Warsaw pact military strategy book

Book 2 of weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact. It includes sensitive soviet and warsaw pact military journals from 1961 to 1984, recently uncovered in newly opened archives across former warsaw pact nations, providing a view into warsaw pact military strategy. Planning for operations against denmark summary a substantial body of evidence indicates that, in the event of a ldoruwn aonnadafde nato warsaw pact war, pact planners remain committed to a coordi aifl j 989nated, phased offensive operation against denmark. While much has been published on the armed forces of the ussr during the 1980s, surprisingly little is available on the forces supplied by the other member nations of the warsaw pact. The warsaw pact reconsidered utrecht university repository.

Although the aim was apparently to preempt nato aggression, the soviets clearly expected. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of. How the warsaw pact planned to win world war three in europe by kyle mizokami last month in the national interest we discussed natos plan for world war iii in europe. At this point all strategy went out of the window and i simply clicked all of my. Warsaw pact operational plan ralph peters in his book red army conceptualises that the soviet main efforts would have sat against the belgians in the south and the germandutch units in the north with an economy of force action taking place against the british. Armored fighting vehic by defense interlligence agency and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The essence of the soviet military strategy was offensive. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of nato and the warsaw pact i picked up on this books existence from a tmp thread, if your interested in wargaming the cold war this is. But what exactly would natos troops have faced if the cold war had suddenly turned hot. The strategy behind the formation of the warsaw pact was driven by the desire of the. Although the marshall plan created a trading alliance, nato was a military alliance with the specific aim of defending the west against communism the formation of the warsaw pact of course the ussr had to reply, what was the warsaw pact.

The natowarsaw pact military competition at the heart of the cold war was also the incubator of a revolution in military affairs rma in europe in the 1970s and 1980s, which predates the betterknown american concept of rmaof the 1990s. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact is a fascinating reference book looking at the wide variety of combat vehicles which were poised. The soviet unions insane plan to crush nato in battle. The armies of the warsaw pact made artillery a cornerstone of their military strategies. The warsaw pact alliance of the east european socialist states was the.

The warsaw treaty organization, 1955 the warsaw treaty organization also known as the warsaw pact was a political and military alliance established on may 14, 1955 between the soviet union and several eastern european countries. This handbook is designed to meet two requirements. He advocated deeper study of strategic defense and underlined the need to. Informed by material from recently opened archives, this collection investigates the perceptions and actions. Soviet and warsaw pact military strategy from stalin to breshnev. The warsaw pact reconsidered by laurien crump, 97804156907. Following founding of the warsaw treaty organization warsaw pact in may 1955, a supreme warsaw pact military command was established in moscow, but this institution existed largely on paper until the 1960s. Set in the mid1980s, it features a third world war between the north atlantic treaty organization and warsaw pact forces. The warsaw pact and military security in central europe. Cardboard castle an inside history of the warsaw pact on jstor. Sources and reassessments book and dvd, is a collection of hundreds of recently declassified documents designed to take stock of where we are twenty years after the collapse of east european communism. As long as stalin was alive and during the 1950s, the warsaw pact. Chapter 4 the sovietwarsaw pact ground forces threat to. The ability to advance rapidly over difficult terrain was a key part of the warsaw pact s strategy.

Why cold war warsaw pact tactics work in wargaming. After world war ii, it formed the warsaw pact, a military alliance of european communist states meant to counter nato. With the help of the open archives of the former warsaw pact countries, such as poland and czechoslovakia, historians could roughly establish how the soviet army would have acted in the event of a conflict. Aug 22, 2017 tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact ebook written by russell phillips. Parallel history project on cooperative security php.

In order to provide shared military and economic security as a unified entity, states engage in alliances. It is at the heart of the extended deterrence strategy, in which the u. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of nato and the warsaw pact i picked up on this books existence from a tmp thread, if your interested in wargaming the cold war this is an invaluable reference, why. In 1967, nato adopted the strategy of flexible response, a strategy dependent upon conventional, tactical nuclear, and strategic nuclear weapons to provide deterrence from a warsaw pact. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact.

This policy was driven by ideological and geostrategic reasons. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This book is a factual reference of the equipment which was used throughout the cold war period and the important roles each piece played. This publication has been prepared in response to us army tradoc and us army asci requirements. The latter was in charge of all military activities of the alliance, while the first controlled everything else. Warsaw pact preparations for associated military operations 195861 intelligence sources and analysis 14 chapter iii. Warsaw pact, the most lethal concentration of opposed military force in close proximity in peace time in human history. The collection of documents published here, with the 1965 hungarian war game in its center, gives a deep insight into the military planning strategy of the warsaw pact in the 1960s. Johnson directed an independent commission to investigate kennedys death. With obstacles including rivers and minefields to negotiate, combat units could have faced costly delays if it hadnt been for the diligent work of the warsaw pact.

