Artillery of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War. Anti-aircraft artillery regiment What is an artillery regiment 1941 1945

51st Corps Artillery Regiment- military unit of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War.

Story

The date and place of formation have not been established; it was formed before 1936.

At the beginning of hostilities, it had 36 152-mm guns

On June 22, 1941, the regiment was attached to the 125th Infantry Division, was in its combat formations on the Taurage-Siauliai road, a little northeast of Taurage, and within half an hour after the start of hostilities (after agreeing to open fire) struck at the enemy grouping in the Tilsit area, then he fought successfully with artillery and mortar formations of the enemy. He retreated along with units of the 11th Rifle Corps to the northeast, crossing the Western Dvina, obviously north of Daugavpils, on June 30, 1941, he arrived in Ostrov

On July 4 and 5, 1941, he fought in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bOstrov and Pskov on the Stalin line as part of the 41st Rifle Corps, broke through to his own and went to Luga, having a large shortage in personnel and only 7 guns, in mid-July 1941.

On July 24, 1941, he again entered the battles in the zone of action of the 177th Infantry Division, taking part in the shelling of an enemy column moving from Utorgosh to Luga.

On August 4, 1941, near Luga, by order No. 5 from the commander of the Luga group, it was actually formed again and was a unit consolidated into three divisions. The first division from the 3rd Leningrad Artillery School, the remnants of the 51st Corps Artillery Regiment were the second division, the remnants of the 28th Army Artillery Regiment were consolidated into the third division. It had 15 pieces of 122-mm guns, 11 pieces of 152-mm guns, making up almost a third of the entire artillery of the Luga defensive line. The regiment took up defensive positions on the left flank of the Luga defensive line in the zone of the 235th Infantry Division.

On August 25, 1941, she fires at Kuznetsovo, Arkhipovka, Bekovo, the Divenka platform, and the village of Divensky.

August 25, 1941 fires at visible targets at the request of rifle units. On this day, the regiment was surrounded by the enemy in the area of ​​​​the village of Luga, was subjected to repeated bombardments, fired at Bolshaya Divenka, Kuznetsov, Gazorevo, Porushino, Ostrov. On the same day, the 541st howitzer artillery regiment, or rather its remnants, was included in the regiment.

On August 28, 1941, he fired at Bekovo, Ostrov, the Divenskaya, Kuznetsovo stations, established contact with the infantry, and began laying a gati through the swamps.

On August 29, 1941, leaving cover, he moved to the exit from the encirclement through the swamps. Constantly laying a gat in the most difficult conditions, under periodic shelling, it slowly moved towards the Vyritsa area. By that time, virtually all artillery formations of the Luga line were the 51st Corps Regiment. At the same time, units of the 41st Rifle Corps were leaving the encirclement along the gati.

On September 4, 1941, the regiment, by order, turned around and supported the offensive of the 177th and 235th rifle divisions on Vyritsa with fire in order to break through the encirclement.

On September 9, 1941, an order was received to form one division from the best-preserved guns and means of traction, the rest of the materiel

“... lead into a swamp, remove locks, sights, panoramas, bury, disguise and leave. Remove starting motors, nozzles, high-pressure pipes from tractors, also bury them, and mask the tractors as well. Drive the cars deeper into the forest, remove the dynamo, turn out the candles, remove the batteries and leave.

On the same day and September 10, 1941, the remnants of the regiment again moved to exit the encirclement, on September 12, 1941, they again participated in an attempt to break through, already acting as rifle formations. On September 15, 1941, the last guns of the regiment were destroyed. On September 21-22, 1941, the remnants of the regiment without materiel in the amount of 67 people crossed the Volkhov near the village of Ostrov and went out to their own.

The regiment no longer actually existed, however, the regiment was excluded from the lists of the active army only on December 24, 1941.

Full name

• 51st Corps Artillery Regiment

Subordination

commanders

• captain S.P. Gorobets.
• Captain Gushchin

Is a regiment. The number of its composition depends on the type of troops, and its full complement of personnel is one of the factors in ensuring the combat capability of the army. The regiment consists of smaller structural units. Let's find out what a company, regiment, battalion is, the number of these units according to the main branches of the military. We will pay special attention to the configuration of the artillery regiment.

What is a regiment?

First of all, let's find out. We will find out the number of personnel in various branches of the military in this unit later.

