Transformation in Russian and Soviet military history: Proceedings of the Twelfth Military History Symposium, United States Air Force Academy, 1-3 October 1986

428 Pages·1990·24.78 MB·English

by  Carl W. Reddel

Transformation
in Russian and Soviet
Military History
Proceedings of the
Twelfth Military History Symposium
United States Air Force Academy
1-3 October 1986
Edited by
Colonel Carl W. Reddel, USAF
Department of History
United States Air Force Academy
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
OFFICE OF AIR FORCE HISTORY
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1990
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Military History Symposium (US) (12th : 1986 : United States Air Force
Academy)
Transformation in Russian and Soviet military history
Includes Index.
1. Soviet Union-History. Military-congresses. I. Reddel, Carl W., 1937- .
II. Title.
DK51.M55 1986 355 '.00947'0904 89-600307
ISBN 0-912799-57-9
Views expressed or implied in this publication are those of the authors and are not to
be construed as carrying official sanction of the Department of the Air Force, the
U.S. Air Force Academy, or the institutions with which the contributors are affiliated.
..
11
The Twelfth Military History Symposium
1-3 October 1986
United States Air Force Academy
Sponsored by
The Department of History
and
The Association of Graduates
* * * * *
Executive Director
Twelfth Military History
Symposium: Major Phillip S. Meilinger
Deputy Director
Twelfth Military History
Symposium: Major Michael L. Wolfert
Professor and Head
Department of History: Colonel Carl W. Reddel
Executive Director
Association of Graduates: Lt Col Richard M. Coppock,
USAF, Retired
Symposium Committee Members:
Major Richard J. Mueller
Major Scott M. Smith
Major Michael R. Terry
Major Charles H. Wells
Major Michael L. Wolfert
Captain George W. Ballinger
Captain William L. Coode
Captain Chris M. Mayse
Captain Larry A. Weaver
Captain R. Michael Worden
...
111
United States Air Force
Historical Advisory Committee
As of January 1, 1990
John H. Morrow, Jr., Chairman
University of Georgia
Charles G. Boyd Charles R. Hamm
Lieutenant General, USAF Lieutenant General, USAF
Commander, Air University Superintendent, USAF Academy
Norman A. Graebner Ann C. Petersen
University of Virginia The General Counsel, USAF
Dominick Graham Marc Trachtenberg
University of New University of Pennsylvania
Brunswick, Canada
Gerhard L. Weinberg
Ira D. Gruber The University of North
Rice University Carolina at Chapel Hill
iV
Contents
Page
......................................
Preface ix
...................................
Introduction xvii
..............................
Acknowledgements x i
THE TWENTY-NINTH HARMON MEMORIAL LECTURE
IN MILITARY HISTORY
..............
Introduction, Colonel Carl W.R eddel, USAF 3
Soldiering in Tsarist Russia, John L. H. Keep ............. 5
SESSION I
THE MILITARY LEGACY OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA:
HISTORY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Chairman: Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
Introductory Remarks by the Chairman .................. 23
.........
The Army and Frontier in Russia, Bruce W. Menning 25
...
Mobilization for War and Russian Society, Walter M. Pintner 39
From Imperial to Red Army: The Rise and Fall of the
Bolshevik Military Tradition, David R. Jones ........... 51
....................
Commentary, William C. Fuller, Jr. 75
SESSION 11
SOVIET MILITARY DOCTRINE
Chairman: Colonel Robert E. Berls, Jr., USAF
..................
Introductory Remarks by the Chairman 85
Mass, Mobility, and the Origins of Soviet Operational Art,
......................
1918-1936, Jacob W. Kipp 87
The Function of Military History in the Soviet Union,
..............................
Peter H. Vigor 117
.........................
Commentary, John J. Dziak 141
V
SESSION III
FIGHTING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
Chairman: Brigadier General James L. Collins, Jr., USA, Retired
..................
Introductory Remarks by the Chairman 149
Roles and Missions: Soviet Tactical Air Power in the Second
.........
Period of the Great Patriotic War, Von Hardesty 151
Toward Deep Battle: The Soviet Conduct of Operational
.............
Maneuver, Colonel David M. Glantz, USA 177
The Soviet Use of Military History for Operational Analysis:
Establishing the Parameters of the Concept of Force
...............
Sustainability, Christopher N. Donnelly 243
........................
Commentary, Earl F. Ziemke 273
SESSION IV
EMERGENCE OF A MILITARY SUPERPOWER:
PURPOSE AND RESULTS
Chairman: Lieutenant General Raymond B. Furlong, USAF,R etired
..................
Introductory Remarks by the Chairman 279
The Contribution of Air Power to Soviet Strategic Objectives,
................
Air Vice-Marshal R. A. Mason, RAF. 281
From Strategic Defense to Deterrence: The Evolution of Soviet
........
Nuclear Strategy Since 1962, John M. Thompson 293
...............
Commentary, Ambassador Lynn M. Hansen 309
CONCLUDING SESSION
Chairman: Robert F. Byrnes
..................
Introductory Remarks by the Chairman 319
Comments by the Panel:
................................
Ernst Klink 321
.........................
Jean-Christophe Romer 329
..........................
Malcolm Mackintosh 333
............................
Oleg Rzheshevsky 337
APPENDIX
Soviet Bibliographies and Their Use as Research Aids, Harriet
....
Fast Scott and Colonel William F. Scott, USAF,R etired 345
...................................
Contributors 383
.......................................
Index 399
vi
Military History Symposium Proceedings
1st Current Concepts in Military History (1967)
Not Published.
2d Command and Commanders in Modern Warfare (1968)
Stock Number 008-070-oo00-3-8
3d Science, Technology, and Warfare (1969)
Stock Number 008-070-00495-0
4th Soldiers and Statesmen (1970)
Stock Number 008-070-00335-0
5th The Military and Society (1972)
Stock Number 008-070-00367-8
6th The Military History of the American Revolution (1974)
Stock Number 008-070-00361-9
7th The American Military on the Frontier (1976)
Stock Number 008-070-00423-2
8th Air Power and Warfare (1978)
Stock Number 008-070-0044 1- 1
9th The American Military and the Far East (1980)
Stock Number 008-070-00474-7
10th The Home Front and War in the Twentieth Century (1982)
Stock Number 008-070-00511 -5.
11th Military Planning in the Twentieth Century (1984)
Stock Number 008-070-00577-8.
Note: For information on prices and availability, write to the Reference Services
Branch, United States Air Force Office of History (HQ USAF/CHOR) Bolling AFB,
DC 20332-6098.
vii

