Weakness and failure of the brigade structure

Today it is already quite obvious that the initiated organizational reform had no other content than a large-scale reduction officer corps and maximum “compression” of the existing structure of the Armed Forces to a size that allows it to function more or less effectively within the allocated budget.

. Why in the Ground Forces, the divisions that existed before 2008 were reorganized into brigades, reducing the entire command and control as much as possible and distributing the existing regiments into battalions and divisions, while at the same time reducing the entire mobilization structure to zero.

At the same time, the “reformers” did not even try to test their proposals in any way experimentally. First everything Armed forces were thrown under the steamroller of total reform, which cost tens of billions of dollars, and then, when the old army was dismantled, new brigades were formed, the “reformers” finally began studying the combat capabilities of what they had obtained.
. And here they were very much expected unpleasant discoveries. It turned out that the “optimized” brigades in their combat effectiveness did not even reach the regiments of the old state. Hanging with all sorts of weapons, advertised as “the latest” and “unique”, during all past exercises they with sad consistency show their unacceptably low combat effectiveness. Not once during the past exercises did higher headquarters and numerous advisers and inspectors manage to achieve coordinated, confident, energetic actions of the new model motorized rifle brigade.

. If at the first stage - extension and deployment It is still possible to manage it somehow, but as the tactical situation becomes more complicated and inputs are received, control of the brigade as a single combat mechanism is lost by the brigade command and chaotic impulsive movement of troops begins.

As one of the generals of the Ground Forces headquarters sadly joked: the actions in the exercises of the new brigades are very good for studying in academies the unsuccessful actions of the Soviet mechanized corps in the first days of the war. Lots of chaotic movements, constant delays, loss of control and, as a result, the conduct of combat operations by hastily put together combined combat groups.

There are many reasons for this.

. Firstly, in brigades, compared to regiments, the number of officers sharply decreased. If a regiment of 2,000 soldiers had 250 officers and 150 warrant officers, then the new brigade of 4,000 soldiers had 327 officers.
. The number of officers has decreased and, accordingly, management has become weaker. The officers simply cannot cope with command. Especially at the brigade headquarters level. The brigade's combat command is simply not capable of managing such a bloated structure. In addition, massive dismissals of officers with combat experience and length of service have led to a sharp decline in the already not very high level of training of today's officers.

As confirmation, we can quote words from an interview with the commander of the 693rd Motorized Rifle Regiment, Andrei Kazachenko, who was the first to enter South Ossetia in August 2008:

“Reforms had to be carried out. I completely agree here. Another question is how to carry them out? For example, I will say from my point of view, from the commander’s side. What difference does it make whether you command a regiment or a brigade? On the contrary, a regiment is not such a cumbersome organization as a brigade is. In my regiment there were 48 officers and warrant officers of the regiment's management. This is for 2200 people. And now in the brigade, where there are 3500-4000 people, there are 33 people. What kind of optimization are we talking about? Have our officers changed, or have they become gold? Or did they all immediately become professionals? As it was, so it remains...”

. Secondly, the brigades turned out to be “blind” - the reconnaissance units available in the brigade do not provide full-fledged reconnaissance in the zone of its operations. Their strength and technical means are absolutely insufficient. Reconnaissance platoons of battalions are not capable of providing full-fledged reconnaissance in the battalion's zone of action, and the scanty "reconnaissance battalion" of the brigade is not capable of not only providing them with effective assistance, but simply conducting reconnaissance to the depth necessary in the interests of the brigade.

And even the information received cannot be processed in a timely manner and brought to the command of the brigade, since the brigade management does not provide for any intelligence and information structure: neither a department, nor even a department that could analyze the incoming information, check it, systematize it and bring it to the commander .
. All reconnaissance in the brigade's combat command is represented only by the chief of reconnaissance, the instructor-sergeant major and a civilian translator. All!

All this does not allow the brigade command, even during exercises, to receive a sufficient amount of information to correctly assess the enemy, and as a result, does not allow it to correctly assess it and develop it accordingly. correct solution to fight.
. And this is while conducting combat operations against a potential enemy technologically equal to the level of our army. What can we say about conducting battles against similar units of technologically advanced armies? The capabilities of their reconnaissance, target designation and combat use exceed the meager capabilities of the “new-look brigades” by an order of magnitude!

To understand the weakness and inconsistency of the resulting structure, you just need to put next to a similar US or NATO brigade, which, in fact, should be “balanced” by our brigades, and compare their capabilities. But not by the number of barrels or heads, which no longer reflects the real combat effectiveness of modern troops, but by combat capabilities:
— depth and density of exploration,
— information support,
— speed and accuracy of target designation,
— reaction time,
- communications and combat control.

In addition to problems with the combat effectiveness of the new brigades, it was revealed another no less acute group of problems — "weight" of logistics support. Having copied the brigade principle from the US Army, the “reformers” for some reason forgot to copy the American logistics system. And it is precisely this that makes the “brigade” organization in the US Army work. According to it, logistical support for brigades is carried out by the divisions to which these brigades are organizationally included. The brigades themselves are structures that are focused only on conducting combat operations.

With the liquidation of the divisions, all rear support was assigned to the same brigades. As a result, as the chairman of the board of military experts, Major General Vladimirov, aptly described the resulting monster, Instead of combat brigades, we ended up with “ugly bloated regiments”. Which completely lost the mobility and unitarity of the regiments, but never reached the power of the division.

One of the arguments in favor of the transition from a divisional to a brigade structure was the experience of advanced countries. However, here too the reformers got something wrong. In the US armed forces, there were divisions (mechanized, armored, infantry, etc.), and they remain the same. The divisional structure also forms the basis of the ground forces of the People's Liberation Army of China.

If we remember that war involves an armed clash with the enemy, then the combat potentials of the opposing military formations should be mutually comparable. In other words, the brigade is fighting with the brigade of the opposing side, and not with its division or army. But this just doesn’t work. For some reason, the standard defense (offensive) zone of our “compact” ground brigade turned out to be equal to the zone of employment of a “non-compact” mechanized division - 20 km along the front.

In the event of a military conflict with an enemy whose armed forces structure coincides with the American one, in this lane they will converge:
from the Russian side:
- two motorized rifle battalions

- two tank battalions

Tank battalion of the Russian mechanized brigade

(perspective structure)

Two artillery battalions
- one reactive battery

from the enemy:
- two heavy brigades
- two brigade groups
- one army aviation brigade
- one artillery brigade.

TOTAL:
- against 170 enemy tanks we will field 84 tanks;
- against 394 of his infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers - 263 of his own;
- 16 thousand soldiers and officers of the mechanized division will meet on the battlefield with 4.5 thousand soldiers and officers of the motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Ground Forces.

And to what has been said, we will add that we will not put anything against the 118 army aviation helicopters that are regularly in the division of the American army (including 24 attack helicopters) due to their categorical absence in the staff of the new look brigade. Let's add some small details to this:
- threefold superiority of the alleged enemy in artillery pieces and mortars;
- six times superiority in reactive systems volley fire and etc.

/ V. Shurygin “BIG REFORM OR BIG LIE?”, zavtra.ru /

Rearmament that will not happen

Night launch of missiles by S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems.

What will actually prevent the Russian army from being modernized on time?

Deputy Director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis Alexander Khramchikhin doubts that the rearmament program of the Russian army will be completed on time. And the main obstacle here is not corruption, but the replacement of military science with propaganda.

The number of state weapons programs adopted in post-Soviet Russia is now even difficult to establish. At the same time, all programs without exception, both in the “dashing 90s” and in the “blessed 2000s”, suffered the same fate. Not only were they not completed, but they were all abandoned in the middle of the term - precisely because of the obvious failure. And in return, new programs were adopted with new deadlines and plans. After which everything repeated itself. In particular, this happened with the 2007-2015 program. Just recently, all state media widely advertised it as “ new stage in the development of the armed forces of the Russian Federation,” and now no one remembers about it. According to established tradition, this unfulfilled program “hit the ground” and turned into another new state armament program (GAP) for 2011-2020.

