John Erickson, an eminent authority on Soviet military history, is director of defense studies at the University of Edinburgh. Lynn Hansen is on leave of absence from Texas University as deputy head of the American delegation at the Stockholm Conference on Confidence and Security Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe. William Schneider (ret.) was liaison officer to the Commander-in-Chief, Group of Soviet Forces, Germany, and army attach in Moscow. He is now an assistant vice president of the BDM Corporation managing USSR-related studies.

• Foreword -- Introduction to the Soviet Ground Forces: An Operational Assessment -- The Evolution of the Soviet Ground Forces, 1941 - 1985 -- Soviet Operational Procedures -- Norms -- The Air Component -- Assessment of the Soviet Ground Forces -- A Few Words About Sources