Speech by Soviet Marshal Matvei Zakharov and Report by Marshal Andrei Grechko on the "Zapad" Exercise16 Oct 1969 |
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Description:
Both the transcript of the speech by Soviet Marshal Matvei Zakharov and the attached report by Marshal Andrei Grechko discuss and evaluate the Warsaw Pact's (WP) annual "Zapad" exercise. The documents show that little has changed in WP military planning since the onset of détente. The exercise was based on the premise of a conventional attack by NATO. Even with French participation, the offensive succeeded in penetrating only 10-70 kilometers into Warsaw Pact territory before being repulsed back to the Rhine. According to the scenario, the West prepared to use nuclear weapons while the East tried to prevent their use. Grechko concludes that while there is no immediate threat of Western attack, there is still a need to prepare for both nuclear and conventional war. He states that the Soviet Union will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, but that if the enemy chose to strike, the Soviets would not back away from using them. Collection: A Cardboard Castle?
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Document Type:
Report Language of Original Document: Russian Number of Pages: 31 Cold War Period: 1960s Persons: Zakharov, Grechko |
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Document Source: Central Military Archives (VÚA), Prague Call Number: VS, OS-OL, krab. 2915, 999?154, č.j. 18004 Document Companion: Document No. 66 |
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