ChalkLine's Desiderata

[ChalkLine]

Distinctive Soviet Tactics developed in the Soviet-Afghanistan War.

Most of the standard soviet tactics are the same as those of the west. However during and after the Soviet-Afghanistan War many innovations and idiosyncratic tactics turned up that are little known outside some tactical appraisal documents. Here's a few:

- Carrying heavy weapons forward.
After dismounting from their carriers soviet troops will lug their 12.7mm HMGs and 30mm AGLs along with them. This extra-heavy weapons group is attached to the normal heavy weapons group. Lightening these weapons and their ammunition has become something of an obsession in Russia since then.

- Bronnegruppa
"The bronegruppa is a temporary grouping of four-five tanks, BMPs or BTRs-or any combination of such vehicles. The BMPs (tracked combat vehicles) or BTRs (wheeled combat vehicles) are deployed without their normally assigned infantry squad on board and fight away from their dismounted troops. The grouping has a significant direct-fire capability and serves as a manoeuvre reserve."

- Enveloping detachments (obkhodiashchii otriad)
A fast moving, hard hitting group designed to sweep around and block avenues. Now, every force does this but this unit was specifically trained in the task. While they might mount an attack from an unexpected direction the emphasis of these troops was speed.
The soviets also radically changed their doctrine and when possible emphasised training in switching rapidly from pre-Soviet-Afghanistan War tactics to post-war ones. This includes armoured columns quickly reorganising into combined arms units for other purposes.

Many of the other innovations don't really carry over into the Twilight War phase. Note that after the Soviet-Afghanistan War there was a heavier emphasis on training for small unit actions, flexible logistics and units operating away from parent units due to the lessons learned in that war.