ABSTRACT
The Warsaw Pact's capability to carry out a surprise attack and a deep penetration offensive in Europe, labelled "invasion capability," is considered the core of North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) notion of threat in Western discussions of security policy. The Warsaw Pact is an alliance of a continental character with limited access to the oceans, marked depth and expanse and a coherent alliance territory. A surprise option for the Warsaw Pact benefits from the vast presence of troops in the Western glacis, deployment of powerful forces close to the border and from its geostrategic location, restricted in principle by NATO's high reconnaissance capabilities. The command and control structure of Warsaw Pact forces is marked by a high degree of redundancy and mobility. Extent and density of conventional fire power by Soviet artillery has been considerably increased by a quantitative augmentation of weapon systems as well as restructuring measures at the army echelon.