20 trillion rubles is the minimum for rearming the army

On new program It is planned to allocate approximately 20 trillion rubles. As one would expect, the liberal public raised a loud cry about “exorbitant military spending” and “militarization of the country” about this. This cry, to put it mildly, is beside the point.

But the fact is that the armed forces have practically exhausted Soviet resources, and they require total rearmament. So total that in fact these 20 trillion will obviously not be enough. This is the bare minimum, not an “exorbitant expense.” Without total rearmament, we simply will not have an army. The international situation, as is easy to see, does not stimulate disarmament in any way.

PAK FA fighter during takeoff at the opening ceremony of the international aviation festival in Zhukovsky. Photo: Lystseva Marina / ITAR-TASS

In this regard, it should be noted that the “compact professional army” is another liberal myth, if not more harshly, amateurish nonsense. The experience of European armies irrefutably demonstrates this. Their long-term permanent reductions are beautifully called optimization, but in reality it is simply a loss of combat effectiveness. In particular, the production of equipment and weapons in microscopic series is completely pointless. Firstly, this is extremely unprofitable economically: the smaller the series, the more expensive each sample is. Secondly, this is extremely irrational from a military point of view. If there is very little equipment, then it is almost impossible to use it in battle, both because of the lack of quantity itself, and because of the inadmissibility of losses: it will simply run out. Moreover, now Europeans are running short not only of equipment, but also of ammunition, which has also become very complex and expensive, so very little of it is purchased. As a result, as experience shows recent years, Almost all European armies They lose the opportunity to fight not only independently, but even collectively.

What saves Europe is that there is no one to attack it, and intervention is voluntary. Iron NATO discipline exists only in the imagination of Kremlin propagandists. Russia's geopolitical position is fundamentally different; it needs a large army with a lot of equipment. It is obvious that humanity is very quickly sliding into the chaos of the “new Middle Ages,” which will obviously be accompanied by many wars between old and new “centers of power” for the complete redivision of the world. It is strange to imagine that this process will bypass a country with the largest territory in the world and a huge amount of natural resources and not the largest population. Therefore, either complete amateurs or people carrying out someone’s order can talk about a “compact professional army”.

Industry is not ready

The GPV 2020 faces a lot of serious problems. The first of them is the state of the military-industrial complex, which should produce these very weapons. During the post-Soviet period, it lost many important technologies, and never had some at all. In addition, production capacity and personnel have been catastrophically lost. During the post-Soviet period, many military-industrial complex enterprises ceased to exist; those that survived, as a rule, had severely worn-out machinery. There is nothing to say about the loss of personnel. As a result, a situation is now beginning to emerge where industry, even with normal funding, is physically unable to fulfill domestic orders and, especially, export orders. Firstly, it often cannot master the production of truly modern equipment, which is why it has to return to modernized Soviet models (Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, Mi-35 helicopters, frigates pr. 11356, submarines pr. 636 ). And as it were, new equipment often turns out, upon careful examination, to be, again, slightly improved Soviet (for example, the S-400 today, in fact, is a kind of S-300PM+, since the “long-range” 40N6 missile defense system is still not suitable for it adopted for service).

Anti-aircraft missile system S-400 at a military parade on Red Square. Photo: Alexandra Mudrats / ITAR-TASS

Secondly, there is not enough production capacity to produce equipment in adequate quantities. Now, factories are being urgently built in Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov to produce components of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. True, it is not very clear where the personnel for these factories will come from. All branches of the military-industrial complex, without exception, are experiencing similar problems. Consequently, building and equipping new enterprises and training personnel for them can take a lot of time and money. Funding for the construction and modernization of factories may be needed no less than for the re-equipment program itself.

On the other hand, military-industrial complex enterprises charge exorbitant prices for their products, and the pricing scheme is not always clear. Because of such prices, the Ministry of Defense acquires such a small amount of equipment that it would be better not to buy it at all. Moreover, an increase in price is by no means accompanied by an increase in quality; more often the opposite happens. And, of course, all this is superimposed by a powerful corruption factor, both from the Armed Forces and from the military-industrial complex.

However, defense enterprises are not to blame for everything. Often the customer, represented by the Ministry of Defense, is simply not able to clearly formulate the tactical and technical specifications for the weapons and equipment he requires. In general, over the two post-Soviet decades, the military-political leadership of the country has not decided on external threats in different time perspectives. And without this, the military construction of the army in general and rearmament in particular become actually impossible. Because of this, various “miracles” like the Mistrals arise: it is still unclear whether their purchase is outright madness or banal corruption. The extremely expensive fifth-generation fighter program T-50 (or PAKFA) is being made for the sole consideration - “to be like the people,” that is, like the United States. At the same time, American experience so far suggests that the entire concept of fifth-generation fighters may turn out to be a dead-end branch of the development of combat aviation.

The reform was carried out without any scientific study

Also, following the United States, Russia really wants to create a network-centric army, which in itself is reasonable. But since the essence of this concept is not fully understood by the state, the automated control systems currently being created for different types of armed forces and branches of the armed forces turn out to be incompatible with each other, and accordingly, the money spent on their creation is simply thrown away. Due to a lack of understanding of what exactly the Armed Forces need, a completely paradoxical situation is emerging: the money has already been allocated, but what equipment and in what quantity they will buy with it have not yet been decided. Naturally, a fierce struggle is unfolding for this money using various lobbying and corruption schemes; as a rule, no one here remembers the interests of the army.

This sad state of affairs is largely explained by the state of Russian military science, which today, with rare exceptions, is not only unable to create new concepts, but has practically lost the ability to even analyze foreign ones. Moreover, even the descriptive function of military science is almost no longer fulfilled, with the exception of certain issues of a technical nature. In fact, most works in the field of military science in Russia have nothing to do with science at all, but are low-level propaganda.

A soldier with an AK-12 assault rifle. Photo: Pavel Lisitsyn / RIA Novosti

maybe someday there will be

Accordingly, there is simply no scientific basis for military development. A good example in this case, it is the military reform of ex-Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov. As a result of this reform, the armed forces underwent tremendous changes (mostly negative, although there were also positive aspects), but neither its authors, nor its real goals, nor the criteria by which the reforms were carried out are still unknown. In fact, the then Chief of the General Staff Makarov openly admitted that the reform was carried out without any scientific study.

Apparently, the Russian economy today is beginning to experience significant problems that may affect the implementation of the State Program 2020 in the direction of reduction. But on this moment the main problem not in money, but in the state of industry and science. Importing weapons will definitely not save Russia, simply because no one will sell it truly modern weapons. Industry and technology can still be purchased to a certain extent, although at a very high cost; it is much more difficult to train personnel for it. But the hardest part is science. Today this is where our bottleneck lies. You won't be able to buy fundamental science. Moreover, without such science, even stealing or buying foreign technologies will be pointless; they will still not be mastered. You can give nuclear weapons to Paraguay or Mauritania, but they won’t nuclear powers, because they will not be able to reproduce it. In the 40s, the USSR, in fact, “borrowed” nuclear weapons from the United States, but this only happened because Soviet science instantly “mastered” this technology.

In this regard, the situation has worsened dramatically compared to the Soviet period. The point is not only and not so much the destruction of schools and the loss of developments, but the anti-scientific public atmosphere. The current violent clericalization of society is extremely dangerous, primarily because it destroys the scientific worldview; against the backdrop of a rapid decline in the level of average and higher education Agitprop does not contribute in any way to the emergence and, especially, retention of scientific personnel. Therefore, it will be extremely difficult for us to implement the GPV-2020. Most likely, in a couple of years it will magically transform into some kind of GPV-2025.

Three-tier structure of the Russian Armed Forces

Now let's look at the question, what changes have occurred in the Russian army over the two years of Serdyukov’s reform?
. For some reason, the main visible manifestation of this military reform was not social transformations, not measures to improve the situation in the troops, but the organizational “squeezing” of the Armed Forces to a three-tier structure: battalion - brigade - operational command, in which the brigade became the main operational-tactical unit. Such traditional levels as regiments, divisions, corps and armies were completely eliminated.

