Word: warsaw
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Sixteen such divisions are based outside the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, so the elimination of six would be significant. An additional twelve tank divisions are maintained by other Warsaw Pact nations. NATO has about 14 divisions, including two from the U.S. A NATO division has more manpower (16,600 vs. 12,000) and tanks (348 vs. 328). The East would retain an edge in armored divisions...
While the Warsaw Pact would maintain a solid numerical advantage in combat planes (8,250 vs. 3,977 for NATO), the West's fighters and assault aircraft are considered better at providing support for ground troops. The Soviet pullback of roughly 10% of the Warsaw Pact's European-theater aircraft, while not large, would signal a shift toward a defensive stance. The cut in artillery would be a hefty 20% slash in existing Warsaw Pact firepower along the central front. But the total cut is less significant; the Soviet bloc could still field some 34,900 artillery pieces, mortars...
While this promise cites no numbers, it could turn out to be a critical component of Gorbachev's claim to be moving toward a defensive deployment. Such mundane items as assault bridges mounted on armored vehicles get little public attention, but the Warsaw nations, by NATO estimates, have a 2,550-to- 454 edge in these river-spanning devices. Conceded a NATO official: "This certainly helps stability by reducing the chances of a bolt-from-the-blue attack...
...avoid the "bean-counting" disputes over troop numbers that have stalled conventional cuts for years, the NATO ministers agreed to seek more verifiable limits on the firepower of both sides. In tanks, for example, they proposed a cap of 20,000, which would require a Warsaw Pact drawdown of 31,500 and a NATO retirement of only 2,000. Within these totals, NATO asked for sublimits for each nation; the Soviets could retain no more than 12,000 tanks of the 37,000 they now deploy in the region...
CAPTION: NATO vs. WARSAW PACT IN THE CENTRAL FRONT