OF WARS AND MEN: JUST A WAR GAME?

Russia has mocked a British war games exercise at the weekend in which Nato forces posed as invading 'Russian' tanks rumbling across the border into a Baltic state.

The exercise, on Salisbury Plain, involved an army of imaginary Russian tanks and troops advancing onto the territory of a Nato ally in an act of naked aggression by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Under the North Atlantic Treaty Britain, the US, France and Germany would be obliged to come to their defence, like the Allies were when Poland was invaded by Hitler's forces in 1939.

Polish T72 tanks, flying the flags of a fictional country, were used to simulate President Putin’s forces invading Estonia, but the Russian Embassy in London said they were a poor imitation for the real thing

But the difference this time is that both sides have nuclear weapons.

The Russian Embassy in London described the exercise as 'bizarre, delusionary and surrealistic'.

They also said the Polish-assembled T72 tanks were 'a poor replacement for real stuff'.

The Russian Embassy in London tweeted sarcastic comments today about the wargames

The Russian Embassy tweet hinted that the latest updated T72 were a big improvement on the old Polish versions used in the exercise

The Mail on Sunday obtained exclusive photographs of the most realistic war games ever staged.

The dramatic pictures show the incredibly life-like exercise on Salisbury Plain, intended to simulate President Putin’s forces invading Estonia, according to Army sources.

Taking part were troops due to be deployed early next year to shore up Nato forces in the Baltic states.

Every detail was as close as possible to those British soldiers will experience if Putin goes into Estonia.

Taking part were troops due to be deployed early next year to shore up Nato forces in the Baltic states

This demonstration on Salisbury Plain is exactly what I expect the Army to be doing, writes General Sir Richard Shirreff, and obviously they’ve thought it through

The enemy wore distinctive blue uniforms resembling Russian military police outfits and were equipped with AK-74 semi-automatic assault rifles issued to Russian troops.

Every detail was as close as possible to those British soldiers will experience if Putin goes into Estonia

The ‘Russians’ launched a tank assault using the T-72, a model recently upgraded by the Kremlin at £20 million per tank.

As well as the Polish-built T-72 there were three other Soviet-design tanks, supplied by a private collector and the Tank Museum.

UK forces responded with missile strikes from Apache helicopter gunships and bursts of fire from Warrior armoured fighting vehicles.

Challenger tanks patrolled the battlefield and RAF Tornados performed mock bombing runs.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed some of the troops are expected to deploy to Estonia.

The 400 UK soldiers will be within range of thousands of Russian troops and nuclear-capable missiles at Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.

Due to Army cuts, the MoD used a recruitment agency to find civilians to play enemy troops for the exercise. Gurkhas also became ‘enemies’.

A defence source said: ‘The idea was to simulate elements of Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, which included a rapid seizure of territory which led to the annexing of Crimea.’

The UK troops will be part of the biggest Nato deployment in the Baltic region since the Cold War. It comes after Russian military manoeuvres in areas bordering Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Some fear that Putin wants to test the West after US President-elect Donald Trump questioned the Nato alliance.

Just a war game? No, the threat is terrifyingly real

By General Sir Richard Shirreff

Ex-Nato Deputy Supreme Commander Europe - and author of 'War with Russia'

The defence of Britain starts these days not at the White Cliffs of Dover, but in the forests of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – to whose defence we are committed under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty of 1949 which created Nato.

This demonstration on Salisbury Plain is exactly what I expect the Army to be doing, and obviously they’ve thought it through.

It also sends exactly the right message about the importance of an effective deterrent

It also sends exactly the right message about the importance of an effective deterrent.

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are no backwater. Rather they are the new front line in a very dangerous world. The spotlight is on the Baltic states now as it was on Berlin and the Hanover Plain during the Cold War.

The Baltic is the most dangerous place from a British perspective, one of the reasons being that these states have such significant Russian-speaking populations – about 20 per cent in Estonia and 27 per cent in Latvia.