To date Ground forces are consolidated into 85 brigades:
- 39 combined arms brigades,
- 21st brigade of missile troops and artillery,
- 7 army air defense brigades,
- 12 communications brigades,
- 2 electronic warfare brigades,
— 4 air assault brigades.

To manage them, from one to three operational commands have been formed in each district.
This disruption was presented to the Russian public as an “optimization” of a chaotic military structure, left over to Russia as a legacy from Soviet times. As confirmation, the figure of 1,890 military units included in the Armed Forces in 2008 was cited. After “optimization,” there should have been 172 of them left. It was emphasized that all of them would be 100 percent staffed with people and weapons and fully combat-ready. That the brigades will become universal combat units from Kamchatka to Pskov.

But the plans, beautiful on staff papers, turned out to be very far from their real implementation in life. Least a third of the brigades in the end it turned out to be formed according to some “easy” states. According to one of them, the number of motorized rifle brigades - the main operational-tactical unit of the ground forces - is 3,500 people. But there are “brigades” with a total strength of 2,200 people, although it was initially stated that all brigades would have a strength of 4,600 people.

Further more. The presence or absence of weapons and geographical features forced the “reformers” to change existing states in relation to a specific region and basic set weapons. As a result, today there are no less SIX approved brigade staffs. But in reality, taking into account various “amendments” to the staffing levels, in today’s Armed Forces you cannot even find two identical brigades.
. That is There is no talk of any “unification” that the “reformers” strived for so much and what they used to justify the abandonment of the divisional structure. The resulting brigades are extremely diverse in numbers, organization and weapons. At the same time, no one remembers the promised equipping them with new weapons. “New” now simply means operational. We achieved this in the simplest way - all serviceable kits were removed from storage bases and reserve warehouses and sent to staff these brigades.

On the one hand, of course, it is wonderful that now the “new look” brigades contain only functional and serviceable weapons and equipment, but on the other hand, what will happen to this equipment after its service life is over and it suffers the fate of those kits? , which were in service before? If the Ministry of Defense does not have the money to restore the equipment that was in the “old look” regiments and divisions, then where will it come from to repair the new one?
. And wouldn’t it be wiser in this case to repair the “old” one? After all, the current “rearmament” is not a transition to qualitatively new weapons and equipment, but only “eating” the mobilization reserve, without which Russia simply cannot win a single more or less large-scale war.

As an example it is worth taking Far Eastern Theater of Operations(TVD).

In 1986-1997 the number of divisions in the Far Eastern theater of operations decreased from 57 to 23, tanks - from 14,900 to 10,068, surface-to-surface missiles - from 363 to 102, combat helicopters - from 1,000 to 310, combat aircraft - from 1,125 to 500. Process reductions continued after 1997, although at a slightly slower pace.
. As a result, before the start of the Serdyukov reform, 23 divisions were located here, but more than half of these formations were “staffed” - that is, reduced in strength, and the total grouping of the Ground Forces consisted of about 100 thousand soldiers and officers.

In the Shenyang and Beijing military districts of the PLA opposing us, directly bordering Russia on Far East and in Transbaikalia, 22 divisions (4 tank, 6 mechanized, 6 motorized infantry, 3 airborne, 3 artillery) and 38 brigades (6 tank, 12 motorized infantry, 1 infantry, 7 artillery, 1 anti-tank, 11 air defense) are concentrated. In reserve - 7 infantry divisions and 3 air defense divisions, in total more than 500,000 soldiers and officers, 3,000 tanks and more than 1,000 airplanes and helicopters.

Chinese helicopter pilots

To transport reinforcements from the west, we have only one communication line - Transsib. Its length (from Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow to Vladivostok station) is 9288 km. Wherein more than 1500 kilometers of this railway They go in close proximity to the Soviet-Chinese border, sometimes approaching it within line of sight. Therefore in Soviet time The high military command never counted on it as a route for transporting reserves in the event of an aggravation of the situation in this region.

The bet was placed on something else - in case of war, the Far Eastern group had in its warehouses and bases the storage of equipment, weapons, ammunition and ammunition for almost a million-strong military group. In the event of a military threat, the ground military group deployed here could be increased to almost 500 thousand in thirty days, and up to 700 thousand soldiers and officers in forty-five days, which would already qualitatively change the balance of power in the region, given the ongoing technical superiority, and most importantly - superiority in command and control at the operational-strategic level. Considering the strategic superiority of the USSR in nuclear weapons, covering the main economic centers with fortified areas, this made the war against the USSR a meaningless adventure.

After Serdyukov’s “optimization,” the number of deployed troops in this region even increased by about 20 thousand people. It would seem that one can only rejoice, but at the same time, the entire mobilization part of our military group has been virtually completely eliminated. All “cadre” regiments and divisions were reduced and disbanded. According to the plans of Makarov and Serdyukov, only a few separate brigades can be deployed here in the event of war. Moreover, after Putin signed agreements with China on a hundred-kilometer demilitarized zone along the border and territorial concessions to China all our fortified areas were disarmed and blown up.

In the event of a hypothetical war with China, the half-million Chinese group will be opposed by a thin defensive chain of three dozen brigades numbering just over 100 thousand people. Moreover, stretched over more than 1,500 kilometers along the Chinese border, without reserves and without any hope of strengthening. Since the transfer of one brigade from the European part of Russia here will take no less than a month, unless, of course, the Chinese cut the Trans-Siberian Railway earlier.

The permanent deployment point of the northernmost MSBR in Primorye has been determined in Sibirtsevo, and the southernmost MSBR in the Khabarovsk Territory in Bikin. Between them there are more than 400 km of border strip, protected by an electronic surveillance system of border departments with 15% staffing and abandoned military camps: Salskoye, Grafskoye, Vedenka, Dalnerechensk, Lazo, Filino, Koltsevoye, Panteleimonovka, Lesozavodsk, Sungach, Knoring, Spassk, Chernigovka.
. At the same time, fully understanding the state of our Far Eastern group, the current Chief of the General Staff, General Makarov, cheerfully hypnotizes the public:

« Now the new brigades are ready not only for the immediate use of force, but are also capable of holding off any enemy for 45 days. This time is quite enough to mobilize and reinforce them with additional forces if necessary...«

I remember that in our history there were already military leaders who promised Comrade Stalin to defeat any enemy with one powerful blow, quickly and on foreign territory. And then it was forty-one...
. I am afraid that General Makarov remembers very poorly the military history of his army and the fate of these “optimists” in the general’s stripes.
. How sadly Far Eastern officers joke today: after the Serdyukov-Makarov “optimization”, it will not be a difficult problem for the Chinese army to defeat the Russian army. The problem will be to find it...

Hierarchy and number of military formations.
Finally, the Battle Regulations of the Ground Forces are coming into force. You can more or less decide on the hierarchy, although I have only become familiar with two parts.
In general, I am very often asked questions like “how many people are in the division”, “how many people are in the brigade”. Well, it's impossible to answer this question. Because I can give an answer, say, about a tank regiment, but they were generally interested in cavalry, and even in the 40th year. The fact is that the very name “squad”, “platoon”, “company” does not depend on numerical strength, and firstly, from the type of troops, and, secondly, from the tactical tasks that are assigned to the formation of this type.

