Materials from the 4th Army for the Exercise Critique Group for Soyuz-75

 [Translator's note: the following document was apparently written in Russian by a Pole and contains a grammatical error typical of Polish speakers, such as the replacement of a verb by an adverb. This has been corrected in the translation]

HQ OF THE 4^TH ARMY OF THE POLISH ARMY

[Original Polish receipt and

declassification stamps]

MATERIALS

FROM THE 4^TH ARMY FOR THE EXERCISE CRITIQUE GROUP FOR

SOYUZ-75

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK OF STAFFS

The work of front and army staffs is built on the principle of parallel and simultaneous development of source data and the documents necessary for a correct assessment of the situation and optimal decision-making by the commanding general and has improved the efficiency of the work of the 4^th Army staff.

All tasks - maps, decisions, reports, orders, instructions, plans, etc. were carried out competently and in a timely fashion in spite of the sharply reduced personnel of the staff.

2. GRAPHIC FORMS OF REPRESENTING THE DECISIONS BEING MADE

A method of graphic representation of the assessment of the situation, the concept of the operation, and its comprehensive support has been widely used in the work of the 4^th Army.

As a result, the clarity and communicativeness of the decisions being made has increased.

3. THE PRESENTATION OF SUBSTANTIVE OPERATIONAL TACTICAL ISSUES IN THE COURSE OF THE EXERCISE

The presentation of the important issues of a modern field of battle during an exercise, even if they are on a tactical scale, has been adopted as the standing method. For example:

- the organization of the performance of combat assignments by the surviving forces with the simultaneous restoration of the combat effectiveness of the troops which were subjected to enemy nuclear strikes;

- the organization of a strike group and the commitment of second echelons and reserves;

- the repulsion of counterblows and enemy counterattacks;

- the organization of the protection of the seacoast by troops of the Army on a broad front, etc.

These measures allow the knowledge of all those participating in the exercise to be improved and for a specific stage of the operation to be more efficiently planned.

4. RADIOELECTRONIC WARFARE

A method of comprehensively approaching the problems of radioelectronic warfare and defense has been developed and introduced into the staff's work. In addition to the staff workers who are specialists, all chiefs of troop arms and services participate in the development of planned measures, taking the specifics of each troops arm into consideration.

As experience has shown, such an approach to the complex issues of radioelectronic warfare assures optimal planning and subsequent proper actions.

5. NEW ELEMENTS IN ORGANIZING THE DEFENSE OF THE SEACOAST

Bearing in mind experience in the problems of organizing the defense of the seacoast the 4^th Army and the Maritime Military District have decided to build a 500 km defense of the North Sea on the principle of concentrating the main forces in depth and operating in two or three sectors.

In addition provision has been made for the use of PPOZ (mobile maritime obstacle detachments) consisting of a combat engineer company and an amphibious transport company.

6. THE WIDESCALE USE OF STANDARDIZED DOCUMENTS

The staff of the Maritime Military District developed a number of standardized documents in Russian - instructions, orders, plans for troop arms and services, etc. - which were widely used in the SOYUZ-75 exercise and ensured the timely accomplishment of missions and made work easier.

7. THE USE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY BY THE 4^TH ARMY IN THE SOYUZ-75 EXERCISE

Qualitatively new elements appeared in the area of the use of computer technology which made the work of the 4^th Army staff noticeably easier in the SOYUZ-75 exercise. For the first time at such a great distance (DRESDEN-BYDGOSZCZ) work at the fixed Information Processing Center was organized with complete success, inputting source data into the CP of the 4^th Army and transmitting back information processed on a computer with the use of the A-2 UTD-1200 "KACHENETS" (a data-transmission device) with a high-speed electronic printing device. Thanks to them the time to process information was sharply reduced.

The SOYUZ-75 exercise confirmed in practice the ability and advisability of organizing the electronic processing of information at the Army CP in field conditions on the basis of a stationary computer and the UTD-1200 A-2 "KACHENETS".

The staff of the 4^th Army used [them] 65 times to solve calculation and computing problems with a computer, receiving 72 versions of summary information from the computer center.

The sharp reduction in time (information input and output), the uninterrupted operation of the electronic equipment, especially the UTD-1200, and the experience gained by officers of the Army staff, troop arms, and services were an accomplishment of the 4^th Army staff in the SOYUZ-75 exercise.

8. THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES OF THE TECHNICAL SERVICES

Three previously existing Army maintenance and service battalions have been replaced by one ARB (Army repair base). The adoption of the new organizational structure has increased the efficiency of management, organization, and repair.

Technical servicing and missile preparation platoons have been supplied with distributors and also missile preparation personnel [sostavy], thereby creating the ability to prepare three missiles instead of one right in the missile brigade.

9. THE USE OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENTS ON ENEMY TERRITORY

The previously worked-out questions about the use of such infrastructure elements on enemy territory as oil pipelines, communications arteries, warehouses, repair shops, medical and other facilities for military purposes [were used] for the first time on such a wide scale in planning an operation.

10. OVERALL CONCLUSION

The rich experience gained in the SOYUZ-75 exercise will be widely used in training the staffs and troops of the Maritime Military District.

COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE 4^TH ARMY

/signature/

Division General Wojciech BARANSKI