Operational Name for the Summer Offensive

[Rainbow Six]

As far as British forces are concerned two word code names are used for excercises and one word names are used for actual operations (e.g. Granby, Corporate, Telic, etc). The names are chosen at random by computer.

There is an account in Dan Mills' excellent Sniper One about commanders using London Underground stations as codenames.

[Sanjuro]

Mornington Crescent?
For the non British: Mornington Crescent is the mini-"game" played on the long running radio quiz show, I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. The game appears to be a route around the London Underground, the object being to avoid being trapped at Mornington Crescent. In fact, the real object is to introduce meaningless rules and precedents, challenge others' such rules and generally think on your feet.

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by Sanjuro

Mornington Crescent?
For the non British: Mornington Crescent is the mini-"game" played on the long running radio quiz show, I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. The game appears to be a route around the London Underground, the object being to avoid being trapped at Mornington Crescent. In fact, the real object is to introduce meaningless rules and precedents, challenge others' such rules and generally think on your feet.

I though the last part was GURPs or D&D :-)

As a point of trivia, ISIHAC was one of the programmes stored ready to be broadcast in WW3. As computers break down commanders must choose their own names, it might well get used... I'll incorporate it into my history as I needed a two part name (along the lines of WW2 Market Garden) for an operation.

[Legbreaker]

The "official" name for the operation was simply "3rd German Army Spring Offensive".
There is nothing more in canon material and really little need either.

[LVI]

personally in my F2F campaign ive called the spring offensive Operation Black Dragon. But this is because i can not find info anywhere on an actual name.

[95th Rifleman]

The problem with operations is every nation has their own name for it. Take the second gulf war for example.

The Americans called it operation Iraqi Freedom while the british called it Telic and the Australians called it operation falconer.

As stated British and commonwealth Forces prefer to use one word codes but this isn't universal as operation Panther's claw has shown.

The Americans favour bold names that also act as a statement of intent such as operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom. other examples include: Eagle claw, Nimble archer, Prime chance, arc light, and flaming dart.

The British (and commonwealth) prefer more cyptic names. Telic, for instance, means a purposeful or defined action. Operation market Garden is another example of cryptic names and actualy referred to two distinct operations (the ground offensive by the British armour and the airbourne operation). Other examples include: Hush, Anvil, lucky alphonse, retail, corporate and Granby

The Germans favour bold names for their operations which are often the names of famous German officers or historic figures, some examples: Barbarossa, Blucher, Gneisenau, michael, cerberus, husar and Ikarus.

There could be as many code names for an operation as their are participants.

[natehale1971]

I was thinking that since the Summer Offensive was planned out by the unified NATO command, that it would have an operational name that would be used by all of the NATO members...

We know that the Summer Offensive was to provide cover for the heaviliy classified Operation Reset (the acquisition of the plans and prototypes for the polish designed 'Reset' program) being carried out by the DIA... Thus my thoughts of Operational Names that could be used to hide Operation Rest (just like hiding a tree in a forest)...

So I guess i'm asking what would work as the cascade of Operational Names for the Offense? Wouldn't the Offense itself have an Operational name, and then each of the movements that the Offesive inculded would have their individual Operational names.

It was why i had used Butterfly as the main operational name, with each of the smaller more distinct operations being named after types of butterflies.

Such as the Offensive itself being known as Operation Dragon... then the various phases of the offesnsive being carried out having names such as Red Dragon, Black Dragon, Green Dragon, Blue Dragon, Gold Dragon, ect. or even names of dragons taken from mythology and fiction...

I know that they named Operation Reset the way they did to make it simpler for those without a military background know what the Operation was about, but in reality they'd not have named the Operation after the target of the Mission... because the soviets or poles would have heard 'Operatioin Reset' and known from that... they're going after RESET. add security to that area now!

Hell, that's possible why the Soviet Offensive was so overwhelmingly strong... to keep Reset from falling into the hands of NATO and it's allies.