4. Border guards and transport troops, forming part of the Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs, receive regular military training and discipline and should be considered in estimating the total military effectiveness of the Soviet Union. They amount to about 200,000 men.
Relative Strengths
5. Comparisons between the military Power of the Soviet Union and its neighbors can be made by assuming that the strength of standing armies measures roughly the ability of each nation to carry out immediately its military objectives when an emergency arises. Comparisons made on the basis of the relative strength of standing armies are not conclusive since some nations have vastly more economic reserves and manpower reserves than others. Such reserves are effective, however, only after the initial mobilization has taken place and the initial military moves have been made. In past wars this initial phase, sometimes called the "first echelon of mobilization", has occupied the the two to four months following the outbreak of hostilities.
6. The figure of 1,300,000 for the RKKA may be compared with the following approximate figures for the standing armies of the various neighbors of the Soviet Union:
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