allen%codon1.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (07/20/89)
From: allen%codon1.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU I just finished reading _Red Army_ by Ralph Peters, The latest of the "Next War in Europe" genre books. It's a very interesting and thought-provoking book. Unlike Hackett's Third World War books, Team Yankee, set in the same background, and Red Storm Rising, this story is viewed entirely from the eyes of Soviet soldiers and doesn't cut NATO any slack. Its a cautionary tale for NATO on one level, showing how things could go wrong at the strategic level. Its also an attempt to get into the heads of representative Russian soldiers. Peters doesn't show any of Tom Clancy's tendency to denigrate the competence of Soviet soldiers because of disagreement with their political and social structure. His appraisal of their army's strengths and weaknesses comes across as fair. He basically puts forth a scenario in which things go more or less right for the Soviets in the battle in NORTHAG's sector, northern West Germany. This is also the part of the battlefield he shows the readers. The technical aspects seem to be very realistically portrayed, but without ramming the names and model numbers of every vehicle and weapon on the battlefield down the reader's throat. In fact he takes the opposite tack. I don't remember a single mention of Soviet equipment by type code, and maybe only three or four instances of NATO equipment. What he does do is give good accounts of how the weapons are used tactically and how tactics and strategy integrate. The book does inspire a bit of schizophrenia in the American reader. While I was on one hand identifying with the people portrayed and their own personal struggles, another part of me kept saying "Come on, Brits, they're on your flank. Turn! Look!" or similar things. And even "Release the tactical nukes already. Nuke 'em before its too late." I'd recommend this one to anybody with an interest in modern ground warfare. Ed Allen (allen@enzyme.berkeley.edu)
tek@CS.UCLA.EDU (Ted Kim (ATW)) (07/21/89)
From: tek@CS.UCLA.EDU (Ted Kim (ATW)) Just to add a few notes to the review of _Red Army_: In article <8444@cbnews.ATT.COM> Ed Allen (allen@enzyme.berkeley.edu) writes: > >From: allen%codon1.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU >... >Unlike Hackett's Third World War books, Team Yankee, set in the same >background, and Red Storm Rising, this story is viewed entirely from >the eyes of Soviet soldiers and doesn't cut NATO any slack. Some may feel that Peters allows too many untried weapons to work. >From this point of view, maybe NATO gets a little "slack". A few of the Soviets in the book are downright scared of whatever technological suprises NATO has waiting for them. >Its a cautionary tale for NATO on one level, showing how things could >go wrong at the strategic level. It seems that Peters feels that the major weaknesses of NATO are in its strategy and the compromises made for political reasons, not its reliance on technology or the size of its forces. On this point, the book may provoke some controversy. >Its also an attempt to get into the heads of representative Russian >soldiers. I was quite impressed by this part of the book. >... >He basically puts forth a scenario in which things go more >or less right for the Soviets in the battle in NORTHAG's sector, >northern West Germany. It should be mentioned that NORTHAG is manned by FRG, UK, Belgian and Dutch forces. Those expecting to see a lot of action involving US forces will be disappointed (though there is some). >... >What he does do is give good accounts of how the weapons are used >tactically and how tactics and strategy integrate. He also does a good job of showing the intensity of action and confusion on the battlefield. >... >I'd recommend this one to anybody with an interest in modern ground >warfare. I wholeheartedly agree. The book definitely concentrates on the "human" factors. It's not a "techno-triller". It is a fascinating and thought provoking book and good fun to read. Unfortunately, since it won't get the kind of hype a Clancy novel gets, many will not notice it. Also, I think the cover art is unexciting and the picture of the author looks terrible. Clancy's author picture with his "photo-gray" glasses looks pretty bad too, but I guess it didn't hurt his sales! :-) -ted Ted Kim ARPAnet: tek@penzance.cs.ucla.edu UCLA Computer Science Department UUCP: ...!ucbvax!cs.ucla.edu!tek 3804C Boelter Hall PHONE: (213) 206-8696 Los Angeles, CA 90024 ESPnet: tek@ouija.board