PARTISAN REVIEW
This brief account will, I
think,
be sufficient to give the reader
an idea of the morale of the Soviet army of occupation.
It
is no
great exaggeration to say that this army can hardly be considered an
effective fighting force. The high command knows
this.
Late
in
1947
I talked to a responsible officer of the political department, who did
not conceal from me his feeling that
in
the event of a serious conflict
with a Western power the Russian authorities would have to cope
with n'tass desertions.
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