Rating: 
Summary: A surprisingly excellent read
Review: "You realize that we had to fight...It wasn't only the political situation. We've been through worse crises. But we had to fight them now. It was the last chance. They we're beating us without ever firing a shot. They forced us to fight so long with their weapons -- technology, economics, their entire arsenal for destroying us in peacetime. And we could not compete. We were losing, and it became so apparent that even a fool could see it..."Those are the words from General Malinsky, the Soviet leader of the Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany in Ralph Peters' book, "Red Army." Ah, WEST Germany... It's been a few years since we've thought about that political entity, yes? The fall of communism seems so inevitable now. At the writing of this book, in the late Eighties, that didn't seem so inevitable, did it? What if the Russians quit fighting the Cold War our way, through the clash of economic strength? What if the USSR saw its imminent demise, and lashed out militarily? Ralph Peters addresses that question amply in this book. I enjoy a technothriller now and then, but this novel's emphasis on the human element of a Third European War was like a fresh breeze. Completely from the Russian point-of-view, the characters live and breathe, have strengths and faults, prejudices and hobbies. NATO is treated harshly, its political fragmentation endangering its military strength. Peters says in his Author's Note, "It is not a book about lethal gadgets. While seeking the highest possible technical accuracy for its backdrop, this book is about behavior. How would that other system behave at war -- and how might its individual members prove like us or distinctly unlike us in their responses to the stress of combat?" I'd whole-heartedly recommend this book as a fresh alternative to flag-waving, give-all-the-breaks-to-the-wholesome-Americans contemporary war books. It will open your eyes. Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly excellent read
Review: "You realize that we had to fight...It wasn't only the political situation. We've been through worse crises. But we had to fight them now. It was the last chance. They we're beating us without ever firing a shot. They forced us to fight so long with their weapons -- technology, economics, their entire arsenal for destroying us in peacetime. And we could not compete. We were losing, and it became so apparent that even a fool could see it..." Those are the words from General Malinsky, the Soviet leader of the Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany in Ralph Peters' book, "Red Army." Ah, WEST Germany... It's been a few years since we've thought about that political entity, yes? The fall of communism seems so inevitable now. At the writing of this book, in the late Eighties, that didn't seem so inevitable, did it? What if the Russians quit fighting the Cold War our way, through the clash of economic strength? What if the USSR saw its imminent demise, and lashed out militarily? Ralph Peters addresses that question amply in this book. I enjoy a technothriller now and then, but this novel's emphasis on the human element of a Third European War was like a fresh breeze. Completely from the Russian point-of-view, the characters live and breathe, have strengths and faults, prejudices and hobbies. NATO is treated harshly, its political fragmentation endangering its military strength. Peters says in his Author's Note, "It is not a book about lethal gadgets. While seeking the highest possible technical accuracy for its backdrop, this book is about behavior. How would that other system behave at war -- and how might its individual members prove like us or distinctly unlike us in their responses to the stress of combat?" I'd whole-heartedly recommend this book as a fresh alternative to flag-waving, give-all-the-breaks-to-the-wholesome-Americans contemporary war books. It will open your eyes. Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating: 
Summary: More Plausible in 1979 than 1989
Review: Good book, however, Peters overestimates the Soviets and underestimates NATO. In '79 the Army of Jimmy Carter could not have stopped the Warsaw Pact. While it still would have been a hellacious fight for a while, we would have drubbed them by '89.
The success of British and American forces in the '91 Gulf War against Soviet weaponry shocked them out of any comfort this book gave them.
Rating:
Summary: Plausible, but the Soviets were not ten feet tall.
