APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00020011022-9
merchant marine comprised 138 ships and, in terms of deadweight tonnage, ranked 23d among the merchant fleets of the world. The fleet plies shipping routes reaching all continents and in 1971 transported 4.8 million long tons of cargo in seaborne trade; this trade is adequately served by five major and 12 minor ports on the Baltic Sea and on rivers flowing into the Baltic.
The rail, highway, and inland waterway systems provide international connections with all adjacent countries. Although border-crossing points are controlled, restrictions have been eased in recent years and more crossings are being opened to civilian traffic.
West Berlin, about 100 miles from West Germany in rail or highway, has a unique transportation problem, because access in the city by highway, rail, and inland waterway is via the systems of East Germany. Access is limited to established checkpoints, and strict control over entry is maintained by East German and Soviet authorities. Military surface traffic moving to West Berlin for support of the Western garrison is restricted to one highway and one rail route between Helmstedt, West Germany, and Berlin. Air traffic, both civil and military, is limited to three air corridors.
Plans to improve and expand transportation facilities are reflected in continuing economic programs initiated by the government. However, progress on completing various projects has been slow because of insufficient resources and poor management; as a result, most development and improvement is being done on a priority basis. Railroad projects underway include increasing the automation of facilities, double tracking main-line segments that are now single track, laying heavier rails on main lines, and gradually replacing remaining steam locomotives with diesel or electric units. Highways—mainly primary routes—are being improved by widening narrow segments, resurfacing or rebuilding surfaces, strengthening and widening bridges, eliminating rail crossings, and realigning sharp curves. A major construction project underway is the extension of the autobahn system, with priority being given to completing a route from Berlin to the port of Rostock. Although inland waterway development has a lower priority, some improvement is taking place, in particular the expansion and modernization of major ports and construction of a container terminal at Riesa; long-range waterway development plans tie in with an overall program enunciated by the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA), which aims to interconnect the Elbe, Oder, and Danube rivers. The maritime port of Rostock is scheduled to be developed further by the addition of new container terminals and construction of an offshore oil terminal to accommodate supertankers. The merchant marine fleet is expected to continue growing and by 1975 number 200 ships totaling 1.8 million deadweight tons. The pipeline network is being expanded with over 100 miles of new lines, recently completed is the 16-mile East German segment of an international CEMA crude-oil line paralleling an existing line that extends from U.S.S.R. oilfields to East Germany's largest refinery at Schwedt.
The telecom system, which provides domestic and international telephone, telegraph, radiobroadcast, and TV services is adequate. There are over 2.1 million telephones and about 6 million radio sets. TV reaches more than 90% of the population. Telegraph services are available to 23 countries and to West Berlin. Current telecom development plans include automating completely the domestic and international telephone system and expanding TV facilities.
B. Strategic mobility (S)
East Germany's major transportation routes, together with its port and airfield installations, could adequately support military logistical operations (Figure 1). The overall transportation complex, however, has certain deficiencies that would impose limitations on any large-scale supply and movement of military forces. Because of the uneven areal distribution of routes, motorized forces are afforded greater mobility in the central and southern parts of the country, where transportation networks are denser than those in the north.
The main rail and highway routes provide for rapid deployment of military forces to all regions and into bordering countries as well. Capabilities of these routes, however, are limited by such factors as the high proportion of single-track rail lines, narrow stretches of highway, and the insufficiency of alternate primary routes, particularly in the northern regions. Chief vulnerable points on the rail and highway networks are the major bridges, especially structures over the Elbe and Oder/Neisse river systems.
The waterway network, although limited in its area distribution, nevertheless affords significant logistical-support routes. Main waterways form an integral part of the international routes that transit East Germany to link Poland and Czechoslovakia with West Germany; these waterways lend themselves to Warsaw Pact logistical support of extended military operations, because they are capable of moving large amounts of rations, POL (petroleum, oil, lubricants), ammunition, construction materials, and equipment. Most
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00020011022-9
