Виктор Суворов. Советская Армия: взгляд изнутри (engl)
страница №4
...delivers his main thrust. The operations of the SAM sub-units and of theinterceptor aircraft are supported by radar battalions and companies which
are subordinated both to the divisional commander himself and to the
commanding officers of the division's SAM units.
An ADF corps commander organises coverage of the target he is
protecting in precisely the same way. To protect the main installation
itself he has one ADF division. Both he and his divisional commander are
involved in the defence of the same installation. Two or three SAM brigades
are moved forward to cover the sectors which are under greatest threat,
while SAM regiments are deployed in less endangered areas. One air regiment
is under the direct command of the corps commander, for long-range use or
for operations in the area in which the enemy delivers his main attack. If
the SAM sub-units are put out of action, the corps commander can at any time
make use of his fighter regiment to cover an area in which a breakthrough is
threatened. Thus there are two air regiments with each ADF Corps, one at the
disposal of the ADF divisional commander, the other for use by the corps
commander. A corps contains three or four SAM brigades, one with the ADF
division, the others at the disposal of the corps commander, covering the
approaches to the divisional position. In a corps there are five or six SAM
regiments, two or three of which are used in the division's main sector, the
remainder in the secondary sectors of the corps area. Lastly, the corps
commander himself has a radar regiment, in addition to the radar forces of
his subordinates.
An ADF Army commander, too, is responsible for the protection of a
single key objective and has an ADF corps to cover it. In addition, an Army
has two or three independent ADF divisions, each of which provides cover for
its own key installation and also defends the main approaches to the key
objective guarded by the Army. Independent SAM brigades are deployed in the
secondary sectors of the Army's area. An Army commander also has two air
regiments (one with aircraft for high-altitude operations, the other with
long-range interceptors) and his own radar installations (including
over-the-horizon radars).
An ADF District is similar in structure. The key objective is covered
by an Army. Two or three independent ADF corps are deployed in the sectors
under greatest threat while the less endangered areas are covered by ADF
divisions, each of which, of course, has a key objective of its own. The
District Commander also has two interceptor air regiments under his command
and radar detection facilities, including very large aircraft equipped with
powerful radars.
The nerve centre--Moscow--is, of course, covered by an ADF District;
the main approaches to this District by ADF Armies and the secondary sectors
by ADF corps. Each District and Army has, of course, the task of covering a
key installation of its own.
The ADF contains two ADF Districts. Something must be said about the
reasons for the existence of the second of these--the Baku District. Unlike
the Moscow District, the Baku ADF District does not have a key target to
protect. The fact that Baku produces oil is irrelevant: twenty-four times as
much oil is produced in the Tatarstan area as in Baku. The Baku ADF District
looks southwards, covering a huge area along the frontiers, which is
unlikely to be attacked. Several of the armies of the ADF (the 9th, for
instance), have considerably greater combat resources than the whole Baku
District. It is, however, because of the need to watch such a huge area, a
task for which an ADF Army has insufficient capacity, that a District was
established there.
All in all, the ADF is the most powerful system of its sort in the
world. It has at its disposal not only the largest quantity of equipment but
in some respects the best equipment in the world. At the beginning of the
1980s the MIG-25 interceptor was the fastest in the world and the S-200 had
the largest yield and the greatest range of any surface-to-air missile. In
the period since the war the Soviet Air Defence Forces have shown their
strength on many occasions. They did this most strikingly on 1 May, 1960, by
shooting down an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, a type regarded until
then as invulnerable, because of the incredible height at which it could
operate. There is no doubt that the Soviet Air Defence Forces are the most
experienced in the world. What other system can boast of having spent as
many years fighting the most modern air force in the world as the Soviet ADF
system in Vietnam?
In the mid-1970s some doubt arose as to its reliability when a South
Korean aircraft lost its way and flew over Soviet Arctic territory for some
considerable time before being forced down by a Soviet SU-15 interceptor.
However, the reasons for this delay can be fully explained; we have noted
that interceptor aircraft do not represent the main strength of the ADF,
which lies in its surface-to-air missiles. The territory across which the
lost aircraft flew was quite unusually well-equipped with SAMs, but there is
simply no reason to use them against a civil aircraft. At the same time,
because of the deep snow which lay in the area, hardly any interceptors were
stationed there. Their absence was compensated for by an abnormally large
number of SAMs, ready to shoot down any military aircraft. In this unusual
situation, once the invader had been found to be a civil aircraft, it became
necessary to use an interceptor brought from a great distance. This aircraft
took off from Lodeynoye Polye and flew more than 1,000 kilometres, in
darkness, to meet the intruder. In an operational situation it would not
have been necessary to do this. It would be simpler to use a rocket.
Nevertheless, despite everything, the ADF has its Achilles heel. The
fastest aircraft are flown by men who detest socialism with all their
hearts. The pilot Byelenko is by no means unique in the ADF.
The Land Forces
1
The Land Forces are the oldest, the largest and the most diversified of
the Services making up the Armed Forces of the Red Army. In peacetime their
strength totals approximately 2 million, but mobilisation would bring them
up to between 21 and 23 million within ten days.