Review: I was a field artillery officer in the US Army in Germany during the height of the Cold War, and of course we spent a great deal of time thinking about the Soviet Army and the threat it represented. This novel does a fairly good job of presenting what a conventional war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO might have been like--using one set of assumptions. Specifically, this novel assumes that the Soviet Army would function pretty much as its leadership intended. My personal belief is that although this book is plausible, it is unlikely that the Soviets would have had the easy run into the heart of Germany that this novel envisioned. Anywhere during the 1970s or 1980s that the Soviet military or its surrogates went up against an American-style force, the Soviet force did very poorly. Contrast the two month American liberation of Taliban Afghanistan with the utter inability of the Soviet Army to prevail over the same adversary despite trying for eight years with far more numerous forces. A modest supply of American Stinger missiles and TOW rockets immobilized and thwarted the Soviets. In Germany the number and sophistication of such weapons, and the skill of the NATO soldiers, would have been immeasurably higher. It doesn't seem likely given what happened in Afhanistan that the Soviets would have had an easy time of it against NATO's well-drilled, well-equipped forces. Similarly, whenever a Soviet-style air force went up against a US-trained one, such as Israel's, the result was a debacle for the Soviet side. In short, in the 1970s and 1980s there is not a single example of Soviet tactics or equipment coming out on top against any Western army or air force. Just look at what happened when the American Army went up against Iraq's Soviet-style, Soviet-equipped army. The Russian tanks were nearly helpless against American Abrams and British Crusader tanks. Why would Europe have been any different? It would not have been. Despite the above opinion, which is strictly my own, this is an interesting and thoughtful novel even in the post-Soviet era. We will never be sure that the West could have prevailed against the Soviet Army. Certainly the author makes an excellent case, and weaves a fascinating story of a military-political assault against the West by the Soviets. The novel is eminently readable, never strains the reader's credulity, and I found the political dimension of the novel to be particularly interesting. Overall, this novel in my opinion embodies common Cold War fears that the Soviet Army was stronger than it really was, and is a pretty accurate depiction of those fears. This makes the novel an insightful look at military attitudes during the bad old days of the Cold War.
Rating:
Summary: Plausible, but the Soviets were not ten feet tall.
Review: I was a field artillery officer in the US Army in Germany during the height of the Cold War, and of course we spent a great deal of time thinking about the Soviet Army and the threat it represented. This novel does a fairly good job of presenting what a conventional war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO might have been like--using one set of assumptions. Specifically, this novel assumes that the Soviet Army would function pretty much as its leadership intended. My personal belief is that although this book is plausible, it is unlikely that the Soviets would have had the easy run into the heart of Germany that this novel envisioned. Anywhere during the 1970s or 1980s that the Soviet military or its surrogates went up against an American-style force, the Soviet force did very poorly. Contrast the two month American liberation of Taliban Afghanistan with the utter inability of the Soviet Army to prevail over the same adversary despite trying for eight years with far more numerous forces. A modest supply of American Stinger missiles and TOW rockets immobilized and thwarted the Soviets. In Germany the number and sophistication of such weapons, and the skill of the NATO soldiers, would have been immeasurably higher. It doesn't seem likely given what happened in Afhanistan that the Soviets would have had an easy time of it against NATO's well-drilled, well-equipped forces. Similarly, whenever a Soviet-style air force went up against a US-trained one, such as Israel's, the result was a debacle for the Soviet side. In short, in the 1970s and 1980s there is not a single example of Soviet tactics or equipment coming out on top against any Western army or air force. Just look at what happened when the American Army went up against Iraq's Soviet-style, Soviet-equipped army. The Russian tanks were nearly helpless against American Abrams and British Crusader tanks. Why would Europe have been any different? It would not have been. Despite the above opinion, which is strictly my own, this is an interesting and thoughtful novel even in the post-Soviet era. We will never be sure that the West could have prevailed against the Soviet Army. Certainly the author makes an excellent case, and weaves a fascinating story of a military-political assault against the West by the Soviets. The novel is eminently readable, never strains the reader's credulity, and I found the political dimension of the novel to be particularly interesting. Overall, this novel in my opinion embodies common Cold War fears that the Soviet Army was stronger than it really was, and is a pretty accurate depiction of those fears. This makes the novel an insightful look at military attitudes during the bad old days of the Cold War.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the superceded subject matter deter you
Review: If you like military fiction at all, get your hands on this one. "Red Army" starts off telling of a swaggering, make-out-artist Russian infantryman paired with a timorous recruit who only wants to get back to his collective farm and listen to his rock-and-roll tapes. This puts you on notice that this is one book where the Soviets are not going to be an abstract horde. While it tends to abandon characters in the length of its text, I didn't mind too much. I work a taxicab on weekends, and I can tell you the best praise I can give a book is that it made me pick it up again and read it when stopped at red lights. "Red Army" was definately a 'red light book.' Don't be detered by the fact the collapse of the Soviet bloc has made these Red-Army-in-Central-Europe scenarios obsolete. This could have happened in the 1980's, and the vivid description of the battles has relevence to today. Points it makes:
--a NATO-Warsaw Pact battle would have been violent in the extreme. The chances of a front line soldier on either side surviving would not have been good.
