Red Army

This book is top class, especially when you consider the era it is written. Not writing about your own Army has its advantages. You don't feel so compelled to portray them like saints. Maybe Ralph would not have fallen prey to this fallacy even if he wrote about the US Army, but this factor couldn't have hurt him in portraying a wide variety of characters, good and bad. I don't know whether he managed to portray Russians or just more "3D" versions of Western-stereotypes, but he definitely portrayed them as MEN, and that rises this book into a level Red Storm Rising (RSR) and most technothrillers (certainly all in my experience) could not match. If Ralph's 1st Western Front faced off Clancy's RSR NATO, the 1st Western Front would have won by sheer virtue of the characters being men instead of cardboard cutouts - the characterization is THAT different. Ralph decides not to mention technical matters too explicitly so as to showcase the men. That's a nice strategy when the book was written, but it also means the book ages better. Even if the Cold War continued, technical perceptions change. By blurring it, the macroaccuracy (often determinable early on) will rule over the microinaccuracies (which takes years to ferret out with spies). Some people object to the story on the grounds of American-forces doing well against Soviet-forces in the past. What is closer is that generally, at least one side is only vaguely relevant to the patron. Example: the Iraqi army is only superficially similar to the Soviet Army. T-55s are the majority. Even the T-72s are early export versions and armed with ancient, export use steel-cored sabot rounds. The maneuver war was preceded by an unrealistic (in Cold War context), multiple month fire preparation with planes. Of course, perhaps the Americans will still have gone through everything like a knife through butter anyway, but not necessarily. Some people criticize the book for not explaining the cause of the war. However, I'd say the cause of the war is out of scope for the characters involved. Even Malinksy shouldn't have to care about why the war occurred, just to win it. Besides, the book is has too much to say as it is, and war triggers in technothrillers tend to be on the thin side. Best to leave it to the reader's random imagination. The overall operational strategy is handled very well. With the short briefing by Front Chief of Staff Chibisov at the beginning, and a few maps (truly pictures worth a thousand words), the flow of the battle and geographical positions of all the major Soviet units are easily grasped. Some people groan about the ending, but it is the best possible. The apparent success of the Americans suggests that NATO could have won (or at least done better) had it got its act together, which I think was a point Peters was trying to make. It also no doubt appeases the American readership. Yet, the success, beyond blowing out the foremost Soviet OMG brigade, is deliberately left vague. Storywi

"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 GralianWayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs

wow. This book was absolutely amazing. I read it in four days (but only an hour or two a day!). Its all russians, which is cool. Its got every concievable character- tankers, infantryman, artilleryman, supplyers, generals, KGB officers, MiG pilots, Air-Assault Paratroopers, Reconnaissance Tankers, Engineers, Air defence troopers, and (of course) your local neighborhood political officer! ( but there are a couple who are actually good soldiers, and do their duty.). Its a great book, and a must have for anyone who likes the military or action. One definite plus is that it doesn't get into all of the technology details. The author simply says "tank" not a specific type-like Tom Clancy loves to do. Just read it, you won't be wasting your time, and it might just give you a whole new perspective on modern war!

I read this book when it first came out 12 years ago. I was working as a Battalion Intelligence operator at the time and was comparing doctrine of the forces involved. One main difference is that the Soviets reinforce success, wheras NATO would have to reinforce their weakest part of the line. A touted NATO advantage was their communcations system that would allow it to manouver units more quickly, which may have been a false assumption. Of all the books I've read, this is the best.Warfare is notoriously difficult to model, as small events may have great importance. On the other hand, capabilities of equipment and units are accurately known and not likely to change much in battle. While recognizing the differences in equipment and ways of employing it, Peters realizes that most professional soldiers have common characteristics. Some leaders are daring and intuitive, some are not. Making sure they are employed in the right spot is crucial, and again Peters shows that the Soviet professional development system is much like that of the West.By contrast, Clancy's Red Storm Rising makes it seem as if a handful of men can change the course of history by themselves. Coyle's Team Yankee makes the Americans invulnerable to Soviet attacks. Only Hackett's Third World War comes close to Red Army in what I believe could have happened. That's no surprise given Hackett's experience as NATO's ground commander.Since the Second World War westerners have fostered and been fed the idea of Russians as backward and without initiative. We have concentrated on Patton, Rommel and Montgomery as military geniuses without recognizing Rokossovsky, Koniev and Zhukov and that the Red Army defeated the Nazis and took Berlin. Ralph Peters simply puts human beings in charge of the Red Army.

I have read just about everything ever written by Tom Clancy, Larry Bond, and Howard Coyle. I enjoyed this book more than any of them. Only Clancy's _Red Storm Rising_ even comes close. The author's background in NATO gives him an edge on the competition.Of course, this is strictly a novel about war. It focuses entirely on the soldiers, not politics or technical details of specific weaponry. The fact that it's told from the Soviet point of view makes it all the more fascinating. Many war novels have had Soviet generals as characters; very few feature Soviet tank crews, infantry squads, artillerymen, etc.Don't let the outdated topic deter you. This is one of the best novels ever written. I've read it six times. In a word: outstanding.