They contain seven arms of service:
Motor-rifle Troops
Tank Troops
Artillery and Rocket Troops of the Land Forces
Air Defence Troops of the Land Forces
Airborne Assault Troops
Diversionary Troops (Spetsnaz)
Fortified Area Troops
The existence of the last three is kept secret.
In their organisation and operational strength, the Land Forces can be
seen as a scaled-down model of the entire Soviet Armed Forces. Just take a
look at their structure: the Strategic Rocket Forces are subordinated to the
Stavka; the Land Forces have their own rocket troops; the Air Defence Forces
are subordinated to the Stavka; the Land Forces have their own air defence
troops. They also have their own aircraft, which are independent of the Air
Forces. The Air Defence Forces, in their numbers and equipment the strongest
in the world, are subordinated to the Stavka; the Land Forces also have
their own airborne troops which, using the same yardstick, are the second
strongest in the world.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces has no more than an
administrative function. His headquarters contains neither an Operational
nor an Intelligence Directorate. All operational planning is carried out by
the mixed commands of the Fronts, Strategic Directions or General Staff. The
Commander-in-Chief's responsibilities are limited to the equipment,
provisioning and training of his forces. However, despite the fact that he
has no responsibility for the direction of operations the C-in-C Land Forces
is still a highly influential administrator. Clearly, anyone who is
responsible for the development and supply of forty-one Armies, including
eight Tank Armies deserves respect.
The Commanders of the various arms of service of the Land Forces, too,
have purely administrative functions. The direction of operations, as we
already know, is the function of mixed all-arms commands, which are not
subordinated for this function to either the C-in-C or the Commanders of
individual arms of service.
2
The Motor-Rifle Troops
Each motor-rifle section has a strength of eleven. One man acts as
assistant to the rocket launcher and is jokingly referred to as the missile
transporter. He does indeed carry three rockets, in a satchel. Each of these
has a warhead capable of penetrating the armour of any modern tank, booster
and sustainer engines, a spin stabiliser, a turbine, a fin assembly and a
tracer compound.
His are not the only rockets in the section. It is also equipped with
anti-aircraft rockets with seeker heads, which enable them to distinguish
hostile aircraft from friendly ones and to destroy them. In addition, the
section has four 9-M-14 `Malyutka' rockets which have an automatic guidance
system. All this in one infantry section.
The section's BMP-1 combat vehicle has an automatic 73mm gun and three
machine guns and has sufficient fire-power, manoeuvrability and protection
to take on any modern light tank. The section also has three radio sets,
sensors for the detection of radioactivity and gas and other complex devices
in addition to its ordinary infantry equipment.
At this, the lowest, level, we find not a true infantry formation but a
hybrid of tank, anti-tank, SAM, chemical, sapper and other sub-units.
The infantry is the oldest of the arms of service. All the remainder
originated later and were developed as additions or reinforcements to the
infantry. From our examination of the infantry section we see that the
modern infantry is an arm of service which, even at its lowest level, has
absorbed elements of many others.
The concept of the infantry, not as cannon fodder, but as the framework
of the entire Armed Forces, the skeleton on which the whole of the remainder
develops, has been held for a long time by Soviet generals. After the last
war, all Soviet infantry officer training schools were renamed Officer Cadet
Academies, and began to turn out, not run-of-the-mill platoon commanders,
but commanders with a wide range of knowledge, able to organise cooperation
between all arms of service in the battlefield, in order to ensure joint
success.
It is for this reason that today's officers are not called either
infantry or motor-rifle commanders, but all-arms commanders.
The organisation of a normal Soviet regiment which, by tradition, is
still called a motor-rifle regiment, is as follows:
Command headquarters
Reconnaissance company
Signals company
Tank battalion (three companies)
Three motor-rifle battalions (each of three companies and one automatic
mortar battery)
A battalion of self-propelled howitzers (three fire batteries and one
control battery)
A battery of Grad-P multiple rocket launchers
A SAM battery
An engineer company
A chemical defence company
A maintenance company
A motor transport company
In all, the regiment has 27 companies, only 9 of which are motor-rifle
companies. It is significant that, in a so-called `motor-rifle' regiment,
there are 10 artillery battery commanders--that is to say, one more than the
number of motor-rifle company commanders.
If we move a little higher, to the level of a division, we find that,
surprisingly, it is still referred to as a `motor-rifle' division. We will
look at the organisation of a motor-rifle division later; for the present we
will simply note that it contains a total of 165 companies and batteries. Of
these only 28 are motor-rifle companies; it also has 23 tank companies and
67 artillery batteries (mortar, anti-aircraft and rocket). The remainder is
made up of reconnaissance, signal and engineer, chemical and other
companies.
The motor-rifle troops make up the bulk of the Soviet forces.
Organisationally, they consist of 123 divisions and of an additional 47
regiments, which form part of the complement of tank divisions. In addition,
there are motor-rifle battalions serving in fortified areas and also with
the Navy's marine infantry brigades.
