Inner London area was still destroyed;[3][7] towns such as Eastbourne were hit for no obvious reason.[nb 3][8] All government and military bunkers were assumed to have survived for exercise purposes, although Kelvedon Hatch Sub-Regional Headquarters had difficulty in establishing regional control.[4] The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation was not a "live" participant, with the strike data it would have provided instead being pre-recorded and played into the exercise as it proceeded, an aspect that was criticised by participants after the exercise.[4]
The Lothian Regional Council refused to participate in Square Leg,[7] and the exercise came under journalistic scrutiny after its details were leaked to the press,[7][9] but otherwise it was not met with significant opposition in the way that the later Hard Rock exercise would be.
Timeline of main events and civil and armed forces actions
[edit]Transition to War
[edit]The following table shows the hypothetical pre-strike event list drawn from the national Main Event List for Square Leg, testing the Transition to War stage.[10]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 1980 | Warsaw Pact, which has recently come under new leadership, holds military exercises similar to those usually held in the summer. While Pact forces would normally return to base after end of exercise, on this occasion they remain close to NATO's frontier.[11] |
| April - August 1980 | Soviet Union demands that Norway and Denmark withdraw from NATO, sparking diplomatic tension that continues into August. Public reaction is calm as the situation is believed to be just another deterioration in East-West relations.[11] |
| By early August 1980 | NATO commanders declare a state of vigilance in anticipation of war. Reserve forces are mobilised and civil defence planning is initiated at a covert level.
"A very few senior key personnel" man SRHQs while County and District authorities begin attack preparations. UKWMO is briefed and begins its own preparations. Planning is not publicly admitted to at this stage in order to avoid public alarm and in order not to precipitate an attack (it is still hoped that a diplomatic solution can be reached).[11] |
| Prior to and including 15 August | Planning becomes more overt in the continued absence of a diplomatic solution. Major urban centres clear their hospitals of patients and all but a few staff members in order to make way for anticipated casualties, prompting protests from patients and their families, and from local authorities who find themselves facing increased pressure on care home places.[11]
Cabinet instructs all departments and specified authorities to review their plans for Transition to War.[12] SRHQs and local authority emergency centres are fully prepared.[11] |
| 16 August | Fuel rationing imposed,[12] leading to queues at petrol stations and police needing to be drafted in to prevent hoarding.[11] |
| 27 August | Government requests preparations to be made to remove art treasures.[12][11] |
| 31 August | Industrial unrest and large-scale activity by extreme left- and right-wing parties.[12] Resentment is directed at the heavier than usual police presence and the police's role in controlling subversives and potential subversives. Multiple arrests made under emergency powers. Arson attacks on industrial sites, supermarkets, etc. Police require military assistance to quell some of the unrest; they manage to do so without shots being fired.[11] |
| 1 September | Considerable cross-Channel movement into the UK by expatriate families on a self-evacuation basis.[12][11] |
| 7 September | Prime Minister addresses nation via TV and radio.[12][11] |
| 9 September | Secretary of State authorises power of direction over British Airways[12] and national shipping.[11] |
| 11 September | Prime Minister again addresses nation.[12][11] |
| 12 September | Protect and Survive instructions, which were already available at libraries and HMSO in pamphlet form,[11] are issued through the media.[12] Those who intend to follow instructions begin doing so.[11]
Cabinet approves Queen's Order 2,[12] effectively dissolving Parliament and granting emergency powers to the government.[11] Directed food buying (by government departments, police, and military services, etc.),[12] accompanied by panic buying breaking out in some areas and subsequent price rises.[11] Noticeable rundown of industry.[12] Buffer depots and other key points placed under guard. Essential Service Routes designated and closed off to the general public; few local authorities have dedicated plans, with others either repurposing existing plans or acting in a completely improvised manner. Between ten and thirty per cent of persons in perceived target areas ignore advice to stay at home and instead self-evacuate, causing further difficulties for local authorities who are under no obligation to assist such evacuees (though some do).[11] Local authorities, MPs, police, and the services swamped with offers of help in forming some sort of civil defence/Home Guard organisation.[12] Local authority attitudes vary; many turn down offers of civilian help despite government encouragement to use such help, while some others take on civilians with relevant skills in order to make up for staff desertions.[11] |
| 13 September | Prime Minister speaks to nation for a third time.[12][11]
Panic food buying continues.[12] |
| 15 September | General Alert and war declared. Fighting breaks out on continent. Conventional bombing on defence related targets in UK. Public reaction to bombing is mixed - those living in high-rise flats and in areas generally thought to be obvious targets leave home quickly.
