NOTE TO GENERAL WILSON FROM JACK H. TAYLOR

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CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2
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April 8, 2004
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Publication Date: 
August 22, 1975
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NOTES
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Approved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 22 August 1975 INTELLIGENCE ~CIMMUNITY STAF~"F 'T0: General Wilson. We have received your copy of .the OSR Memo en.titled''Flexibility in Soviet Offensive Concepts: The ~Ro1es of Armer and other Ground porces.~' But need guidance as to exactly what you wish us~to do with this. a. How urgent-is the matter? b. To whom do you want us to send this document? It has been given considerable distriliutian already, e. g., DIA has received 151 copies both Codeword and non-Codeword. Please advise. Ch~~, IC/PRD/Th INF~F~MATION Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01:133A001100110012-2 T~ ... STAT Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 ~~~~~~ Approved For Release 2004/05/0 IA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 18 August 1975 MEMORANDUM FOR: Lt. General Samuel V. Wilson, USA Deputy to the DCI for the Intelligence Community SUBJECT Flexibility in Soviet Offensive Concepts: The Roles of Armor and Other Ground Forces 1. Attached please find six copies of the OSR paper on armor concepts and the list of recipients. We would appreciate your assistance in identifying consumers who are not normally on our regular dis- semination. 2. As you recognize, this paper represents something of a departure from our regular publications which tend to focus on broader policy support issues. Your prodding plus the shortage of training materials noted by our analysts while visiting several military schools have persuaded us that there is a need for monographs on battlefield concepts. The armor con- cepts paper is a beginning. 3. We remain, at present, a bit uncertain as to how this paper might be used and whether or not it has the proper focus, We would appreciate your comments in this regard. Further, if there are particularly unexploited areas of intelligence where, within the normal course of our research program, we can be of assistance to your colleagues in the military schools, we will be happy to try. 4. In the course of talking to you about operational concepts and tactics, it has occurred to several of us 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/05/QS~:~DP80M01133 u~,11 Approved For Release 2004/05/05~~~'i~QP80M01133A001100110012-2 that a seminar for instructors, sponsored by the IC Staff or DIA might be a useful means of exchanging ideas and current information. We would be happy to participate in such an event and lend whatever support we can. ~:hief Theater Forces Division, OSR Attachments: As stated 25X1 Approved For Release 200 ~IA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 25X1 gpproved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Next 2 Page(s) In Document Exempt Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Secret Flexibility in Soviet Offensive Conceits: The Roles of Armor and Other Ground Forces Secret SR RP 75-4 July 1975 Copy '~ ~`.~ 4~ Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2~` Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 200~I~RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Directorate of Intelligence July 1975 Flexibility in Soviet Offensive Concepts: The Roles of Armor and Other Ground Forces The arms reduction negotiations between NATO and the Warsaw Pact have focused renewed attention on the balance of forces in Central Europe. In this area, Western defense officials have been concerned by the size of Pact armored forces and the threat they pose to NATO. This concern has grown as Pact armored forces--already the world's largest--continue to increase in size and quality. This paper surveys the evolution of the basic types of units in the Soviet armored forces, how they are structured, and how they are to be used in the event of war. The information on which this report is based comes from a variety of sources, some sensitive and not explicitly cited. Basic armor doctrine and tactics are reflected, however, in unclassified Soviet writings as well as in numerous defector reports and exercises. Comments and queries regarding this publication are welcome. They may be directed to of the Theater Forces Division, Office of Strategic Research, code 143, extension ~. Approved For Release 200~~~Q~~-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/O~iI~~~IDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Conten~.s Page Summary . 3 The Offensive Imperative and Implication for Armored Forces 5 Early Organization and Tactics . 8 Armor in the Era of Massive Nuclear Response . . 