Ive read some on amphibious landings and gotten some new to me anyway information on the soviet amphibious efforts in wwii. This handbook is designed to meet two requirements. The eastern european nations which formed this historic alliance wanted to be able to move quickly and effectively. Parallel history project on cooperative security php. The treaty provided for a unified military command and for the maintenance of soviet military units within other participating states.
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. The purposes and dimensions of nato and warsaw pact exercises nato and warsaw pact exercises have both military and political objectives. In the present military situation there has been a shift in the weight and composition of the warsaw pact forces in central europe. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact 4 book series. 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. The latter was in charge of all military activities of the alliance, while the first controlled everything else. 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.
Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact 4 book series kindle. As long as stalin was alive and during the 1950s, the warsaw pact. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact book 1 of weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact. 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. The warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration. Armored fighting vehic by defense interlligence agency and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Why cold war warsaw pact tactics work in wargaming. 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. When east and west survived on a knifeedge between peace and war, both sides were busy preparing themselves for military action. Each side aims to match its combat capabilities to its strategy while enhancing the unity and integration of its alliance. 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. 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.
Cardboard castle an inside history of the warsaw pact on jstor. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. The warsaw pact alliance of the east european socialist states was the. The warsaw pact reconsidered by laurien crump, 97804156907. The warsaw pact and military security in central europe. Steam community guide warsaw pact doctrine and tactics. The history of the warsaw pact, recounted and documented in this book, bears on. In order to provide shared military and economic security as a unified entity, states engage in alliances. 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 and eastern europe during the cold war the soviet union dominated central and eastern europe during the cold war. This book is a factual reference of the equipment which was used throughout the cold war period and the important roles each piece played.
The strategy behind the formation of the warsaw pact was driven by the desire of the. 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 warsaw pact reconsidered utrecht university repository. Warsaw pact preparations for associated military operations 195861 intelligence sources and analysis 14 chapter iii. Although the aim was apparently to preempt nato aggression. Chapter 4 the sovietwarsaw pact ground forces threat to. Another book and dvd set from the same series, the warsaw pact, treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. In the books which focus on the warsaw pact, the role of the eastern. 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.
Theaters of war the military entertainment complex tim lenoir. After world war ii, it formed the warsaw pact, a military alliance of european communist states meant to counter nato. 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. Recent scholarship on nato and the warsaw pact has gone a long way in unearthing. But what exactly would natos troops have faced if the cold war had suddenly turned hot. The eastern european nations which formed this historic alliance. The formation of the warsaw pact was in some ways a response to the creation of nato, although it did. At this point all strategy went out of the window and i simply clicked all of my. 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.
At the conclusion of world war 2, the soviet union was a major player in the world and again an adversary. Sovieteast european military relations in historical perspective. Soviet and warsaw pact military strategy from stalin to breshnev. 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. Johnson directed an independent commission to investigate kennedys death. With the help of the open archives of the former warsaw pact. Beyond these general similarities, however, the two blocs maneuvers have. Strategy and conflict in the politics of sovietbloc trade princeton. Military alliances help protect states from common enemies, and economic alliances allow for the free. 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.
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. It is at the heart of the extended deterrence strategy, in which the u. Briefing books are onestop resources covering a full range of topics in u. This strategy, of course, became unconvincing when the ussr overcame americans early lead. Combat engineering equipment of the warsaw pact by russell. The united states and nato devoted vast resources to analyzing the capabilities, the strategy, the tactics of warsaw pact forces intended for military conflict in europe. The essence of the soviet military strategy was offensive. The armies of the warsaw pact made artillery a cornerstone of their military strategies. The strategy behind the formation of the warsaw pact was driven by the desire of the soviet union to dominate central and eastern europe. This chapter examines some of these realities, both. In particular, it requires an in depth look at the ussr which served as an armory and as an instructor for warsaw pact militaries.
The vital tools which helped the warsaw pact overcome the challenges it faced included a whole range of combat engineering equipment. Okvath has published a book and several articles on the military policy and. 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. 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. Combat engineering equipment of the warsaw pact weapons. The importance of clandestine reporting book and dvd. 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. Previous attempts by warsaw pact nations to depart from communism had resulted in forceful soviet military intervention.
In turn, these forces could be deployed in accordance with soviet military strategy against an nswp country or nato. A compromise in soviet strategic thinking this working paper of the ddi research staff explores the development of warsaw pact military strategy. The ability to advance rapidly over sometimes difficult terrain was a key part of the warsaw pact s strategy. Even on the pages of the officially published book in moscow in 1962, and in warsaw in 1964. A war doomed by the coalitions strategies, policies and. Red storm rising is a war novel, written by tom clancy and cowritten with larry bond, and released on august 7, 1986.
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. 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. Hungary in the warsaw pact parallel history project. Introduction to human geography dorrell and henderson. Soviet control over its satellites military forces.
Central intelligence agency, cia foia electronic library, declassi. The ability to advance rapidly over difficult terrain was a key part of the warsaw pact s strategy. 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. Made up of 16 countries, nato has been a successful alliance because there has been no war in europe since 1945. 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. The book provides comprehensive descriptions of the various combat engineering equipment items used by the warsaw pact countries. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. In 1976, spi published firefight, a game that simulated soviet and u. 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. Book 2 of weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact. But the work of this effective force would have been impossible without the specialist engineering equipment they used. There are tabulations of dimensions and performance characteristics for most of the equipment items, but not all.
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. Rugged, simplistic compared to their western equivalents, these items would play. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. And the importance they placed on this type of weaponry saw them use. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact russell phillips. The contribution of clandestine source, col oleg penkovskiy 195564. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of. 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. 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. 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. Us military strategy and the cold war endgame stephen j.
He advocated deeper study of strategic defense and underlined the need to. 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. 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.
The soviet unions insane plan to crush nato in battle. 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. 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. It influenced the size and nature of the american military commitment to europe. Although the aim was apparently to preempt nato aggression, the soviets clearly expected. Nato, supplemented by the west german army and equipped with us strategic and. 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. The warsaw treaty organization wto, officially the treaty of friendship, cooperation and.
Warsaw pact equipment identification guide abebooks. 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. The soviets wanted to keep their part of europe and not let the americans take it from them. France announces its withdrawal from natos military structures.
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. This policy was driven by ideological and geostrategic reasons. 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. Warsaw pact, the most lethal concentration of opposed military force in close proximity in peace time in human history. Aug 22, 2017 tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact ebook written by russell phillips. The transition from the end of the cold war to a new world order is both promising and perilous. Tanks and combat vehicles of the warsaw pact by russell. Soviets planned nuclear first strike to preempt west. To understand the military thinking of the warsaw pact, one has to go back and look at their primary motivators and influences. 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. Warsaw pact ground forces equipment identification guide. Warsaw pact, treaty establishing a mutualdefense organization composed originally of the soviet union and albania, bulgaria, czechoslovakia, east germany, hungary, poland, and romania. 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. Previously the combatready warsaw pact forces in east germany, poland, and czechoslovakia.
Chapter 4 the sovietwarsaw pact ground forces threat to europe. Prepared by the sovietwarsaw pact division, directorate for research, defense intelligence agency, dr. Constraining ground force exercises of nato and the. The specific military plans of the soviet union, as well as the plans of the united states, remain secret. Informed by material from recently opened archives, this collection investigates the perceptions and actions. Nato and the warsaw pact history of western civilization ii. This publication has been prepared in response to us army tradoc and us army asci requirements. 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 accompanying dvd contains a wealth of newly declassified central intelligence agency documents from the warsaw pact series. 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.