Cold War Military Trends: Sector Balance

Figure 1.--.

The Cold War was basically a confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union at its heart the effort to save the countries of Western Europe from Soviet domination. It developed into a world-wide conflict, but the central campaign was in Europe. There was never a direct military action between the United States and the Soviets, but the military played a vital role. And here the Soviets had a major advantage in land forces. Air and naval forces were a different matter. Where the Soviets did not have an advatage was an economy that could afford a decades long, hugely expensive arms race--especially when the President Reagan began talking about military anti-balistic missle defenses (ABMs). While a Cold war, military power was important and in many ways set the parameters wihin which the Cold War evolved. Here there was a substantial difference in the various military services. The Soviet Union at the end of World War II had the largest and most powerful army in the world. The inballance in power was even greater after the War. The West after most of the World War II U.S. Army returned to the states and demobilized and the Soviets began to recover from the devestation of the war never had the ground forces in Europe capable of stopping a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. What stopped the Soviets was the U.S. Airforce and the American nuclear capability, at first bombers and eventually than missles. The Soviet Union like Russia before it was a formidable landpower. And totalitarian powers, what ever their limitations, were capable of generating awesome military power. The Red Army had a land capability that the West never even tried to match. The Americans decided early on that a nuclear deterent was much less expensice and socially acceptable than building a huge land army. The Soviets of course set about building a huge nuclear arsenal. The most dangerous point of the Cold War is when the Sovie leadership convinced themselves that the Americans were planning a first nuclear strike. The cruitical change in the Cold War canme when President Reagan and West German Chancellor Kohl convinced the Soviets in the the IRBM confrontation that the Soviets were not capsble of outspending the West. Naval forces at first played a minor role in the Cold War. Given that Western Europe's ability to remain free was based on American support, the security of the North Atlantic sea lanes were a vital part of the Western alliance. The Soviets decided to build a poweful naval force. At first their primary focus was on submarines to threaten the North Atlantic sea lanes, but gradually like the American Navy, the focus shifted to missles, to create a strategic force that was immune to a first strike effort. There were other militaries that played important roles in the Cold War, including American NATO allies (Britain, West Germany, and France) which uped the military force in Europe the Soviets had to contend with. The Soviets had Warsaw Pact military forces. The Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War added China to the military mix. As did the Cold War developments in the Third World.

Army

The Soviet Union at the end of World War II had the largest and most powerful army in the world. The Soviet Union was primarily a land power which maintained a huge army and massive armored force. It was the Red Army that had bled the the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. The Wehrmacht was staggered by the capability of the Red Army to form and deploy new units. It was by the end of the War a staggering force, far outnumbering the armies fielded by the Western Allies, although the United States through Lend Lease had played an important role in supplying and improving the mobility of the Red Army. The inballance in power was even greater after the War. The West after most of the World War II U.S. Army returned to the states and demobilized and at the same time the Soviets began to recover from the devestation of the war never had the ground forces in Europe capable of stopping a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Western Europe after the War even with the Americans would have been incapable of defending itself. After the demobilization of the American Army following World War II, the Red Army was the preminent land military force on the continent of Europe. Presdent Truman's decesion to commit American power to the defense of Western Europe was the decisive decesion of the Cold Wwar. This was formalized after the Siviet seizure of Czechoslovakia by the North Atlantic Treaty forming NATO. Stalin tested the West by blockading Berlin (1948), leading to the Berlin Air Lift. It was in Berlin that American and Soviet Tanks stood mussle to mussle. It was not American ground forces that provided the deterent, but the American nuclear umbrella. There were other militaries that played important roles in the Cold War, including American NATO allies (Britain, West Germany, and France) which uped the military force in Europe the Soviets had to contend with. The Soviets had Warsaw Pact military forces. , The Revolution in China brought into being what was at first seen as an ally on the Eurasian land mass, but eventuallially evolved as a competitive force. The Revolution in China brought into being what was at first seen as an ally on the Eurasian land mass, but eventuallially evolved as a competitive force. The Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War added China to the military mix. As did the Cold War developments in the Third World.

