WARSAW-PACT MILITARY DOCTRINES IN THE 1970S AND 1980S - FINDINGS IN THE EAST-GERMAN ARCHIVES

Drawing on recently opened East German military archives, this article traces the evolution of Soviet military doctrine through Warsaw Pact training and maneuver documentation. Paradoxically, while the USSR was deploying more usable and survivable nuclear weapons (the SS-20), it was developing a strategy which attempted to win a limited war in Euro pe with conventional weapons only. Pact records do show planning for p reemptive nuclear strikes in response to observations of NATO preparat ions for nuclear launches. Great care was taken not to proceed to a nu clearization of the conflict unless the enemy was about to do so. Thes e planning documents also reveal that the Pact was not expecting to la unch all the nuclear weapons at its disposal. The article also describ es Soviet discussions in the 1980s on the blurring of distinctions bet ween conventional and nuclear weapons systems and the ensuing ''offens e-defense'' debate.