9 Growing Concern for Flexibility amd Conventional Capability . 12 Overcoming Enemy Antitank Systems:. 16 Soviet Combined-Arms Concept for the Offensive Breakthrough 18 Tank Forces in a Modern Offensive.. 21 Changing Soviet Ground Force Organizational Patterns (Chart) . 10 Soviet Concept of Ground Offensive in Nuclear War (Diagram) 12 New Soviet Self-Propelled Artillery (Photographs) 14 Probable Soviet Concept of Movement by Tank and Combined-Arms Armies of Wartime Front (Diagrams) 19 Soviet Infantry Attack Supported by BMP Infantry Combat Vehicles (Photograph) . 20 Conceptual Meeting Engagement in a Breakthrough (Diagram) 23 Approved For Release 2004/05/~~~P80M01133A001100110012-2 .tc r, Approved For Release 2004/O~~i~F~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Summary Soviet military planning in the nuclear era used to be based on the assumption that any war with NATO would be nuclear from the outset. Since the late sixties, however, Soviet operational concepts and weapon develop- ments have reflected increasing stress on flexibility for nuclear or conventional war. The flexibility policy has occasioned some change in the expected combat role of armored forces, but that role is essentially the same in either type of conflict. And the Soviet tank force remains the largest in the world--a status which appears to be the result of several factors, including the offen- sive focus of Soviet land warfare doctrine as well as economic and institutional momentum. Because their weapons and tactics had earlier been intended mainly for nuclear war, the Soviets had to deal with certain basic considerations in adapting to a policy of flexibility for conventional war: -- They could no longer rely exclusively on nuclear weapons to achieve the breakthrough in NATO defenses which must precede a massive offensive into enemy territory, a basic tenet of Soviet land warfare doctrine. -- IQATO capabilities for stopping a conventional attack increased significantly with the pro- liferation of more effective antitank weapons. -- The massed forces required to create a break- through in NATO defenses during the conven- tional phase of a war would present a tempting target for the sudden introduction of nuclear weapons by the NATO forces, particularly if the breakthrough attempt were meeting with success. The Soviets have taken steps over the past several years to compensate for these problems: -- The combined-arms tactics (and, to some ex- tent, the more balanced force structure) which emerged in Soviet ground forces during World War II have been reemphasized with the return to conventional war planning. Approved For Release 2004/0~~~1~4~iDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/~~~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 -- The number of tanks in t1~e infantry arm of the ground forces has been increased. -- Artillery forces have begin enlarged and improved as additional guns and new self-propelled artil- lery have been introduced into the force. -- The ground attack capabilities of the tactical air forces have been upgraded as aircraft with greater conventional payloads have entered service. -- In military exercises the Soviets contin- ually rehearse tactics to maintain a dispersed posture during the conve$~tional phase of a war for as long as possible before concen- trating for a breakthrough of enemy defenses. In attempting to break through well-prepared enemy defenses without the use of nucliear weapons, present Soviet doctrine calls for the assaulting forces to con- centrate much of their artillery-and combined-arms forces--primarily motorized :r if lie divisions--opposite a narrow sector of the defensive: front. After an ex- tensive artillery barrage, the cr~mbined-arms elements would be committed to secure a beach in the defenses through which large tank units would advance. Because of the Soviets? commitment to tank warfare-- underscored when they recently started large-scale pro- duction of a new generation of tanks--it is likely that Soviet offensive doctrine will continue to be based on large tank forces. The main impact of changes in land warfare policy has been, and probably will continue to be, on the equipment and tactics: of the supporting arms. Approved For Release 2004/DP80M01133A001100110012-2 25X1 gpproved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Next 2 Page(s) In Document Exempt Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/~~I~-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Early Organization and Tactics The Soviets' preeminence in; number of tanks dates from the start of World War II. For a decade before then, however, they had experimented with various ar- mored organizations and tactics. In the early thirties, the Soviets--like the Germans--.agreed with the views of theoretician: like Lidell Hart, the British mil~.tary commentator, that the tank had an independent role to play in battle. As a consequence, Soviet