How Sweden will be invaded

An interview with the defected Czech general Jan Sejna in the newspaper Barometern 1978

For many years, the Czech general Jan Sejna held a central position in the political and military life of his country and in the military organization of the Warsaw Pact states. He was in the inner circle where he met the highest Russian leaders and the top figures of the satellite states. After a few years as a farm and laborer, he enlisted in the army at the age of 22, underwent officer training and then made a very rapid career: major at the age of 27 and at the same time elected to the Central Committee of the Czech Communist Party as its youngest member, then head of the Secretariat of the Minister of Defense, member of the “Collegium” of the Ministry of Defense where the country’s 10 highest military commanders sat and at the age of 40 major general. He then held 18 different assignments and positions, most of them at a high level.

Secret
He was mainly concerned with the policy, strategy and tactics of the Czech Armed Forces and with intelligence and sabotage planning. He gained extensive and detailed insight into the Warsaw Pact countries' and thus the Soviet Union's entire planning for war, sabotage and espionage throughout the world, primarily Western Europe, and access to very secret material.

Escaped
He gradually lost faith in communism and in his country's regime. A few months before the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 – which he knew about in advance – he fled to Trieste to create a future for himself in the free world. He was granted asylum in the United States, where he has since lived in secret. His defection had immediate and startling consequences:

Czech Minister of Defense General Lomsky was forced to resign, as was Interior Minister Josef Kudrna, State Prosecutor Jan Bartusjka, the head of the Prague section of the Russian security service KGB, Lieutenant Colonel Jiri Podecepicki, and several others.

Deputy Czech Minister of Defense General Vladimir Janco – one of Sejna’s closest friends and colleagues – committed suicide.

Great fear
A large investigative apparatus was set in motion by Russian orders when Sejna’s escape became known. Hundreds of people were interrogated. With Czech help, the Russians spread information that he was a Stalinist, as well as other information to discredit their former top man. Such was the fear of the revelations he could be expected to make.

Several governments in the West have received Sejna’s information – both his oral information and the secret file material he managed to get with him during his escape. During several days of talks with General Sejna at a location in the United States, he presented parts of his very extensive material and spoke in detail about his time at the top of the communist state.

Invasion of Sweden
The Soviet Union's plan for the invasion and occupation of Sweden includes airborne landings of large forces, including tanks, primarily in two places: near Eskilstuna – Mariefred and in the Östersund area. At the same time, a large Russian army is attacking from Finland against northern Sweden.

The plan is intended to be implemented along these lines in a situation where a new world war has broken out and when the Soviet Union has started the war by first firing from its bases in Eastern Europe and at the same time launching the major attack against Central Europe to reach the Atlantic coast.

Sweden is important to the Soviet Union primarily as a transit country to reach the NATO bases in Norway and Denmark and gain full control over the entire Scandinavian Atlantic and North Sea coast, says General Sejna. Norway and Denmark are so strategically important because there are NATO bases there. Therefore, both of these countries must be taken quickly.

Swedish industries
The Russians do not expect any alternative to an attack through Sweden. That Sweden would be left unoccupied in such a situation has been completely ruled out in all Russian plans. Firstly, Swedish territory would then be left open for NATO forces to land troops and establish bases on which the Russians will never allow. What they are mainly counting on is that NATO will try to occupy the Swedish airfields in order to be able to use them. Secondly, the Russians have the important aim of quickly getting Swedish industry under their control.

Sabotage troops
If Sweden is attacked in connection with the outbreak of a world war – that is, when the USA remains in Europe and NATO exists, the Soviet Union expects to use its nuclear weapons first and to primarily direct them at the NATO bases. Given the Russian intentions with Sweden, the Russians would probably prefer to avoid a nuclear attack. However, this depends on the current situation at that time. The fact that tactical nuclear weapons will be used cannot therefore be considered completely ruled out.

In a limited conflict where the US is not the opponent, the Russians expect not to have to use their nuclear weapons at all, for example in an operation against Finland, a Scandinavian country or Berlin. This is the perspective for you.

Attack at night
As far as Sweden is concerned, the only thing I can say for sure is that the attack is expected to be launched at night.

Airdrops together with sabotage operations play a very important role in the plans to occupy Sweden. You can count on extensive sabotage that is launched at the very moment of the attack. The sabotage operations will be of decisive importance for the Russians' ability to put your defense out of action, especially since sabotage groups are also included in the forces that are airdropped in the first days of the war. Sabotage plays an enormous role in Russian war planning. In your country, the Russians expect that most of the targets will be able to be destroyed by sabotage when the planning is completed, and that is intended to be in 1978.

Everything is important
You understand, as I have previously pointed out, that I have not been able to see the Russian attack plan in its entirety. What I have seen is the Czechoslovak one and parts of the East German and Russian ones. But since discussions must be held during these exercises and maneuvers, you learn a lot from conversations with, for example, the Polish Minister of Defense and with Polish and Russian high-ranking officers.

During the years I held high positions, all important issues concerning the Warsaw Pact passed through my hands. In addition, information has come to me even after I left Czechoslovakia.

Large forces
On the very first day of the attack, large forces are to be airborne in Sweden, and I know of at least two areas where extensive airborne landings are expected: in the Östersund area and in the Eskilstuna-Mariefred area. In the Östersund area to secure the attack route towards the important Trondheim area in Norway and in the Eskilstuna-Mariefred area partly to secure communication routes and attack routes to the west, partly to take Stockholm from the rear, so to speak. The majority of the force that is being landed in the Eskilstuna-Mariefred area and that will receive armored vehicles air-landed will continue westward. Gotland will be taken by air-landing together with marine infantry units.