And so, the smallest formation:
“Squad” (crew for artillery, Crew for tankers).
The squad is commanded by a sergeant (junior sergeant), armed with an AK74
A motorized rifle squad consists of 9...13 people (in addition to the squad commander: a grenade launcher, a private with an RPG-7, PM; a grenade launcher assistant gunner, a private with an AK74; a machine gunner, a private with an RPK74; a senior gunner, a corporal with an AK74; 3...5 riflemen, privates with AK74; mechanic driver of an infantry fighting vehicle and gunner-operator/machine gunner of an infantry fighting vehicle/infantry fighting vehicle).
The squad is named after its branch of service (tank, motorized rifle, engineering, communications)
Motorized rifle squad:
Defense up to 100m,
Advance up to 50m

"Platoon"
Several squads make up a platoon (from 2 to 4).
The platoon is commanded by an officer - lieutenant, Art. lieutenant.
Number of people: 9...45 people.
The platoon is named after its branch of service (tank, motorized rifle, engineer, communications)
Motorized rifle platoon:
Defense 400 m along the front, 300 m in depth.
Advance up to 200...300 meters

"Company" (battery for artillery and squadron for cavalry)
Several platoons make up a company (from 2 to 4). In addition to platoons, a company may include squads that are not part of a platoon.
A company is a formation that can perform independent tasks on the battlefield.
The company commander is a captain.
Number of people from 18 to 200 (motorized rifle companies 130...150 people; tank companies 30...35 people)
The company is named after its branch of service (tank, motorized rifle, engineering, communications)
Motorized rifle company:
Defense 1…1.5 km along the front up to 1 km in depth
Advance: 0.5…1 km

Battalion. (Division for artillery.)
Several companies make up a battalion (from 2 to 4); the battalion also includes platoons that are not part of the companies.
The battalion is named after its branch of service (tank, motorized rifle, engineering, communications). But the battalion includes formations of other types of weapons (For example, in a motorized rifle battalion, in addition to motorized rifle companies, there is a mortar battery, a logistics platoon, and a communications platoon.)
The battalion commander is a lieutenant colonel.
The battalion has its own headquarters.
The number is from 250...950 people (theoretically, the size of the battalion is possible and less).
Motorized rifle battalion:
Defense 3…5 km along the front and 2…2.5 km in depth
Advance 1…2 km

Regiment.
The regiment is named after the branch of service, but includes units from many branches of the military. Consists of at least 3...4 battalions. (2...3 battalions of the military branch)
The regiment commander is a colonel.
(For example, in a motorized rifle regiment there are 2...3 motorized rifle battalions, one tank battalion, one artillery division (battalion), one anti-aircraft missile division, reconnaissance company, engineer company, communications company, anti-tank battery, chemical defense platoon, repair company, logistics company, orchestra, medical center)
The number of personnel in the regiment ranges from 900...2000 people.

Brigade.
An intermediate element (so to speak) from regiment to division.
The main difference from a regiment is the larger number of both battalions and other units. (Let's say there are two tank battalions in the MTB) A brigade can also consist of 2 regiments.
Brigade Commander - Colonel
Number of people: 2000...8000 people

Division.
Although it is named according to the type of predominant troops, in fact the predominance can differ only by one regiment (say, in a motorized rifle division there are two motorized rifle regiments, in a tank division, on the contrary, there is one motorized rifle regiment for two tank regiments)
Division commander - Major General
Number of personnel from 12,000...24,000 people

Frame.
Intermediate military formation from division to army.
The corps is a combined arms formation.
The corps was usually created in cases where the formation of an army was impractical.
After completing the combat mission, the corps was disbanded.
Corps commander: Lieutenant General
Now there are 7 Corps in Russia (data on commanders may be out of date):
- 57th Army Corps (Ulan-Ude) (Major General Alexander Maslov)
- 68th Army Corps (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) (Lieutenant General Vladimir Varennikov)
- 1st Air Defense Corps (Balashikha, Moscow region) (Lieutenant General Nikolai Dubovikov)
- 23rd Air Defense Corps (Vladivostok, Primorsky Territory) (Major General Viktor Ostashko)
- 21st Air Defense Corps (Severomorsk, Murmansk region) (Lieutenant General Sergei Razygraev)
- 16th operational submarine squadron (Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka region) (Vice Admiral Alexander Neshcheret)
- 7th operational squadron of surface ships (Severomorsk, Murmansk region) (Vice Admiral Gennady Radzevsky)

Army.
In this case, the army is a military formation.
The army is a large military formation for operational purposes. The army includes divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops.
An army may also include one or more corps.
Staff rank com. army - colonel general.
Armies are usually Peaceful time regiments, divisions and battalions are not formed and are part of the District.
Now in Russia there are 30 Armies:
- 37th Air Army ( strategic purpose) Supreme High Command (Moscow).
Lieutenant General Mikhail Oparin
- 61st Air Army (military transport aviation) of the Supreme High Command (Moscow),
Lieutenant General Viktor Denisov

27th Guards Rocket Army (Vladimir),
Lieutenant General Viktor Alekseev
- 31st Missile Army (Orenburg),
Lieutenant General Anatoly Borzenkov
- 33rd Guards Rocket Army (Omsk)
Lieutenant General Alexander Konarev
- 53rd Missile Army (Chita).
Lieutenant General Leonid Sinyakovich

3rd separate army of rocket and space defense (Solnechnogorsk, Moscow region).
Major General Sergei Kurushkin

2nd Guards Combined Arms Army (Samara).
Major General Alexey Verbitsky
- 5th Combined Arms Army (Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory).
Major General Alexander Stolyarov
- 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (Voronezh).
Lieutenant General Sergei Makarov
- 22nd Guards Combined Arms Army (Nizhny Novgorod).
Lieutenant General Alexey Merkuryev
- 35th Combined Arms Army (Belogorsk, Amur Region).
Lieutenant General Alexander Kutikov
- 41st Combined Arms Army (Borzya, Chita region).
Lieutenant General Hakim Mirzazyanov
- 41st Combined Arms Army (Novosibirsk).
Major General Vladimir Kovrov
- 58th Combined Arms Army (Vladikavkaz).
Lieutenant General Valery Gerasimov

A group of Russian troops in Transcaucasia.
Lieutenant General Nikolai Zolotov
- Operational group of Russian troops in Transnistria (Tiraspol).
Major General Boris Sergeev

4th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Rostov-on-Don).
Lieutenant General Alexander Zelin

5th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Ekaterinburg).
Lieutenant General Evgeny Yuryev
- 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army (St. Petersburg).
Lieutenant General Evgeny Torbov
- 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Khabarovsk).
Lieutenant General Igor Sadofiev
- 14th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Novosibirsk).
Lieutenant General Nikolai Danilov

16th Air Army (Kubinka, Moscow region).
Lieutenant General Valery Retunsky

1st submarine flotilla (Zaozersk, Murmansk region)
Vice Admiral Oleg Burtsev
- 3rd submarine flotilla (Gadzhievo, Murmansk region).
Vice Admiral Sergei Simonenko

Kola flotilla of heterogeneous forces (Polyarny, Murmansk region).
Vice Admiral Nikolai Osokin
- Primorsky flotilla of heterogeneous forces (Fokino, Primorsky Krai).
Vice Admiral Evgeny Litvinenko
- Kamchatka flotilla of heterogeneous forces (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky).
Vice Admiral Yuri Shumanin

Caspian Flotilla (Astrakhan).
Rear Admiral Viktor Petrovich Kravchuk (since 2005)

Troops and forces of the North-Eastern Direction of the Pacific Fleet (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky).
Rear Admiral Viktor Chirkov (?)

District (during wartime Front)
The highest military formation.
The front includes several armies, corps, divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. Fronts are never divided by types of troops
The front (district) is headed by the commander of the front (district) with the rank of army general
Russia now has 6 military districts, 4 military fleets (data as of May 2007).
-Moscow Military District
Army General Vladimir Yurievich Bakin
- Leningrad Military District
Army General Puzanov Igor Evgenievich
- Volga-Ural Military District
General of the Army Boldyrev Vladimir Anatolyevich
- North Caucasus Military District
Army General Baranov Alexander Ivanovich
- Siberian Military District
Colonel General POSTNIKOV Alexander Nikolaevich
- Far Eastern Military District
Colonel General Bulgakov Vladimir Vasilievich

Northern Fleet
Admiral Vysotsky Vladimir Sergeevich
- Pacific Fleet
Admiral Fedorov Viktor Dmitrievich
- Black Sea Fleet
Admiral Tatarinov Alexander
- Baltic Fleet
Vice Admiral Sidenko Konstantin Semenovich

In addition to this there is:
Subdivision.
This is all military formations included in the part. A squad, platoon, company, battalion - they are all united by one word "unit". The word comes from the concept of division, to divide. Those. part is divided into divisions.