In peacetime motor-rifle sub-units are divided into those with normal
equipment (armoured personnel carriers) and those equipped with infantry
combat vehicles (BMPs). This is today's version of the age-old division
between light and heavy infantry, between grenadiers and chasseurs.
In theory all motor-rifle regiments in tank divisions and one regiment
in each motor-rifle division should be equipped with BMPs. In practice, this
depends upon the output of the defence industries and upon their ability to
supply combat equipment to the forces. In many inland military districts
divisions have not received the BMPs allocated to them. By contrast,
divisions stationed in East Germany have two rather than one BMP regiment.
Sub-units equipped with BMPs have much greater fire- and striking-power
than their normal motor-rifle equivalents. This is not only because a BMP
has better protection, armament and manoeuvrability than an armoured
personnel carrier. BMP sub-units also have far more supporting weapons. For
instance, a motor-rifle battalion stationed on Soviet territory has a mortar
platoon. An equivalent BMP battalion has a battery instead of a platoon.
Moreover, these are not standard but automatic mortars, and they are
self-propelled rather than towed. A standard motor-rifle regiment has a
howitzer battery, or in some cases a battalion of towed howitzers. A BMP
regiment has a howitzer battalion equipped with self-propelled amphibious
howitzers and a further battery of `Grad-P' multiple rocket launchers.
BMP sub-units are the first to receive new anti-tank, anti-aircraft,
engineering and communications equipment. They are, in fact, the trump suit
in the pack.
3
The Tank Forces
The Tank Forces represent the main striking power of the Land Forces.
Their organisation is simple and well-defined. Every unit commander has his
own tank assault force, of a size appropriate to his position. The commander
of a motor-rifle regiment has a tank battalion at his disposal. The
commander of a motor-rifle division has his own tank regiment. An Army
commander has one tank division and a Front Commander a Tank Army. Finally,
the Commander-in-Chief of a Strategic Direction has a Group of Tank Armies.
Combat operations at each level are organised according to established
principles. An advance by a motor-rifle regiment is, essentially, an advance
by a tank battalion which is supported by all the other battalions and
companies of the regiment. This principle applies at all levels. You could,
in fact, say that an advance by a Strategic Direction is really a
break-through by a Tank Army Group supported by the operations of the three
or four Fronts which belong to that Direction.
In addition to this basic striking force, Front Commanders and C-in-Cs
of Strategic Directions may keep independent tank divisions in reserve,
using them for rapid relief of the divisions which suffer the worst losses.
Besides this, however, each commander, from divisional level upwards, has
what might be called a personal tank guard. Besides the tank regiment which
is his main striking force, a division commander has an independent tank
battalion. Thus, a motor-rifle division has seven tank battalions in all;
one in each of its three motor-rifle regiments, three in its tank regiment
and the independent battalion. This battalion is entirely different from the
others. Whereas the ordinary tank battalions have 31 tanks (3 companies of
10 each and one for the battalion commander), an independent battalion has
52 tanks (5 companies of 10 each, one for the battalion commander and the
divisional commander's own tank). Unlike the others, an independent tank
battalion has reconnaissance, anti-aircraft, engineer and chemical platoons.
In its make-up it is more like a small, independent tank regiment, than a
large battalion. In addition, the independent tank battalions are the first
to receive the latest equipment. I have seen many divisions equipped with
T-44 tanks while the independent tank battalions had T-10Ms, which have then
received T-55s, while the independent battalions got T-72s. The divisional
commander will carefully and patiently assemble all his best crews in this
battalion. The commander of a motor-rifle regiment will throw his tank
battalion into the thick of a battle, and a divisional commander will do the
same with his tank regiment but he will keep his independent tank battalions
in reserve. These protect respectively, the division's headquarters and the
division's rocket battalion. These are not, of course, their main functions,
but fall to the lot of the independent battalions because they almost always
function as reserves.
But let us suppose that during a battle a situation arises in which a
commander must throw in everything he has, a situation which can result in
either victory or disaster. This is the moment at which he brings his own
personal guard into the operation, a fresh, fully-rested battalion, of
unusual size, made up of his best crews and equipped with the best tanks. At
this moment a divisional commander is risking everything and for this reason
he may head this, his own independent, tank battalion.
An Army Commander, too, in addition to the tank division which forms
his striking force, has an independent tank battalion to act as his personal
guard. He puts it into action only at the last possible moment and it may be
with this battalion that he meets his own death in battle. In addition to
his Tank Army, each Front Commander has an independent tank brigade,
consisting of the best crews in the whole Front and equipped with the best
tanks. Normally a Front's independent tank brigade has four or five
battalions and one motor-rifle battalion. The commander of a Strategic
Direction, too, has his personal tank guard, in addition to his Tank Army
Group. This guard consists of a single special independent tank division or,
in some cases, of a tank corps made up of two divisions.
In all, the Tank Forces have 47 tank divisions, 127 regiments, serving
with motor-rifle divisions and more than 500 battalions, either serving with
motor-rifle regiments or acting as reserves for commanders of varying ranks.
