Soviet Military Strategy

A discussion and re-examination by Soviet military leaders of the effects of nuclear weapons on Soviet security and on the requirements for waging a successful war. The Soviet authors examine in detail the character of Soviet strategy and methods of conducting a modern war, the role of nuclear weapons and strategic forces, the employment of ground forces, and the functions and problems of air defense and civil defense. They also present a comprehensive Soviet assessment of Western military capabilities country by country. The report provides an extensive discussion of the critical importance of the nuclear first strike; it deals with the size, organization, and composition of the armed forces, and with their mobilization and state of readiness; it gives the Soviet view on military uses of space; and it investigates the problem of command and control in modern war.