Exercise Longstep was a ten-day

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

naval exercise held in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

during November 1952 under the overall command of Admiral Robert B. Carney, USN, the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCAFSOUTH). This exercise involved over 170 warships and 700 aircraft, and it featured a large-scale

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

along the western coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. With

Exercise Grand Slam Exercise Grand Slam was an early major naval exercise of the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This 1952 combined naval exercise took place in the Mediterranean Sea, and it included a naval force that was described as being " ...

, this exercise served as the prototype for future NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War.

Background

In January 1950, the

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by wikisource:North Atlantic ...

approved NATO's military strategic concept of deterring Soviet aggression. NATO military planning took on a renewed urgency following the outbreak of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, prompting NATO to establish

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

(SHAPE) under the command of

General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, U.S. Army, on 2 April 1951. Exercise Longstep was an early naval exercise for SHAPE's southern regional command, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH).

Command structure

The overall exercise commander for Grand Slam was Admiral Robert B. Carney USN, NATO's Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH). AFSOUTH component commanders during Longstep were: * Allied Air Force South (AIRSOUTH) - Major General David M. Schlatter, USAF *

Allied Land Forces Southern Europe Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) was a military command of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) command. Based in Verona in Northern Italy LANDSOUTH was tasked with defending Italy north of the Apennine Mountains against ...

(LANDSOUTH) - Lieutenant General Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni, Italian Army * Allied Naval Forces South (NAVSOUTH) - Vice Admiral John H. Cassady, USN

Operation history

The objective of the Allied ("Blue") forces was to dislodge enemy ("Green") invasion forces from their occupying positions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Green forces consisted of the Italian 56th Tactical Air Force and submarines of the United States, Great Britain, France, Greece, and Turkey lying in wait to ambush the Blue amphibious convoy departing from Italian embarkation ports. Over 170 warships and 700 aircraft were involved in Operation Longstep. Blue naval forces were centered around the U.S. Sixth Fleet, under the command of

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

John H. Cassady, USN, and its two aircraft carriers, the and . Air sorties were flown by American and Italian aircraft attacking Blue naval forces, and Blue carrier-based aircraft counter-attacking Green military targets in northern Italy. Operation Longstep concluded with an amphibious landing at Lebidos Bay south of İzmir, Turkey, involving 3000 French, Italian, and Greek troops, including the Third Battalion, Second Marines, under the overall command of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Robert E. Hogaboom,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

. In the actual landing at Lebidos Bay, the Italians went ashore at H-Hour minus six in a diversionary attack on nearby Doganbey Island. This was followed by the main landing force led U.S. Marines along with the French and Greek troops. After securing the beach-head and setting up a defensive perimeter, the landing force was re-embarked onto the amphibious shipping off-shore, concluding Exercise Longstep.

Carrier aviation units

Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVG-17) embarked on USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' (CVB-42): Carrier Air Group Eighteen (CVG-18) embarked on USS ''Wasp'' (CV-18):

Legacy

Longstep was an early attempt to integrate the various naval forces into a more combined force under NATO command. Another important aspect of Longstep was combined training in the coordination of radio and wire communications between ships, aircraft, and ground forces of the six-nation, five-language combined force.

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

Operation Longstep
-

British Pathe British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

Longstep 1952 in military history 1952 in Europe November 1952 in Europe