A regiment is a combat unit often commanded by an officer with the rank of colonel, although there are exceptions. The regiment of the Russian Federation is the main tactical unit on the basis of which

The regiment includes smaller structural units - battalions. The regiment itself can either be part of a formation or be a separate combat force. It is the command of the regiments that in most cases makes decisions of a tactical nature during a large-scale battle. Although quite often the shelves are used as completely separate and independent units.

Number of members

Now let's find out the number of military personnel in the regiment, taking as a basis the composition of the rifle regiment as the most typical. This military unit, as a rule, contains from 2000 to 3000 soldiers. Moreover, approximately this number is observed in almost all (except perhaps excluding artillery and some other types of troops) and even in law enforcement agencies. A similar number of servicemen, for example, has an infantry regiment, the number of soldiers in which also ranges from two to three thousand people. Although there are exceptions, the minimum number of military personnel in a regiment in any case cannot be less than 500 people.

A typical rifle regiment consists of a headquarters where major decisions are made, three motorized rifle battalions, a communications company, and a tank battalion. Also, this unit should include an anti-aircraft division, a reconnaissance company, an anti-tank battery, a communications company, an engineer company, a repair company, a company of chemical, biological and radiation protection. Recently, more and more important functions are performed by the company. Although in Soviet times this unit was also very significant. The composition of the regiment is supplemented by auxiliary units: a commandant's platoon, a medical company and an orchestra. But they are additional only conditionally, since, for example, the medical company performs functions that are much more important, if I may say so, than other units. After all, the lives of other soldiers depend on the soldiers of this structural unit.

Approximately such a structure has a typical regiment. You can see photos of the fighters of this formation above.

Composition of the battalion

Typically, two to four battalions form a regiment. We will now consider the number of military personnel in the battalion.

The battalion is considered the main tactical unit of the ground forces. The range of personnel strength of this unit generally ranges from 400 to 800 people. It includes several platoons, as well as individual companies.

If we consider artillery, then the combat unit that corresponds to a battalion is called a division.

As a rule, a battalion is commanded by a soldier with the rank of major. Although, of course, there are exceptions. Especially often they can be found during hostilities, when an acute shortage of officer personnel may arise in the armed forces of a country or a separate unit.

Consider the structure of a battalion using an example. As a rule, the backbone of this structural unit is three motorized rifle companies. In addition, the battalion includes a mortar battery, a grenade launcher platoon, an anti-tank platoon, and a control platoon. Additional, but no less important units are platoons of material and technical support, as well as a medical center.

Company size

A company is a smaller structural unit that is part of a battalion. As a rule, it is commanded by a captain, and in some cases by a major.

The size of a battalion company varies greatly depending on the specific type of troops. Most soldiers are in companies of construction battalions. There their number reaches 250 people. In motorized rifle units, it varies from 60 to 101 servicemen. Slightly fewer personnel in the landing troops. Here the number of army men does not exceed 80 people. But the least soldiers are in tank companies. There are only 31 to 41 military personnel there. In general, depending on the type of troops and on a particular state, the number of military personnel in a company can vary from 18 to 280 people.

In addition, in some military branches there is no such unit as a company, but at the same time there are analogues. For cavalry, this is a squadron, which includes about a hundred people, for artillery - a battery, for border troops - an outpost, for aviation - a link.

The company consists of command personnel and several platoons. Also, a company may include special squads that are not part of platoons.

Smaller divisions

The platoon consists of several squads, and the number of its personnel varies from 9 to 50 people. As a rule, the platoon commander is a soldier with the rank of lieutenant.

The smallest permanent unit in the army is the branch. The number of military personnel in it ranges from three to sixteen people. In most cases, a soldier with the rank of sergeant or senior sergeant is appointed as the squad leader.

The number of artillery regiment

The time has come to consider in more detail what an artillery regiment is, the number of personnel of this unit and some other parameters.

An artillery regiment is a structural unit of such a type of troops as artillery. As a rule, it is included as an integral part of an artillery division, consisting of three or four divisions.

The strength of an artillery regiment is smaller than the corresponding unit in other branches of the military. This indicator depends on how many divisions are included in the regiment. In the presence of three divisions, its strength is from 1000 to 1200 people. If there are four divisions, then the number of servicemen reaches 1,500 soldiers.

Artillery regiment structure

Like any other military unit, an artillery regiment has its own structure. Let's study it.