tank units were organized into independent brigades and corps and were to be used for critical breakthroughs of enemy defenses. This organization was abandoned in the late thirties as its leading proponents fell victim to the Great Purge and their successors attempted to apply the lessons of a guerrilla war in Spain to large-scale European con- flict. The result was that tanks were parceled outt among infantry divisions as mobile firepower support. The rapid destruction of the tank-supported infantry of the French army in .May 1940 by a German blitzkrieg prompted the Soviets to reexamine the structure of, their armored forces. They reestabl~.shed armored brigades and made them their basic armored rthaneuver unit in World War II. During that conflict, they used tank brigades independently and also combined them into tank armies to provide shock for an offensive,: However, some tanks were still attached to infantry and mechanized units to provide firepower support. In the final years of the war, the Soviets devel- oped standard tactics against the Germans. Prior',to an attack, massive preparatory bombardments by artillery and air forces were concent:ratecl on a narrow sector of the enemy front. Norms were developed for the numbers of artillery pieces emplaced per kilometer of front, and several days were required to stockpile ammunition for each battle. Following the bombardment, infantry units would advance to secure ~ breach in the line through which armored and mechanized units would pass to envelop or pursue enemy forges. The basic tactics employed in these operations brought the Soviets sustained successes and carried Approved For Release 2004/0;~f~=~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/0$i~~~f~bP80M01133A001100110012-2 them in a series of leaps to Berlin. As a result, the operational concepts developed during the war became sanctioned as "historically correct" and have formed the basis for Soviet land warfare doctrine ever since. In the years immediately following the war, a number of organizational changes occurred that were designed to incorporate some of the lessons of the war. Infantry, tanks, and artillery were integrated a~t the division level, resulting in a new ground forces structure. Of the three basic types of ground force divisions that evolved--rifle, tank, and mechanized--all included organic tank units. (see chart, next page.) Although the reorganization was accompanied by a reduction in the overall size of the forces, the number of divisions still totaled about 175. Of these, 100 were rifle divisions and the remainder mechanized or tank. The Soviets did, however, continue to maintain large artillery formations and tactical air forces. During the latter stages of the war these forces had provided the firepower which had enabled the Soviets to break through heavily defended German lines time and time again. Soviet planners held that these tactics which had served them so well in World War II would be applicable in the future wars as well. This planning did not, however, reckon with the impact that tactical nuclear weapons would have on the operational doctrine of both sides. Armor in the Era of Massive Nuclear Res onse From the mid-fifties to about 1960, Soviet mili- tary planners and theoreticians were occupied with the problem of reconciling traditional ground offen- sive tactical concepts with the new nuclear arms environment. Initially, they decided that nuclear strikes could substitute for concentrated artillery and aerial bombardment, and artillery and tactical air forces were greatly reduced. Divisions were Approved For Release 2004/05~~~IDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/Q~~~~'RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 ChangngScwiet Ground Force ~rAanizational Pattern -. ?e? ? ?e? Approved For Release 2004/~~CRDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/ACC ~~'[~P80M01133A001100110012-2 reduced in number and the ground forces were stream- lined for nuclear combat. The large mechanized divi- sion, for example, was dropped, as were many of the divisional and nondivisional artillery units. Rifle divisions were given additional tanks so that they came to resemble the present-day Soviet motorized rifle division. Despite the reductions, the Soviets retained a sizable ground force comprising some 80 motorized rifle and 50 tank divisions. As the USSR began to acquire strategic nuclear forces in the early sixties, Khrushchev, with an eye toward military economies and with the sympathies of proponents of strategic nuclear power within the military, exerted pressure for further reductions in the ground forces. War with the West, he argued, would be a decisive global conflict, its outcome determined largely by massive nuclear exchanges at the outset. Strategic exchanges also would decide any theater conflict. Despite an emphasis on the decisiveness of strate- gic nuclear strikes