Industry seriously affected. Schools close in afternoon.[12][11] |
| 17 September | Fighting on continent escalates.[11]
Government authorises local authorities to staff their wartime headquarters. Public passenger transport operating at fifty per cent of capacity. Government orders manning of headquarters in the Regions.[12][11] |
| 19 September | Satellites and RAF Fylingdales detect incoming nuclear attack.[11] Attack Warning Red 11.55 am. Nuclear strike starts at 12.01 pm[12] and ends at 12.10 pm.[3] Strike mainly hits military and communications targets, though civilian areas are also targeted.[11]
Loss of RAF Fylingdales and other communication difficulties caused by the first strike mean that no warning can be provided when a second strike begins.[11] This strike starts at 13.00 and sporadically "drift[s] in" until 15.00,[3] and targets population centres and industrial sites along with some repeat strikes on first wave targets.[11] |
Survival
[edit]The 'survival' stage details the events that occurred post nuclear attack, based on extracts from the War Diary of Warwickshire County that was used during Square Leg. Emphases are those made by Duncan Campbell when he transcribed the War Diary for inclusion in War Plan UK.[13]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 20 September | Daily food requirements: 680,700 rations. Eighteen thousand people (in refugee camps) suffering third degree burns. Isolated reports of refugees leaving West Midlands area. |
| 22 September | Casualty aid points swamped. Hospitals and improvised hospitals full.
Decision taken to conserve police strength with a view to deployment of Police Support Units later. |
| 23 September | Commence mass advise to achieve public order.
Reappraise triage. Request medical aid from military. |
| 24 September | Establish additional casualty aid points close to existing where possible. Commit to home nursing casualties who will probably die. Commence grave-digging operations. (Transport) Remove dead from casualty aid points; remove dead from damaged areas as radiation levels permit.
Fire situation in county under control. |
| 25 September | Identify rationing levels of food and water. Identify additional rationing requirements for workers. Flow of refugees from the West Midlands is indicated; 31,000 to North Warwickshire, 12,000 to South Warwickshire. |
| 27 September | Casualty figures Rugby area is indicated 30,000 plus estimate, Nuneaton area 17,000 plus. Large numbers of persons suffering first stages of radiation sickness. Arrange for establishment of decontamination units. Consider variations to law- liaise with police. |
| 28 September | Estimate 100,000 plus refugees coming from West Midlands- most injured/shocked/irradiated. Consider disinfection in Rugby/Coventry area to avert disease. Liaise with military for aircraft for spraying. Control of refugees in the west of the county impossible at this date.
(Via Wartime Broadcasting System) advise public on measures being taken to alleviate rioting and looting. Produce advice to encourage 'Good Neighbourly' behaviour towards refugees. Advise public with regard to disposal of dead bodies. Advise populace not to leave their area. |
| 29 September | Numbers increasing at casualty aid points, priority being given to savable under- thirties. Anticipate refugee figures to be 200,000 plus. Further requests to Sub- Regional HQ or additional food; SRHQ (sub regional headquarters) directive received- conserve food. |
| 30 September | Arrange collection of food from Buffer Depots. Liaise with police and military for convoy guards. Food to be held and guarded in district stores. Deaths becoming a serious problem, liaise with transport and works for speedier removal of bodies from casualty aid points. Advise public on action to be taken re looting- particularly theft of food. Call for volunteers to assist with transport and work tasks. |
| 31 September | Notifications from SRHQ; twenty-five per cent food requirements for refugees to come from local Buffer Depots. Police Support Units established and deployed to areas where refugees are known to be located. Consider establishment of interim police control in known trouble areas, |
| 1 October | Feeding to commence at 1800 hrs. Calorific content of meals will be six hundred + one pint of water (non-workers), 800 + two pints of water (workers). Meals provided for infant feeding totally inadequate, request additional supplies. Known casualty figures 37,000; seriously injured 67,000. Radiation sickness entering the third stage. Disease control absolute priority. All Essential Service Routes cleared. Identify and prepare additional burial resources. Advise public on location and times Feeding Centres will be open, safe routes to them (and) emphasize subsistence level of feeding in operation. |
Recovery
[edit]The 'recovery' phase reports are drawn from the Gloucestershire log of requests for military support. Emphases are those made by Duncan Campbell when he transcribed the request log for inclusion in War Plan UK.[14]
| Date | Request to military staff | Response |
|---|---|---|
| 3 October | Request for air reconnaissance at Little Rissington food depot. | No response. |