The structural elements of an artillery regiment are divided into three main groups: command and control, logistic and combat support units, as well as the main striking force itself - line units.

It is these elements that make up the artillery regiment. A photo of the regiment's structure is located above.

Composition of the regiment

In turn, the management of the regiment is divided into the following elements: command, headquarters, technical unit and rear.

The command includes the regiment commander (most often with the rank of colonel or lieutenant colonel), his deputy, the head of physical training and the assistant commander for educational work. The last post in Soviet times corresponded to the post of political officer.

The headquarters unit includes the chief of staff, his deputy, as well as the heads of intelligence, the topographic service, communications, the secret part, the computer department and the assistant for the combat unit.

In the rear part of the regiment's administration are the deputy commander for logistics, the heads of the food, clothing, fuel and lubricants and clothing services.

The technical part of the regiment's administration includes the deputy for armaments, the heads of the armored, automobile, and missile and artillery services.

In addition, the chiefs of financial, chemical and medical services report directly to the regiment commander.

The composition of the logistic and combat support unit

The logistic and combat support unit is divided into the following structural elements: a medical center, a club, a repair company, a material support company, a battery and a control battery.

This unit is commanded by the deputy commander of the regiment for rear, who himself is part of the administrative part of the regiment, as mentioned above.

Composition of line divisions

It is on the line subunits that the main function of the existence of an artillery regiment is entrusted, since they conduct direct fire at the enemy from guns.

The regiment consists of four linear divisions: self-propelled, mixed, howitzer and jet. Sometimes a mixed division may be missing. In this case, the backbone of the regiment remains three units.

Each division is subdivided, as a rule, into three batteries, which, in turn, consist of three to four platoons.

The number and structure of the division

As mentioned above, three or four regiments form an artillery division. The number of personnel in such a unit reaches six thousand people. As a rule, the command of a division is entrusted to a soldier with the rank of major general, but there have been cases when these units were commanded by colonels and even lieutenant colonels.

Two divisions form the largest link in artillery - the corps. The number of military personnel in artillery corps can reach 12,000 people. The commander of such a unit is often a lieutenant general.

General principles for the formation of the number of units

We studied the size of a division, regiment, company, battalion, division and smaller structural units of various branches of the military, with an emphasis on artillery. As you can see, the number of servicemen in similar units in different troops can vary significantly. This is due to the direct purpose of the various branches of the armed forces. The most optimal number of servicemen to perform specific tasks is taken as a basis. Each indicator is not only the product of rigorous scientific calculation, but also the experience of combat operations in practice. That is, each figure is based on the spilled blood of the fighters.

Thus, we see that in the army there are both very small units, in which the number of servicemen can be equal to even three people, and the largest units, where the total number is in the tens of thousands of servicemen. At the same time, it must also be taken into account that in foreign countries the number of similar units may differ significantly from domestic options.

Like everything in this world, the science of warfare is progressing, new technologies and even new types of troops are emerging. For example, in Russia, the Aerospace Forces appeared not so long ago, which are a product of the evolution and development of the Air Force. With the advent of new types of troops and changes in the forms of warfare, it is certainly possible to adjust the number of personnel of subunits, taking into account the new conditions.

With the military reform in the Russian kingdom in the 17th century, one of the results of which was the introduction of a local system of recruiting troops, regiments began to be called cavalry units of service people formed in a certain territory.

In the early 1630s, the first regiments of the "new system" of regular troops were created, each of which was a permanent formation of 8-12 companies and consisted of 1600 to 2000 people. By decree of Peter the Great in the 1680s, the first regiments of the Life Guards were created (Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment). By the end of the 17th century, the first infantry regiments were created, and at the beginning of the 18th century, regiments of marines (marine regiments) were created. In France, in the German states and in Spain, formations similar to the Russian regiments were called "regime" (from the Latin regimen - governing body, control) and appeared at the beginning of the 16th century.

In the middle of the 16th century in France, the first infantry and then cavalry regiments were formed, respectively, consisting of 4-6 battalions (from 17 to 70 companies, 53 people per company) or 8-10 squadrons.

During the XVII-XIX centuries, the regular structure of infantry and cavalry regiments in all armies changed many times in the process of improving and diversifying their weapons, which led to the creation of various types of regiments. So in the infantry appeared: musketeers, chasseurs, grenadiers, carabinieri and other regiments. At the same time, the following regiments appeared in the cavalry: dragoons, hussars, cuirassiers, lancers, cavalry chasseurs and other regiments.

