War Termination: The Maritime Component

Abstract

Analysis of new Soviet defense military doctrine and strategy with emphasis on strategic role of Navy and war termination. Author concludes despite Soviet wars, the USSR has not and cannot repudiate all wars, including nuclear war, since the defense of th homeland remains a necessary and objective mission of all armed forces. Author argues against separation of war into nuclear and non-nuclear components. New strategic missions for Soviet armed forces analyzed along with special considerations for military operations in maritime theaters. Author concludes that nations can allow greater amount of uncertainty in war termination decisions than is normally thought and that war termination discussions need to be separated into those supporting programming, pre-war planning, and during war. Keywords: USSR Tactical Warfare, Strategic analysis, War potential.