Soviet Union - Preparedness for War. Report

Armed Forces (c) The Soviet armed forces, despite certain deficiencies, could embark on a land war at any time, and would at least in the early stages have the advantage of numbers against any likely combination of opposing forces. Until 1955/60, however, this advantage would be progressively offset, in a protracted war, by Russia's economic insufficiency and her inferiority in atomic weapons. New Weapons (d) As regards atomic weapons, we consider it unlikely that the Soviet Union will possess, before the end of 1956 at the very earliest, a sufficient stock of bombs to produce a decisive result, by these means only, even against the United Kingdom alone.