In the second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries, artillery regiments appeared in France, Sweden, Russia and a number of other states, then engineer (pioneer) regiments.

By the beginning of the First World War, in the armies of the opposing coalitions, the main tactical unit in the infantry and cavalry, respectively, were infantry and cavalry regiments. In Germany, Austria-Hungary and France, artillery was represented by artillery regiments. In Russia, artillery brigades (in fortresses - artillery regiments). Also, railway regiments appeared in the armies of these states. During the First World War, the first tank and mortar regiments appeared in France.

In the ground forces of a number of NATO countries (USA, Great Britain, etc.), since the mid-1950s, combined-arms formations have been transferred to a brigade organization, in connection with which the regimental link was abolished. In the armies of these countries, only separate regiments in some branches of the military have survived: armored cavalry regiments in the USA, army aviation regiments in Germany, rocket-howitzer regiments in Great Britain.

Command, composition and strength of the regiment

Command

The regiment is led by an officer in the position of regimental commander. The entire personnel of the regiment is subordinate to the regimental commander. To manage the personnel and control the daily activities of the regiment, both in peacetime and in wartime, the regiment commander has assistants in the person of deputies, who carry out supervisory and organizational functions in accordance with their official duties. For example, in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, these are:

• Chief of Staff of the Regiment - deals with the organization of the work of the headquarters, planning of military operations and the day-to-day functioning of the regiment;
• Deputy regiment commander - is engaged in the process of combat training of personnel;
• Deputy regiment commander for educational work - performs tasks for educational work with personnel;
• Deputy regiment commander for armaments - performs tasks of maintaining weapons in good condition and technical support of the regiment;
• Deputy regiment commander for rear - solves the tasks of logistic support.

As in separate battalion / division, at the headquarters of the regiment there are so-called services, which are control bodies that control the functioning and coordinate the activities of the regiment's units in a certain area. The officials in charge of such bodies are called heads of services. Depending on the type of regiment and its purpose, for example, the following positions are found in the RF Armed Forces:

• Chief of Artillery Regiment;
• Regimental intelligence chief;
• Regiment communications chief;
• Chief of the engineering service of the regiment;
• Chief Medical Officer of the Regiment;
• Head of the armored service of the regiment;
• Head of the Regiment's Automobile Service;
• Head of the chemical service of the regiment;
• Head of the rocket and artillery armament of the regiment;
• Head of the fuel and lubricants service of the regiment;
• And others.

The composition and strength of the regiment

The number of personnel of the regiment depends on its type and nationality. At the present stage, this figure could reach 5,000 people (an armored cavalry regiment in the US Army). There are precedents in history when the number of the same type of regiment repeatedly changed over the course of the war in the course of reforms to rationalize the staffing structure: for example, in the rifle regiment of the Red Army, personnel were reduced from 3200 at the beginning of World War II to 2400 people by the end of the war. Also during the war years, the Red Army had regiments with relatively small personnel. For example, self-propelled regiments on the SU-85 according to the state number 010/483, created in the fall of 1943, had a staff of 230 people.

• motorized rifle regiment (on an armored personnel carrier) - 2523 people;
• motorized rifle regiment (on infantry fighting vehicles) - 2424;
• Marine Regiment - over 2,000;
• tank regiment (tank division) - 1640;
• parachute regiment - 1473;
• tank regiment (motorized rifle division) - 1143;
• artillery regiment (motorized rifle division) - 1292;
• artillery regiment (tank division) - 1062;
• artillery regiment (airborne division) - 620;
• anti-aircraft missile regiment (at the Kub air defense system - motorized rifle and tank divisions) - 504;
• anti-aircraft artillery regiment (on S-60 - motorized rifle and tank divisions) - 420.

Regiments in the types of armed forces and branches of service

Infantry regiment

An infantry (rifle) regiment is the main combined-arms tactical unit in the ground forces.

Beginning in the second half of the 18th century, infantry regiments became widespread in the armies of most states. In Russia, the first 27 10-company infantry regiments were created under Peter the Great in 1699. At the beginning of the 18th century, the transition to a battalion structure was also made and infantry regiments were included in infantry brigades and infantry divisions.

