Central Intelligence Agency

“ Within the armed forces, continuing indoctrination is effected through political officers who are directly responsive to party influence. Control stems from a Deputy Minister for Political Affairs and extends downward through the lower echelons of command. The mission of the political officer are to provide political indoctrination for the troops and to assist the commander in conforming military developments in party interests. Political officers are also active in the party cells that exist for personnel in most headquarters, units, and schools. ”

“ Political Influence Throughout their existence, the armed forces have been dominated, directly or indirectly, by Soviet political and military ideology. Originally, Soviet control of the military establishment was exerted primarily through the Soviet Military Mission. ”

“ Until a universal military service law was passed in January 1962, recruiting efforts met considerable resistance, and various forms of coercion were occasionally used to stimulate "volunteer" recruitment. Since the adoption of conscription, however, the general attitude toward the military has improved, and the population is again beginning to show some pride in the armed forces. ”

“ Although the military districts are not tactical commands, they supervise and on occasion control all training programs. The military district commander is responsible for the combat preparedness of the units in his area. In wartime he probably would become a higher unit field commander, and personnel for his new headquarters would come largely from the military district headquarters staff. The military district headquarters would retain administrative and logistic responsibilities, as well as those involved with the wartime mobilization and preparedness of additional units for combat. ”

“ The country's highly developed telecommunications industry fills all the requirements of the armed forces except for radar and certain types of tactical radios. These and most other imported material are supplied by the Soviet Union.
Although East Germany is almost self-sufficient in the production of component parts for shipbuilding and its shipyards have the facilities and capability to produce large combatants, it has limited its naval production to submarine chasers, minesweepers, landing ships, motor torpedo boats, and auxiliaries, acquiring large combatants from the Soviet Union. ”

“ The naval forces have about 22,800 men in reserve, and the air forces have about 4,400.
Generally the morale of the armed forces is good. Morale of officers exceeds that of enlisted personnel, and the overall level in the naval and air forces is slightly higher than that of the ground forces. The political reliability of some personnel in the lower echelons is questionable. In the event of war, however, morale and reliability are not expected to be significant adverse factors unless ultimate defeat becomes apparent. ”

“ Small-unit training is carried out throughout the year when units are at home stations and conduct training at close-in training areas, with battalion-size units moving in the larger training areas. Regimental-size training occurs throughout the year to maintain readiness of the basic tactical maneuver elements. Large-scale field training exercises and command post exercises are now held at various times during the year. Personnel and equipment in the SCUD missile unit travel in the USSR for live-firing exercises. ”

“ Within the air defense district for the national air forces are two air defense zones and two air defense sectors. Zone headquarters coordinate operations of aircraft, SAM, AAA, and ACW radar, and sector headquarters provide air surveillance and filtered warning information. Early warning data are received from the East German and Soviet radar networks, army field forces radar, observation posts, and passive detection sources.
The largest operational air unit is the air defense division, of which there are two (both were formerly designated as fighter divisions) ”

“ Because of their proximity to the NATO forces, the East German ground forces are reportedly in a full state of readiness.
The organization of ground forces units follows the Soviet pattern. The line divisions were the first in the Eastern European Communist countries to be completely transformed into the Soviet-type motorized rifle and tank divisions. Equipment is mostly of Soviet design and manufacture. Training has improved markedly, steadily becoming more comprehensive and involving larger forces. The officer corps is capable and loyal. ”

“ The 12,000-man air forces are equipped with about 400 aircraft, of which 320 are jet fighters. The air defense component draws personnel from the ground forces to man surface-to-air missile (SAM) , anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) , and air control and warning (ACW) radar units; pilots and other air personnel for air defense are provided by the air forces.
The armed forces have a limited offensive capability, but in fulfillment of their mission of territorial defense, they are capable of defensive action against a Western force of eight to 10 divisions. ”

“ The militarized security forces consists of the Frontier Command, the Alert Police, and the Security Guard Regiment. These forces are organized into military units, and they are trained for small-unit combat in addition to their specialized infantry functions. ”

“ Indications are that operational combat training includes ground-controlled interception, air-to-air missile training, night and bad weather flying, and some training in support of ground troops; additional training includes participation in air defens exercises with the other services and Warsaw Pact countries. Senior air officers attend the Armed Forces Command and Staff School at Dresden. Especially qualified officers may be sent to the Zhukovskiy Academy in Moscow for 6 years of technical training; upon graduation they are awarded a graduate engineer diploma. ”

“ Organization a. Territorial Ground forces are administered and controlled through two military districts -- Military District III Headquarters at Leipzig is responsible for all units in the southern half of East Germany, and Military District V Headquarters at Neubrandenburg is responsible for units in the northern half. Each military district has its own support and service units, including an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft artillery regiment, a signal regiment, an anti-tank battalion, an engineer battalion, a motor transportation battalion, a chemical company, and service elements. ”

“ Regular navy personnel include 3,100 afloat, 4,500 staff and support ashore, 1,800 beach patrol troops, 1,700 trainees, 500 coastal warning types, 200 in a motorized communication battalion, 650 combat engineers, 700 coastal defense missile personnel, 100 in helicopters, 50 anti-aircraft personnel, and 700 police and guard types. About 10% of the regular navy personnel are officers. ”