Part.
The main unit of the Armed Forces. Most often, a unit is understood as a regiment or brigade.
Characteristic for the part:
- having your own office work,
- military economy,
- having a bank account,
- postal and telegraph addresses,
- having your own official seal,
- the commander’s right to give written orders,
- the presence of an open (for example, 44 educational tank division) and closed (military unit 08728) combined arms numbers.
The presence of a Battle Banner is not necessary for a unit.
In addition to the regiment and brigade, the units include division headquarters, corps headquarters, army headquarters, district headquarters, as well as other military organizations (voentorg, army hospital, garrison clinic, district food warehouse, district song and dance ensemble, garrison officers' house, garrison household goods services, central school of junior specialists, military school, military institute, etc.)
In some cases, a unit may be a unit other than a regiment or brigade. Battalion, Company and even platoon. Such parts are called the word “separate” before the name

Compound.
United units: Division. Less often, Brigade.

An association.
Unification is a term that unites a corps, an army, an army group and a front (district).

I'm still working on the text.

Very often, in feature films and literary works on military topics, terms such as company, battalion, and regiment are used. The number of formations is not indicated by the author. Military people, of course, are aware of this issue, as well as many others related to the army.

This article is addressed to those who are far from the army, but still want to navigate the military hierarchy and know what a squad, company, battalion, division is. The number, structure and tasks of these formations are described in the article.

Smallest formation

A division, or department, is the minimum unit in the hierarchy of the Armed Forces of the Soviet and later Russian army. This formation is homogeneous in its composition, that is, it consists of either infantrymen, cavalrymen, etc. When performing combat missions, the unit acts as a single unit. This formation is led by a full-time commander with the rank of junior sergeant or sergeant. Among military personnel, the term “chest of drawers” ​​is used, which is short for “squad commander.” Depending on the type of troops, the units are called differently. For artillery the term “crew” is used, and for tank troops “crew”.

Unit composition

This formation consists of 5 to 10 people serving. However, a motorized rifle squad consists of 10-13 soldiers. Unlike the Russian army, in the United States the smallest army formation is a group. The US division itself consists of two groups.

Platoon

In the Russian Armed Forces, a platoon consists of three to four sections. It is possible that there are more of them. The number of personnel is 45 people. The leadership of this military formation is carried out by a junior lieutenant, lieutenant or senior lieutenant.

Company

This army formation consists of 2-4 platoons. A company can also include independent squads that do not belong to any platoon. For example, a motorized rifle company may consist of three motorized rifle platoons, a machine gun and an anti-tank squad. The command of this army formation is exercised by a commander with the rank of captain. The size of a battalion company ranges from 20 to 200 people. The number of military personnel depends on the type of military service. Thus, in a tank company the smallest number of military personnel was noted: from 31 to 41. In a motorized rifle company - from 130 to 150 military personnel. There are 80 soldiers in the landing force.

A company is the smallest military formation of tactical importance. This means that company soldiers can perform small tactical tasks independently on the battlefield. In this case, the company is not part of the battalion, but acts as a separate and autonomous formation. In some branches of the military, the term “company” is not used, but is replaced by similar military formations. For example, cavalry is equipped with squadrons of one hundred people each, artillery with batteries, border troops with outposts, and aviation with units.

Battalion

The size of this military formation depends on the type of troops. Often the number of military personnel in this case ranges from 250 to a thousand soldiers. There are battalions of up to one hundred soldiers. Such a formation is equipped with 2-4 companies or platoons, operating independently. Due to their significant numbers, battalions are used as the main tactical formations. It is commanded by an officer of at least the rank of lieutenant colonel. The commander is also called “battalion commander”. Coordination of the battalion's activities is carried out at the command headquarters. Depending on the type of troops using one or another weapon, the battalion can be tank, motorized rifle, engineering, communications, etc. A motorized rifle battalion of 530 people (on BTR-80) may include:

• motorized rifle companies, - mortar battery;
• logistics platoon;
• communications platoon.

Regiments are formed from battalions. In artillery the concept of battalion is not used. There it is replaced by similar formations - divisions.

Smallest tactical unit of armored forces

A TB (tank battalion) is a separate unit at the headquarters of an army or corps. Organizationally, a tank battalion is not included in tank or motorized rifle regiments.

Since the TB itself does not need to enhance its firepower, it does not contain mortar batteries, anti-tank or grenade launcher platoons. The TB can be reinforced by an anti-aircraft missile platoon. 213 soldiers - this is the size of the battalion.

Regiment

In the Soviet and Russian armies, the word “regiment” was considered key. This is due to the fact that the regiments are tactical and autonomous formations. Command is exercised by a colonel. Despite the fact that regiments are called by types of troops (tank, motorized rifle, etc.), they may contain different units. The name of the regiment is determined by the name of the predominant formation. An example would be a motorized rifle regiment consisting of three motorized rifle battalions and one tank. In addition, the motorized rifle battalion is equipped with an anti-aircraft missile battalion, as well as companies:

• communications;
• intelligence;
• engineering and sapper;
• repair;
• material support.

In addition, there is an orchestra and a medical center. The regiment's personnel does not exceed two thousand people. In artillery regiments, unlike similar formations in other branches of the military, the number of military personnel is smaller. The number of soldiers depends on how many divisions the regiment consists of. If there are three of them, then the number of military personnel in the regiment is up to 1,200 people. If there are four divisions, then the regiment has 1,500 soldiers. Thus, the strength of a battalion of a division regiment cannot be less than 400 people.

Brigade

Just like the regiment, the brigade belongs to the main tactical formations. However, the number of personnel in the brigade is higher: from 2 to 8 thousand soldiers. In a motorized rifle brigade of motorized rifle and tank battalions, the number of military personnel is twice as large as in a regiment. The brigades consist of two regiments, several battalions and a auxiliary company. The brigade is commanded by an officer with the rank of colonel.

Division structure and strength

The division is the main operational-tactical formation, composed of various units. Just like a regiment, a division is named according to the branch of service that predominates in it. The structure of a motorized rifle division is identical to that of a tank division. The difference between them is that a motorized rifle division is formed from three motorized rifle regiments and one tank, and a tank division is formed from three tank regiments and one motorized rifle. The division is also equipped with:

• two artillery regiments;
• one anti-aircraft missile regiment;
• jet division;
• missile division;
• helicopter squadron;
• one chemical defense company and several auxiliary ones;
• reconnaissance, repair and restoration, medical and sanitary, engineering and sapper battalions;
• one electronic warfare battalion.

In each division under the command of a major general, from 12 to 24 thousand people serve.

What is the body?

The army corps is a combined arms formation. In a tank, artillery, or corps of any other type of army there is no predominance of one or another division. There is no uniform structure when forming buildings. Their formation is significantly influenced by the military-political situation. The corps is an intermediate link between such military formations as a division and an army. Corps are formed where it is impractical to create an army.

Army

The concept “army” is used in the following meanings:

• The country's armed forces as a whole;
• large military formation for operational purposes.

An army usually consists of one or more corps. It is difficult to indicate the exact number of military personnel in the army, as well as in the corps themselves, since each of these formations has its own structure and strength.

Conclusion

Military affairs is developing and improving every year, enriched with new technologies and branches of the military, thanks to which in the near future, as the military believes, the way of waging wars may be radically changed. And this, in turn, will entail an adjustment in the number of personnel of many military formations.

This will be my first blog post. It’s not a full-fledged article in terms of the number of words and information, but it’s a very important note, which can be read in one breath and has almost more benefits than many of my articles. So, what is a squad, platoon, company and other concepts known to us from books and films? And how many people do they contain?

What is a platoon, company, battalion, etc.

• Branch
• Platoon
• Battalion
• Brigade
• Division
• Frame
• Army
• Front (district)

These are all tactical units in the branches and types of troops. I have arranged them in order from least number of people to most to make it easier for you to remember them. During my service, I most often met with everyone up to the regiment.

From the brigade and above (in number of people) during the 11 months of service, we didn’t even say. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I do not serve in a military unit, but in an educational institution.

How many people do they include?