In the middle of the 19th - early 20th centuries, infantry regiments were the organizational units of the infantry in the armies of some European states (Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Italy, etc.). As a rule, infantry regiments were part of infantry brigades or infantry divisions and fought as part of them. There were also separate infantry (rifle) regiments, which were directly part of the army and other associations. In the Russian army, infantry regiments of the 2-battalion composition first appeared in 1888. In 1866, six regiments of Alpine riflemen appeared for operations in the highlands in Italy. For the same purpose, at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century, the Imperial Tyrolean Regiment of 10 companies was created in the Austro-Hungarian army.

The organization of infantry regiments by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries in the armies of various states became approximately the same. By the beginning of the First World War, the infantry regiment included 3-4 battalions of 4 companies each, regimental artillery and other units. The strength of an infantry regiment ranged from 1,500 to 2,500 men. By the end of hostilities, the increased power of reinforced regimental artillery and the inclusion of additional combat and logistics support units in the infantry regiment turned it into a full-fledged combined arms unit.

A motorized rifle regiment in the USSR Armed Forces/RF Armed Forces is a combined-arms formation that includes 3 motorized rifle battalions, an artillery battalion, a tank battalion, an anti-aircraft missile battalion, an anti-tank battery, and several units of combat and logistics support (reconnaissance company, communications company, engineering and sapper company, material support company, repair company, chemical reconnaissance platoon, regimental medical center, military band, commandant platoon and others).

The staff of motorized infantry (infantry) regiments in other states is either similar to a motorized rifle regiment, or has a difference in the absence of a battalion level (a regiment consists of companies). For example, a motorized infantry regiment in the French ground forces includes: a command and control company, 4 motorized infantry companies, a reconnaissance and support company, and an anti-tank company. The infantry regiment of Greece consists of a headquarters, a headquarters company, 2-3 infantry battalions, support and service units. Infantry Regiment of the Turkish Ground Forces - consists of 3 infantry battalions, a headquarters and service company. In the Japan Self-Defense Forces, an infantry regiment consists of 4 infantry companies, a company of 106.7-mm mortars; the battalion is missing.

Cavalry Regiment

The cavalry regiment is the main tactical unit of the cavalry formations. It was also part of the infantry (rifle) formations and directly to the combined arms and tank armies.

The first cavalry regiments were created in the first half of the 17th century in Sweden, France, England and other Western European states. For example, in the Swedish army, during the reign of King Gustav II Adolf, the cavalry regiment consisted of 4 squadrons of 125 horsemen each. In turn, the squadron was divided into 4 cornets (platoons).

In Russia, the first regular cavalry units appeared in the noble estate cavalry at the beginning of the 17th century. Initially, they consisted of hundreds, fifty and dozens of riders. By the 1630s, the formation of Reiter and dragoon regiments began, which consisted of 10-12 companies and had personnel from 1000 to 2000 people. By 1663, the Russian army had 25 cavalry regiments with a total number of 29,000 people.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, both in foreign and in the Russian army, there were repeated changes in both the organization and armament of cavalry regiments. By the beginning of the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 in the Russian army, the composition of the cavalry regiments was as follows:

• dragoon regiment - 12 companies (2 grenadiers and 10 musketeers);
• cuirassier and horse-grenadier regiments - 10 companies.

By the end of the 18th century, the variety of cavalry in the Russian army had increased and they were represented by the following cavalry regiments: cuirassier, carabinieri, horse grenadier, dragoon, horse-drawn, hussar, light horse and Cossack. At the same time, most of the regiments were represented by carabinieri and light horse regiments. The composition of the regiments included from 6 to 10 linear and from 1 to 3 reserve squadrons. The number of regiments fluctuated between 1100-1800 people. At the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the cavalry regiments were divided into 4 squadrons, the Cossack regiments into 6 hundreds, and the regiments of the Terek Cossacks consisted of 4 hundreds.

During the First World War, the cavalry regiments of the Entente and the Central Powers consisted of 4-6 squadrons.

The cavalry regiments (together with the cavalry divisions of which they were part) in the Soviet army in the post-war period were gradually disbanded until April 1955.

tank regiment

A tank regiment is the main combined-arms tactical unit of tank, (armored) formations.

The first tank regiment was formed in the French army in 1918. By the beginning of World War II, tank regiments were created in the armies of some states (France, Great Britain, Germany, the USSR and Japan). The tank regiment of the Wehrmacht consisted of 2 tank battalions and a repair company (150 tanks).