Navy

World War II had bought about a massive shift in world naval power. The British Royal Navy which had been the world's preminent naval power since Trafalgur (1805) gave way to the United States Navy. The British Royal Navy which had been the world's preminent naval power since Trafalgur (1805) did not have a comparable naval challenge until after World War I. The Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy were comparable until World War II. The massive America naval building program permanrtely chanbge that relatiuonship. The destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy left the United States as the unchallenged world naval power. Naval forces at first played a minor role in the Cold War. The United States moth-balled large numbers of naval vessels. Military planners with the advent of nuclear weapons questioned the importance of naval power, Gradually the importance of the Navy in fulfilling American commitments around the world became apparent. The Soviet Union at the end of World War II did not have a significant navy which is why they were unable to participate in the occupation of Japan. Given that Western Europe's ability to remain free was based on American support, the security of the North Atlantic sea lanes were a vital part of the Western alliance. The Soviets decided to build a poweful naval force. At first their primary focus was on submarines to threaten the North Atlantic sea lanes. The Soviet submarine force was designed to interedict American forces in event of a war in Europe. The Soviets gave increased attention to the Red Navy after the Cuban Missle Crisis (1962). The Soviets launched a naval building program. The Soviets gave increased attention to the Red Navy after the Cuban Missle Crisis when the U.S. Navy was able to sucessively blockade Cuba (1962). The Soviet sunmarine force and the U.S. Navy anti-sumarine warfare effort became a major battlefield of the Cold war. This took on major importance as both navies began building submarines with balistic missle systems. The sumrines became an critical part of the nuclear triad because they were immune to an attempted first strike. Ironically, missles instead of making navies obsolete, made them more important than ever.

Air Force

What stopped the Soviet advance in Europe was the U.S. Airforce and the American nuclear capability, at first bombers and eventually than missles. The Soviet Union like Russia before it was a formidable landpower. And totalitarian powers, what ever their limitations, were capable of generating awesome military power. The Red Army had a land capability that the West never even tried to match. The Americans decided early on that a nuclear deterent was much less expensice and socially acceptable than building a huge land army. The Soviets of course set about building a huge nuclear arsenal. The most dangerous point of the Cold War is when the Sovie leadership convinced themselves that the Americans were planning a first nuclear strike. The cruitical change in the Cold War canme when President Reagan and West German Chancellor Kohl convinced the Soviets in the the IRBM confrontation that the Soviets were not capsble of outspending the West. Air weapons in the Cold War included not only fixed-wing planes, but thanks to the German World War II weapons development, a entirely new category of weapons--the balistic missle. Even before the end of World War II, teams from America, Britain, and the United states were scouring areas of the occupied Reich searching for high-technology German weapons, research data, and scientists. The Germans were much more advanced in many areas (chemical weapons and jet aircraft). In other areas the Germans were woking in other areas that the ASllies had not even begun (nalistic missles and rocket planes). As a result, the military reserarch programs of all three countries. France had more limited resources. A complication for the Americans were the NAZI connections of some of the scientists. The NKVD shot some of the German scientists that demanded to go home after a few years. The United States Air Force would be the preminent world air power throughout the Cold War. The Soviet aviation industry produced some excellent air frames and jet engines. The first major encounter of the Mig15 and the Sabre Jet in Korea involved very closely matched planes that even looked alike, primarily because of the German influences. But Soviet aircraft in air combat were unable to compete with American counterparts in Korea, Vietnam, or the proxy wars fought in the Middle East. And this was the case even when flown by Soviet pilots. The difference appears to have been electronics, tactics, and training. The German V-2 was the mosdt advanced World War II research prohram other than the atomic bombs. Neiter the Americans or Soviets were working on balistic missles. Both the Americans and Soviets got hold of V-2s. The Americans got hold of Von Braun. The SDoviets got some other German missle scientists. This was the beginning of both the space race and the balistic missle program of both countries--the weeapn that would prove the backbone of each country's defense system. An off-shoot of the Missle Race was the Space Race. The ultimate weapon was the Inter-Contimental Balistic Missle (ICBM) which was made even more fearsome with Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. A turning point in the amsrace was when America and Germany stood up to the Soviets on the deployment of Intermediate-range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) despite massive protests from the Western Peace Movement. (Notably there was no comparable protests behind the Iron Curtain.) The American Star Wars (Anti-Balistic Missle System project would play a role in ending not only the Cold War, but the Soviet Union itself.

Atomic

The overwealming military competition of the Cold War was in atmomic weapons. This might be seen as a aspect of air power, but given its importance and the fact that submarines developed as a major delivery system, we think that it requires a separatec treatment. America began with exclusive possession, but the Soviets through espionage and their their oen and German technology developed their own weapons as well as delvery systems. But as it was the Soviets that were considering offensive ooperations, it was nuclear weapons that presented the effective deterance. Their weakness in computer technology and fear of an American developent of an effective anti-missle defense led to an accomodation with the United States on the reduction in nuclear weapons.

Created: 5:12 AM 2/18/2008
Last updated: 10:14 PM 6/17/2010