“ Naval ships and craft acquired from the USSR has included Riga class destroyer escorts, Osa class large guided missile patrol boats, P-6 class motor torpedo boats, one Shershen class fast patrol boat, and one Baskunchak class small transport oiler.
East German naval ships and craft are repaired mainly at the at Rostock, yard at Gehlsdorf and at the at Wolgast. Most materials and component parts for ships and craft are purchased domestically; however, some steel plates are imported from the USSR. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands provide East Germany with some electronic equipment. ”

“ Selected personnel attend Soviet technical schools for advance training, and East German SAM units travel to the USSR on a scheduled basis for live firing exercises. SAM units maintain proficiency through missile training and participation in joint air defense exercises.
4. Logistics The East German depend on the Soviet Union for sophisticated aircraft. East German industry does provide, however, some of the specialized air forces equipment and most of the general supply items needed by the air forces. ”

“ Approximately 60% of those who complete their training are assigned as fighter pilots, and the remainder become transport pilots. Officer and noncommissioned ground technical support receive training at the air technical school at Kamenz Airfield. Primary field training is given at both Bautzen and Kamenz Airfields. Prior to being assigned to fighter regiments for operational training, student pilots are commissioned as junior lieutenants. They then receive their transitional and combat training at Rothenburg airfield. ”

“ Uniforms Ground force uniforms may be divided into four basic categories: dress, semi-dress, field-service, and work. Styling of the uniforms is essentially the same for all ranks; major differences are evidenced only in the quality of materials. The semi-dress uniform, formally entitled the "walking-out" uniform, is most frequently observed. Since January 1965, career senior noncommissioned officers have been permitted to wear officer-type uniforms. ”

“ Under these regulations, students in universities and technical schools are given Reserve Officer Training Corps-type training during the school term and additional training in camp with military units during the summer. With the enactment of a conscription law in January 1962, the reserve program was revised. Reservists are divided into two categories. Category I includes all men through the age of 35 years who have not previously served or who have served as enlisted men or company-grade officers, and men up to age 60 who have served as officers above company-grade. ”

“ A high premium is placed on careful maintenance. Command inspections are frequent, and maintenance schools for all types of equipment are conducted for officers and enlisted personnel. There are automotive repair shops, mobile machine shops, and signal repair ships at lower echelons. The timely accomplishment of maintenance at fixed rear area installations has been substantially improved in recent years. Maintenance is of a high order, although hampered occasionally by shortages of spare parts. ”

“ The Alert Police are organized into 21 Bereitschaften, usually referred to as regiments although they are closer to battalion strength. These regiments, under the control of district People's Police Headquarters, are located in each of the 14 administrative districts and in East Berlin; in areas where trouble is likely to occur, there is more than one such unit. Total strength of the Alert Police is approximately 11,000. ”

“ Militarized security forces, in addition to the 49,500-man Frontier Command under the Minister for National Defense, include the 11,000-man Alert Police under the Minister of Interior and the 3,500-man Security Guard Regiment under the Minister for State Security. ”

“ There are about 500 personnel in coastal defense missile units on Rurgen island, largely concentrated around Borgen, and another 230 at Schwarzeapfust, near Wassentactule. These units have been employing the SAMLET, but apparently this missile is being phased out and replaced by a new but yet to be identified missile.
Most of the naval ships are relatively small units designed primarily for service in coastal waters. Combat ship strength includes two destroyer escorts, 230 patrol ships, 37 minesweepers, and 28 amphibious ships and craft. ”

“ Strength, Composition, and Disposition Personnel strength of the Air Forces and Air Defense Command is 19,500. In the aviation component there are 12,000 men, of whom slightly over 600 are pilots in operational units. Personnel in SAM units number about 4,700, and the ACW radar units have about 2,600. (In the GSFG, air personnel number about 32,700, and there are more than 10,000 SAM and ACW radar personnel.) ”

“ The deputy for the air forces concerns himself with plans, flight instruction, maintenance, research and development, transports and helicopters, and the direction of activities relating to air matters in the Society for Sport and Technology. ”

“ The naval and air force have had some increase and in 1973 stood at 17,500 and 12,000 men, respectively. Barring an international crisis, no significant increase is expected in the strength of the armed forces. ”

“ Requirements for all ground forces general and specialized supplies are coordinated through the rear services apparatus, which is also generally responsible for storage and issue to tactical echelons. ”

“ The average number of males reaching military age (18) annually during the period 1973 through 1976 is expected to be about 132,000.
Before passage of the conscription law in January 1962, East Germany was the only Eastern European Communist country without compulsory service. ”

“ These forces are organized into seven SAM regiments consisting of 20 battalions. A battalion mans one site and is one fire unit. The GSFG has nine SA-2 SAM regiments consisting of 27 battalions and, together with the German-manned firing sites, provide adequate air defense cover of East Germany. In addition to the SA-2 forces, the Soviets have deployed 20 SA-3 units to provide low-altitude air defense of airfields occupied by Soviet aircraft. ”

“ Its mission is to provide protection for visiting dignitaries and key government personnel, to guard sensitive buildings, and to provide the honor guard for visitors. It is organized into five battalions and has some support units. Personnel receive basic infantry training and participate in periodic field training exercises. ”