Tanks are airdropped
Airdrops play a very important role in occupying Sweden. The Russians are clearly aware that the terrain in Sweden and Finland is not ideal for them. It is therefore important to get as large a force as possible to favorable assembly points for continued attacks. They should not have to drive long distances first, which is why airdrops are very important in Sweden. They are carried out both by parachute and by landing aircraft. In places where it is difficult to land even with specially built planes, parachutes are also used to land artillery and smaller tanks. I have myself seen such exercises where the results were very impressive. And not just exercises: when the Russians marched into Czechoslovakia in 1968, all the Russian tanks that entered Prague came directly from Prague airport. They had all been airdropped from aircraft since the airport was occupied by the Russians.

North Calotte
Other routes that the Russian attack on Sweden will have are partly by land through Finland, partly across the Baltic Sea and the Bothnian Sea with large transport fleets that go to pre-selected ports. It is known that the Russians have recently (1978) introduced a new type of armed forces; marine infantry.

The Russians do not expect any resistance in Finland, which is expected to immediately give in to Russian demands for a march through. The Russian troops - including armored troops - who are to invade northern Sweden and from there continue into Norway expect to be able to go directly through Finland and then break through the Swedish border.

At Öland
To conquer the North Calotte itself, the Russians are primarily counting on large landings from ships on the Norwegian Arctic coast and the North Atlantic coast plus air landings in northern Norway. Taking northern Norway quickly is a vital Russian interest.

In Sweden, the seaborne troops are deployed in Stockholm, Gävle and Umeå and I recall that some port on Öland was also mentioned.

400 Ships
To make these seaborne transports on a very large scale possible, the Soviet Union has in recent years made great efforts to strengthen its fleet. When the Czech Minister of Defense Lomsky once returned from a meeting in the Soviet Union, he was almost shocked that the Soviet Navy had spent so much money on its modernization, on replacing cannons with rockets and much more. Their fleet has immense firepower in addition to its transport capacity. The Arctic Fleet and the Baltic Fleet represent an enormous force right under your windows, so to speak. When the commander of the Baltic Fleet gives the order to attack, approximately 400 ships, both on and under the water, are set in motion.

Within 48 hours
Gotland and the Danish island of Bornholm are invaded at the very start of the war. Two Polish divisions are air-landed on Bornholm. The Russians are obviously counting on two large waves of attacks and such a large deployment of troops against Sweden that all important economic and political centers in the country will be in Russian hands 48 hours after the start of the attack – so complete will the surprise be. The first night's attacks are mainly directed at airfields and ports, which are captured, blocked or destroyed.

Paralyze
The Swedish defense is by no means being ignored. If the sabotage preparations have been carried out so that the sabotage together with the military operations have paralyzed the country as the Russians have calculated, they believe that the more important centers will be in their hands in two days.

I can quote a good friend of mine, the Russian Rear Admiral Matroshan. He held command posts in the Baltic Fleet and the Arctic Fleet and later served in the central staff of the Soviet Navy. His knowledge of the Swedish coast was such that it was mind-boggling. I asked him if he really considered it realistic that the essential resistance in Scandinavia could be liquidated in two days. He replied; I will call you from Stockholm on the very first day after the outbreak of war.

Special forces
Even fuel tanks made of plastic or rubber are dropped to a very large extent with parachutes, as are large quantities of armored vehicles and other vehicles. The heavier equipment is transferred in landing aircraft, but not all of them need airfields. Some can land on grass fields. The Russians have trained large airborne units for such landings with fairly heavy equipment. In recent years, the Russians have set up many units that are specially trained exclusively to transport motor fuel. The oil pipeline that runs to Central Europe is also of enormous military importance to the Soviet Union.

The tank that will be deployed against Sweden and also in the attack in the north through Finland is lighter than the one used on the continent. The airborne tank is very special - one could almost call it a small armored car.

Cannon fodder
Special equipment with a high degree of mobility in rough wet terrain was being completed The Russian General Staff had issued orders for the transition from tracked vehicles - except for tanks - to the greatest possible use of specially built wheeled vehicles that were able to handle difficult terrain. This was assumed to increase the speed of the operation. In the Eastern armies today there is not a single tank that cannot deep-ford through waterways, and the same applies to trucks.

East German and Polish troops are to be landed primarily from ships and from the air during the first wave of attack. This is when the greatest losses are expected, and that is why a large part of the first ship-landed wave of transshipment is entrusted to the forces of the satellite states - they are sacrificed just as the Czechoslovak units are to be sacrificed in the first wave of attack through West Germany.

This attack has been practiced jointly between the Warsaw Pact troops in several war games that I have been involved in.

1.5 million men
In total, one can very roughly estimate the forces deployed against Scandinavia at approximately 1.5 million men, including the occupation troops who come last. All are then followed by Russian occupation troops who take control of Sweden.

If NATO remains and there is a world war, Norway will be attacked very hard from the outset in order to be quickly liquidated. It is then conceivable that the attack on Sweden will be completed by an attack also from Norway after the Russians have gained a foothold there.

If NATO is dissolved, there are completely different alternatives, ranging from a takeover of power in country after country without direct war, which could then be a war without nuclear weapons, since the US in such a situation is not expected to resort to nuclear weapons to save a country in Scandinavia.

Completely different situation
NATO's existence and the US remaining in Europe are also crucial for Scandinavia's future as free states. If Sweden had had nuclear weapons, Sweden's situation would have been completely changed. Then the Russians would have had to count on a completely different situation in northern Europe. Especially in the event of a local conflict, this could play an important role to the Scandinavian countries' advantage. This would be especially the case if the Russians were convinced that these weapons would be used and that the Swedes were not going to be surprised.