When the united states and the soviet union agreed to rid europe of intermediaterange nuclear weapons, their agreement increased the emphasis on conventional force balancesthus creating anew strains within and between the alliances. What is the military balance between the nato nations and those of the warsaw pact. This is a nato vs warsaw pact game with three scenarios 1967, 1973, and the 1980s with variant rules. The main difference between the warsaw pact and nato however was that nato was an alliance of sovereign nations who cooperated willingly. Comparison of measures of effectivenessindex score ratios 18 5. Recent demographic and economic trends present mobilization problems for both the north atlantic treaty organization and the warsaw pact. The north atlantic treaty organization a defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten western european nations, the united states, and canada warsaw pact a military alliance formed in 1955 by he soviet union and seven eastern europeans countries. The natowarsaw pact competition in the 1970s and 1980s. Cold war nato and the warsaw pact webquest with key this 6 page cold war document contains a webquest and teachers key related to the basics of nato and the warsaw pact during the cold war. Nobody was talking about nato and the countries of eastern europe.
See how nato and warsaw pact forces stacked up against each other throughout the cold war. Military history journal vol 1 no 6 june 1970 the history of nato and the warsaw pact. For example, there is no consensus about the balance along the crucial central front the border dividing west germany from eastern europe. Also included is information on the sources and methodology of this comparison.
Over the next 35 years, military buildups on both sides ensured a fragile, yet lasting armed peace, albeit under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. This nie is the first comprehensive estimate of warsaw pact forces opposite nato since 1971. The eastern bloc nations were mostly coerced by the soviet union into the treaty so that the soviet union could maintain control of all armed forces within its dominion. Illustrative underlying assumptions in natowarsaw pact balance assessments 33 7. Vol 1 no 6 june 1970 the south african military history. Jan 19, 2018 who would have won if the cold war went hot in 1989. Warsaw pact signed on may 4th, 1955 in warsaw, poland and in 1991 the warsaw pact was declared disbanded created by the soviets 6 years after nato when west germany was admitted and it started rearming political consultative committee and unified command pact armed forces were responsible for actions committed through warsaw.
The soviet union and the nato powers, the military. Like nato, all warsaw pact members had to defend the others if they were attacked. The average east german pilot didnt speak russian well enough to do that. Mar 26, 2020 but the price of convincing nato of the military value of the nva and the warsaw pact was a permanent arms race. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. The ussr saw the inclusion into nato of west germany as a direct threat and condemned nato as a warmongering alliance. Assessing the natowarsaw pact military balance congressional. Pactnato force ratio 14 days after pact mobilization. A few of the former wp nations are now nato nations. Warsaw pact balance of forces carried out by ona under the. The natowarsaw pact military competition at the heart of the cold war was.
May 17, 2016 warsaw pact was an attempt for communist soviet union to enforce their communist beliefs using force onto the europe by uniting communist regimes into alliance of military type and then expand in time to other nations with overall goal of world do. Just two weeks after the inclusion of west germany into nato, on may 14, 1955, the warsaw pact was signed as a military alliance of communist countries to rival nato. Warsaw pact in 1955, the soviet union formed a military alliance, which included the soviet union and seven satellites in eastern europe. In may 1955 they set up their own military alliance called the warsaw pact. Assessing the nato warsaw pact military balance the congress of the united states congressional budget office for sale by the superintendent of documents, u. The warsaw pact was essentially just a response to the creation of nato, it would not exist if western germany would not have joined the organization.
The six divisions of the nva required about 71,000 soldiers, a number the soviets could have sent from the ussr to man the same equipment, perhaps at greater cost but certainly with greater political reliability. Commonly referred to as the warsaw pact, the pact was specifically designed to counter the nato alliance. While the warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato, there was no direct confrontation between them. This is the first video of a three part series, exploring the balance of power between two sides. The warsaw pact was an alliance that had a similar goal to that of nato. The soviet union felt threatened by this, and thus created the warsaw pact. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. Russias way of fighting back further effects significance to canada the warsaw pact after ww2 germany was split into. Total strategic missiles and bombers between 1971 and 1983, the soviet union surpassed nato in several critical measures traditionally used to evaluate the strategic balance. Cia analysis of the warsaw pact forces cia foia foia. The factors are the reliability of military allies, the potential for the use of nuclear weapons, warsaw pact strategy, north atlantic treaty organization nato strategy, operations on. A total of 34 warsaw pact ground force divisions in east germany, poland, and czechoslovakia could be available for commitment against the nato central region on m day. Military history society by commandant neil d orpen on 8 may, 1969.
These alliances created the political division in europe, where the nations in europe were a part of either the nato alliance or the warsaw pact. It is wellwritten and packs a lot of information and insightful judgments into less than 250 pages of text. The soviets plan to divide the western theater of war into three land theaters of military operations tvds in which they expect pact and nato forces to come in conflict. Warning this is not political video and very unrealistic so please dont get offented if your country gets owned or something. Though the two pacts have similar goals, the two have completely opposing countries involved. Recent scholarship on nato and the warsaw pact has gone a long way in unearthing. Documents in pdf format require the adobe acrobat reader. The formation of the warsaw pact was in some ways a response to the creation of nato, although it did.
In 1975 the warsaw pact had considerable numerical superiority over the nato forces deployed in central europe. Who would have won if the cold war went hot in 1989. The cold war was a period of confrontations and competitions between the united states and the soviet union. In may 1955, the soviet union institutionalized its east european alliance system when it gathered together representatives from albania, bulgaria, czechoslovakia. A comparison of nato s pershing ii and ground launched cruise missiles glcm to the warsaw pact s ss4, ss5 and ss20 missiles. May 11, 2017 the ussr saw nato as a threat that could be used to attack them, especially after west germany joined in 1955. The natowarsaw pact military competition at the heart of the cold war was also the incubator of a revolution in military affairs rma in europe in the 1970s and 1980s, which predates the betterknown american concept of rmaof the 1990s. May 22, 2007 nato north atlantic treaty organization, basically w. The stage was set for intensification in the cold war. A map indicating where soviet and nonsoviet warsaw pact forces were deployed in 1980. In response to this alliance, the soviet union and other communists nations in eastern europe formed an alliance, the warsaw pact.
Apr 03, 2014 1 all the discussions in 1990 regarding the expansion of nato jurisdiction were in the context of what would happen to the territory of the gdr. European nations and the ussr signed in where else, warsaw poland. The warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato. The twogermanies, nato, and the warsaw pact wilson center. Johns college, johannesburg and obtained an ma honours degree at cambridge. Chapter 4 the sovietwarsaw pact ground forces threat to europe. The idea of communists expansion led the united states and eleven western european nations to join together and form the north atlantic treaty organization nato. In 1982 nato published for the first time an official comparison of the forces belong ing to the nations in the integrated military structure of the alliance with. It is the first to attempt an analysis of pact campaign plans for the european theaters of military operations and the first to integrate naval forces into these campaigns.
Natos own comparison with warsaw pact strength puts east. The main difference between the warsaw pact and nato however. Nato and the warsaw pact history of western civilization ii. Cold war nato and the warsaw pact webquest with key by. In addition, the report notes that while the warsaw pact countries devote an estimated 11 percent of their combined gross national product to military spending, the nato countries allocate only. All maps by alphathon and based upon blank map of europe. Ussr, europe the warsaw pact, nato, other european. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis.
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