In peacetime their total strength is 54,000 tanks.
4
The Artillery and Rocket Troops of the Land Forces
After the end of the Second World War, the Rocket Troops were treated
as a separate arm of service, not forming part of any one of the Armed
Services but subordinated directly to the Minister of Defence. In 1959 they
were split up. The Strategic Rocket Forces were established as a separate
Armed Service. Those rocket troops who were not absorbed by the new Service
were taken over by the Land forces and united with the Artillery to form the
Artillery and Rocket Troops, as one of the constituent arms of service of
the Land Forces.
At present this arm of service is equipped with four types of
artillery--rocket, rocket launcher (multi-barrelled, salvo-firing),
anti-tank and general purpose (mortars, howitzers and field guns). Each
commander has at his disposal the artillery resources appropriate to his
rank. Commanders of divisions and upwards have some of each of all four
types of artillery weapon. Thus a motor-rifle division has one rocket
battalion, one battalion of multi-barrelled rocket launchers, one anti-tank
battalion and a howitzer regiment of three battalions for general support.
We will discuss the quantity of fire weapons available to commanders of
differing ranks when we come to talk about operational organisation.
5
The Air Defence Troops of the Land Forces
We have already spoken of the existence of two separate air defence
systems--national and military. The two are unconnected: the difference
between them is that the national system protects the territory of the
Soviet Union and is therefore stationary while the military system is an
integral part of the fighting services and moves with them in order to
protect them from air attack.
Organisationally, each infantry section, with the exception of those
which travel in platoon commanders' vehicles, contains one soldier armed
with a `Strela 2' anti-aircraft rocket launcher. There are two such
launchers in each platoon. The seeker heads with which they are fitted
enable rockets fired from these launchers to shoot down enemy aircraft
flying at heights of two kilometres and at distances of four kilometres. In
every tank platoon, in addition to the anti-aircraft machine-guns carried by
each tank, one of the leaders has three of these launchers, which are
carried on the outside of the tank's turret.
Each motor-rifle and tank regiment has an anti-aircraft battery, armed
with 4 ZSU-23-4 `Shilka' self-propelled rocket launchers and with 4 `Strela
1' launchers (known in the West as the SA-9). These two systems complement
each other and are highly effective, the Shilka especially so. I have
watched a Shilka working from a stony, ploughed field, belching out an
uninterrupted blast of fire against small balloons released, without
warning, from a wood a couple of kilometres away. The results it achieved
were quite overwhelming. The British reference book, Jane's, is quite right
to describe the Shilka as the best in the world.
The officer in charge of the anti-aircraft defence of each motor-rifle
and tank regiment coordinates the operations of his battery and also those
of all the Strela-2 launchers.
Each motor-rifle and tank division has one SAM regiment, armed with
`Kub' (SA-6) or `Romb' (SA-8) rockets. Each Army has one SAM brigade, armed
with `Krug' (SA-4) rockets.
In addition to all these, a Front Commander has under his command two
SAM brigades with `Krug' rockets, several regiments with `Kubs' or `Rombs'
and several AAA regiments, armed with 57mm and 100mm anti-aircraft guns.
6
The Airborne Assault Troops
Although the Airborne Assault troops wear the same uniform as airborne
troops, they have no connection with them. Airborne troops are under the
direct control of the Supreme Commander; they use transport aircraft and
parachutes for their operations. By contrast, the Airborne Assault troops
form part of the Land Forces and are operationally subordinate to a Front
Commander. They are transported by helicopter and do not use parachutes.
Moreover, their sub-units use helicopters not only as a means of transport
but as fighting weapons.
In Soviet eyes, the helicopter has nothing in common with conventional
aircraft; it is regarded virtually as a tank. At first this may seem a
strange idea, but it is undeniably well founded. No aircraft can seize enemy
territory; this is done by tanks, artillery and infantry working together.
Helicopters are therefore regarded as belonging to the Land Forces, as tanks
which do not fear minefields, mountains or water obstacles, as tanks with
high fire-power and great speed but which have only limited protection.
The airborne assault troops were established in 1969. Their `father'
and guardian angel was Mao. If he had never existed nor would they. Soviet
generals had been pressing for their introduction since the beginning of the
1950s, but there were never sufficient resources for their creation and the
decision to bring them into service was postponed from one five-year plan to
another. However, in 1969, armed clashes took place on the frontier with
China, and Soviet generals declared that they could only defend a line 1,000
kilometres in length with tanks which could be concentrated within a few
hours at any one of the sectors of this enormous frontier. So the MI-24 made
its appearance--a flying tank which no weapon has yet managed to shoot down
in Afghanistan.
Military helicopters, which thus originated primarily as a weapon
against China, actually made their first appearance with the Soviet forces
in Eastern Europe. This was because the situation on the Chinese frontier
improved; that on the frontiers with the West can never improve.
Organisationally, the airborne assault troops consist of brigades,
subordinated to Front Commanders. Each brigade is made up of one helicopter
assault regiment (64 aircraft), one squadron of MI-26 heavy transport
helicopters and three airborne rifle battalions.
