The Magnificent Eight: How NATO's Counterweight Was Created

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, eight states of "socialist orientation", led by the USSR, signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which gave rise to one of the most famous military alliances in history. Izvestia recalls the history of the Warsaw Pact.

When the masks are torn off

The NATO bloc, which initially united 12 countries with obvious US hegemony, was founded on April 4, 1949. The Soviet Union was in no hurry to create a military alliance in response. It was believed that the party vertical, to which the leaders of the countries of the Soviet bloc, and hence their armies, were subordinate, was quite enough. And in Poland and the GDR they hoped for more compelling reasons for joint hostilities in the event of the X hour.

On the propaganda field, Moscow responded at times in the most unexpected ways. In March 1954, the Soviet Union even applied to join NATO. "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization would cease to be a closed military grouping of states, would be open for the accession of other European countries, which, along with the creation of an effective collective security system in Europe, would be of great importance for strengthening global peace," the document said.

The proposal was rejected on the grounds that USSR membership would run counter to the alliance's democratic and defensive goals. In response, the Soviet Union began to accuse the West of aggressive plans. “The masks have been torn off” - such was the reaction of Moscow, predictably remaining in front of the closed doors of NATO.

The meeting of the general secretaries of the communist parties and the military leadership of the countries of communist orientation, held in Moscow under Joseph Stalin, in January 1951, is considered a forerunner of the military bloc of "socialist countries". It was there that the chief of staff of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, General of the Army Sergei Shtemenko, spoke about the need to create a military alliance of fraternal socialist countries - for direct confrontation with NATO.

By that time, the USSR had already adopted the humanitarian arsenal of the "struggle for peace". But the more peaceful the rhetoric of Moscow was, the more they feared the "Soviet threat" "on the other side." There was even a popular anecdote: Stalin (in later versions - Khrushchev and Brezhnev) declares: “There will be no war. But there will be such a struggle for peace that there will be no stone unturned. " Both sides convinced the world that the enemy was aggressive.

German threat

Of course, Shtemenko was not the only "hawk" who advocated the creation of a common military "fist" of the socialist countries. The authority of the Soviet army at that time was extremely high. The peoples who suffered from Nazism knew very well who and how broke his back. Moreover, the recent underground workers, anti-fascists, who owed their salvation to Moscow, ended up in power in the socialist countries. Many wanted to join this force. Both politicians and generals of the states of Eastern Europe hoped for both Soviet weapons and closer cooperation between the armies. They could not imagine a better academy for themselves.

The initiators of the military alliance were primarily representatives of Poland, Czechoslovakia and the GDR. They had reason to fear the "threat from Bonn." The US failed to keep up with its original plan to leave West Germany demilitarized. In 1955, Germany became a member of NATO. The move sparked outrage in the Soviet camp. Cartoons of the "Bonn puppets" were published daily in all Soviet newspapers.

The immediate neighbors of the FRG still feared a "new Hitler". And in the GDR, not without reason, they believed that the FRG, with the support of NATO, could sooner or later absorb East Germany. Slogans about "united Germany" were very popular in Bonn. Romania and Albania were worried about a similar situation in Italy. It was also gradually armed by NATO.

After Stalin's death, the USSR somewhat tempered the offensive impulse on all fronts - both army and ideological. The Korean War subsided. Since the middle of 1953, our former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, the British and the Americans, have been much more aggressive. Those of them who exaggeratedly refer to the "role of the individual in history" thought that after Stalin's death the Soviet Union could, if not "multiply by zero," then noticeably squeeze out in international politics. But neither Khrushchev nor his colleagues on the Presidium intended to capitulate.

Warsaw dinner

In Warsaw in May 1955, the Conference of European States for Peace and Security in Europe was opened. The main details of the Treaty had already been worked out by that time. The socialist countries of Eastern Europe signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. Essentially - a military alliance, most often called the Organization (as opposed to the "enemy" alliance) of the Warsaw Pact (abbreviated - ATS).

Albania was the first to sign the Treaty in alphabetical order. Then - Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR and Czechoslovakia. Everything was ready for dinner. In the text of the Treaty, as in the military doctrine adopted a few years later, it was noted that the Internal Affairs Directorate was of a purely defensive nature. But the defensive nature of the doctrine did not mean passivity. Combat planning allowed for the possibility of a preemptive strike against the groupings of troops of a potential enemy, "prepared for an attack."

