ABSTRACT
National strategy can be understood as general plans and patterns of action, both political and military, to achieve politically defined general goals. The Pact has up to the present adopted an offensive military strategy for several reasons, but mainly because it offers the greatest likelihood of attaining political objectives. The kind of tactics an army adopts is a function of comparative numbers of forces, the kinds of weapons available, the terrain and the leaders' preferences. Pact war planners face the fundamental dilemma of choosing between grab and push—between a quick decisive thrust and a longer campaign. Since Pact offensive strategy seeks a quick victory by applying overwhelming force from the start, it requires offensive operations. Tactics are designed to seize the initiative at the start and to hold it by forcing the enemy to react. The Warsaw Pact's first tactical echelon would act as a heavy screening force intended to find gaps in North Atlantic Treaty Organization defenses.
