| Exercise Zapad |
Article Index for Exercise |
Website Links For Exercise |
Information AboutExercise Zapad |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EXERCISE ZAPAD | |
| military exercises and wargames | |
| military of russia | |
|
Exercise Zapad -81 was the largest military exercise ever to be carried out by the Soviet Union according to NATO and US sources (de Weydenthall et al., 1983). It was conducted on September 4 1981 and lasted approximately 8 days. It was a joint operation including elements from all Soviet service branches and introduced several new "complexes" such as the RSD-20 medium-range strategic missile complex The "Kiev" Project 1143 aircraft carrier {Link without Title} . The exercise was first and foremost a show of force. Propaganda tapes were made of the large scale offensives concluding in a victory parade of ridiculous proportions. Apart from being a show of force to the US and NATO countries Zapad was a grim demonstration of military capability in Poland . After the failure of reform communism in Poland during the seventies Poland was in a state of crisis and civil unrest. (See People's Republic Of Poland for more information). Exercise Zapad included amphibious landings in Poland near Gdansk reminding the Poles that the Soviet Union could resort to military force deemed necessary. The Exercise was widely discredited by the US for violating the Helsinki Final Act of notification of military exercises ( Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report and a Fact Sheet on Soviet Noncompliance With Arms Control Agreements, 1983 ). ZAPAD -99 Exercise Zapad -99 was another large scale military exercise; it was carried out in June 1999 and its results forced offensive. The conclusion was that the army would last for approximately three days against NATO forces, this in turn increased the tolerance for use of Tactical Nuclear Weapons . Apart from nuclear controversy exercise Zapad -99 also sparked international tensions when US fighters intercepted Russia n bombers allegedly in violation of Icelandic and Norwegian airspace. Further reading: ( Kipp, 2001 ) SOURCES de Weydenthall, Jan B., Bruce Porter, and Kevin Devlin, The Polish Drama: 1980-1982. Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath and Co. 1983 Information on the Complexes of the Strategic Offensive Forces of the USSR That Were Presented During the Exercise ZAPAD 81 -Original document Information on the Complexes of the Strategic Offensive Forces of the USSR That Were Presented During the Exercise ZAPAD 81 -Translation Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report and a Fact Sheet on Soviet Noncompliance With Arms Control Agreements, 1983 Russia's National Security Concept, 2000 Kipp, Russia's Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, 2001 |
|
|