After taking Svalbard, Soviet forces might attempt an Arctic approach to American bases in Greenland, though the terrain and ice make that a difficult expansion. Even without an immediate central-front offensive, war in the north would put aircraft and armies in Germany on maximum alert. NATO governments would then have to decide whether an attack on one member produced a unified response or a temporary political fracture. Moscow might try to stop after securing Norway and Svalbard, but accidents, mobilisation, or an Allied decision could widen the conflict before that limited settlement became possible.
Chapter · 3:12:04-3:14:28
Greenland and central Europe threaten to widen the northern war
A Soviet move from Svalbard toward Greenland and the alerting of forces in Germany could turn a deliberately limited northern campaign into general war.