02617cam a2200421 i 4500 rnd000000000047784 RAND 920212s1991 caua b 000 0 eng d 91178571 0833010840 RAND/R-3982-USDP (Sirsi) a189007 $30.00 CstmoR CstmoR e-ur--- UA770 .H56 1991 Hines, John G. author. Defense and counteroffensive under the new Soviet military doctrine / John G. Hines, Donald Mahoney. Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 1991. xi, 125 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia unmediated n rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier volume nc rdacarrier "National Defense Research Institute"--Cover. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-125). This report presents an examination of the reorientation in Soviet operational concepts for fighting a conventional war in Europe brought on by changes in their military doctrine between 1987 and 1989. The Soviet military's new concepts for large-scale defensive actions are assessed according to three analytical criteria: the role of reserves and second echelons, use of fire assets, and the balance between positional and maneuver forms of combat. In so doing, this study endeavors to determine whether and to what extent the emerging Soviet strategy for the initial period of a war is unambiguously "defensive." Next, concepts for the counteroffensive phase are assessed, with an emphasis on the indeterminacy and vagueness apparent in current discussions by Soviet theorists. The authors focus heavily on the linkage between political exigencies and the General Staff's deliberations, and emphasize the role of Soviet threat assessments in the current evolution of military art. Military Thought, the General Staff's theoretical journal, is the primary source for this study. Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format. Description based on print version record. Defensive (Military science) Military doctrine Soviet Union. Offensive (Military science) Mahoney, Donald. author. International Security and Defense Policy Center. Rand Corporation. United States. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Online Access http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3982/ 597541 597541