Johns college, johannesburg and obtained an ma honours degree at cambridge. Pp presentation information and a few exercises on nato and warsaw pact. Mar 24, 2020 the warsaw pact, or warsaw treaty organization wto was a military alliance of seven eastern european countries and the soviet union designed as a counterweight to the north atlantic treaty organization nato alliance with the goal of collective defense of eastern europe. Military spending north atlantic treaty organisation nuclear. Cardboard castle an inside history of the warsaw pact on jstor. Review books, armies of natos central front the armies of nato s central front was written in 1985 and is probably the definative work of this nature on nato s armies covering a wealth of detail particularly on organisation that is other wise rather more difficult to come by than data on the warsaw pact and the soviet union. The warsaw pact, so named because the treaty was signed in warsaw, included the soviet union, albania, poland, romania, hungary, east germany, czechoslovakia, and bulgaria as members. It was created in 1955 and was intended to be a defence treaty for communist countries. He is the author of several books on nato, including, most recently, nato divided, nato united.
Warsaw pact cold war libguides at duquesne university. The powerful weapons created at this time had the potential to destroy significant enemy resources, posing a very real threat to nato forces. Nato and the warsaw pact including source activity sheet. The ussr condemned nato as a warmongering alliance and on may 14, 1955 the soviet union created a counteralliance called the warsaw pact. The united states and its nato allies protested but refrained from direct military action and covert operations to counter the sovietled incursion into czechoslovakia.
Its past, present, and future represents a fitting tribute to this historic cooperative alliance of nations and its changing mission. He has authored, edited, or coauthored more than forty books on europe, subsaharan africa, and the middle east. Sep 17, 2018 the threat of west germanys entry into nato in 1955 caused the ussr to retaliate by forming the warsaw pact or treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The principal catalyst behind this volume is the parallel history project on nato and the warsaw pact php.
As nato celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, the world remains a dangerous place. But this was in line with the military doctrine of the warsaw pact every piece of equipment was designed as a throwaway weapon, so that it could easily be produced in thousands upon. Mar 24, 2020 the north atlantic treaty organization nato was formed in 1949 by 12 countries as a collective defense pact. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the bear marches west.
North atlantic treaty organization here is a chronology of the key events in natos history. Organization nato clashed with troops of the red army and their warsaw pact allies. Warsaw pact during the cold war most of western europe was aligned with the united states through membership in the north atlantic treaty organization nato, while the soviet union maintained garrisons in its satellites under the terms of the warsaw pact. The best single book on this subject to date, cokers study avoids wellworn arguments about the real degree of eastwest competition in africa and instead weaves together good analyses of several nato, the warsaw pact and africa foreign affairs. Sep 14, 2018 in april 1949, nato which stands for the north atlantic treaty organization was formed by several western powers. An innovative, multinational research endeavor, the php was established in 1999 to encourage increased military transparency in the former warsaw pact as well as nato countries. In fact, the alliances creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes.
Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis. Lemnitzer center for nato and european union studies, kent state university, and professorial lecturer in history, georgetown university. Warsaw pact, and with no new like threat of that scale emerging to take its place, nato s role as a collective defense alliance is largely voided. Its largest military engagement was the warsaw pact invasion of czechoslovakia in august 1968 with the participation of all pact nations except albania, romania, and east germany, which, in part, resulted in albania withdrawing from the pact. Nato is formed as belgium, canada, denmark, france, iceland, italy, luxembourg, the netherlands, norway, portugal, the united kingdom, and the united states sign the north atlantic treaty. The parallel history project on cooperative security the former parallel history project on nato and the warsaw pact focuses on the security dimensions of the cold war and its implications for todays world, including prominently mutual threat perceptions, military planning, and the management of nato and the warsaw pact. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of nato and the warsaw pact i picked up on this books existence from a tmp thread, if your interested in wargaming the cold war this is an invaluable reference, why. A complementary service to the international relations and security network isn, the php is run by the center. Its members included the united states, and it was jokingly suggested its. However, little has been written about the various intrabloc tensions that plagued both alliances during the cold war or about how those tensions affected the alliances operation. This is a timely book that should inform the future definition of nato. The first book to document, analyze, and interpret the history of the warsaw pact based on the archives of the alliance itself. Find a full list of member countries, basic points, nato activities, key events, and working structures on natos website. Born from necessity, the north atlantic treaty organization nato has always seemed.
