With America and her allies engaged in bitter fighting on the Korean peninsula against a Soviet client state, U.S. Army Major General Edward E. MacMorland recalled his experiences some forty-odd years earlier when he was a field grade officer fighting the nascent Soviet Army:
"It was a tough and surprisingly well-equipped enemy that our soldiers faced in this region: the 6th Bolshevik Army, which - although varying in strength from month to month (and almost from week-to-week) never fell below 16,000 men, or slightly more than the Allies could muster at their peak strength. The Communists operated in small companies of about 80 men, most of them draftees (it was join or be shot, Red prisoners told us)."
"Not only was their equipment as good as ours, but frequently their artillery was better, numerically, anyhow. It was manned by well-trained Germans, either forced into service or serving voluntarily. On the whole, the Red morale appeared to be good. Their troops at the front were relieved every two days when the Bolsheviks could afford it; if not, whenever it was possible."
- from Amazon:
Why Did We Go to Russia? by Harry Costello
