WARSAW PACT: FORCED MODERNIZATION: A CLOSER LOOK

Abstract

Abstract : Calculations by Western analysts of the balance of conventional land power between NATO and the Warsaw Pact should include a better understanding of the real capabilities of the non-Soviet Warsaw Pact armies as demonstrated by actual force structure and equipment inventories. This is particularly true because the non-Soviet forces represent an important element in the balance of power in the Central Region. The non-Soviet Pact forces could be particularly significant during the early stages of a European war. In fact of the 47 Category I tank and mechanized division nominally available to the Pact for early employment in Central Europe, eight are Polish, six are East German, and seven are Czechoslovakian. These divisions and the eight Category II and III non-Soviet Warsaw Pact divisions, of necessity, would be required to carry a significant share of the initial combat burden until the arrival of some or all of the 48 Soviet divisions located in the Western Military Districts of the Soviet Union. Even then, the low state of readiness and training of about two-thirds of these Soviet divisions would argue for a continuing key role for the non-Soviet Warsaw Pact forces. Realistically, the Soviets would be hard-pressed to attack Western Europe without the full participation of the non-Soviet forces.