It was not for nothing that Khrushchev and his associates chose Warsaw for such an important meeting and - without exaggeration - a historical act. First, it was not worth emphasizing the hegemony of the USSR once again. Secondly, Warsaw was located closer to other friendly capitals - Berlin, Budapest, Prague … Thirdly, the Poles suffered from the Germans more than other peoples of Eastern Europe and needed security guarantees … And the parties to the Treaty, of course, pledged to help any country by all means ATS in the event of military aggression.

Guarding Peace and Socialism

Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev became the Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. The headquarters was headed by General of the Army Alexei Antonov, a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief during the war. The appointment of Konev, one of the marshals of the Victory, made a strong impression on Washington. American military historian Colonel Michael Lee Lanning in his book "One Hundred Great Generals" wrote that the role of Konev at the head of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact is much more important than the role of Georgy Zhukov as the Minister of Defense of the USSR.

Konev and Antonov, who had led the friendly armies for a whole five-year period, really did a lot. They turned the ATS into an effective military force. Suffice it to recall the ATS Unified Air Defense System, which was centrally controlled and united all air defense forces.

Then, in 1955, the situation became clear to the West: Germany, France, and Great Britain were hostages of a fragile peace between two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. After the Warsaw Pact, the bipolar world, which had already become a de facto reality, became such a de jure one. In many ways, this helped the Soviet Union to improve relations with Paris and Bonn, which in the 1970s resulted in the “era of detente”.

Systems confrontation

American military doctrine has never been even outwardly peaceful, allowing the use of a preemptive nuclear strike. But fear of retaliation remained the main deterrent. And the second brake on American expansion was the Warsaw Pact Organization.

In some ways, the OVD resembled the Sacred Union, organized by the monarchs - the victors of Napoleon. Then Russia, acting throughout Eastern Europe, thwarted attempts at revolutionary unrest. For the "friendly armies" the most severe tests were also associated with the desire of the political authorities to preserve the existing state of affairs, suppressing the counter-revolution. This was the case during the most famous military operations of the Department of Internal Affairs - in 1956 in Hungary and in 1968 in Czechoslovakia.

But political responsibility, as you know, does not lie with the military command. The USSR, like the Russian Empire during the years of the Holy Union, was called the gendarme of Europe by its enemies.

At the same time, in the USSR, the issues of expanding the influence of the Internal Affairs Directorate were treated with a sense of proportion. Albania withdrew from the organization in 1968. Over the years, the organization could be turned into an intercontinental one. And the PRC (for the time being), Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, and a number of other states have shown a desire to join the Treaty. But the Organization remained purely European.

In the same 1968, Romania's special status was manifested: this country did not obey the decision of the majority and did not take part in Operation Danube. And yet the capricious Bucharest remained at the police station. The Romanian communists were content with the role of enfant terrible of the socialist camp.

Block ruins

The Agreement expired on April 26, 1985. By that time, the ATS armies numbered almost 8 million servicemen. Then no one could predict that the general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev, who replaced the deceased Konstantin Chernenko a month ago, would become the last Soviet leader. The renewal of the Treaty seemed (and was) a matter of technique. It was extended for 20 years, in compliance with all legal subtleties.

But after a few years, history has accelerated its pace. In 1989, the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe began to crumble like children's sand fortresses. The Department of Internal Affairs still existed - and the military took it quite seriously. Fortunately, they did not act hastily and hectic after 1990, when the "world of socialism" ceased to exist. On February 25, 1991, the states participating in the ATS abolished its military structures, but the peaceful areas of the Treaty were kept intact.

Only six months after the collapse of the Soviet Union, on July 1, 1991, all the states that were part of the ATS and their successors in Prague signed the Protocol on the complete termination of the Treaty. Almost all of the Warsaw Pact countries are now NATO members. Even Albania.

But the Treaty, which has existed for 36 years, has played a role in European history that should not be forgotten. At least for the Old World, these were peaceful years. Partly thanks to the Department of Internal Affairs.