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Document No. 86: Statute of the Unified Command in War Time, March 18, 1980 ——————————————————————————————————————————— The statute of the Unified Command in war time finally won approval by the Warsaw Pact members after nearly a decade. In part, the delay grew out of its members’ concerns that any steps that might be taken to prepare for war could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By late 1978, however, the international situation had deteriorated, détente was foundering, and the West appeared to be taking a more aggressive stance, mainly throughitsconventionalrearmamentprogram.Eventhen,Romaniacontinuedtooppose the statute, and never actually signed it, the main objection being that it gave the supreme commandertoomuchdiscretionoveruseoftheresourcesofmember-states.Interestingly, according to Polish General Antoni Jasiński, the statute was never really put into effect.1 Obviously war never broke out, but there were also problems within the Soviet military command. Chief among them were ambiguities over divisions of responsibility and authority, particularly between the supreme commander (who of course was a Soviet officer), and the chief of the Soviet General Staff. Normally, the former would be subordinated to the latter. But Marshal Kulikov and Marshal Ogarkov were not on good terms, and many details of how to function in an emergency remained unresolved. Thus,whilethesupremecommandermayhaveenjoyedenormousauthoritywithrespect to Eastern Europe, in Moscow he was a secondary figure. ____________________ […] GENERAL RULES Theater of Operations […] 3. The present Statute defines the composition, the purpose and rules of functioning of the UAF and their administrative bodies (the Highest Supreme Command, the UAF Supreme Commands in the Western and Southwestern theaters of war and the Commands of the Unified Baltic Fleet and the Unified Black Sea Fleet), the rules of commanding air defense, the organization of political work, logistics and engineering –technical supply for the UAF in the theater of war, mutual relations between administrative bodies of the UAF and the national military–political leadership of the Warsaw Pact member-states, and also the provision of financial means. […] 1 See the section “The Chain of Command: The Soviet General Staff and the Warsaw Pact” in the collection of interviews with Polish generals on the PHP website, http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents /collection_9/texts/Chain_Command.htm. 427 I. The Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact Member-States. […] 6. Strategic groups are comprised of land forces, naval forces, administrative bodies , and a support group dispatched to the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member-states subordinated to the Supreme Commands of the UAF in the Western and Southwestern theaters or subordinated directly to the Highest Command. […] All remaining military formations, training centers, administrative bodies, and rear areas remain under the supervision of the national military–political leadership and are used in accordance with their plans. Based on mutual agreement between the national military–political leadership and the Highest Supreme Command, if necessary , the force and means of these military formations, administrative bodies, and rear area forces may be used in the interests of and in accordance with the plans of the Highest Supreme Command and Supreme Command of the UAF in the theater of war. 7. The composition of the UAF during peace time is defined by special protocols in accordance with general military–political goals which are strategically selected by the military–political leaderships of the Warsaw Pact member-states. The protocols are usually prepared for a period of five years and are signed by the UAF supreme commander of the Warsaw Pact member-states and the defense ministers of all states, and are approved accordingly by the governments of the Warsaw Pact member-states. Depending on the military–political situation, the combatant composition and the number of forces and fleets dispatched to the UAF may be specified and changed: during peace time by the national state leaderships at the suggestion of the UAF supreme commander of the Warsaw Pact member-states, and during a war period by the Highest Supreme Command of the UAF and Supreme Commands in the theater of war in consultation with the national military–political leadership. 8. Depending on the situation, when member-states of the Warsaw Pact consider it necessary, the Unified Armed Forces respond to orders of the Highest Supreme Command [e.g.] in case of an unexpected armed attack by an aggressor on one or more member-states of the Warsaw Pact. At the same time, the UAF Supreme Command in the Western and Southwestern theaters and the Commands of the Unified...

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