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Soviet Union [USSR] STRATEGIC MISSIONS OF THE ARMED FORCES
The General Staff had the responsibility for formulating the
strategic missions of the five services of the Soviet armed forces.
The Soviet military has defined a strategic mission as one "whose
fulfillment in the course of an armed conflict leads to an abrupt
change in the operational strategic situation . . . . Successful
accomplishment of a strategic mission usually results in attainment
of numerical superiority over the enemy, in seizure of important
areas and installations on his territory . . . . Successful
accomplishment of a series of strategic missions leads to the
attainment of intermediate and ultimate strategic goals." Because
the ultimate strategic goal of war is victory over the adversary,
the successful accomplishment of strategic missions is
indispensable.
The General Staff had the responsibility for assessing external
threats and drawing up Soviet war plans. It reconciled its plans
with Soviet military doctrine and policy. The General Staff also
determined the nature of strategic missions, as well as the weapons
used and the size of forces needed to accomplish these missions
(see
table 53, Appendix A).
Traditionally, the Soviet military has structured its armed
forces offensively, on the basis of worst-case threat assessments.
The primacy of offense over defense was challenged in the nuclear
age, when strategic offense was often combined with strategic
defense. In 1989, in spite of the new doctrinal emphasis on
defense, most branches of the Soviet armed forces, such as the
Strategic Rocket Forces, the Air Forces, the Naval Forces, and the
Ground Forces, still had mainly offensive missions. The Ground
Forces played a leading role in the combined arms strategic
operation in a TVD. By contrast, the Air Defense Forces were to
carry out active defense of the homeland by destroying the enemy's
weapons and aircraft, whereas Civil Defense was to protect the
country from nuclear devastation. In the 1980s, the Soviet military
reinforced the combined arms concept on the strategic level by
reorganizing and restructuring the Soviet armed forces.
Data as of May 1989
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