In the Red Army, for the first time, a separate tank regiment was created in 1924 on the basis of a previously existing tank squadron and included 2 tank battalions (line and training) and service units. In 1929, the formation of several tank regiments consisting of 3 tank battalions began. By the beginning of World War II, tank regiments in the Red Army were part of tank, motorized, cavalry and motorized rifle divisions. In connection with the disbandment in July 1941 of mechanized corps and tank divisions, the number of tank regiments was sharply reduced. At the end of 1941, the formation of separate tank regiments began, the number of which by 1943 exceeded 100. By 1944, new types of tank regiments were created in the Red Army: flamethrower tank regiments (18 TO-34 tanks and 3 T-34 tanks), engineering tank regiments ( 22 T-34 tanks with minesweeps) and heavy tanks (21 IS-2 tanks).

In modern armies, tank regiments are part of the motorized rifle and tank divisions of Russia, the 3rd Mechanized Division of Great Britain, the tank brigades of France, the tank divisions of Japan and other countries.

In the UK, a tank regiment includes: a headquarters, a control company, 4 tank companies, a reconnaissance and anti-tank platoon and logistic support units; in total about 600 people, 50 Challenger tanks and 9 Swingfire ATGMs.

Parachute Regiment

Airborne (airborne, airborne) regiment (pdp) - the main tactical unit of the formations of the airborne troops. The main purpose of the PDP is to land and conduct combat operations behind enemy lines as a tactical airborne assault.

In the Red Army, the first airborne regiments were created in 1936 in the Far East. In 1939, 3 special airborne regiments were created in the Moscow Military District. Subsequently, the airborne troops were transferred to the brigade structure. During the Great Patriotic War, airborne divisions were created, which included 3 infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, which in reality were used as simple rifle units. In the troops of the Third Reich PDP (German. fallschirmjager-regiment) were part of the parachute divisions (it. fallschirmjager-division).

In the post-war period, the PDPs as part of the USSR Airborne Forces were constantly reformed. By the collapse of the USSR, the PDP staff included 3 airborne battalions, a mortar battery, an anti-tank battery, an anti-aircraft missile and artillery battery, and combat and logistics support units. The personnel of the regiment - about 1500 people.

Outside the USSR, in other armies, the PDP in the 1990s was part of the airborne brigades of France and Japan.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces had only one RPD in the 1990s, which forms the backbone of the Airborne Brigade, which is a reinforced regiment.

Armored cavalry regiment

The armored cavalry regiment (brkp") is a combined arms unit of the ground forces of a number of foreign NATO states. The main function of the brkp is to conduct reconnaissance and perform actions that fetter (hold back) the enemy. By the type of troops they belong to the armored forces. The term "cavalry" in the title is a manifestation of tradition indicating the mobility of such regiments, which in the past was based on cavalry.In some armies, regiments of a similar purpose are called reconnaissance regiments.

The US Army previously had 3 brkp (Eng. armored cavalry regiment) as part of the regular troops (usually included in the army corps) and 1 brkp was part of the National Guard. The BRCP includes:

• regimental headquarters;
• headquarters company;
• 3 reconnaissance battalions - each 3 reconnaissance and 1 tank company, a battery of 155-mm self-propelled howitzers;
• army aviation battalion;
• anti-aircraft battery;
• reconnaissance and electronic warfare company;
• engineering company;
• RKhBZ company;
• logistics battalion.

The personnel of the regiment: about 5,000 people. In service: 123 M1 Abrams tanks, 114 MZ Bradley armored personnel carriers, 24 155-mm self-propelled howitzers, about 50 helicopters and other military equipment.

In the ground forces of France, the brkp (fr. regiment de cavalerie blindee) is part of the army corps and infantry divisions. It contains:

• command and control squadron;
• 4 reconnaissance squadrons (12 BRM AMX-10RC each)
• anti-tank squadron;

The personnel of the regiment: about 860 people. In service: 48 armored personnel carriers, 40-50 armored personnel carriers and about 170 different vehicles.

The task of the brkp in the offensive is to conduct reconnaissance to a depth of up to 100 kilometers in isolation from its troops. Reconnaissance includes: detection of the enemy; revealing his powers; tracking movements or determining escape routes; detection of objects for destruction and more. In combat, the brkp can be used as a regular part to capture an important object or line, protect flanks, joints and gaps in combat formation. Also, the brkp can be used as a tactical group in a secondary direction with additional reinforcement by infantry and artillery units with an offensive front of up to 10 kilometers.

