 As Minister of Defense, Grechko helped modernize the Soviet Army, and was greatly responsible for maintaining the military strength of the Soviet state.As Defense minister, Grechko's most notable idea was his assumption that a Third World War would always go nuclear at some point, and as such he planned that if World War III did begin, to launch all-out nuclear strikes against the NATO nations the moment that the war began.For Grechko, nuclear weapons would be weapons of first resort in a world war, not weapons of last resort.