[dragoon500ly]

Once again FM 100-2-1 Soviet Operations and Tactics is the source...

At regiment and above, an artillery officer who plans and coordinates artillery fires serves on the staff of maneuver un it commanders. He is called the Chief of Arty (COA) at regiment and the Chief Rocket Troops and Artillery (CRTA) at division or above. While he does not command the artillery units organic or attached to his maneuver unit, he is responsible for their control. The commander of the organic artillery unit attached to the maneuver unit is directly responsible for the performance of his artillery unit.

The division CRTA controls the divisional artillery regiment, the MRL battalion, the SSM battalion, the AT battalion and the ATGM batteries, mortar batteries and howitzer battalions of the subordinate maneuver regiments, though he does not command any of these units. The CRTA also has the authority to inspect the artillery units of the division and to hold them accountable for their technical proficiency.

In combat, the artillery groups form the basic framework for the control of artillery fires in the division. Decisions about the employment of artillery are made on a centralized basis. The division commander, with recommendations from the CRTA, exercises control over all organic and allocated artillery within the division. The following procedures are observed:
1) The division commander specifies the artiller organization for combat and the tasks to be carried out by the artillery.
2) The CRTA conducts and coordinates fire planning.
3) Artillery commanders normally are collocated with the commanders of the supported maneuver force.
4) The DAG commanders report directly to the CRTA.
5) RAG commanders report directly to the supported maneuver regimental commander while retaining contact with the CRTA.
6) Artillery battery and battalion commanders keep their supported maneuver commanders informed and report to their controlling artillery headquarters.


The artillery commander normally is collocated with the commander of the maneuver unit he is supporting and therefore effects coordination face-to-face. Provisions is also made for the artillery commander to enter the VHF(FM) command net of the supported unit. Except when subunits have been detached for special missions, artillery commanders retain rigid control of the deployment of weapons and observation posts to provide continuous artillery support in all phases of combat.

Radio and wire are the primary means of communications with visual and sound devices being used as a secondary means of communications. By regulation, communications are established from senior to subordinate and from supporting units to supporting unit.

Soviet artillery units may send radio traffic over support unit command nets, artillery command nets and fire direction nets. Artillery group command nets (RAG/DAG) have battalion commanders as substations. Battalion nets have battery commanders and the battalion observation nets if required.

Towed artillery units rely on the R-107 (VHF) portable radio for internal radio communications. Self-propelled units use the R-123 (VHF) vehicular radio, which is installed in every howitzer. At higher levels of command, long-range HF (AM) radios, such as the R-130 are used.

Wire communications are used whenever subunits remain in one location for any length of time, such as when in defensive positions. To provide redundancy, artillery wire nets normally parallel the wire nets of the supported units.

The Soviets also use pyrotechnics, especially in coordinating prearranged fires with the advance of maneuver units. Signal flags are used to acknowledge fire commands at the gun positions, for convoy control and for signaling between the firing point and the truck park (prime movers and ammunition carriers) in a battery firing position.