The Soviets, the Warsaw Pact, and the Eastern European Militaries

Abstract

The role of the Eastern European militaries in Soviet strategy has become increasingly important in the aftermath of the recently concluded Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and of the talk in Moscow about possible changes in Soviet warfighting strategy. A reduction of Soviet forces in Eastern Europe would be fraught with serious political repercussions. During the immediate postwar period, Moscow's priority in dealing with the Eastern European militaries was to neutralize them, particularly their officer corps. The imposition of Stalinism in Eastern Europe required the various countries to imitate fully the Soviet model. The aftermath of Stalin's death was a period of major transition for the Eastern European militaries. Equipment problems were minor compared with the overall political reliability of the forces. The 1953 uprising in East Berlin was put down by Soviet forces because of the Kremlin's concerns about the reliability of East German paramilitary forces.