and the lower priority assigned conventional forces in the early sixties, ground forces advocates managed to stave off further major reductions by arguing the imperatives of a large European ground campaign as part of a nuclear con- flict with the West. As a result of their efforts, the role of ground forces in a nuclear conflict and the conduct of ground operations on a nuclear battle- field came to underlie--through the mid-sixties--the basic doctrinal rationale governing weapons procure- ment and tactical planning. During this period the Soviet concept of ground operations in a nuclear environment viewed tank forces as having an even greater role than in World War II and the immediate postwar period. Soviet planners believed conditions on a nuclear battlefield would make unprecedented demands, as well as oppor- tunities, for maneuver. Tank forces would be commit- ted directly through gaps created by nuclear strikes Approved For Release 2004/0~/~~I~Q-~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 200~I~~~7a-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Soviet Concept of Ground Offensive in Nuclear War to pursue surviving NATO ttroops, engage NATO reserves, and seize important areas in trhe NATO rear. (see diagram above.) Motorized infantry units would protect the flanks of advancing armored columns and deal with pockets of bypassed NATO forces. Growing Concern for Flexibili~y and Conventional Capability In the mid-sixties, Soviet military planners began once again to modify thezir views of the likely nature of a European conflict, Reacting to NATO's flexible-respanse strategy and benefiting from a more generous procurement climate for conventional forces following the ouster of Khrus~nchev, they began to plan for a war that, at least in its initial stages, would Approved For Release 2004/~~~~RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/0~/~~I~c~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 involve large-scale conventional operations. At the same time, however, they continued to recognize that nuclear weapons could be introduced suddenly and at any time. The concern for a period of conventional fighting presented the Soviet planners with certain basic problems. During a conventional period of conflict, the Soviets would have to rely on nonnuclear weapons to create gaps in NATO defenses. Yet, much of the conventional firepower of both ground and tactical air forces had fallen casualty to the "nuclear stream- lining" of the late fifties and early sixties. Be- lieving that NATO would resort to nuclear strikes if faced with rapid, extensive enemy penetration, Soviet planners had to deal with the conflicting demands of massing for conventional breakthrough and avoiding destruction by the enemy's sudden introduction of nu- clear weapons. Complicating this problem was the fact that armored forces, the most flexible and sur- vivable in the face of such a dilemma, had increas- ingly to confront improved antitank weapons in the hands. of defenders. These concerns called for a fundamental rethinking to develop new weapons and tactics. Growth of Conventional Artillery. In about 1966 the Soviets began to reintroduce some of the artillery that had been withdrawn from the ground forces under Khrushchev. The artillery in motorized rifle and tank divisions, for example, was increased by one-half to two-thirds: from 48 guns to 72 in the motorized rifle division and from 36 guns to 60 in the tank division. Except for tank divisions, which now have 12 guns less, the artillery strength of Soviet divi- sions has returned to the levels of the fifties. Recent evidence indicates that the Soviets intend to increase divisional artillery even further. During the past few years, the number of guns in some Soviet divisions opposite China and in the western USSR have been increased to the point where these divisions now have more than half again as many guns as divisions in the forward area. This may be partly a reflection Approved For Release 2004/0~~~P80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/~~~~iA4RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 New Soviet Self-Propelled Artillery Characteristics ~;_~~ mm Gun ~,~ Tans Weight ~~ Crew ~+~7~ Entered Service ~:. 'i1Cn _~ ~,~~ Approved For Release 20041~~Q~][~~.