Department. Numbers from 5 to 10 people. The squad is commanded by the squad leader. A squad leader is a sergeant's position, so commode (short for squad leader) is often a junior sergeant or sergeant.

Platoon. A platoon includes from 3 to 6 sections, that is, it can reach from 15 to 60 people. The platoon commander is in charge of the platoon. This is already an officer position. It is occupied by a minimum of a lieutenant and a maximum of a captain.

Company. A company includes from 3 to 6 platoons, that is, it can consist of from 45 to 360 people. The company is commanded by the company commander. This is a major position. In fact, the commander is a senior lieutenant or captain (in the army, a company commander is affectionately and abbreviated as a company commander).

Battalion. This is either 3 or 4 companies + headquarters and individual specialists (gunsmith, signalman, snipers, etc.), a mortar platoon (not always), sometimes air defense and tank destroyers (hereinafter referred to as PTB). The battalion includes from 145 to 500 people. The commander of the battalion (abbreviated as battalion commander) commands.

This is the position of lieutenant colonel. But in our country, both captains and majors command, who in the future can become lieutenant colonels, provided they retain this position.

Regiment. From 3 to 6 battalions, that is, from 500 to 2500+ people + headquarters + regimental artillery + air defense + fire-fighting tanks. The regiment is commanded by a colonel. But maybe also a lieutenant colonel.

Brigade. A brigade is several battalions, sometimes 2 or even 3 regiments. The brigade usually has from 1,000 to 4,000 people. It is commanded by a colonel. The abbreviated title for the position of brigade commander is brigade commander.

Division. These are several regiments, including artillery and, possibly, tank + rear service + sometimes aviation. Commanded by a colonel or major general. The number of divisions varies. From 4,500 to 22,000 people.

Frame. These are several divisions. That is, in the region of 100,000 people. The corps is commanded by a major general.

Army. From two to ten divisions of different types of troops + rear units + repair shops and so on. The number can be very different. On average from 200,000 to 1,000,000 people and above. The army is commanded by a major general or lieutenant general.

Front. In peacetime - a military district. It’s difficult to give exact numbers here. They vary by region, military doctrine, political environment and the like.

The front is already a self-sufficient structure with reserves, warehouses, training units, military schools and so on. The front commander commands the front. This is a lieutenant general or army general.

The composition of the front depends on the assigned tasks and the situation. Typically the front includes:

• control;
• missile army (one - two);
• army (five - six);
• tank army (one - two);
• air army (one - two);
• air defense army;
• separate formations and units of various types of troops and special troops of front-line subordination;
• formations, units and establishments of operational logistics.

The front can be strengthened by formations and units of other branches of the Armed Forces and the reserve of the Supreme High Command.

What other similar tactical terms exist?

Subdivision. This word refers to all military formations that are part of the unit. Squad, platoon, company, battalion - they are all united by one word “unit”. The word comes from the concept of division, to divide. That is, the part is divided into divisions.

Part. This is the main unit of the Armed Forces. The term “unit” most often means regiment and brigade. The external features of the unit are: the presence of its own office work, military economy, bank account, postal and telegraph address, its own official seal, the commander’s right to give written orders, open (44 tank training division) and closed (military unit 08728) combined arms numbers. That is, the part has sufficient autonomy.

IMPORTANT! Please note that the terms military unit and military unit do not mean exactly the same thing. The term “military unit” is used as a general designation, without specifics. If we are talking about a specific regiment, brigade, etc., then the term “military unit” is used. Usually its number is also mentioned: “military unit 74292” (but you cannot use “military unit 74292”) or, for short, military unit 74292.

Compound. As a standard, only a division fits this term. The word “connection” itself means to connect parts. The division headquarters has the status of a unit. Other units (regiments) are subordinate to this unit (headquarters). All together there is a division. However, in some cases, a brigade may also have the status of a connection. This happens if the brigade includes separate battalions and companies, each of which has the status of a unit in itself.

An association. This term combines corps, army, army group and front (district). The headquarters of the association is also the part to which various formations and units are subordinated.

Bottom line

There are no other specific and grouping concepts in the military hierarchy. At least in the Ground Forces. In this article we did not touch upon the hierarchy of military formations of the aviation and navy. However, the attentive reader can now imagine the naval and aviation hierarchy quite simply and with minor errors.

Now it will be easier for us to dialogue, friends! After all, every day we are getting closer to speaking the same language. You are learning more and more military terms and meanings, and I am getting closer and closer to civilian life!))

I wish everyone to find in this article what they were looking for,

Armed Forces (AF) of the state- government-supplied defensive and militant organizations used in the interests of the state. In some countries the structure Sun paramilitary organizations are included.

Types of aircraft

BoCs are usually divided into different types; these are usually the army (ground forces), aviation (air force) and navy (navy/navy). A number of countries organize part of their Armed Forces as separate corps - Marines(USA), etc. The Coast Guard may also be part of the Armed Forces (although in many countries it is part of the police force, or is a civilian agency). The French structure, copied by many countries, includes three traditional branches, and, as a fourth, the Gendarmerie.

The term consolidated forces is often used, meaning military units made up of two or more branches of the Armed Forces.

Organizational hierarchy Sun

The minimum unit of the aircraft is a unit. The unit usually operates as a single unit, and is homogeneous in composition (for example, only infantry, only cavalry, etc.). In turn, divisions can be divided into smaller units.

In the Soviet and Russian armies, the main unit is a battalion, or company. They represent tactical level .

Larger units of the Russian Armed Forces are called, depending on their size, units, formations and associations (English formations). Examples of formations are brigades, divisions, wings, etc. They form strategic level , in a number of countries, for example, in Russia, it stands out operational level , the main operational unit was the division.

In different states (and even in different types of armed forces of the same state), the same unit name can be used with different meanings, for example, squadron. It may be used in the navy to designate a formation of several ships; can be used in aviation as the name of a unit (squadron); in a number of armies, including the American and Red Army - the name of the cavalry unit corresponding to the battalion; in British Commonwealth armies, a squadron often denotes a tank company.

Command (English command) are units, units and formations that together form a single whole and are under the command of one officer. This is usually a high-level organizational unit responsible directly to the government or national general staff. In a number of countries, commands are united by type of armed forces, for example, the Command of the Ground Forces.

In the Russian Army, the term “command” roughly corresponds to the term “union”.

Hierarchy of modern armies

Symbol	Army unit name (divisions; connections)	Number of soldiers	Number of subordinate units	Command of an army unit (divisions; connections)
XXXXXXX	region or theater of war	300 000 +	2+ fronts	marshal or commander-in-chief
XXXXXX	front, district	200 000 +	2+ army groups	army general, marshal
XXXXX	army group	100 000 +	2+ armies	army general, marshal
XXXX	army	50 000 - 60 000+	2+ buildings	general, colonel general
XXX	frame	30 000 - 50 000	2-4 divisions	lieutenant general
XX	division	10 000 - 20 000	2-4 brigades	major general
X	brigade	3000-5000	2+ regiments	colonel, major general
III	regiment	2000-3000	2-3 battalions	lieutenant colonel, colonel
II	battalion, division	300-1000	2-6 mouth	major, lieutenant colonel
I	company, battery, squadron	70-250	2-8 platoons	senior lieutenant or captain
	platoon, detachment	25-60	3-4 compartments	junior lieutenant, lieutenant or senior lieutenant
?	squad, crew, crew	8-16	2 groups, links	junior sergeant, sergeant, senior sergeant
?	unit, group, team	4-8	0	corporal, junior sergeant

Steps in this ladder can be skipped: for example, in NATO forces there is usually a battalion-brigade organization (in Russia such an organization is also used, it is an alternative to the battalion-regiment-division division). At the same time, units of higher levels can only exist in large armed forces.

An army, an army group, a region and a theater of military operations are the largest formations, which can differ greatly from each other in size and composition. At the division level, support forces are usually added (field artillery, medical service, logistics service, etc.), which may not be present at the regiment and battalion level. In the USA, a regiment with support units is called a regimental combat team, in England and other countries - a combat group.