| Provide armed troops to assist police at ten locations on M5 Motorway. | Thirty men deployed. | |
| Provide coils of barbed wire. | Barbed wire requested. | |
| Provide armed troops to assist troops at Gloucester to:
(a) quell disturbance involving eight thousand persons. (b) guard a food warehouse at Hare Lane. |
Twenty-five troops dispatched. | |
| Provide ambulances, trained first aid personnel and medical supplies. | No ambulances, trained first aid personnel or medical supplies available. Some vehicle only drivers. | |
| Provide armed troops to assist police with law and order problems at Cirencester, Cinderford, Lydney and Newnham. | Thirty men made available for Cirencester. Due to radiation hazard, (it is) not considered effective to send armed parties into other areas at this time. | |
| Provide armed guards to secure [Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food] warehouse. | County Military HQ requested AFHQ 7 to provide assistance from east of country due to radiation levels. | |
| 4 October | Provide assistance to police at Gloucester to deal with law and order problem. | Fifteen men from Hare Lane detailed for this task. |
| Secure and guard a food warehouse at Cirencester. | Twenty armed men dispatched from Innsworth at 0930 hrs. | |
| Provide guards at twelve food supply and cooking centres throughout the country. Provide escorts on ten food supply vehicles. | Five armed guards provided at each location. Two armed guards provided for each vehicle. | |
| Assist police to prevent hostile crowd gaining access to Gloucester District Wartime HQ. | Twenty armed men made available. | |
| Assist police at GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham) which is under attack by looters and refugees. | Two mechanized platoons dispatched at 1400 hrs. | |
| Accommodate five thousand homeless at RAF Innsworth. | Cannot accommodate at RAF Innsworth but could take four thousand two hundred at RAF Quedgely. Vehicles available at Aschurch, but no drivers or fuel. | |
| Provide hygiene and sanitation teams and equipment at Cheltenham. Provide rodenticides and disinfectants. | Unable to assist. | |
| Provide security patrols and barbed wire at Special Rest Centre at Stroud for suspected disease-carrying refugees. | Two platoons dispatched to Stroud. No stocks of barbed wire available. | |
| Provide assistance to Ministry of Agriculture officers who have been prevented by hostile crowd from arranging the dispatch of food from a market garden. | 1630hrs. Wessex helicopter and twelve soldiers sent to scene. |
See also
[edit]- Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
- World War III
- The Warsaw Pact operation Seven Days to the River Rhine
- RAF Greenham Common airfield
- United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
References
[edit]- Doomsday, Britain after Nuclear Attack, Stan Openshaw, Philip Steadman and Owen Greene, Basil Blackwell, 1983 ISBN 0-631-13394-1
- War Plan UK, Duncan Campbell, ISBN 0-09-150671-9
- The National Archives, FCO 46/2446 to 46/2448, HO 322/950
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
- ^ a b South Yorkshire County Council (1980). "Emergency Planning Report on Exercise Square Leg", cited in South Yorkshire County Council (September 1984). "South Yorkshire and Nuclear War". p.3. Retrieved 3 April 2025 – via ROCA Heritage.
- ^ a b c d e Campbell, Duncan (3 October 1980). "World War III: an exclusive preview" (PDF). New Statesman. Retrieved 6 July 2024 – via duncancampbell.org.
- ^ a b c d The National Archives, HO 322/950
- ^ South Yorkshire County Council (September 1984). "South Yorkshire and Nuclear War" (PDF). p. 20. Retrieved 3 April 2025 – via ROCA Heritage.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
- ^ a b c Campbell, Duncan; Edwards, Rob (3 October 1980). "Square Leg caught out" (PDF). New Statesman. Retrieved 6 July 2024 – via duncancampbell.org.
- ^ Doomsday, Britain after Nuclear Attack, p. 105
- ^ "Square Leg" (PDF). Marxism Today. December 1980. Retrieved 2 April 2025 – via the Nuclear Information Service.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 33, 37. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z MacGregor, Jane (September 2004). "Operation Square Leg: Did You Survive 1980?" (PDF). Subterranea. Subterranea Britannica. pp. 18–20. ISSN 1741-8917. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 34-35, 37. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2015) [1983]. War Plan UK. p. 35-37. ISBN 978-1-326-50612-4.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Figures based on a partial bomb plot of 127 strikes (68 groundbursts, 59 airbursts); the Home Office and Ministry of Defence repeatedly refused to provide Openshaw and Steadman with the complete bomb plot.
- ^ Near the site of Kelvedon Hatch Sub-Regional Headquarters.
- ^ Duncan Campbell speculated that, since the exercise presumed a prevailing southerly wind at the time of attack, a groundburst strike on Eastbourne would increase the amount of fallout afflicting the rest of South East England, but himself believed that the prospect of deliberately increasing fallout in this way "may be fanciful", whereas strikes on Dungeness offered a more realistic prospect of increased fallout due to that region's nuclear reactors.[3]