ABSTRACT
Nuclear war has been described as unacceptable and unthinkable but it has become so only very recently. As long as the United States had nuclear hegemony or supremacy, Soviet military doctrine professed not to be disturbed by the advent of the new weapon. The champions of the tactical nuclear weapon claim that its presence in the NATO arsenal prevents an enemy from launching even a limited conventional attack because he must fear this possible spiralling effect. The function of the ground forces under strategic emerging concept is twofold. There are: to strengthen the credibility of the nuclear deterrent by regarding it as the ultima, not prima ratio regum, and to give the leaders a choice between nuclear and conventional warfare in incidents below the level of an all-out conventional attack.