~'RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 25X1 gpproved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/0~~~1~=~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 grams will enhance Soviet ground attack capabilities in general, there has been no: significant effort to improve the capability to provide close air support for mobile ground force units. The Soviets apparent- ly intend to support these units primarily with artil- lery at least for the near term. Overcoming Enemy Antitank Systems Although it has been said many times that the best antitank weapon is another tank, recent Soviet writings appear to reflect a greater concern for NATO's antitank guided missiles (ATGMs) than for its tanks. Tank technology has changed little over the past decade while the effectiveness o.f antitank systems has in- creased significantly. Even during the early sixties, when they were pre- occupied mainly with nuclear Manning, the Soviets began to express concern for the increasing effective- ness of new antitank missiles. Khrushchev himself questioned the survivability of the USSR?s large tank forces after viewing an impressive demonstration of a new Soviet antitank missile. Soviet planners, how- ever, have revised tactics and initiated several force improvement programs in an attempt to cope with NATO's antitank threat. Tactics. An important consideration in the Soviet approach to defeating NATO an~.itank defenses is ai be- lief that the problem would not be limited simply to a confrontation between tanks and antitank systems. Rather, the Soviets envisage integrated NATO antitank defenses opposing a Warsaw Pact combined-arms attack- ing force composed of tanks, mechanized infantry,, artillery, and possibly tactical air forces. Moreover, they see the Pact enjoying the advantage of massing forces for an assault along relatively narrow axes of advance of its own choosing. Prior to an assault, defensive positions on tt,hese axes would be subjected to a 40- to 50-minute bombard- ment by artillery, including multiple rocket launchers, and possibly by tactical air forces. During the 'barrage, Approved For Release 2004/~~~~i~'RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/O~C ~~P80 M 01133A001100110012-2 the assaulting infantry and tank units, using terrain to mask their advance, would try to position them- selves for a rapid move to the dead zones inside the minimum ranges of the ATGMs. Smoke from shells and smoke generated by devices on the tanks would also be used to mask the assault. Antitank strongpoints which were not destroyed or suppressed by the prepara- tory barrage would then be engaged and overrun by assaulting infantry. Technological Efforts to Defeat ATGMs. Work to reduce the vulnerability of tanks to ATGMs has been under way in the Soviet Union since at least the early sixties, most of it directed at defeating the HEAT (high explosive antitank) warheads. ATGMs, because of their relatively low velocity, rely exclusively on HEAT warheads, which are not dependent on velocity for penetration. Virtually all infantry antitank weap- ons in both NATO and the Warsaw Pact employ this same principle.* To provide better protection against HEAT ammuni- tion, the Soviets have developed composite or layered armor arrays for their tanks. The T-55A, for example, has a plastic liner which was developed in the early sixties and which, according to the tank's manual, is designed to attenuate nuclear radiation. Western analysts have judged the lining's radiation protection properties to be poor, but tests of a similar lining against HEAT rounds have shown that it considerably degrades their effects. Although the liner does not stop penetration, it significantly reduces spalling, the behind-the-plate damage of a penetrating HEAT round, and diminishes the probability of a tank kill by 30 percent. Some T-62s reportedly also have a liner material, and the new Soviet tank, the T-72, reportedly has layered, "sandwich" armor that pro- vides improved protection against HEAT ammunition. * Tanks and conventional antitank guns rely primarily on kinetic energy (KE) rounds to defeat enemy tanks. These rounds are de- pendent on high velocities for penetration, but the tremendous recoil forces generated in achieving these velocities prohibit the use of KE rounds with light antitank weapons. Approved For Release 2004/0~~~11~f~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004~~iJ~j~~]~,RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Tank Increases. Since the m.id-sixties, Soviet motorized rifle divisions--mainly those in Eastern Europe and along the Sino-Soviet border--have been allotted an independent battalion of about 50 tanks. In about 1969, Moreover, tank battalions in motorized rifle regiments began to receive an additional ten. tanks. Taken together, these constitute an addition of about 80 tanks per motorized rifle division, or an increase of about 40 percent. Some first-line Soviet motorized rifle divisions, such as those in East Germany, now have as many as 250 tanks--only 75 less than a tank division. Such increases have. not yet been idE;ntified in all motorized rifle divi- sions but are believed to be continuing. The reason or reasons for the increase in tanks in what is already an armor-heavy force is not clear. The additional tanks may be simply to compensate for heavier losses ghat Soviet planners expect to sustain from improved antitank defenses and to enable assault- ing units to overwhelm these defenses by sheer numbers. Certainly the additional tanks will improve