The task of the brkp in defense is: conducting reconnaissance in the support zone, carrying out deterrent actions, and after retreating beyond the front line of its defense, it is located in depth and ensures the deployment of units for a counterattack (or participates in it). Also, at the same time, the brkp is assigned the function of protecting the rear of the defending troops as an antiamphibious reserve.

Regiment in artillery

Artillery regiment

An artillery regiment is the main tactical unit of artillery as part of combined arms formations and associations.

The first artillery regiments in Russia were created under Peter the Great in 1701. They included 4 gunner companies, a pontoon and engineering company, 4 bombardment teams, foremen and regimental ranks. Personnel - 674 people. With the outbreak of the Northern War in 1712, the staff of the artillery regiment was changed to the following composition: bombardment and 6 gunnery companies, a miner company, a pontoon and engineering team, regimental ranks and masters. The personnel increased to 1403 people. During the fighting, artillery companies were allocated from the artillery regiment to reinforce the field troops.

Both in foreign and in the Russian army, a brigade organization of artillery troops was subsequently introduced. During the First World War, the artillery of the tsarist army consisted of brigades, divisions and batteries. During the Great Patriotic War, artillery regiments were part of rifle divisions, corps (corps artillery regiments), armies (army artillery regiments), as well as the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.

For the period of the Great Patriotic War, artillery regiments (AP) in the Red Army differed in armament:

• light artillery regiments - 76 mm guns, 122 mm howitzers;
• heavy howitzer artillery regiments - 152-mm howitzers and howitzer-cannons;
• heavy cannon artillery regiments - 122 mm guns and 152 mm howitzer guns;
• howitzer artillery regiments of high power - 203-mm howitzers;
• cannon artillery regiments of special power - 152-mm and 210-mm guns.
• anti-tank artillery regiments;
• anti-aircraft artillery regiments;
• self-propelled artillery regiments.

The typical structure of an artillery regiment was the headquarters of the regiment and 3 divisions of 3 batteries each. Each battery had 4 sometimes 6 guns. Some artillery regiments consisted of 4 to 6 batteries (without division into divisions). In combat operations, an artillery regiment of the Red Army was part of an artillery group of a rifle regiment, division, corps, or part of an artillery anti-tank reserve. In rifle divisions, during the offensive, an artillery regiment allocated divisions to reinforce rifle battalions.

In the period after the Second World War, the staff of an artillery regiment for many states became approximately the same: it contains several divisions or batteries, combat and logistics support units. Depending on weapons, divisions can be:

Also in the NATO states there are divisions with mixed weapons (for example, howitzer-rocket). An artillery regiment in combat operations performs tasks with the distribution of targets (objects) between divisions and batteries, acts in a group (reserve) or is attached to other parts of a formation or formation for reinforcement by divisions.

The regimental organization is found in the divisional artillery of Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, Japan and other countries.

In the British ground forces, divisional artillery of armored and motorized infantry divisions in the 1990s was represented by 2 artillery regiments of 155-mm AS-90 self-propelled howitzers, each of which included a control battery, 3 fire batteries of 8 guns each and combat and rear support. The personnel and weapons of the regiment - over 700 people and 24 guns.

The artillery regiment in the motorized infantry, tank and mountain infantry divisions of Germany in the 90s consisted of artillery and jet divisions. The regiment is armed with: 24 155 mm M109G3 or PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers, 8 Lars-2 MLRS, 20 MLRS MLRS and 2 UAV launchers.

In the infantry and mechanized divisions of Turkey in the 90s, the artillery regiment included a general support division and 3 direct support divisions, a headquarters and maintenance battery and an anti-aircraft artillery battery.

In the ground forces of France, one artillery regiment in the 90s was part of the armored and mechanized brigades. The anti-aircraft missile brigades and artillery brigades of the operational command included 2 MLRS artillery regiments each. The artillery regiment of the armored and mechanized brigade consisted of a control and maintenance battery, 4 firing batteries of 8 AMX-30 AuF.1 155-mm self-propelled howitzers, 1 anti-aircraft missile battery (6 Mistral MANPADS and 8 20-mm anti-aircraft guns). In case of participation in limited armed conflicts, one of the firing batteries had 8 120-mm mortars. The artillery regiment of the armored cavalry, mountain infantry and airborne brigades is armed with 6 155-mm towed guns TRF1 in fire batteries. There are 24 guns in total. Additionally, in the artillery regiment of the airborne brigade, there were 8 mortars in fire batteries.