The threat of west germanys entry into nato in 1955 caused the ussr to retaliate by forming the warsaw pact or treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. Weapons and equipment of the warsaw pact russell phillips. The role of nato had become not merely to preserve the status quo, but to help change it. The warsaw treaty organization wto, officially the treaty of friendship, cooperation and. Jul 17, 2019 the warsaw pact, so named because the treaty was signed in warsaw, included the soviet union, albania, poland, romania, hungary, east germany, czechoslovakia, and bulgaria as members. He also describes the aircraft types in the context of the units that operated them and the roles in which they were used. This series of books aims to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the equipment used in the military operations of the warsaw pact during this time of unease between the east and west. However, little has been written about the various intrabloc tensions that plagued both alliances. The warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato. Nato was to prove one of the most durable multilateral alliance systems in history.
West germany formally joined nato on may 5, 1955, and the warsaw pact was signed less than two weeks later, on may 14. This is in stark contrast to the warsaw pact, which saw their use as. Here is a chronology of the key events in natos history. The ussr, which had been their world war ii ally, was increasingly seen as a potential aggressor. The soviet union and its affiliated communist nations in eastern europe founded a rival alliance, the warsaw pact, in 1955. The essays in nato and the warsaw pact seek to address that glaring gap in the historiography by utilizing a wide range of case studies to explore these oftensignificant tensions, dispelling in the process all thoughts that the alliances always operated smoothly and without internal dissent. Nato, the warsaw pact, and the iron curtain cold war chronicles 9781502627278.
Ww3 1983 nato vs warsaw pact what would have happened. Each of the warsaw pact armies used handmedowns from the soviet union mostly, so in terms of equipment capabilities, they were lacking behind the nato. Though the importance of tanks had dimished since their heyday in the second world war, on the modern battlefield they remained the dominant weapon. There is no shortage of literature addressing the workings, influence, and importance of nato and the warsaw pact individually or how the two blocs faced off during the decades of the cold war. Visit the parallel history project on cooperative security site for more information and news related to nato and the warsaw pact. The formation of the warsaw pact was in some ways a response to the creation of nato, although it did not occur until six years after the western alliance. Sep 30, 2018 the warsaw pact was established in 1955 after west germany became a part of nato. What would have happened in case of war between nato and warsaw pact. The warsaw pact was a collective defense treaty among 8 communist satellite nations of central and eastern europe in existence during the cold war. The parallel history project on cooperative security php, the former parallel history project on nato and the warsaw pact, provides new scholarly perspectives on contemporary international history by collecting, publishing, and interpreting formerly secret governmental documents.
This book came highly recommended by another long time military analyst. He has written a number of books among which are such well known titles as gunners of the cape. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and. Editors mary ann heiss, a specialist in the history of u. The essays of a dozen leading european and american cold war historians analyze this turning point in the cold war in light of new documentary evidence from the archives of two dozen countries and explain what. Neuware why did nato persist after the end of the cold war and dissolution of the soviet union and warsaw pact this book argues that the alliance not only changed itself, but also changed its security environment, creating a stable and secure europe for the first time since the end of the napoleonic wars. Fortunately, the closest the warsaw pact and nato ever came to actual war against each other during the cold war years from 1995 to 1991 was the 1962 cuban missile crisis. The prague spring and the warsaw pact invasion of czechoslovakia in 1968. This book takes a closer look at how nato, the warsaw pact, and the iron.
Read the fulltext online edition of nato and the warsaw pact. When the warsaw pact was founded in 1955 as a counterpart of nato. Of course, any book on any conflict between nato and warsaw pact would be fiction, and i have hacketts the third world war being delivered to me. Nato and the warsaw pact history of western civilization ii.
The warsaw pact, named after the meeting to create it was held in warsaw, was based throughout the soviet bloc and troops in it were used in the ending of the 1968 czech revolt. On august 20, 1968, tens of thousands of soviet and east european ground and air forces moved into czechoslovakia and occupied the country in an attempt to end the prague spring reforms and restore an orthodox communist regime. He details the strategic forces and landbased tactical aircraft used by the air forces of the usa, ussr, nato, warsaw pact countries and the european nonaligned nations. Joining the ussr in the alliance were albania, bulgaria, czechoslovakia, the german democratic republic east germany. Johns college, johannesburg and obtained an ma honours degree at. This text, enhanced by colour plates and photographs, examines the nato and warsaw pact tank forces of that era, focusing on tank firepower and crew training, and speculates as to the possible. Essays on cold war tensions within nato and the warsaw pact. While the warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to nato, there was no direct confrontation between them. The warsaw pact was the soviet equivalent of nato north atlantic treaty organization. Warsaw pact, and with no new like threat of that scale emerging to take its place, natos role as a collective defense alliance is largely voided. This hypothetical war has been the subject of much analysis, debate and simulation. As suggested by the title, the soviet bloc military machine that held the west in awe for most of the cold war does not appear from the inside as formidable as outsiders often believed, nor were its strengths and weaknesses the same at. The warsaw pact was a collective defence treaty established by the soviet union and seven other soviet satellite states in central and eastern europe.
