The Third World War August 1985

The Third World War August 1985 General Sir John Hackett 509 pp

General Sir John Hackett’s The Third World War August 1985 gives a chilling account of a possible war between NATO and the Soviet Union. Written in 1979, the novel follows the looming tension between the two superpowers through war as the authors felt was likely to happen. It is immediately apparent that the authors wrote the book with an eye towards spreading fear of the looming war in order to spur heightened military spending. Fortunately the book can stand as an interesting story without regard of the authors’ intent.

Having been born in 1990, it is strange to imagine the feeling of living through the Cold War. The spectre of preparing for a large-scale war against an existential threat in the mode faced during World War 2 is unimaginable to me. Thus, this book gave me an interesting mental escape from the drone wars which have dominated my adult life, into considering a large-scale war along the lines of World War 2.

I found the book riveting, fantastically hard to put down. The text ranges in form from a very dry pseudo-historical description of troop movements to more intimate personal narratives of soldiers stationed up and down the battlefield. This historical writing plays out one of the weaker sides of the novel’s writing. Hackett is obsessed with acronyms. Every different organization of military units, civil or political organizations, or supply convoys are given and almost exclusively referred to by an acronym. Aside from difficulties with keeping AAFCE, ACLANT, AFCENT; CINCHAN, CINCUKAIR, CINCSOUTH; SLBM, SLCM, and SNAF straight in my mind, the book was unquestionably desirable.

Perhaps the most haunting aspect of the book is lurking in the appendices. The last of the appendices is a series of logs from civil emergency stations throughout southern England. In the closing stage of the war, the Soviet Union launches a nuclear strike against Birmingham. This attack is dealt with in the main body of the text in the same dry and distant manner Hackett takes to the description of troop movements. But in the logs from Birmingham, the reader can follow the panic as the war escalates, the sense of dread from people hiding in the cellars as war rages over their heads until 

“1129 Signal-RED ALERT (air raid warning sounded): President USA has received Soviet warning of immediate nuclear attack on Birmingham Engla… [The charred remains of this log were found in the cellar of the ‘Red Cow’]”

Would I recommend The Third World War? For anyone with an interest in military history, yes. For the reader looking for more direct social commentary or soft literature, no.

Score: 3.8/5

Would I keep this on my bookshelf? Yes.

- Mr. Cheddar