"In the last forty years, no one has done
more damage to communism than that Pole."
- - William Casey.
Never even heard of this man until just a few days ago. And came across the wiki entry quite by chance. This should not be?
Ryszard Kuklinski a senior officer of the Polish military under communism and for a critical period of ten years also a spy for the CIA without peer?
Ryszard [Richard] Kuklinski. One of the most devastating spies in all of history? And unheralded too!
"Ryszard Jerzy Kukliński (June 13, 1930 – February 11, 2004) was a Polish colonel and Cold War spy. He passed top secret Warsaw Pact documents to the CIA between 1971 and 1981"
"Between 1971 and 1981 he passed 35,000 pages of mostly Soviet secret documents to the CIA."
"Kukliński was the chief of a military strategic command planning division of the Polish army, he was the liaison between the Polish army and the command of the Soviet military . . . While details of the general plans for the Warsaw Pact forces were known only in Moscow, Kukliński could infer much from his contacts at the Moscow high command headquarters."
Able to infer much and pass this info on to the CIA. The plans of the Soviet High Command for the invasion of NATO territory and western Europe, the move most feared by NATO planners, "Big Red moves west!!"
A blitzkrieg style offensive of Warsaw Pact forces spearheaded by the Groups of Soviet Forces Germany, two Fronts operating in unison, the subsequent echelons of Soviet might to include tank armies and groups of tank armies. An overwhelming and massive force that NATO only could counter by the threatened use of tactical nuclear weaponry. CONVENTIONAL MILITARY FORCE NOT ABLE TO STOP THE SOVIET INVASION, world domination by Soviet communism being the result.
Thanks to the info as presented to the CIA by Kuklinski, an analysis and more correct understanding of Soviet strategy became most apparent. WITH ALL THE WEAKNESSES MADE MANIFEST!
Thanks to Kuklinski, NATO was able to develop strategies, doctrines, tactics to counter a Soviet onslaught that DID NOT rely upon the use of nukes? That period of the 1970's saw NATO move away from a nuclear deterrent to a more nuanced and CONVENTIONAL response to the Soviet threat?
Stopping "Big Red" was now possible, and doing so without having to use atomic weaponry? All thanks to Kuklinski [at least in large measure!].
Strategy, doctrine, and tactics as adopted by NATO to include:
* Counter-blitzkrieg.
* Deep Strike.
* AirLand Battle 2000.
I am inferring too much here? It would be interesting to know to what extent U.S. Army planners were influenced by the intelligence as provided by Kuklinski? Perhaps someday the record will be made clear?
The degree of animus and hate as directed by the Soviet/Russians seems to have been very strong. Incredibly so even. The two sons of Ryszard died under mysterious circumstances and Ryszard was provoked during an interview in a deliberate manner to such an extent that he died form a subsequent stroke! This man and his family were hunted and killed as retribution for the major damage he did? This is not made clear.
coolbert.
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A year ago (or so) I've seen Polish documentary on Kuklinski (unfortunately I don't remember it's title).
Anyway, there were interviews with former and current high-level CIA and military officials. What have stricken me, was that nearly all of them were moved, when telling 'what Ryszard have done" and one or two even burst to tears. Now, you don't see seasoned CIA offical crying to often....
Of course none of them divulged on what exactly Kuklinski told them, but we can deduct a few things.
1. Russian strategy was based on conventional military forces, as you've pointed out.
2. They were willing to sacrifice the first 'strategic wave' during the initial nuclear exchange.
Now, in such case they would have a problem. As most of their initial wave of attack (based on Soviet forces located in bases in it's satellites - eg. GRD, Poland) was relatively small and would be destroyed and the bulk of their forces would be at least a thousands kilometers away from Western Europe and dispersed around the whole Soviet Union. Massing them, and crossing through nuclear wasteland, contaminated with nerve gases that GDR and Poland would become after the initial nuke exchange would not be easy feat, nor sound military strategy.
How to remedy this problem? Well, Soviets had a long history of quelling unrest in it's satellites - and most European countries were fine with that. They treated these interventions as internal matter of the Eastern Block (at least they did nothing, save for issuing 'notes of protest').
So in 1956 massive Soviet forces invade Hungary, and after some time they withdrew.
Then in 1968 they quelled Prague Spring with massive invasion. And as in 1956 they withdrew after some time.
The '70s in Soviet Union were not good. Their economy was in constant crisis and the technological gap between them and NATO was growing deeper and deeper. Their weapons were less and less worthy with each year that passed. They had to act, or reconcile with defeat (which they eventually did with the dissolution of USSR).
The '70s in Poland were time of great unrest. The economy was in collapse, inflation was skyrocketing and wages were frozen. It was a recipe for revolution and Soviet strategists knew that sooner or later they would have a reason to invade.
Like with Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
But this time things would be different.
They would not stop, but perform surprise nuclear strike and invade the Europe. There were quite a few versions of this plan. Some assumed that only tactical nukes would be used (unless Western powers attacked with ICMBs first). Some other proposed all-out nuclear war. There were more conservative plans, where France (and even UK) would not be invaded, and others which assumed conquering of the whole Western Europe.
Some well informed people claim that we were close to such scenario in 1981. Fortunately Reagan (basing on intelligence passed by Kuklinski) played "in open cards" with Soviets and basically told that he knows what their strategic plans are and that invasion of Poland would mean WW3.
Maybe some day, in 50 or 100 years from now, the secret clauses would be lifted and will know this for sure. For now this is only speculation, however facts are pointing that this is quite close to what really happened and to what COULD HAVE HAPPENED.
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