The Armed Forces of the USSR

461 Pages·1979·3.13 MB·English

by  Harriet F. Scott

THE
ARMED
FORCES
OF THE
USSR
Harriet Fast Scott
and
William F. Scott
The Armed Forces of the USSR
Harriet Fast Scott
and
William F. Scott
The eminent authors of this book draw
on thousands of Soviet Ministry of De­
fense publications—only a very few of
which have been translated into En­
glish—and four years of research in
the USSR to portray the fundamentals
of Soviet military doctrine and strat­
egy. They fully cover the postwar de­
velopment of the Soviet military, look­
ing at the high command, each of the
five services, combat formations, and
supporting agencies, and give a com­
prehensive account of the Soviet
military-industrial complex, military
training of Soviet youth, military
manpower, mobilization, and the So­
viet officer corps. Their discussion of
the relationship between the Party and
the Armed Forces, based on Soviet
data, includes an examination of pop­
ular Western myths about internal
Soviet military debates and military-
Party splits. This up-to-date reference
book includes numerous footnotes,
tables, figures, and a wealth of other
data—all based exclusively on primary
sources.
Book Club
Edition
THE ARMED FORCES
OF THE USSR
k
THE ARMED FORCES
OF THE USSR
Harriet Fast Scott
William F. Scott
Westview Press • Boulder, Colorado
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording,
or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
Copyright © 1979 by Harriet Fast Scott and William F. Scott
Published in 1979 in the United States of America by
Westview Press, Inc.
5500 Central Avenue
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Frederick A. Praeger, Publisher
9 8 7 6
Printed and bound in the United States of America
Contents
List of Tables............................................................................................................... ix
List of Illustrations...................................................................................................... xi
Preface......................................................................................................................... xiii
1. Prologue: The Red Army 1
Prelude to Revolution: 1905-1917 ............................................................................. 1
Consolidation of Military Power: October 1917-May 1918....................................... 2
Building Up the Red Army......................................................................................... 5
First Postwar Stage: 1921-1928 ................................................................................. 9
Second Postwar Stage: 1929-1937 ............................................................................. 16
Prelude to the Great Patriotic War: 1938-22 June 1941.............................................. 18
The Great Patriotic War: 1941-1945 .......................................................................... 21
Part 1
Fundamentals of Soviet Military Doctrine and Strategy
2. Postwar Development of Soviet Military Doctrine and Strategy........................... 37
First Postwar Stage: 1945-March 1953 ...................................................................... 38
Second Postwar Stage: April 195 3-December 1959 ................................................. 39
Third Postwar Stage: 1960 to Present—A New Military Doctrine............................. 41
The Revolution in Military Affairs............................................................................. 47
The Projection of Military Power............................................................................... 56
The Political Side of Soviet Military Doctrine........................................................... 59
3. Military Science...................................................................................................... 69
The Vocabulary of the Soviet Military Theorists....................................................... 69
Pre-World War II Development of Soviet Military Science...................................... 72
Military Strategy......................................................................................................... 74
v
vi Contents
Military Strategy as a Social Science........................................................................... 81
Laws of War and Laws of Armed Combat.................................................................. 85
Part 2
A Military Force for the Nuclear Age
4. The Soviet High Command...................................................................................... . 97
The Council of Defense................................................................................................ 97
The Main Military Council........................................................................................... 99
The General Staff......................................................................................................... 102
Party-Military Relationships........................................................................................ 113
The Soviet High Command.......................................................................................... 120
5. The Soviet Military Services.................................................................................... 131
Basic Structure............................................................................................................. 131
The Strategic Rocket Forces......................................................................................... 133
The Ground Forces....................................................................................................... 141
Troops of National Air Defense................................................................................... 147
The Air Forces.............................................................................................................. 153
The Navy..................................................................................................................... 161
6. Military Districts, Fleets, Border Guards, and MVD Troops.................................. 173
Military Districts.......................................................................................................... 173
Groups of Forces Abroad............................................................................................. 199
The Fleets..................................................................................................................... 209
Air Defense Districts.................................................................................................... 216
Troops of the KGB and MVD...................................................................................... 218
7. Supporting Services and Special Troops................................................................. 227
The Tyl (Rear Services)............................................................................................... 228
Construction and Billeting Troops............................................................................... 239
Troops of Civil Defense............................................................................................... 241
Special Troops............................................................................................................. 244
Part 3
A Nation in Arms
8. The Party and the Armed Forces............................................................................. 257
Establishment of the Military Commissar System...................................................... 258
Contents vii
Party-Political Relations in the Postwar Period.......................................................... 261
Contemporary Party-Military Structure and Activities............................................... 266
Formulation of Political-Military Ideological Indoctrination..................................... 275
9. The Soviet Military-Industrial Complex and Defense Costs.................................. 283
Beginning of the Defense Industries........................................................................... 284
The Soviet Military-Industrial Complex of the 1970s................................................ 294
10. Soviet Military Manpower, Training, and Mobilization....................................... 303
General........................................................................................................................ 303
Military Commissariats............................................................................................... 306
DOSAAF..................................................................................................................... 307
Military Training During the Formative Years........................................................... 311
Beginning Military Training....................................................................................... 315
The Call-up.................................................................................................................. 317
Military Training of Enlisted Personnel and Warrant Officers................................... 318
Reserve Duty and Mobilization................................................................................... 322
11. Preparation, Education, and Training of Soviet Officers...................................... 331
Early Development...................................................................................................... 332
Military and Higher Military Schools......................................................................... 335
Other Military and Higher Military Schools............................................................... 345
Soviet Military Academies.......................................................................................... 351
Other Soviet Military Institutions of Higher Learning............................................... 367
Graduate Education..................................................................................................... 370
12. Weighing the Balance........................................................................................... 375
The Role of Doctrine................................................................................................... 375
Command Structure and Control................................................................................ 376
Manpower and Leadership.......................................................................................... 378
A Matter of Perception................................................................................................ 381
Addenda ..................................................................................................................... 384
Appendixes
A. Women in the Soviet Armed Forces................................................................. 387
B. Soviet Military Ranks............................................................................... 391
Selected Bibliography........................................... 401
Name Index..................... 415
Subject Index............................................. 423