Intresting Facts about 1980s Soviet Equipment

[HorseSoldier]

I'd heard of the four tank platoons, but not the five tank platoons. Did those platoons still comprise three platoon companies?

[dragoon500ly]

Originally Posted by HorseSoldier

I'd heard of the four tank platoons, but not the five tank platoons. Did those platoons still comprise three platoon companies?

Yup. And to confuse things even more, the independent tank battalion has between 4-5 companies. The independent tank regiments have between 4-6 companies.

[dragoon500ly]

Here is an example of Soviet tactics...

You are the Division Commander of a Motor Rifle Division, its Day 2 of the great offensive to crush NATO and this is the situation you are facing.

One of your BTR regiments is on the left flank. It is attacking an American Mech Infantry Task Frorce and has suffered crippling losses. The regiment has suffered 40% losses, including the regimental commander and two of the battalion commanders. Your Intelligence Officer reports that the Americans are showing signs of counterattacking in this sector. The regiment can no longer maintain the offensive.

Your second BTR regiment is attacking in the center. The American Mech Infantry Task Force has suffered heavy losses and is failing back to its next defensive line. Your regiment has suffered 20% losses, but is advancing.

Your BMP regiment is on the right and is currently fighting elements of a West German Panzer Brigade. It is a confused situation, but the regiment is holding its ground.

In reserve, you have your tank regiment, your recon battalion, and your division artillery group.

All three regimental commanders are requesting reinforcements.

So what do you do?



There are four basic answers, reinforce the left, reinforce the center, reinforce the right or break up the reserve and reinforce two or more regiments.

From a Soviet prespective there is only one correct answer. The entire reserve goes to reinforce the center. Indeed, the left and right flank regiments can expect to have any attachments as well as any unengaged units stripped from their command and moved to reinforce the center.

Soviet doctrine stresses that the advance must be maintained at all costs. The intent is to force NATO to react to Soviet movement, they realize that by maintaining the offense, that NATO would be forced to curtail its own offensive in order to reinforce the threatened sector.

[Webstral]

The Soviet military philosophy is perfectly serviceable, provided one can meet the operating conditions. The concept of seizing and holding the initiative is hardly a new one; one might say that the Germans reinforced the value of the practice in 1941 and 1942, while the Soviets turned the lesson around thereafter. Still, the uncompromising emphasis the Soviets placed on maintaining the impetus of offensive operations is noteworthy. If time is the enemy’s ally, then the only winning solution is to bring the operation to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

One reason the Soviets laid such a heavy emphasis on ground-based air defense is that they were at a disadvantage in the air. The Soviets understood that sheer numbers of aircraft were a poor match for the Western technical superiority, superior ground support, and pilot initiative. After the initial surge of high-tempo operations, the West would have a sortie advantage—effectively giving the West a quantitative as well as a qualitative advantage. Since the operation might outlast the surge, it was important to prevent the West from winning the war by default.

Another reason for the Soviet emphasis on ground-based air defense is their orientation towards battlefield support as the principal role of air power. While the Soviets moved beyond a straightforward battlefield role for their air power by the mid-1970’s, the emphasis never really went away. They were keenly aware of how roughly their own Il-2 fleet had handled the Germans. Ground-based air defenses would give Army commanders some means of offsetting a major opposing force effort to establish air superiority over a given sector of the front (like wherever offensive was going well) if the SAF dropped the ball.


Webstral

[Legbreaker]

I think the GDW writers were aware of the effects of unequal air power which may be why they've stated in the history that the German air power was completely trounced by an unexpectedly better performing PACT.
May not mirror what would have happened in reality, but it's just one more small part that's needed to bring about the stalemate we see in 2000.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

I think the GDW writers were aware of the effects of unequal air power which may be why they've stated in the history that the German air power was completely trounced by an unexpectedly better performing PACT.
May not mirror what would have happened in reality, but it's just one more small part that's needed to bring about the stalemate we see in 2000.

If you compare the W. German AF right before the fall of the Soviet Bloc with what the Red Air Force was rolling out at that time and then factor in the next 6-8 years of the T2K timeline/alternate universe, it's plenty realistic.

F-4 Phantoms and F-104 Starfighters (and maybe a few East German MiG-29s and a handful of Eurofighter Typhoons) vs. superior numbers of Red Air Force MiG-29/31 and Su-27 Flankers?

USSR for the win.

Only way the Germans win that fight is with massive NATO assistance.

If the fight is in the air over the former East Germany, ground-based ADNs wouldn't really be much of a factor. They'd be in disarray after the W. German coup/departure of Soviet technicians/operators. Over Poland, the PACT has the advantage of the ADN there. And remember that Red Air Force pilots have a couple of years combat experience spanking Chinese Shenyangs and "New Lend-Lease" F-whatevers.