The airborne assault brigade is used in the main axis of advance of a
Front in conjunction with a Tank Army and under air cover provided by an Air
Army.
In addition to this brigade, a Front also has other airborne assault
subunits, which do not represent part of its establishment. Each Army has
one helicopter transport regiment, which is used to air-lift ordinary
motor-rifle sub-units behind the enemy's front line. In each motor-rifle
regiment, one battalion in three is trained, in peacetime, for operations
with helicopters. Thus each division has three battalions trained for this
purpose and each Army has thirteen such battalions.
Airborne assault forces are growing continually. Very soon we can
expect to see airborne assault brigades with every Army and airborne assault
divisions with every Front.
7
Diversionary Troops (SPETSNAZ)
Diversionary troops, too, wear the same uniform as airborne troops
without having any connection with them. Unlike airborne assault troops,
they are parachuted from aircraft into the enemy's rear areas. However, they
differ from normal airborne troops in not having heavy equipment and in
operating more covertly.
These SPETSNAZ forces form the airborne forces of the Land Forces. They
are used in the enemy's rear to carry out reconnaissance, to assassinate
important political or military figures and to destroy headquarters, command
posts, communications centres and nuclear weapons.
Each all-arms or tank army has one SPETSNAZ company, with a complement
of 115, of whom 9 are officers and 11 are ensigns. This company operates in
areas between 100 and 500 kilometres behind the enemy's front line. It
consists of a headquarters, three diversionary platoons and a communications
platoon. Depending on the tasks to be carried out, the officers and men of
the company divide into as many as 15 diversionary groups, but during an
operation they may work first as a single unit, then split into 3 or 4
groups, then into 15 and then back again into one.
Usually, SPETSNAZ companies are dropped the night before an Army begins
an advance, at a moment when the anti-aircraft and other resources of the
enemy are under greatest pressure. Thereafter, they operate ahead of the
advancing sub-units of the Army.
Each Front has a SPETSNAZ brigade, consisting of a headquarters company
and three diversionary battalions. In peace-time the SPETSNAZ companies of
the Armies of the Front are combined as a SPETSNAZ battalion, which explains
why it is sometimes thought that there are four battalions in each
diversionary brigade. In wartime this battalion would split into companies
which would join their respective Armies.
Each of the Front's three battalions operates in the enemy's rear in
exactly the same way as the SPETSNAZ companies of the Armies. Each battalion
can split into as many as 45 diversionary groups and the three together can
therefore produce a total of up to 135 small groups. But, if necessary, a
SPETSNAZ brigade can operate at full strength, using between 900 and 1,200
troops together against a single target. Such a target might be a nuclear
submarine base, a large headquarters, or even a national capital.
The headquarters company of a SPETSNAZ brigade is of particular
interest. Unlike both the SPETSNAZ battalions and normal Army companies, it
is made up of specialists--between 70 and 80 of them. This HQ company forms
part of the SPETSNAZ brigade and even many of the latter's officers may not
be aware of its existence. In peacetime this company of specialists is
concealed within the sports teams of the Military District. Boxing,
wrestling, karate, shooting, running, skiing, parachute jumping--these are
the sports they practice. As members of sports teams they travel abroad,
visiting places in which they would kill people in the event of a future
`liberation'.
These Soviet sportsmen/parachutists, holders of most of the world's
sporting records, have visited every national capital. They have made their
parachute jumps near Paris, London and Rome, never concealing the fact that
the sporting association which has trained them is the Soviet Army. When
Munich, Rome and Helsinki applaud Soviet marksmen, wrestlers and boxers,
everyone assumes that these are amateurs. But they are not--they are
professionals, professional killers.
In addition to these small companies within the diversionary brigades
of the Fronts, there are also SPETSNAZ Long-Range Reconnaissance Regiments.
The Commander-in-Chief of each Strategic Direction has one of these
regiments. The best of these regiments is stationed in the Moscow Military
District. From time to time this regiment goes abroad in full strength. On
these occasions it goes under the title of the Combined Olympic Team of the
USSR.
The KGB, as well as the Soviet Army, is training its diversionary
specialists. The difference, in peacetime, between the two groups is that
the Soviet Army contingent always belongs to the Central Army Sports Club
while those from the KGB are members of the `Dynamo' Sports Club. In the
event of war, the two diversionary networks would operate independently of
one another, in the interests of reliability and effectiveness. But a
description of the diversionary network of the KGB lies outside our field.
8
The Fortified Area Troops
For many decades, the problem of defence was not the Soviet Union's
first priority. All its resources were devoted to strengthening its striking
power and its offensive capabilities. But then China began to present a
challenge. Of course, both Soviet and Chinese leaders knew that Siberia
could never provide a solution to China's territorial problems. Siberia
looks large on the map but even the great conqueror Jenghiz Khan, who had
defeated Russia, China and Iran, by-passed Siberia, which is nothing more
than a snowy desert. Both Soviet and Chinese politicians realise--as do
their Western opposite numbers--that the solution of the Chinese territorial
problem lies in the colonisation of Australia. Nevertheless, the Soviet
Union takes steps to strengthen its frontiers, even though it is certain
that the West will be the first victim of China, as it was the first victim
of Hitler and of the Iranian students.