the stay- ing power of the units in light of the incremental equipment losses that could be expected in a con- ventional conflict. The addition of an independent tank battalion t:o the motorized.. rifle division will provide the division commander with a reserve maneu- ver force to conunit at a critical point or to use piecemeal as replacements to sustain the combat regiments. Soviet Combined--Arms Concept for the Offensive Breakthrough In a conventional assault, the commander of a Soviet wartime front with three to five subordinate armies probably would hold his tank armies in reserve and commit the combined-arms armies to break through the enemy's defensive positions. (see diagram at right.) A modern combined-arms army with three to five motorized rifle and tank divisions would usually have an offensive operational zone 70 kilometers or so wide. In a breakthrough attempt, however, the army Approved For Release 20041,~~Q~~?7~~RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/055- ~~i~I~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Probable Soviet Concept of Movement By Tank and Combined-Arms .-,Armies of a Wartime. Front __ Enemy Enemy Reserve Defense Area Positions ? io E.p on Bra kin.~,~gn awe e E^eaee nnoene c~e.,.r aese.~~s Probable Operation of Individual Combined-Arms Army enemy Defensive Positions Approved For Release 2004/0~~~~'P~bP80M01133A001100110012-2 25X1 gpproved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 SECRET Aaaroved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 moving large attacking forces covertly, committing them from the march, dispersing them, and replacing anticipated large losses. Tank Forces in a Modern Offensive The Soviets envision three basic roles for tanks in a modern ground offensive. The tanks in motorized rifle divisions would be used to support infantry by providing mobile firepower during their assaults on enemy defenses. Once the defenses were penetrated, tank units would advance quickly through the gaps to defeat enemy reserves in a "meeting engagement." Tank units would then pursue retreating enemy units to the depth of the theater. As Infantry Support. Because of their critical role in virtually every phase of an offensive, tanks are organic to all Soviet motorized infantry units from regimental echelon through army. Motorized rifle units down to battalion and company level-- although without organic tanks--probably would be Approved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 SECRET Approved For Release 2004/~~~~.~1i~~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 assigned tanks from the regimeMtal tank battalion for assault operations. In a conventional campaign the Soviets would re7_y on motorized infantry supported by tanks and artillery to create conditions favorable for the commitment of the larger tank units. In an assault the tank companies of a motorized rifle regiment would generally'be used to form an initial echelon with motorized rifle companies. Yf heavy antitank defenses were encountered, .they would first be engaged by artillery and long-range tank fire and then by dismounted infantry supported by machine- gun fire from their armored personnel carriers. ~'he Soviets, in fact, anticipate that, in a conventional offensive, their infantry in most cases would be at- tacking on foot. (See photograph, page 2I .) If weak defenses were enco~.ntered, or if nuclear weapons were employed to nE,utralize enemy defensive positions, then tank units would be in the vanguard of the attack, followed by APC-mounted infantry. In Meeting Engagements. Ih the Soviet view, the decisive blow in a ground operation would be deliv- ered in a confrontation between the attacker's large tank units, wYiich had been committed to exploit the breach in the enemy's defenses, and the enemy's armored forces, which had been held in: reserve for counte~- attack purposes. (See diagram at right.) In both Soviet and Western military texrninology, this con- frontation is known as the "muting engagement." The meeting engagement is a battle of maneuver in which highly mobile forces pn both sides engage each other from the march, with neither side in a defensive .posture. In most cases, the combatants. would come upon each other suddenly with little opportunity for preplanning or reconnoitering. Under such conditions the side with the superior commanders and the more responsive command and control probably would prevail. The Soviets believe that meeting en- gagements would be especially common on the nuclear battlefield and. have stressed this form of combat in field exercises and tactical war games. Approved For Release 2004/~~.M ~2DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/~t,~1~DP80M01133A001100110012-2 Conceptual Meeting Engagementina Breakthrough Enemy Defenses Mobile Reserve Area "~- Forwa~f~nsive f- P~?