[dragoon500ly]

Now that we've talked about basic weapons, its time to plug it in and see how it is supposed to be used...

The Motor Rifle Division has two Motor Rifle Regiments equipped with BTR-60 armored personnel carriers, here is how its formed:

Rifle Squad:9 men; a Squad Leader/BTR commander (AK74), a BTR Driver/Mechanic (PM), a BTR Machine Gunner (AK74), Squad Machine Gunner (RPK74), a Grenadier (RPG-16, PM), a Senior Rifleman (AK74), a Rifleman/Assistant Grenadier (AK74), and two Rifleman (AK74). Total Weapons: BTR-60, 6 AK74s, 2 PMs, RPK74, RPG16. You will note that the BTR-60 has room for 11 men, but only 9 personel.

Rifle Platoon: 1 officer, 28 men; formed up with three Rifle Squads and a
Platoon Headquarters: 2 men; Platoon Leader (PM), Assistant Platoon Leader (PM). Total Weapons: 3 BTR-60, 7 PM, 19 AK74, 3 RPK74, 1 SVD, 3 RPG16. With 3 BTRs there are a total of 6 empty seats, these are normally filled by the PL, the APL, and a medic and SA-7 gunner attached from higher. There is no assigned sniper in the platoon, in spite of a SVD being assigned, it is assigned to a squad, as needed.

Rifle Company: 6 officers, 97 men; formed up with three Rifle Platoons and a
Company Headquarters: Company Commander (PM), Deputy Commander/Political Officer (PM), Senior Technician Warrant Officer (PM), First Sergeant (AK74), BTR Driver/Mechanic (PM), BTR Machine Gunner (AK74).
Weapons Squad: 7 men; Squad Leader (AK74), 2xGrenadiers (AGS17, PM ea), Senior Rifleman (AK74), 2xAssistant Grenadiers/Riflemen (AK74), BTR Driver/Mechanic (PM).
Antiaircraft Missile Squad: 3 men; Squad Leader/SA7 Gunner and 2 SA7 Gunners (SA7, PM ea)
Total Weapons for the company: 31 PM, 63 AK74, 9 RPK74, 3 SVD, 2 AGS17, 9 RPG16, 3 SA7 and 11 BTR-60.

Motor Rifle Battalion: 455 men; formed up with three Rifle Companies and a
Battalion Headquarters: 12 men armed with 4 PM, 8 AK74, 1 BTR-60PU, 1 UAZ-469, 1 GAZ-66 light truck.
Mortar Battery: 62 men armed with 14 PM, 47 AK74, 6 M1943 120mm mortars, 6 RPG16, 1 UAZ-469, 7 GAZ-66 light trucks.
Antitank Platoon: 27 men armed with 13 PM, 14 AK74, 4 AT4, 2 SPG9, 2 RPG16 and 4 BTR-60
Communications Platoon: 14 men armed with 1 PM, 13 AK74, 2 BTR ACV, 1 UAZ-469, 1 GAZ-66 light truck
Supply Platoon: 20 men armed with 1 PM, 19 AK74, 4 GAZ-55 light trucks, 4 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 2 POL tankers, 1 Field Kitchen truck, 1 POL trailer, 1 Cargo trailer, 1 water trailer, 3 Field Kitchen trailers.
Repair Workshop: 7 men armed with 7 PM, 1 ZIL maintenance truck, 1 generator trailer.
Medical Aid Station: 4 men armed with 4 PM, 1 Ambulance, 1 Cargo trailer.

