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Warsaw Pact Forces opposite NATO, NIE 11-14-79, Volume II, the Estimate, CIA/NFAC, 31 January 1979

Central Intelligence Agency · 201 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is Volume II of National Intelligence Estimate 11-14-79, Warsaw Pact Forces Opposite NATO, issued by the Director of Central Intelligence and dated January 1979. The National Foreign Intelligence Board concurred with it. It was the first comprehensive estimate of Pact forces facing NATO since 1971. It covers Pact doctrine, the ground, air, naval, nuclear and chemical forces, command and control, and campaign plans for war in Europe. It judges that Central Europe would be the decisive arena, and it lists Pact weaknesses in pilot training and antisubmarine warfare. The document contains no UFO material.

  • p. 114 …recently halted Soviet air operations from Conakry. These developments will obviously force the 257. Many officers…
  • p. 115 …order to keep other in establishing effective air cover over supporting lines units operational. of communication…
  • p. 185 …The Soviets could elect to provide combat forces scale commitment of manpower and materiel which to…
  • p. 187 …This force is occasionally aug- forces could not be safely transported by sea or air to…
  • p. 188 …a war, but they couldsome naval and air force weapons (including a few recently introduced Flogger…
To-p beeroll
Table 1B-1
Disposition of Warsaw Pact Grotmd Forces
January 1979
CategoryI Categov It Catetry III Total
TI) Mil) Ablln Ide TD MDl) Abn de TD MRD Ab, Ide Div Oide
DivisionsOpposite NATO Central Regin
Cast CEuroocan
EastG ........... 2 4 - - - - - - - - - 6 -
P'olaud ........ ...... .... .. 5 3 1 - - 3 - - 2 - - 15. -
Czecoslovai........ 3 4 - 1 2 - - - 10 -
TS F.otalF- Euroean ........ .... 2..... 10 11 1- 4 - - 2 2 - - 31. -
S-.iet
CSFC(CastCermany). . 10 10 20 -
N F P l n) .. .. ...... .. .... .......... 2 - - . - - - - - 2 -
CF(oCzechosslovakhi .. .. .. 2 .2 - - - -. - -- - -- - - 5 -
Ialic MlD ...............-..... . ... - - I - 2 I - - I 4 I - 10 -
iklorssian l ...... ....- - - - I -
Carpatian MD .......... .... - - - - I 2 - .- 2 0 - - 1 -
To l Soviet ................ ....................... 14 14 2 - 3 3 - - 11 II I - 59 -
Total Oprosile CentralRegion ............. ... 24 25 3 - A 7 - - 13 13 1 - 90' -
Divisions on NATO' Fanks
tEast Euroorean
1ungar -_...................... ......... I 2 - - - I - - -- 2 - - 6 -
Iulgaria . ..... . . ... - 6 - 3 I - - - 6 7
Romi ..... .. .- 5 - 2 - 3 - - - - ~ -- 10 2
Tolal ad Euoean..... .................... 3 10 - 8 - 7 -- - 2 - - 22 9.
Soviet
SCF(0ungay). ... . . 2 2 - - - -- - - -- - - - - 4 -
OdessaMD .. . . ...... . - - I - -- I - 6 - - 8 -
Kiev MD .................................. .............. . - - - - 1 - - - 6 4 - - 11 -
North Caucasus MD ...... . .. - - - - I - - - -- 5 - - 6 -
Transeaucas MD .. .... - 1 - - 2 - - - 9 - - 12 -
Leningrad l ... ....... - I 1 - - I - -- - 6 - - 9 -
TotalSoet. .... ....... 2 3 3 - 2 4 - - 6 30 - - 50 -
Iotalon NATOc lanks . ... ............... S 1 3 8 2 1i - I 6 32 - - 72 9
Other Soviet tivisions
I1t the Eastern USSR and Afongolioa
SovietForcesinMongolia....... ..... - - 1 -- - -- - - - -- 3 -
COntralAsiaMl) .. . . .......--.--. 2 - - -- 3 - -- 7 -
Sibi ajnrMD ............................ ................... ... - - - - - . - 4 - - 5 -
Tnr baykal MD ................... ..................... 1 3 - - - 2 - - 1 3 - - 10 -
Far East MD....................... --- 5 - - 1s 6 - - - 10, - - 22' -
Total in Eastern USSR and Mongolia ... ..... 3 10 - - 2 iI - - 1 20 - - 47 -
i tifrewhere
Moscow M D . .... .............. .... .... ......... - - I - 1 I - - -- :2 - - 7 -
Ural Nil ............. ......... ..... - 1 2 - - 3 -
Volga MD . . ......... ........-.---.-.-.--.-.-.-- --- 3 - - 3 -
TurkestanNil) . . . . . - - 1 - - I - - - - - 5 -
Totalse e .......... ....... - - 2 -- 1 2 - - 2 11 - - I8 -
Toal Other SovietlDivisions....................... 3 10 2 - 3 13 - - 3 3I -. - 65 -
Totai Warsaw Pact ............... .............. 32 48 8 8 8 31 - 1 22 76 1 - 227 9
Sioit ....... .. ...... ....... ...... 19 27 3 - 20 - -. 22 7l -.- 1N -
F- sotEuro a . ..... .. ... .... ... 13 21 1 0 - i -- I 2 5 - - 53' 9
Slicudlesa CategoryI Polishsea landing divosi of soce 4,400men which is nol Iiced in categoy ccocums
'This division dcos not colorn to the standardTO&E of a tank divisinn and may be eprcimcenol.
v Five tank brigares andone irainingbrigade, the latter designated for wacime expsiocn to a mtorizld rifle division.
o Peacetime trainig brigade deigoated for waitime eoansion to mltorizel rifle division,
e M ucntain lr e brigades,
f Incde ncediviion which is in the oreof bei unscadel fram a obiht.atio (seennhenecation) division a active o
e includesthree motorizd rifle divisionsof the Fa, Est Mihtaiv Districtwhih. beause of thciic emote tocations in Sakhalinand Kamchatka.areno 1odered to be deoloyed
ociosite China.
8-3
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 201 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.