ABSTRACT
The clandestine military collaboration established between the Red Army and the Reichswehr in the aftermath of World War I was unusual indeed. It is difficult to evaluate the impact of the German-Soviet collaboration on Soviet military innovation until we establish the areas in which the Red Army sought change and modernization with the Reichswehr's help. The Soviet collaboration with the Germans at the chemical weapons testing ground, "Tomka," was indisputably beneficial to the Red Army and ranks as perhaps the single biggest contributor to its innovation in the Stalin period. The memoirs of Reichswehr General Ernst Kostring are particularly insightful vis-a-vis the German-Soviet military ventures of the interwar years, as they reflect on all aspects of the collaboration by someone who had considerable experience residing within, and knowledge of, the Soviet Union. Many aspects of the military collaboration were tainted throughout their duration by the secrecy and suspicion of both parties.