~iQrt,'s Meeting Engagement The Battle Between Mobile Tank Forces on Each Slde In Pursuit. According to the Soviet concept, pursuit of withdrawing enemy units would begin after a Soviet breakthrough and a successful meeting engage- ment. Tank units, with their mobility and shock power, would play the key role in pursuit operations. The objective of pursuit operations is the early destruction, isolation, or entrapment of the retreat- ing enemy armies. Soviet tank forces would in effect be racing retreating units to likely defensive barri- ers such as the Rhine, and to resupply and embarka- tion points deep in the enemy rear area. Soviet com- manders would seek to keep continuous pressure on retreating enemy forces day and night to prevent them from regrouping or occupying a new defensive line and to complicate their attempts to use nuclear weapons. If possible, Soviet armies would use routes parallel to those used by the retreating enemy, hoping to out- distance him and turn his flanks or seize critical areas astride his withdrawal routes. It is this re- quirement which underlies the emphasis in Soviet plan- ning on achieving and sustaining high rates of advance. Approved For Release 2004/~~{~S~F~~RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Secret Secret Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 2.5X1 Appro d For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80 0.1133A001100 THE aIRECTOR UE CENT'RAL INTELLIGENCE }nteliigence Community Staff 2 2 OCT -1975 25X1 Deputy Director for stoma es Defense Intelligence Agency Washington, D.C. 20301 25X1 Dear Jim: Thank you for alerting us to DIA's reaction to the OPR study on "Chinese Politics and the Sino-Soviet-US Triangle." I concur with DIA's view that the study, while controversial, is extremely useful. It concerns issues which are difficult for the Community to resolve but which are obviously of great signifi- cance. I plan to see how high-level consumers, as represented on the NSCIG Working Group, react to this study. I would also like, by the wa to bring to the same group's attention the study written by on Soviet Support for Wars of Liberation." I'll let you know about reactions to both papers. Thanks also for the background paper you forwarded on "PRC Statements Concerning the United States' Warld Position," a timely and well-executed update. Sincerely, Signed Samuel V. Wilson Lieutenant General, USA Deputy to the DCI for the Intelligence Community 25X1 ,approved or Release 2004'/05/05 : CIA-RDP8 M01133A001100110012-2 JLVI\~~ 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 IC 75-2553 Distribution: Original - Addressee 1 - D/DCI/IC 1 - C/PRD {& PRD Chrono) ,~' IC Registry / 1.- RJA Chrono 1 - Wh1H Chrono 1 - AB Subject Approved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Approved=For Rele 001100110012-2 IC 75-2551 20 October 1975 MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy to the DCI for the intelligence Community THROUGH: Chief, Product Review Division SU6JECT: Reply to for Materials He Forwarded 2 5X1 for your n o i. The Director of Estimates in DIA has sent you a copy of General Graham's comments on OP R's Executive Overvietir of "Chinese Politics an d_ the Sino-Soviet-US Triangle." General Graham takes excepticn 'to the approach and some findings of the study. See Attachment A. 2. We have included the full version of the OPR study in the "new business" section of your briefing boost for the NSCIC Working Group meeting on 22 October. We thought it sufficiently well-done and yet controversial enough to deserve soliciting the. Working Group's reactions. In effect DI:A has admitted seeing the same qualities in the study. All the mare reason, perhaps, for you to propose sending it to the NSCIC Working Group. It would seem appropriate to send the equally controversial DIA/DE memorandum, "Soviet Support for Wars of Liberation," to the 4' rking Group. That is also in your. briefing book. 0 2 5X1 has informally agreed to have it vetted to the 49orking Group. 3. Attachmen~ B is a DIA/DE background paper sent far your info by In Attachment C we have prepared a note from you to thanking him for the paper and indicating that you intend to solicit the reaction of the NSCIC Working Group to both the OPR study and the DE memorandum. 25X1 25X1 Attachments: A - General Graham's Comments on Executive Overview B - DIA/DE Background Pa er C - Draft Letter to Approved For Relea~ e 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP80M01133 001 25X1 25X1 C'~.:~~~~.,. Approved For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP801VI01133A001100110012-2 IC 75-255 1 Distribution: Original - D/DCI/IC (w/atts.) 1 - C/PRD (& PRD Chrono) ~'- IC Registry (w/atts.} 1 - WP4H Chrono 1 - RJA Chrano (w/atts.) 1 - AB Subject (w/atts.) Approved-For Release 2004/05/05: CIA-RDP8OM01133A001100110012-2 25X1 gpproved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2 Next 33 Page(s) In Document Exempt Approved For Release 2004/05/05 :CIA-RDP80M01133A001100110012-2