In the books which focus on the warsaw pact, the role of the eastern. The thesis of this study is that the internal soviet debate on the nature of awar in europe has had a significant effect on the development of the missions and force structure of the east european armies. Each side aims to match its combat capabilities to its strategy while enhancing the unity and integration of its alliance. May, 2005 the sovietled warsaw pact had a longstanding strategy to attack western europe that included being the first to use nuclear weapons, according to a new book of previously secret warsaw pact documents published tomorrow. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact book 1 of weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact. Another book and dvd set from the same series, the warsaw pact, treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. A war doomed by the coalitions strategies, policies and.

Prepared by the sovietwarsaw pact division, directorate for research, defense intelligence agency, dr. The contribution of clandestine source, col oleg penkovskiy 195564. In particular, it requires an in depth look at the ussr which served as an armory and as an instructor for warsaw pact militaries. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact by russell. The eastern european nations which formed this historic alliance wanted to be able to move quickly and effectively.

Strategy and conflict in the politics of sovietbloc trade princeton. The importance of clandestine reporting book and dvd. The warsaw pact was in part a soviet military reaction to the integration of west germany into nato in 1955, per the paris pacts of 1954 but was primarily motivated by soviet desires to maintain control over military forces in eastern europe. Find out more about the tanks, combat vehicles, weapons and essential pieces of military equipment which formed an important part of the eastern blocs strategy during the cold war. Rivalling the size of the united states army, the combined ground forces of the six nonsoviet warsaw pact countries totalled over 775,000 active troops, with almost two million ground forces reserves. Recent scholarship on nato and the warsaw pact has gone a long way in unearthing. My operational plan for the warsaw pact on the central front takes peters basic premise but relies on the soviets deploying 4 fronts in the first echelon based on 1st polish front, 1st and 2nd german fronts and 1st czecheslovakian front, the 2nd echelon would be provided by fronts from the western military districts of the soviet union. The soviet warsaw pact ground forces threat to europe in 1984, saceur general rogers described fofa as an attempt to come to grips with the realities presented by soviet doctrine for offensive operations and the continuing massive soviet conventional force buildup. In turn, these forces could be deployed in accordance with soviet military strategy against an nswp country or nato. The warsaw pact was created in reaction to the integration of west germany into nato in 1955 per the paris pacts of 1954, but it is also considered to have been motivated by soviet desires to maintain control over military forces in central and eastern europe. Just one week later, on may 14, 1955, the warsaw pact was established as a mutual military defense complement of the council for mutual economic assistance.

The accompanying dvd contains a wealth of newly declassified central intelligence agency documents from the warsaw pact series. The warsaw treaty organization 1 wto, officially the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, 2 commonly known as the warsaw pact, was a collective defense treaty signed in warsaw, poland between the soviet union and seven other eastern bloc socialist republics of central and eastern europe in may 1955, during the cold war. Even on the pages of the officially published book in moscow in 1962, and in warsaw in 1964. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. Briefing books are onestop resources covering a full range of topics in u. The formation of the warsaw pact was in some ways a response to the creation of nato, although it did. Rugged, simplistic compared to their western equivalents, these items would play. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact is a fascinating reference book looking at the wide variety of combat vehicles which were poised and ready for action. Central intelligence agency, cia foia electronic library, declassi. The warsaw treaty organization wto, officially the treaty of friendship, cooperation and. Military alliances help protect states from common enemies, and economic alliances allow for the free. Nato, supplemented by the west german army and equipped with us strategic and. Soviets planned nuclear first strike to preempt west.

From building bridges and clearing safe lanes through minefields to repairing and recovering broken down vehicles and creating field fortifications, the work of these engineers played an essential part in the warsaw pact s military strategy. On this, the 100th anniversary of the october revolution, we are proud to announce that the second book in the weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact series has been released buy the ebook buy the paperback. The vital tools which helped the warsaw pact overcome the challenges it faced included a whole range of combat engineering equipment. Sovieteast european military relations in historical perspective. The history of the warsaw pact, recounted and documented in this book, bears on. Why cold war warsaw pact tactics work in wargaming by john curry i have played more cold war warsaw pact games versus nato than most. The eastern european nations which formed this historic alliance wanted to be able to move quickly and effectively so they didnt give their enemies an advantage. In 1967, nato adopted the strategy of flexible response, a strategy dependent upon conventional, tactical nuclear, and strategic nuclear weapons to provide deterrence from a warsaw pact attack. Planning for operations against denmark summary a substantial body of evidence indicates that, in the event of a ldoruwn aonnadafde natowarsaw pact war, pact planners remain committed to a coordi. And the importance they placed on this type of weaponry saw them use their technology and expertise to develop a wide range of munitions including mortars, rocket launchers, missiles and largecalibre guns.