Duignan is a senior fellow at the hoover institution, stanford university. Review book, confrontation, the strategic geography of. It was formally known as the treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. Vienna, munich, verona, and other european population and cultural centers were to be completely destroyed, according to 1965 warsaw pact plans for war in europe made public today on the zurichbased web site of the parallel history project on nato and the warsaw pact php an international consortium of scholars dedicated to the study. Joining the ussr in the alliance were albania, bulgaria, czechoslovakia, the german democratic republic east germany, hungary, poland and romania. History, 2009 the united states, britain, and france along with other western european nations grew further apart from the soviet union after world war ii. A short history of nato it is often said that the north atlantic treaty organization was founded in.
Nato and the warsaw pact the kent state university press. Military history society by commandant neil d orpen on 8 may, 1969. Instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. May 25, 2017 in 1988, natos plan for the defense of western europe was the doctrine of forward defense, in which soviet and warsaw pact forces were stopped as far close to the inner german border as possible.
It contributes to the international history of the cold war and fills a. The warsaw pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight 14 to nato. Instead, warsaw pact troops were more commonly used for maintaining communist rule. The warsaw pact, made up of central and eastern european countries, was meant to counter the threat from the nato countries. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book.
Review books, armies of natos central front the armies of natos central front was written in 1985 and is probably the definative work of this nature on natos armies covering a wealth of detail particularly on organisation that is other wise rather more difficult to come by than data on the warsaw pact and the soviet union. I havent delved into books yet on the topic, relying mostly on research papers and studies online for force structures and unit identification. Nato, the warsaw pact, and the iron curtain by erik richardson. Printed books are making a comeback and while these three titles lack the glitz of the kind produced by the bestknown military specialist publishers, there is a substance to mr. The book starts with a fictional battle between both sides, like in the third world war of back in the cold war the idea of a tank showdown at the fulda gap was the most intensely debated aspect of conventional warfare between nato and the warsaw pact.
The history of the warsaw pact, recounted and documented in this book, bears on. Instead, warsaw pact troops were more commonly used for maintaining communist rule within the eastern bloc itself. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. However, little has been written about the various intrabloc tensions that plagued both alliances during t. The scenario, set in the late 1980s, assumed that the forces of the soviet union and the rest of the warsaw pactnamely east germany, poland, czechoslovakia and hungarysteamrollered west. Also included is a detailed source sheet 8 sources and 4 questions on the reasons for the establishment and consequences of the establishment of nato and the warsaw pact. Both nato and the warsaw pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. The warsaw pact was only signed 6 years after the nato alliance was made. The history of nato and the warsaw pact south african. A great thank for the voices to christopher lawlor, collin. A complementary service to the international relations and security network isn, the php is. Military history journal vol 1 no 6 june 1970 the history of nato and the warsaw pact.
This video is the part 1, part 2 and part 3 combined. This text, enhanced by colour plates and photographs, examines the nato and warsaw pact tank forces of that era, focusing on tank firepower and crew training. In 1949, the us and 11 other western nations joined the nato to stop the spread of communism. The cold war is a fascinating period of history, shrouded with mystery and intrigue. But what were the real capabilities and intentions of the soviet union. The warsaw pact could mobilise more reserves, move them forward, and commit them timestaggered in line with its echelon system, an advantage intensified by its geostrategically favourable position. The warsaw pact ensured that most european nations were aligned in one of two opposing camps and formalized the political divide in europe that became prevalent world war ii. Phillips work that should make these books attractive to readers interested in the armed forces of the warsaw pact. The warsaw pact was the soviet union s response to west germany joining nato and came into being in may 1955. Artillery of the warsaw pact provides a compelling and detailed account of the artillery used by warsaw pact countries and the important role it played during this period of suspicion, tension and unease. One of the biggest what ifs of history was a war between the warsaw pact and nato. A short history of nato it is often said that the north atlantic treaty organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the soviet union.
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