The Soviet Union knows from its own experience how peace-loving a
socialist country becomes when its economy, and consequently its army, is
weak. But it also knows what can be achieved by a country whose whole
economy has been nationalised--a country in which everything of value
belongs solely to the government and in which all resources can therefore be
concentrated in order to achieve a single goal. Knowing this, the Soviet
Communists are preparing for every possible contingency in good time.
In 1969 the problem of defending the 7,000 kilometre frontier with
China became particularly acute. The calculation involved was a simple one:
one division can hold a sector of 10 or, at the outside, of 15 kilometres of
the frontier. How many divisions would be needed to defend 7,000 kilometres?
Since there was no question of using the old methods of conducting
operations, new methods--new solutions--were found. We already know that one
of the most important of these was the establishment of the airborne assault
troops. A second was the introduction of a second arm of service--the
Fortified Area Troops. This represented a return to the age-old idea of
building fortresses.
Today's Soviet fortresses--the Fortified Areas--are either completely
new or are established in areas in which there were old defences, built
before the Second World War, which withstood repeated attacks by the
Japanese army.
Modern Fortified Areas are, of course, so constructed as to survive a
nuclear war. All fortifications have been strengthened against nuclear
attack and contain automatic systems for the detection of poisonous gas and
air filtration plants.
Today, the old reinforced concrete structures are hardly ever used for
operational purposes. Instead, they serve as underground command posts,
stores, barracks, assembly points, communications centres, or hospitals. All
operational structures are being newly built. Here the Soviet Union finds
itself in a very favourable situation, because it has retained tens of
thousands of old tanks. These are now installed in reinforced concrete
shelters so that only the turrets appear above the ground. The turrets
themselves are strengthened with additional armour plating, often taken from
obsolete warships. Sometimes the tops of turrets are covered with an
additional shield made of old railway lines; the whole is then carefully
camouflaged. Under the hull of the tank is a reinforced concrete magazine
for several hundred shells and a shelter for personnel. The whole forms an
excellent firing point, with a powerful (often 122mm) tank gun, two machine
guns, an excellent optical system, reliable defence against a nuclear blast
and an underground cable connecting it with the command post, With these
resources, two or three soldiers can defend several kilometres of frontier.
Since these tank turrets cover one another and since, in addition to them,
the fortified areas contain thousands of gun turrets taken from obsolete
warships, some of which contain quick-firing 6-barrelled 30mm guns, which
are uniquely effective against infantry and aircraft, it would clearly be
extremely difficult to break through such a line of defence. The Soviet
Union has bitter memories of the way little Finland was able to halt the
Soviet advance in this way in 1940.
Each fortified area is spaciously set out, to increase its ability to
withstand the effects of nuclear weapons. Organisationally, each fortified
area is manned by five or six battalions of troops, a tank battalion and an
artillery regiment and is able to cover a frontier sector of 30 to 50
kilometres or more. Clearly, it is not possible to fortify the entire
frontier in this way and fortified areas are therefore set up in the most
threatened sectors, the intervening territory being covered by nuclear and
chemical mines and by airborne assault sub-units, located in bases protected
by the fortified areas. This whole arrangement has already enabled the
Soviet Union to establish a defensive system covering enormous stretches of
territory, without having to move a single one of the divisions earmarked
for the liberation of Western Europe from capitalist oppression.
The Air Forces
1
The Air Forces are the fourth most important of the Armed Services.
There are two reasons for this low rating.
In the first place, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Forces does not
control all aircraft. Those of the Air Defence Forces--which are the
fastest--are completely independent of the Air Forces. Those of the Navy,
which include the most modern bombers, also have no link with the Air
Forces. The airborne assault troops, as an integral part of the Land Forces,
have nothing to do with the Air Forces either.
Secondly, unlike the Commanders-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces
and the Air Defence Forces, the C-in-C of the Air Forces is not an
operational commander but an administrator.
Subordinated to the C-in-C of the Air Forces in peacetime are:
Sixteen Air Armies
The Commander of the Long-Range Air Force
The Commander of Military Transport Aviation
Two military academies, officers' training schools, scientific research
establishments, and test centres, administrative and supply echelons.
The total peacetime strength of the Air Forces is half a million men
and 10,000 military aircraft and helicopters. However, the apparent strength
of the C-in-C of the Air Forces is illusory. He is responsible for all
questions concerning the functioning of the Air Forces, from the development
of new aircraft to the allocation of rations for guard dogs, from the
training of cosmonauts to the propagation of experience acquired in Vietnam,
but he is in no way involved in questions concerning the operational use of
the aircraft under his command. This means that he is not an operational
Marshal, but an official and administrator, albeit one of very high rank.
In wartime all sixteen Air Armies become integral components of the
Fronts. Each Front has an Air Army, which it uses as it considers necessary.
