The East German Army

This book, first published in 1980, provides a detailed analysis of the East German army in the last decade of the Cold War. It examines the capabilities of the main force, after the Soviet army, in the Soviet Bloc, and shows how it depended on more things than purely military factors and national policies. It focuses the army as part of a society that had been comprehensively militarized through 'socialist military education', and shows that it was closely tied to the Soviet army, with no military doctrine of its own. In this way, this book provides an analysis of not just East German domestic policies, over which its army held great sway, but also of Soviet Bloc strategic planning for conflict in Western Europe.

Thomas M. Forster

1. Ensuring the Onward March of Socialism 2. Socialist Military Education 3. In the Service of Socialist Internationalism 4. Controlling Organs and Structure of the Defence Forces 5. Frontier Troops and their Employment 6. Other National Defence Agencies 7. Political Organisation within the NVA 8. The Supply System of the NVA and the Economic Support of National Defence 9. Weapons and Major Equipment 10. Political-Ideological Education and Training 11. Military Training 12. Barrack Duties, Discipline and Internal Structure