Preface
Russian history and culture has long fascinated Westerners, but only in
the twentieth century has Russia had an impact on people everywhere. Why
is this true? Why is the Soviet period of Russian history extraordinary in
Russia’s millennium-long existence? Several reasons come to mind. In the
twentieth century Russia has served as a dramatic example of the challenges
encountered by all late modernizing societies. For a time, the Soviet Union
seemed to incorporate the dreams of both Marxism and nationalism. It
offered an unprecedented developmental path to modernization while main-
taining both political and economic independence. Many Soviet citizens and
some foreign observers correspondingly escalated their view and under-
standing of Russia’s historical experience to universal levels, seeing the
Soviet Union as embodying the sufferings and humanitarian aspirations of
people everywhere, in all cultures and in all places.
Within this broad context, other factors have also made the Soviet period
of Russian history extraordinary. Among them is the special concern of this
book-Russian experience with modem war. War is arguably the central fact
of modem Russian history. Encounters with modem warfare have certainly
transformed Russia in the twentieth century. In particular the Soviet period
of Russian history has been uniquely shaped, possibly distorted, by the
devastating results of global war. One outcome has been that Russia’s
influence has been extended globally, even into space itself.
To date, however, the centrality of war in the Russian historical
experience has not been well integrated into the general understanding of
Russian history in the West. Several factors have contributed to this, not the
least of which has been the emotionalism engendered by the extravagant
mutual hostility of Communists and anti-Communists. Unrealistic optimism
concerning the impending demise of capitalism on the one hand, or of
socialism on the other, colored interpretations and obscured evidence. Only
occasionally were partisans on both sides forced to accommodate themselves
to the stubbornness of historical data.
In addition to the problems generated by this emotionalism, the subject
of modem warfare itself is exceptionally complex and generally underesti-
mated intellectually by both civilians and military professionals. The subfield
of military history has not always kept pace with modem warfare as it has
evolved from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. The rapidity of the
changes in the craft of war combined with the intricate and interrelated
nature of the political, social, and economic factors affecting modem war to
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