In some countries, traditional names may be used, creating confusion. Thus, British and Canadian tank battalions are divided into squadrons (companies, English companies) and troops, English. troops (corresponding to platoons, English platoons), while in the American cavalry a squadron corresponds not to a company, but to a battalion, and is divided into troops (troops, corresponding to companies) and platoons.

The fronts of the Red Army during World War II corresponded, according to this classification, to army groups.

Add-ons

1. The names of the listed units may vary depending on the type of troops. For example:

A). IN Soviet army(and, accordingly, in Russian) the department can be called the crew. Functionally corresponds to the crew of one combat vehicle;
b). IN missile forces and artillery, air defense troops, a squad can be called a crew. Functionally corresponds to a crew that services one gun or combat vehicle; V). In missile and artillery and air defense forces, a company is called a battery, and a battalion is called a division; G). In the cavalry, a battalion was called a squadron. Currently, in the armies of Anglo-Saxon countries (Britain, USA) there are so-called. armored cavalry troops, in which this name is retained; d). In cavalry, a company was called a half-squadron. Currently, in the armies of Anglo-Saxon countries (Britain, USA) there are so-called. armored cavalry troops, in which such a name or "corpse" is retained; e). Other names also exist in Russian Cossack troops;

1. The indicated number refers to infantry (motorized infantry, motorized rifle) troops. In other branches of the military, the number of units with the same names may be significantly smaller. For example, an infantry regiment consists of 3 - 4 thousand people, an artillery regiment - of 1 thousand.
2. Any military unit in the army has not one, but two states - peacetime and wartime. The wartime workforce adds new positions in existing units, new units, and new units. Missing military personnel are called up by general mobilization in wartime. In the Soviet (and Russian) Army there are:

A). Deployed wartime staff; b). Reduced staff; V). Cadre units (in which the staff consists only of officers at the level of platoon commanders or company commanders and above);

In the modern Russian Army, about 85% of military units have a reduced staff, the remaining 15% are so-called. “units of constant readiness”, which are deployed at full strength. In peacetime, the Armed Forces in Russia are divided into military districts, each of which is headed by a district commander with the rank of colonel general. In wartime, fronts are deployed on the bases of military districts.

1. All modern armies have adopted a “ternary” (sometimes “quaternary”) composition. This means that an infantry regiment consists of three infantry battalions (“three-battalion composition”). In addition to them, it includes smaller auxiliary units - for example, a mortar battery, a repair company, etc. In turn, each infantry battalion of the regiment consists of three infantry companies, and smaller auxiliary units, for example, a communications platoon.
2. The hierarchy, therefore, may not go directly, for example, a mortar battery in infantry regiment is not part of any battalion (division). Accordingly, separate battalions can be allocated, each of which is an independent military unit, or even separate companies. Also, each regiment can be part of a division, or (at a higher level) directly subordinate to the command of the corps (“corps subordination regiment”), or, at an even higher level, the regiment can subordinate directly to the command of a military district (“district subordination regiment”);
3. In an infantry regiment, the main units - infantry battalions - report directly to the regimental commander. All auxiliary units are subordinate to his deputies. The same system is repeated at all levels. For example, for an artillery regiment of district subordination, the chief will not be the commander of the district troops, but the chief of the district artillery. The communications platoon of an infantry battalion is subordinate not to the battalion commander, but to his first deputy - the chief of staff.
4. Brigades are a separate unit. In terms of their position, brigades stand between a regiment (the regiment commander is a colonel) and a division (the division commander is a major general). In most armies of the world there is an intermediate rank between the ranks of colonel and major general "Brigadier General", corresponding to the brigade commander. In Russia, traditionally there is no such title. In the modern Russian Army, the Soviet division of military district-corps-division-regiment-battalion, as a rule, is replaced by the abbreviated military district - brigade - battalion.

Currently there is a transition to a “new look of the armed forces” Russian Federation corresponding to the corps-brigade-battalion structure. This transition leads to a reduction in numbers officers, which poses certain difficulties for the Ministry of Defense, the need to provide housing or housing certificates for dismissed officers. As well as the redistribution of personnel and weapons of disbanded units.

Different levels

In the Russian Army, the units specified in this article are divided into divisions(squad - battalion), parts(separate battalion - regiment), connections(brigade, division) and associations(corps, army, front). Accordingly, the lowest one is isolated, tactical the level at which the basic unit is the division, operational level (army-front), the largest - strategic(group of fronts).

Detailed description

Branch

In the Soviet and Russian armies, a squad is the smallest military formation with a full-time commander. The squad is commanded by a junior sergeant or sergeant. Usually there are 9-13 people in a motorized rifle squad. In departments of other branches of the military, the number of personnel in the department ranges from 3 to 15 people. In some branches of the military the branch is called differently. In artillery - crew, in tank forces - crew. In some other armies, the squad is not the smallest formation. For example, in the US Army, the smallest formation is a group, and a squad consists of two groups. But basically, in most armies, the squad is the smallest formation. Typically, a squad is part of a platoon, but can exist outside of a platoon. For example, the reconnaissance diving section of an engineer battalion is not part of any of the battalion’s platoons, but is directly subordinate to the battalion chief of staff.

Platoon

Several squads make up a platoon. Usually there are from 2 to 4 squads in a platoon, but more are possible. The platoon is headed by a commander with the rank of officer. In the Soviet and Russian armies this is junior lieutenant, lieutenant or senior lieutenant. On average, the number of platoon personnel ranges from 9 to 45 people. Usually in all branches of the military the name is the same - platoon. Usually a platoon is part of a company, but can exist independently.

Company

Several platoons make up a company. In addition, a company may also include several independent squads that are not included in any of the platoons. For example, a motorized rifle company has three motorized rifle platoons, a machine gun squad, and an anti-tank squad. Typically a company consists of 2-4 platoons, sometimes more platoons. A company is the smallest formation of tactical importance, that is, a formation capable of independently performing small tactical tasks on the battlefield. The company commander is a captain. On average, the size of a company can be from 70 to 200 people. Motorized rifle companies usually have about 101-150 people, tank companies 30-35 people. Usually a company is part of a battalion, but it is not uncommon for companies to exist as independent formations. In artillery, a formation of this type is called a battery, in cavalry - a squadron.

Battalion

Consists of several companies (usually 2-4) and several platoons that are not part of any of the companies. The battalion is one of the main tactical formations. A battalion, like a company, platoon, or squad, is named after its branch of service (tank, motorized rifle, engineer, communications). But the battalion already includes formations of other types of weapons. For example, in a motorized rifle battalion, in addition to motorized rifle companies, there is a mortar battery, a logistics platoon, and a communications platoon. The battalion commander is a major or lieutenant colonel. The battalion already has its own headquarters. Usually, on average, a battalion, depending on the type of troops, can number from 250 to 950 people. However, there are battalions of about 150 people. In artillery, this type of formation is called a division.

• Note1: The name of the formation - squad, platoon, company, etc. depends not on the number of personnel, but on the type of troops and the tactical tasks assigned to the formation of this type. Hence the dispersion in the number of personnel in formations that have the same name.

Regiment

In the Soviet and Russian armies, this is the main (one might say key) tactical formation and a completely autonomous formation in the economic sense. The regiment is commanded by a colonel. Although regiments are named according to the types of troops (tank, motorized rifle, communications, pontoon-bridge, etc.), in fact this is a formation consisting of units of many types of troops, and the name is given according to the predominant type of troops. For example, in a motorized rifle regiment there are two or three motorized rifle battalions, one tank battalion, one artillery battalion (read battalion), one anti-aircraft missile battalion, a reconnaissance company, an engineer company, a communications company, an anti-tank battery, a chemical defense platoon, a repair company, logistics company, orchestra, medical center. The number of personnel in the regiment ranges from 900 to 2000 people.

Brigade

Just like a regiment, it is the main tactical formation. Actually, the brigade occupies an intermediate position between a regiment and a division. The structure of a brigade is most often the same as a regiment, but there are significantly more battalions and other units in a brigade. So in a motorized rifle brigade there are one and a half to two times more motorized rifle and tank battalions than in a regiment. A brigade can also consist of two regiments, plus battalions and auxiliary companies. On average, the brigade has from 2 to 8 thousand people. The brigade commander, as well as the regiment, is a colonel.

