Armies of World War 3

196 Pages·1984·34.14 MB·English

by  Charles Messenger

CHARLESMESSENGER
I I
ARMIES OF
WORLD WARS
Archbishop
Mitty High School
Media Center
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CHARIES MESSINGER,
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Thiseditionispublishedby
TheMihtaryPress, distributedby
CrownPublishers Inc.
Producedby
BisonBooks Corp.
17 SherwoodPlace
Greenwich, CT06830
USA
Copyright £ 1984Bison Books Corp.
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electronic,mechanical,photocopyingorotherwise,without hrst
obtainingwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightowner.
Printed inHongKong
ISBN0-517-42501-7
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CONTENTS 239C
NATO AND THE WARSAW PAQ 7
1 .
2. THE ARMIES LINE UP 27
3. NUCLEAR, CHEMICAL AND
BIOLOGICAL 47
ARMOR
4. 67
5. INFANTRY 87
6. ARTILLERY 109
7. SPECIAL TO TASK 129
8. AIR SUPPORT 143
9. ENGINEERS 163
10. LOGISTICS 179
11. THE OUTCOME? 190
INDEX 191
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NATO AND THE WARSAW
1 .
PACT
May 1945 saw the Soviet Union and the Western
AlHes standing triumphant on the soil of defeated
Nazi Germany. At Potsdam in July of that year,
Premier Stalin, President Truman and Prime Minis-
ter Attlee agreed on the dismemberment ofGermany
into Allied zones of occupation, while at the same
time the United Nations was set up at the San
Francisco Conference in an attempt to prevent future
armed conflict. There was, however, growing concern
amongtheWesternAllies overthe Soviettreatmentof
the territories ofEastern Europe. Civil War in Greece
and China also pointed to the expansionist threat of
communism. Then, in March 1946, Winston Chur-
chill made his famous speech at Fulton, Missouri, in
whichhespokeof'anironcurtain [that] has descended
across the continent'-and called for concerted Anglo-
American action to prevent the tide of communism
flowing further westward.
Attempts throughout 1946 to bring about a
formal peacewhich would end World War II resulted
in drawn out haggling between the Soviet Union and
her wartime allies. When agreement was finally
reached at the Paris Conference and treaties signed in
February 1947, Russian domination over Eastern
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occupation refused to cooperate with the West also Right:EisenhowerandChurchill,ChristmasDay1943.