To understand the military thinking of the warsaw pact, one has to go back and look at their primary motivators and influences. There are tabulations of dimensions and performance characteristics for most of the equipment items, but not all. The warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato. The motives accounting for the warsaw pacts offensive military culture included not only the obsessive soviet memory of having been taken by surprise by the nearly fatal nazi attack in june 1941 but primarily the ideological militancy of the marxistleninist doctrine that posited irreconcilable hostility of the capitalist adversaries. In the present military situation there has been a shift in the weight and composition of the warsaw pact forces in central europe.

The treaty provided for a unified military command and for the maintenance of soviet military units within other participating states. The warsaw pact and eastern europe during the cold war the soviet union dominated central and eastern europe during the cold war. Previous attempts by warsaw pact nations to depart from communism had resulted in forceful soviet military intervention. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact 4 book series. A collection of sensitive soviet and warsaw pact military journals from 1961 to 1984 providing a view into warsaw pact military strategy. Not surprisingly, the majority of the equipment is from the former ussr. Although the aim was apparently to preempt nato aggression. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. Combat engineering equipment of the warsaw pact by russell. Warsaw pact ground forces equipment identification guide. The soviets wanted to keep their part of europe and not let the americans take it from them. Introduction to human geography dorrell and henderson. Hungary in the warsaw pact parallel history project. This chapter examines some of these realities, both.

And the importance they placed on this type of weaponry saw them use. At the conclusion of world war 2, the soviet union was a major player in the world and again an adversary. The formation of the warsaw pact was in some ways a response to the creation of nato, although it did not occur until six years after the western alliance. Made up of 16 countries, nato has been a successful alliance because there has been no war in europe since 1945. A compromise in soviet strategic thinking this working paper of the ddi research staff explores the development of warsaw pact military strategy. The soviet union hoped the warsaw pact would help it contain west germany and allow it to negotiate with nato on a level playing field of power. The warsaw pact evolved into something other than the mechanism of control the soviet union originally intended it to be, and it became increasingly less dominated by the soviet union since the 1960s. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration. Warsaw pact equipment identification guide abebooks. Chapter 4 the sovietwarsaw pact ground forces threat to europe. The majority of the actions performed by the warsaw pact were run by the political consultative committee and the unified command of pact armed forces. It influenced the size and nature of the american military commitment to europe. Just as jfks purposeful idealism moved and shaped our nation, his november 22 nd, 1963 assassination was a defining moment in american history amid the aftershock of that dreadful day, president lyndon b. Ive read some on amphibious landings and gotten some new to me anyway information on the soviet amphibious efforts in wwii.

Combat engineering equipment of the warsaw pact weapons. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact 4 book series kindle. In 1976, spi published firefight, a game that simulated soviet and u. Okvath has published a book and several articles on the military policy and. This strategy, of course, became unconvincing when the ussr overcame americans early lead. The specific military plans of the soviet union, as well as the plans of the united states, remain secret. Soviet control over its satellites military forces. Steam community guide warsaw pact doctrine and tactics. France announces its withdrawal from natos military structures. Us military strategy and the cold war endgame stephen j. Previously the combatready warsaw pact forces in east germany, poland, and czechoslovakia.

Beyond these general similarities, however, the two blocs maneuvers have. Theaters of war the military entertainment complex tim lenoir. When east and west survived on a knifeedge between peace and war, both sides were busy preparing themselves for military action. In fact it is for the first time that a once top secret military document illuminating the precise process and the consequences of a potential nuclear war in a. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact russell phillips. Nato and the warsaw pact history of western civilization ii. The nato warsaw pact military competition at the heart of the cold war was also the incubator of a revolution in military affairs rma in europe in the 1970s and 1980s, which predates the betterknown american concept of rmaof. With the help of the open archives of the former warsaw pact. The strategy behind the formation of the warsaw pact was driven by the desire of the soviet union to dominate central and eastern europe. But the work of this effective force would have been impossible without the specialist engineering equipment they used.

The purposes and dimensions of nato and warsaw pact exercises nato and warsaw pact exercises have both military and political objectives. The ability to advance rapidly over sometimes difficult terrain was a key part of the warsaw pact s strategy. The eastern european nations which formed this historic alliance. The us and its nato allies were caught largely unprepared by the rapid collapse of the warsaw pact, the sudden demise of the soviet union and the reunification of germany events that redrew the map of east central europe and shifted us security concerns eastward in eurasia.