This book, first published in 1989, is a comprehensive examination of the profound impact of World War II on Soviet military affairs. It systematically assesses the costs and lessons of the war and their substantial impact on Soviet military and Party leaders in the Cold War era and particularly in the 1980s. Starting with the experiences of the war and its influence on the development of Soviet military thinking, the book addresses the relationship between the military and the Soviet political system, threat perception, decision making, and crisis and risk assessment. Also discussed are the war’s influence on the structure and operations of the military in the 1980s, focusing on doctrine, conventional forces, the defence industry and historiography.

Armed revolution and civil war gave birth to the Soviet Union, world War II propelled it to global pre-eminence, and the Cold War contributed to the Soviet Union's demise. Given Marxism-Leninism's idological preoccupation with war and threats of war, it is understandable that the spectre of war should play a vital role in the life and fate of the Soviet state. This study of Soviet military strategy is based upon the twin pillars of Soviet political-military actions and Soviet writings on the subject of military strategy. Thanks to the policy of glasnost, it incorporates Soviet materials hitherto unavailable in the West. It aims to be not simply a retrospective account of what was, but to form part of the context for what will be in the future.

Militærhistorie, strategi, taktik - den sovjetrussiske marskal Solokovski's berømte værk om militærstrategi oversat fra russisk. Skrevet af en række topmilitærfolk i USSR under ledelse af marskal Solokovsky og er det første værk om marxistisk, leninistisk, kommunistisk, sovjetrussisk militærstrategi som blev tilgængeligt i den vestlige verden.

Soviet Military Strategy in Europe focuses on the development, form and content, implications for international relations, and goal of Soviet military plan in Europe. The book first discusses the foundation of Soviet military thought and revolution in Soviet military affairs, including basic concepts of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, Soviet study of military affairs, nuclear revolution, and scientific and technical revolution. The publication also concentrates on Soviet study of laws and principles of military art and forces and primary operational concepts. Topics include laws of the first or.