Only the highest operational commanders--the C-in-C of a Strategic Direction
or the Supreme Commander--may interfere in a Front's operational planning
problems (including those of the Air Army belonging to it). The C-in-C of
the Air Forces may only advise the Supreme Commander if his advice is
sought; if not, his task is solely to ensure that the Air Armies receive all
the supplies they need to carry out their operations.
Nor is the Long-Range Air Force operationally controlled by the C-in-C
of the Air Forces. It is subordinated exclusively to the Supreme Commander,
who can either make use of its entire strength or allocate part of it,
temporarily, to the Commanders-in-Chief of Strategic Directions.
The same arrangement applies to Military Transport Aviation which is
entirely under the control of the Supreme Commander.
When control of all these forces is taken from the C-in-C of the Air
Forces, he is left only with military academies, training schools, research
centres, administrative echelons, hospitals and supply depots. He supplies
operational units with reinforcements of equipment and men, oversees the
supply of ammunition, fuel, and spare parts, investigates reasons for
catastrophes and does a thousand other useful jobs, but he does not direct
operations.
Even in peacetime the range of his responsibilities is similarly
limited. His Air Armies are deployed in Military Districts and are used in
accordance with the plans of their staffs. The General Staff decides how the
Long-Range Air Force and Military Transport Aviation are to be used.
2
In peacetime there are sixteen Air Armies. In wartime there would be
rather more, since some of them would be divided in two. An Air Army has a
strictly regulated organisation. It consists of:
Three fighter divisions
Two fighter-bomber divisions
One bomber division
One regiment of fighter/reconnaissance aircraft
One regiment of bomber/reconnaissance aircraft
One or two regiments of light transport aircraft
Fighter, fighter/reconnaissance and fighter-bomber sub-units have the
same organisational form: A flight has 4 aircraft, a squadron 12 (three
flights), a regiment 40 (three squadrons and a command flight), a division
124 (three regiments and a command flight). Bomber and bomber/reconnaissance
sub-units, too, are identically organised: A flight has 3 aircraft, a
squadron 9 (three flights), a regiment 30 (three squadrons and a command
flight), a division 93 (three regiments and a command flight).
In all, an Air Army has 786 combat aircraft and between 46 and 80 light
transport aircraft. In the fighter, fighter-bomber and bomber regiments of
its divisions, the first squadron contains the best pilots, bomb-aimers and
air crew. It is a great honour to serve in such a squadron. The second
squadron is trained in reconnaissance duties as well as in its main
functions. If necessary, the commander of an Air Army can put in the air,
besides two reconnaissance regiments (70 aircraft), 18 squadrons, of what
might be called `amateur' reconnaissance aircrew (207 aircraft). Each third
squadron is made up of young airmen. After the latter have put in some years
of service in this third squadron, the commander of the regiment decides who
shall join the `aces' in the first squadron, who shall go to the second, for
reconnaissance duties, and who shall stay in the third, among the novices.
The best crews from the second squadron graduate to the reconnaissance
regiments, where they become professionals rather than amateurs.
3
This is all very well, the informed reader may say, but in the 37th Air
Army, which is stationed in Poland, there are two rather than six divisions,
while the 16th Air Army, in East Germany, has eight divisions. Moreover,
neither of these has a regiment of light transport aircraft; instead they
have helicopter regiments. What is the significance of this?
It is quite simple. In wartime a Front would be deployed in Poland. It
would contain an Air Army. The Army's headquarters and two Soviet division's
are already there. In wartime the complement would be brought up to strength
with divisions of the Polish Air Forces. In peacetime the latter should be
allowed to believe themselves independent.
In East Germany two Fronts would be deployed and the 16th Air Army
would therefore be split into two (this is always done during exercises).
Each Army would contain four Soviet divisions, the complement being made up
with divisions of the East German Air Forces. In peacetime the two Armies
are combined because of the need for unified control over all air movement
in East German air space and also in order to conceal the existence of two
Fronts.
In wartime each Soviet motor-rifle and tank division will have 4
helicopters and every all-arms and tank Army will have 12. In peacetime it
is best to keep them together, which reduces supply and training problems.
This is why there are helicopter regiments in Air Armies. But at the
outbreak of war the helicopters would fly off to their respective
motor-rifle or tank divisions and Armies. The commanders of helicopter
regiments would then be left without jobs. At this point they would be sent
light transport aircraft, which would come from the civil air fleet. The
pilots of these would be only half-militarised but highly experienced; the
commanders are already military men. In wartime these regiments would be
used to drop the diversionary sub-units of the Front and of its Armies
behind the enemy's lines. For experienced civil pilots this is not a
particularly difficult task and the aircraft which they would be flying
would be those they fly in peacetime.
4
The Long-Range Air Force (LRAF) consists of three Corps, each of three
divisions. Some Western sources mistakenly refer to these Corps as Armies.
Each LRAF division has approximately 100 combat aircraft and a corps
consists, on average, of 300 strategic bombers, which can carry
air-to-ground missiles.