The Motor Rifle Regiment has 2,315 men and is made up of 3 MR Battalions and a...
Regimental Headquarters: 65 men armed with 3 SA7, 2 BTR-60, 1 BTR-60PA (FAC), 3 UAZ-469, 1 Ural 375 medium truck, 3 ZIL Command trucks, 1 GAZ-24 Sedan
Tank Battalion: 165 men armed with 40 T-64 MBT, 2 RPG16, 2 BTR-60 ACV, 7 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 3 POL tankers, 2 ZIL Maintenance trucks, 1 Field Kitchen truck, 1 Ambulance, 9 Cargo trailers, 1 Generator trailer, 1 Water trailer.
Howitzer Battalion: 240 men armed with 18 D-30 towed 122mm howitzers, 18 RPG16, 18 RPK74, 1 BTR-60 ACV, 1 PRP3 AMRP, 1 UAZ-469, 12 GAZ-66 light trucks, 34 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 2 POL tankers, 3 ZIL maintenance trucks, 1 Ambulance, 11 Cargo trailers, 2 POL trailers, 1 Water trailer, 4 Field Kitchen trailers
Antiaircraft Missile & Artillery Battery: 60 men with 4 SA9 TEL, 4 ZSU-23-4, 3 BTR-60, 2 GAZ-66 light trucks, 4 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 2 Generator trailers.
Antitank Missile Battery: 40 men with 9 BRDM-2 w/AT5, 9 RPG16, 3 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 1 ATGM Simulator van
Recon Company: 55 men with 4 RPG16, 3 RPK74, 1 BMP ACV, 3 BMP-1, 4 BRDM-2, 3 Motorcycles
Engineer Company: 60 men armed with 4 RPG16, 3 BTR-60, 1 UAZ-469, 8 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 2 Dump trucks, 1 Zil Maintenance truck, 1 K61 Crane truck, 2 E-305V Shovel Cranes, 1 MTU AVLB, 4 TMM truck-launched bridges, 1 BTM ditching machine, 1 BAT dozer, 3 BTU dozer blades, 3 PZM Excavator Buckets, 3 PMR-3 towed minelayers, 9 KMT-4 mineclearing plows, 3 KMT-5M mineroller plows, 1 MAFS water filtration trailer, 2 Cargo trailers
Signal Company: 50 men armed with 3 BTR-60, 5 UAZ-469, 3 GAZ-66 light trucks, 3 GAZ signal trucks, 2 ZIL signal trucks, 3 motorcycles, 1 generator trailer
Chemical Defense Company: 35 men armed with 1 UAZ-469, 1 GAZ-66 light truck, 4 BRDM-2rkh, 2 DKV decon trucks, 3 ARS12 decon trucks, 1 DDA53 decon truck, 2 Cargo trailers, 4 Water trailers
Motor Transport Company: 70 men armed with 1 UAZ-469, 2 GAZ-66 light trucks, 40 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 1 ZIL Maintenance truck, 3 Water tankers, 15 POL tankers, 30 Cargo trailers, 15 POL trailers
Maintenance Company: 65 men armed with 4 RPG16, 1 UAZ-469, 2 ZIL/Ural medium trucks, 12 ZIL maintenace trucks, 3 ARV, 6 Cargo trailers, 3 Generator trailers
Medical Company: 25 men armed with 1 GAZ-66 light truck, 2 ZIL medium trucks, 1 DDA53 decon truck, 4 Ambulances, 1 Field Kitchen trailer, 1 Water trailer
Supply & Service Platoon: 20 men armed with 2 GAZ-66 light trucks, 1 UAZ-469, 5 Ural medium trucks, 1 Field Kitchen truck, 1 Water tanker, 1 Cargo trailer, 2 Field Kitchen trailers, 1 Water trailer, 1 Generator trailer.

So here is the gross info for a typical Motor Rifle Regiment (BTR):
40 T-64 MBT; 18 D-30 122mm towed howitzers; 18 M-1943 120mm mortars; 4 SA-9 TEL; 4 ZSU-23-4; 30 SA-7; 9 BRDM-2 w/AT-5; 12 AT-4; 6 SPG-9; 146 RPG-16; 18 AGS-17; 102 RPK-74; 22 BTR-60PU; 1 BMP ACV; 116 BTR-60; 1 BTR-60PA (FAC); 1 PMP-3 AMRP; 4 BRDM-2; 3 BMP-1; 24 UAZ-469; 66 GAZ-66 light trucks; 118 ZIL/Ural medium trucks; 3 ZIL Command trucks; 2 ZIL Signal trucks; 20 ZIL Maintenance trucks; 5 Field Kitchen trucks; 1 ATGM Simulator truck; 26 POL tankers; 3 ARS-12 Decon trucks; 2 DKV Decon trucks; 2 DDA-53 Decon trucks; 4 BRDM-2rkh; 4 Water tankers; 9 Ambulances; 1 K-61 Crane truck; 2 E-305V Shovel Crane trucks; 2 Dump trucks; 1 GAZ-24 Sedan; 6 Motorcycles; 3 Armored Recovery Vehicles; 1 MTU AVLB; 4 TMM Truck-launched bridges; 1 BTM Ditching machine; 1 BAT Dozer; 3 BTU dozer blades; 3 PZM Bucket Excavators; 9 KMT-4 mineclearing plows; 3 KMT-5M mineroller plows; 3 PMR-3 towed minelayers; 1 MAFS water filtration trailer; 20 POL trailers; 67 Cargo trailers; 11 Generator trailers; 11 Water trailers; 16 Field Kitchen Trailers.

Well as you can see, its a @$^%&%@ lot of equipment!