The Soviet Airborne Experience

Deep battle, a majro element in both U.S. and Soviet doctrine, is a tenet that emphasizes destroying, suppressing, or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact, but throughout the depth of the battlefield. Airborne forces are a primary instrument to accomplish this type of operation. While the exploits of German, British, and American paratroops since 1940 are well known to most professional soldiers, the equivalent experience of the Soviet Union has been largely ignored -- except in the Soviet Union. There, the Red Army's airborne operations have become the focus of many recent studies by military theorists.