--The Soviet Army never thought in terms of a stabilized front. Constant, forward movement at the highest possible speed was everything, a concept their NATO opponents had not completely grasped.
--The Soviet system still was suspicious of individual success in its military officers.
--This book takes place in North Germany; and depicts the Dutch, West German, and British forces as the shrimp that get hurt in the battle of the whales, i.e. the Soviet and the U.S. Army, the latter depicted as the hard-hitting machine it was in the Gulf. The book seemed to end on a sequel possible note. I can only say, it's a pity Peters never wrote one.
Rating:
Summary: Very frightening...but INCREDIBLY well done
Review: Peters' story about a Soviet push into western Europe was perhaps the best war novel that I have read yet...Peters uses brilliant imagery to describe WW3. What is unique about Red Army is it's perspective - it's all shown from a Soviet point of view, and from every type of Russian military branch. This book is so good it's scary.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book of all Times!
Review: Red Army is a book about war. It describes the battlefield in all its bloody, frustrating yet heroic depth. The best part of the novel however, is its characterization. In the dozen or so characters in the book, Peters has captured a broad scath of humanity. By placing each character at the edge of death , Peters vividly describes human reaction to extreme situations. The recreations are never cardboard. Peters uses his knowledge of the former soviet union and Russia in general to create very believable soldiers. Gone are the courageous saber rattling cossacks who blindly ride into enemy fire, the faceless red hordes sweeping over the hills and valleys. Instead, we are introduced to men as Ltc Gordunov, an airbone officer toughened by war whose complete misunderstanding of his idealistic political officer does not diminish the camaraderie formed during battle. The internal musings of Gen.Chisbov and Gen.Malinsky give us some insight into the mindset of the Red Army itself. I believe Peters has accomplished his task of describing the men behind the guns not only of Russia but of the entire world, introducing to the literary world the hopes and fears of modern soldiers.
Rating:
Summary: and I thought RED STORM RISING was good!
Review: RED ARMY is an excellent book written by a professional tactical intelligence officer. It clearly showed the strengths of the old Soviet war fighting doctrine in an easily readable presentation. This book shows how 1) the enemy gets a vote, and 2) isn't foolish. By the former, I mean that war favors those who take the initiative, by the latter, I mean that America's enemies will always try to play to their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses - in equipment, in training, in doctrine, and in operational art. Ralph Peters got it right back in 1990 and I wish him continued success. Those interested in an update to this general theme may want to check out the book I coauthored: CHINA ATTACKS.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read But An Implausible Outcome - Well Written!
Review: This book is a wonderfully written book. It avoids the techno-jargon of the Tom Clancy books and focuses on the personalities behind the equipment and how they might respond in the absurdity of war. He creates vividly chaotic battle scenes that stupify the combatants.
My biggest objection is that the ending is so anti-climactic. After dramatic, but costly initial successes, the Soviet Forces are caught off guard by a dazzling and powerful American counterattack out of CENTAG that most strategists agree would have to happen. The men are only coming to grips with the possibility of defeat when the surprise ending is sprung on the reader.
This ending is not plausible because the US forces would never cease fire after taking minimal losses to come within 12 kilometers of cutting off a large Soviet Force at the Weser. Politically West Germany would not have crumbled when it had only yielded perhaps 25-30% of it's territory on the heels of a successful counterattack with some 8 fresh American & British divisions arriving soon as an operational reserve.
I highly doubt the American, British & French would allow the unilateral surrender of German Forces with the tide turning decidedly in their favor.
I do agree with the inherent weaknesses of NATO as a political unit. I agree that the Europeans would resort to their "see no evil" mentality and therefore allow themselves to be caught thoroughly off-guard by a Soviet onslaught. NATO's survival would hinge on the ability to establish a credible front within NORTHAG. If that failed to materialize there would be little CENTAG could do alone to stop the siezure of Germany north of the Harz Mountains. That being said, I still believe the British and Americans would carry on the fight even if the West Germans gave up.
The Soviet Union never had the economic capability to support a war lasting longer than 30 days in Western Europe. The US, UK, and other NATO partners would have the means to outlast the Soviets in terms logistics and air power.
This acknowlegement on the part of the Soviets is why they never invaded West Germany...
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