Division

The main operational-tactical formation. Just like a regiment, it is named after the predominant branch of troops in it. However, the predominance of one or another type of troops is much less than in the regiment. A motorized rifle division and a tank division are identical in structure, with the only difference being that in a motorized rifle division there are two or three motorized rifle regiments and one tank, and in a tank division, on the contrary, there are two or three tank regiments and one motorized rifle. In addition to these main regiments, the division has one or two artillery regiments, one anti-aircraft missile regiment, a rocket battalion, a missile battalion, a helicopter squadron, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion, an automobile battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, an electronic warfare battalion, and a logistics battalion. a repair and restoration battalion, a medical battalion, a chemical defense company, and several different support companies and platoons. In the modern Russian Army, there are or may be divisions of tank, motorized rifle, artillery, airborne, missile and aviation divisions. In other branches of the military, as a rule, the highest formation is a regiment or brigade. On average, there are 12-24 thousand people in a division. Division commander, Major General.

Frame

Just as a brigade is an intermediate formation between a regiment and a division, so a corps is an intermediate formation between a division and an army. The corps is already a combined arms formation, that is, it usually lacks the characteristic of one type of force, although there may also be tank or artillery corps, that is, corps with a complete predominance of tank or artillery divisions. The combined arms corps is usually referred to as the "army corps". There is no single structure of buildings. Each time a corps is formed based on a specific military or military-political situation and can consist of two or three divisions and various quantities formations of other military branches. Usually a corps is created where it is not practical to create an army. In peacetime, there were literally three to five corps in the Soviet Army. During the Great Patriotic War, corps were usually created either for an offensive in a secondary direction, an offensive in a zone where it was impossible to deploy an army, or, conversely, for concentrating forces in the main direction (tank corps). Very often then the corps existed for a few weeks or months and was disbanded upon completion of the task. It is impossible to talk about the structure and strength of the corps, because as many corps exist or existed, so many of their structures existed. Corps commander, Lieutenant General.

Army

This word is used in three main meanings: 1. Army - the armed forces of the state as a whole; 2. Army - ground forces of the armed forces of the state (as opposed to the fleet and military aviation); 3.Army - military formation. Here we are talking about the army as a military formation. The army is a large military formation for operational purposes. The army includes divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. Armies are usually no longer divided by branch of service, although tank armies may exist where tank divisions predominate. An army may also include one or more corps. It is impossible to talk about the structure and size of the army, because as many armies exist or existed, so many of their structures existed. The soldier at the head of the army is no longer called “commander”, but “commander of the army.” Usually the regular rank of army commander is colonel general. In peacetime, armies are rarely organized as military formations. Usually divisions, regiments, and battalions are directly included in the district.

Military District (Front)

This is the highest military formation of the strategic type. There are no larger formations. The name “front” is used only in wartime for the formation leading fighting. For such formations in peacetime, or located in the rear, the name “okrug” (military district) is used. The front includes several armies, corps, divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. The composition and strength of the front may vary. Fronts are never subdivided by types of troops (i.e. there cannot be a tank front, an artillery front, etc.). At the head of the front (district) is the commander of the front (district) with the rank of army general.

• Note 2: Above in the text there are the concepts “tactical formation”, “operational-tactical formation”, “strategic..”, etc. These terms indicate the range of tasks solved by this formation in the light of military art. Military art is divided into three levels:

1. Tactics (the art of combat). A squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment solve tactical problems, that is, fight. 2. Operational art (the art of fighting, battle). A division, corps, or army solve operational problems, that is, they conduct a battle. 3. Strategy (the art of warfare in general). The front solves both operational and strategic tasks, that is, it leads major battles, as a result of which the strategic situation changes and the outcome of the war can be decided.

There is also such a name as “group of troops”. In wartime, this is the name given to military formations that solve operational tasks inherent in the front, but operate in a narrower area or a secondary direction and, accordingly, are significantly smaller and weaker than such a formation as the front, but stronger than the army. In peacetime, this was the name in the Soviet Army for associations of formations stationed abroad (Group Soviet troops in Germany, Central Group of Forces, Northern Group of Forces, Southern Group of Forces). In Germany, this group of troops included several armies and divisions. In Czechoslovakia, the Central Group of Forces consisted of five divisions, three of which were combined into a corps. In Poland the group of troops consisted of two divisions, and in Hungary of three divisions.

In the literature and in military documents one also encounters such names as “team” and “detachment”. The term “team” has now fallen out of use. It was used to designate formations of special troops (sappers, signalmen, reconnaissance officers, etc.) that are part of general military formations. Usually, in terms of numbers and combat missions solved, it is something between a platoon and a company. The term “detachment” was used to designate similar formations in terms of tasks and numbers as the average between a company and a battalion. It is still occasionally used to designate a permanently existing formation. For example, a drilling squad is an engineering formation designed to drill wells for water extraction in areas where there are no surface water sources. The term “detachment” is also used to designate an organized group of units temporarily for the period of battle ( vanguard, bypassing detachment, covering detachment).

Above in the text, I specifically did not use the concepts - division, part, connection, association, replacing these words with the faceless “formation”. I did this in order to avoid confusion. Now that we have dealt with specific names, we can move on to unifying and grouping names.

Subdivision

This word refers to all military formations that are part of the unit. A squad, platoon, company, battalion - they are all united by one word “unit”. The word comes from the concept of division, to divide. That is, the part is divided into divisions.

Part (V.ch.)

It is the basic unit of the armed forces. The term “unit” most often means regiment and brigade. The external features of the unit are: the presence of its own office work, military economy, bank account, postal and telegraph address, its own official seal, the commander’s right to give written orders, open ( Military unit 08728) and closed ( 44th tank training division) names. That is, the part has sufficient autonomy. The presence of a Battle Banner is not necessary for a unit. In addition to the regiment and brigade, the units include division headquarters, corps headquarters, army headquarters, district headquarters, as well as other military organizations (voentorg, army hospital, garrison clinic, district food warehouse, district song and dance ensemble, garrison officers' house, garrison household goods services, central school for junior specialists, military school, military institute, etc.). In a number of cases, the status of a unit with all its external signs may be the formations that we classified above as subdivisions. Units can be a battalion, a company, and sometimes even a platoon. Such formations are not part of regiments or brigades, but directly as an independent military unit with the rights of a regiment or brigade can be part of both a division and a corps, army, front (district) and even directly subordinate to the General Staff. Such formations also have their own open and closed names. For example, 650th separate transport and landing battalion, 1257 separate communications company, 65th separate radio intelligence platoon. A characteristic feature of such parts is the word “separate”, which appears after the numbers before the name. However, a regiment can also have the word “separate” in its name. This is the case if the regiment is not part of the division, but is directly part of the army (corps, district, front). For example, the 120th separate regiment of guards mortars.

• Note 3: Please note that the terms military unit (V.ch.) and military unit (V/Ch No.) do not mean the same thing. The term “military unit” is used as a general designation, without specifics. If we are talking about a specific regiment, brigade, etc., then the term “military unit” is used. Usually its number is also mentioned: “military unit 74292” (but you cannot use “military unit 74292”) or, for short, military unit 74292.

Compound

Usually this term refers to a division. Here the word "connection" means the joining of parts. The division headquarters has the status of a unit. Other units (regiments) are subordinate to this unit (headquarters). All together forms a formation - a division. However, in some cases, a brigade may also have the status of a connection. This happens when the brigade includes separate battalions and companies, which themselves have the status of a unit. In this case, the brigade headquarters, like the division headquarters, has the status of a unit, and battalions and companies, as independent units, are subordinate to the brigade headquarters. By the way, at the same time, battalions and companies can exist within the headquarters of a brigade (division). So at the same time, a formation can have battalions and companies as subunits, and battalions and companies as units.

An association

This concept includes corps, army, district (front) troops, and army groups. The headquarters of an association is a department (part) to which various formations and military units are subordinated.