When the Soviet army could defeat the US army

Another 06/02/20 When the Soviet army could defeat the US army

the USSR and the USA, who after world war II, an implacable geopolitical enemies, were in constant competition. Increasing the two countries military capabilities between them created a delicate balance.

Useless weapon

After the victory in the great Patriotic war of the Soviet Union, without exaggeration, was considered the most powerful army in the world, which broke the backbone of the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht with its allies. 11 million soldiers, which consisted of the red army in may 1945, according to many experts, was able not only to cope with any armed forces of the planet, but also to establish control over all of Europe. Important fact that the Soviet economy was then almost completely moved to a war footing.

Not long ago, the CIA declassified documents relating to the early 1950-ies. In one of the policy briefs was reported that the Soviet army is able to easily deploy up to 475 divisions, greatly superior to all the armies of the West. Its power is such that it can simultaneously conduct activities in Scandinavia, in Western Europe, the Mediterranean and the middle East. Any army of the West, continued the authors note, will inevitably lose ground to Russian forces, as after the war nothing was done to improve the defense capacity of allies.

One of the possible points of conflict between the Soviet and allied forces was the border between West and East Berlin. But the advantage of the Soviet troops over the allied forces, there was that head of the administration of the American zone of occupation, General Lucius Glue even abandoned the idea to build there defenses because of their uselessness.
as for the Navy and air force, there is, in the opinion of the authors of the note, the Anglo-American troops have the advantage over the Soviet Union. This applies and the level of technical equipment and the number of military ships and aircraft, and combat experience. However, in the United States knew that the Soviet Union would be ready to repel a military threat both from the sea and from the air.

But the main question that is in the declassified document, who will be more vulnerable to atomic weapons, the Soviet Union or the United States? The conclusion of analysts is straightforward – America. The explanation is simple: the high concentration of population, industrial facilities and cities make the United States virtually defenseless against massive nuclear strikes.
Natural reaction to the military might of the USSR was a plan to neutralize the potential “Soviet threat.” Particularly successful in this USA. One after another scenario, pre-emptive nuclear strikes on Soviet territory – “Totaliti”, “charioteer tank destroyer”, “broiler”, “Dropshot”. However, how quickly there were these plans, just as quickly, they folded: the us military it was clear that in their possession not so much of nuclear weapons, to defeat a country with an extensive network of cities, communications and industrial facilities.

on 18 August 1948 the Council of national security of the United States has defined long-term objectives of American policy toward the Soviet Union, which included not only military, but also relatively peaceful methods. The main strategy was the elimination of the system of ideological domination of the Communist party and the forcible imposition of democracy.

August 29, 1949 at a test site near Semipalatinsk USSR Ministry of defense conducted a successful test of the first atomic bomb. Now no one in the West is not in doubt that active hostilities against the Soviet Union, even with the use of nuclear weapons would be doomed to failure. Thus began the cold war.

a Missed opportunity

1950-ies was marked by the exchange of tests between U.S. and Soviet hydrogen bombs until 30 October 1961 the Soviet Union did not put in the competition bullet, blowing over the island of Novaya Zemlya “Tsar-bomb” (AN602). The power of the explosion of TNT exceeded 58 megatons. This is the most powerful bomb in the history of mankind. Thus, the Soviet Union has shown that it has weapons with unlimited possibilities of mass destruction. Ultimately, by mid-1963, the USSR produced 221 nuclear blast, USA – 333.
the state Department headed by John Kennedy, analyse the state of strategic offensive forces of the United States and the Soviet Union, came to the conclusion that the United States does not have an advantage over the Russians in nuclear weapons, and their strategy of “massive retaliation” does not correspond to the real situation.
then Emerged a burst of bellicose rhetoric between the leaders of the USSR and the USA led to the “Caribbean crisis”, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Despite the ensuing voltage drop was not apologetic. The Pentagon returns to the plan for a massive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union and the arms race gaining new momentum. Both countries vigorously develop high-precision strategic missiles of medium and shorter-range missiles.
But in 1965 the Americans involved in the Vietnam conflict in the near future will affect the state of the armed forces. Many experts believe that because of the useless war the US dropped not just international prestige, but also gave the USSR nuclear-missile superiority.

the American press wrote that expelled the Communists from Vietnam, the U.S. army presented a pitiful spectacle in the armed forces flourished alcoholism, drug addiction and crime. The situation was such that the officers did not venture by night to enter the barracks without weapons. In 1975 the President Henry Ford even had to fly to Brussels to ask NATO members to maintain the military Alliance.

Only in the second half of the 1970-ies, when the United States has overcome the consequences of the unsuccessful campaign, in the country begins the next qualitative stage of development of strategic offensive weapons. Tom Nicholas, representing ammerikanskie edition of the National Interest, writes that the Soviet Union has missed a real opportunity to achieve undisputed military superiority over the United States.

Despite the fact that by the mid-1970s the USSR for the first time surpassed the United States in the number of nuclear arsenals, technological advantage was in America. During these years, the Soviet economy began to experience difficulties: in 1985 the Soviet Union’s GDP was not more than 60% of the US GDP. Everything else collapsed world oil prices – the further the arms race will inevitably drain the financial resources of the USSR and has brought the once mighty Empire to collapse.

Taras Repin

Source:
© Russian Seven

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