The commander of the LRAF is subordinated to the C-in-C of the Air
Forces only for administrative purposes. Operationally he is subordinate
solely to the Supreme Commander.
There are three Strategic Directions. There are also three LRAF corps,
which are deployed in such a way that each Strategic Direction can have
access to one corps. During combat operations an LRAF corps may be
temporarily subordinated to the C-in-C of a Strategic Direction or it may
carry out operations to support him, while remaining under the command of
the Supreme Commander.
However, the Soviet marshals would not plan to conduct operations in
every sector simultaneously, but would concentrate on one. It is therefore
possible that in wartime all 900 strategic bombers might be concentrated
against one opponent.
5
Military Transport Aviation
The Military Transport Aviation (MTA) force consists of six divisions
and several independent regiments. It has approximately 800 heavy transport
and troop-carrying aircraft. Its main task is to land airborne forces in the
enemy's rear.
Like the LRAF, the MTA is subordinated to the C-in-C of the Air Forces
for administrative purposes only. Operationally, the MTA is subordinated to
the Supreme Commander and it can be used only on his instructions, in
accordance with the plans of the General Staff.
The MTA has a huge reserve organisation--Aeroflot, the largest airline
in the world. Even in peacetime, the head of Aeroflot has the rank of
Marshal of the Air Force and the function of Deputy to the C-in-C of the Air
Forces. Organisationally, even in peacetime, Aeroflot is divided into
squadrons, regiments and divisions and all its aircrew have ranks as
officers of the reserve. In wartime Aeroflot's heavy aircraft would
automatically become part of MTA, while its light aircraft would become
transport regiments for the Air Armies of the Fronts. Even in peacetime
Aeroflot helicopters are painted light green, as they would be in the
divisions of an operational army.
Why does the West consider Admiral Gorshkov a strong man?
1
Of the five Armed Services the Navy ranks as fifth and last in
importance. This certainly does not mean that the Navy is weak--simply that
the other armed services are stronger.
In all, the Soviet Navy has four fleets: Northern, Pacific, Baltic and
Black Sea, in order of strength.
Each of the four fleets has six arms of service:
Submarines
Naval Aviation
Surface Ships
Diversionary SPETSNAZ naval sub-units
Coastal Rocket and Artillery Troops
Marine infantry
The first two of these are considered the primary arms of service; the
remainder, including surface ships, are seen as auxiliary forces.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy has a purely administrative
function, since the Northern Fleet is subordinated, for operational
purposes, to the Stavka and the three other fleets to the C-in-Cs of the
respective Strategic Directions. In addition to his administrative function,
however, the C-in-C of the Navy is the Stavka's main adviser on the
operational use of the Navy. In certain situations, too, on the instructions
from the Stavka, he may direct groups of ships operating in the open sea.
But he has no independent operational planning function; this is entirely
the responsibility of the General Staff.
2
Soviet naval strength is based on submarines. These are divided by
function, into submarines used for:
command
ballistic rockets
cruise missiles
torpedoes
They are further classified according to their method of
propulsion--nuclear or diesel-electric. The building of diesel-electric
submarines (except for some used for diversionary or reconnaissance
purposes) has been halted. Henceforth all Soviet submarines will have
nuclear propulsion.
Nuclear submarines are grouped in divisions, each of 8 to 12. All the
submarines in a division have the same type of armament. A flotilla consists
of 4 to 5 divisions. They have mixed complements and may consist of between
35 and 64 nuclear submarines with varying functions.
Diesel-electric submarines are organised in brigades each of 8 to 16.
Brigades may form divisions (2 to 3 brigades) or squadrons (4 to 6
brigades).
3
Each fleet has a naval aviation component designated, for instance,
`Naval Aviation of the Northern Fleet'. Each such component is made up of
air divisions and of independent regiments and is the equivalent of an Air
Army. Each fleet's naval aviation normally includes a division armed with
long-range air-to-surface missiles, for operation against enemy aircraft
carriers, one or two divisions of long-range anti-submarine aircraft and
independent regiments with anti-submarine seaplanes, torpedo-bombers,
reconnaissance aircraft and supply and transport aircraft. In the last few
years regiments of deck-landing aircraft and helicopters have been formed.
4
The Soviet Navy must be the only one in the world in which a
nuclear-propelled cruiser, armed with missiles, is relegated to an auxiliary
category. In fact, every Soviet surface ship, whether it is a battleship or
a missile-cruiser, ranks as auxiliary (the exception is the aircraft carrier
which is considered as a part of the naval air force). Perhaps this is
correct; in a global war submarines and aircraft would play the primary
roles. All other forces would work to support them. And, no matter how the
number of Soviet surface ships may grow, Soviet submarines will always
outnumber them. Moreover there has recently been a noticeable trend towards
an increase in the displacement of submarines and it is quite possible that
they will eventually surpass the surface ships in tonnage, too, and will
maintain their superiority permanently.
Soviet surface ships are organised in groups (for small ships only),
brigades (medium-size ships and groups of smaller ones), divisions and
squadrons.
In the next few years, the Soviet Navy will be enlarged by the
acquisition o...
