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"Have pity on the commander without a good plan. If we have done anything correctly, it was to plan and plan and plan. Frankly, excessive planning may not work in the industrial base. But there is no alternative on the battlefield. Perhaps the difference is between problems of sequential efforts and problems of simultaneity. But I have seen the results with my own eyes. Maintain the momentum now, the momentum of the plan.

Don't let up. If the enemy has a plan, don't allow him time to begin its implementation. Make him react until his efforts grow so eccentric that he loses all unity in his conceptions. Ram your plan down his throat."

Malinsky settled back into his chair, smiling with sudden gentleness.

"But I'm lecturing. And to you, of all people, Pavel Pavlovitch. Tell me about your computers. How are we doing in the new dimension of warfare?" Malinsky asked, boyish mischief in his voice.

"Frankly," Chibisov said, "there have been many disappointments.

The computers in themselves are reliable enough, but the human factor is too slow. And the amount of data that must be transmitted strains even our best communications means. I believe, Comrade Front Commander, 152

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that I personally missed an important consideration. Along with allowances in the plan for such traditional measures as refueling, resupplying the units with ammunition, feeding soldiers, reorganizations, and the like, contemporary plans should also include the factor of programming and reprogramming. You recall how many officers, most of whom were simply afraid of the new technology, insisted that all of the comprehensive data accounts would be thrown out or would disappear on the first day of the war. To a limited extent, they were correct. The systems in our possession have proved to have only limited capabilities under the stress of combat, and some have failed. Yet those who denigrated automation and the volume of information to which we became accustomed were only correct in the most superficial and even tragic respects. While some of the systems and capabilities 'went away,' the requirements for the information itself are even greater than expected. We considered the symptoms, not the disease. Modern warfare is increasingly dependent upon massive amounts of highly accurate information, for targeting, for intelligence, for the rear services . . . even for the making of fundamental decisions. Those who cling to the past have made the mistake of believing that if you destroy the machinery, you destroy the need for the product.

Certainly not an error a good Marxist-Leninist should make. On the other hand, too many of us fell in love with the machines themselves, confusing the relationship of means to ends. And no one from either camp fully realized the extent to which modern war would be waged on the basis of massive quantities of data." Somber at the end of his assessment, Chibisov dropped his eyes away from Malinsky's piercing gaze. "In the end, I've failed you, the army, and the Party. It all seems so clear, so obvious now, looking back."

"All of your preparation is being rewarded, my friend," Malinsky said.

Chibisov winced at the unexpected choice of words. "All of the work you've done is in evidence out there." Malinsky waved his hand at the map. "I know you're having trouble with the computers. I've heard the same thing from everyone. But you're honest about it, which is a terribly hard thing for a true believer. Just use the machines within their limits now. I suspect they've already done their jobs in the preparatory phases.

Perhaps the next war will be theirs. We're still in a transitional period.

And now we're leaving the realm of strict military science. Now it's a matter of military art. And of strength of will."

"Comrade Front Commander," Chibisov began. There was an uneasy, stilted formality in his voice as he searched for the right tone. He had been caught totally off guard by the piercing word "friend." "I under-153

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stand that your last stop was at Starukhin's forward command post. Shall I nonetheless review our perception of the Third Shock Army's situation as we see it from here?"

Malinsky's face tensed into a frown. "Starukhin! You know, he's down there shouting at his staff at the top of his lungs. I don't really understand how it works myself. One commander might shout and shout and only degrade the performance of his subordinates. Starukhin barks, and things happen. It's an amazing phenomenon. I suspect such behavior was better suited to the temperaments of past generations. But it still works for Starukhin. But I'm worried. A crisis up in Trimenko's sector could be locally contained. It is, in effect, built into the plan. But Starukhin has to come through. We must break through in the center. I've given him permission to commit his second-echelon divisions tonight. We'll pile it on, if that's what it takes. Clearly, subtlety doesn't work very well with the British. They're very stubborn boys."