Self-propelled artillery regiment

Self-propelled artillery regiment (SAP) - an artillery unit armed with self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS).

The first self-propelled artillery regiments appeared during World War II. The need to create such regiments was the requirement for mobility when escorting tanks and infantry in battle, participating in the fight against enemy tanks and assault guns, as well as for artillery support of mobile formations and units. Towed artillery pieces did not have proper operational mobility. In the Red Army, the first sap "appeared in December 1942 with the mass development of the production of caterpillar self-propelled artillery guns based on tank chassis by the defense industry. The sap included 4 SU-76 batteries and 2 SU-122 batteries. In total, the regiment had 17 SU- 76 and 8 SU-122. In April 1943, the creation of the same type of glanders consisting of 4-6 batteries was started:

• light self-propelled artillery regiment - 21 SU-76 units;
• medium sap - 16-20 units SU-85 or SU-100;
• heavy sap - 12 ISU-122 or ISU-152 units.

From October 1943 to March 1944, all glanders were brought to a single indicator in terms of the number of weapons: each regiment had 21 self-propelled guns. In organizational order, the glanders were part of: tank armies; tank, cavalry and mechanized corps; some anti-tank brigades; to the VGK reserve. Medium and heavy glanders were intended for direct support of tanks, light supporters - infantry and cavalry. By the end of hostilities in the Red Army, there were 241 saps (119 light, 69 medium, 53 heavy). Almost half of all glanders was part of tank armies, tank, cavalry and mechanized corps. Available in reserve VGK glanders allocated to strengthen the combined arms armies.

In the post-war period, the saps remained in the Soviet army until the mid-50s, after which they were disbanded. At the present stage, in most armies of various states, formations of the Sap type are absent. In some cases, the name is applied to artillery regiments armed with self-propelled artillery pieces. However, according to their intended purpose, such regiments were more often classified as divisional artillery, which is fundamentally different from the purpose of the glanders during the Second World War.

Anti-tank artillery regiment

During the Great Patriotic War, a new type of formation was created in the Red Army - an anti-tank artillery regiment (ptap). The need for such formations was associated with the predominance of enemy tanks and other armored vehicles. If necessary, ptap could perform other fire missions. The first ptap were created in the spring of 1941. Initially, such regiments were part of the artillery brigades of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. Each ptap included 6 divisions of 3 batteries each, armed with 37-mm, 76-mm, 85-mm and 107-mm anti-tank guns. With the outbreak of hostilities, more maneuverable separate smaller antitank tanks were created, with 4-6 batteries or 3 divisions each, which had from 16 to 36 guns. On July 1, 1942, anti-tank artillery was officially renamed anti-tank artillery, in connection with which all anti-tank regiments were renamed anti-tank (iptap). From July 1943, most of the Iptaps were consolidated into anti-tank artillery brigades of the RGK. A small part of the iptap received the status of separate regiments. The armament of the iptap during the war mainly consisted of 57-mm and 76-mm guns. Since 1944, the regiments received 100-mm anti-tank guns.

In combat operations, as a rule, iptap were attached to armies and corps, in rare cases, to divisions. In defense, the iptap were used as an anti-tank reserve. During an enemy tank attack, the iptap deployed in battle formation along the front for 2-3 km along the front and 1-2 km in depth. In the offensive, the iptap was used for artillery preparation of the attack. In the post-war period in the Soviet army, all iptap were disbanded. Separate anti-tank artillery battalions (optadn) as part of motorized rifle divisions were left as regular anti-tank artillery formations.

Anti-tank artillery regiments were not created in the armies of other states except the USSR. The main organizational and combat unit of anti-tank artillery in other states was the division (battalion) of anti-tank artillery.

mortar regiment

A mortar regiment is a tactical artillery unit armed with mortars.

The first appearance of mortar regiments was noted in the French ground forces at the end of the First World War. So in 1918, 4 regiments of the so-called "trench artillery" ((fr. artillerie de tranchee). These regiments were part of the 4th division of the main artillery reserve of the French command. Each mortar regiment consisted of 10 divisions of 4 batteries each. The regiment was armed with 480 guns of 58-mm or 155-mm caliber and 240 mortars of 240-mm caliber.

During the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army, from December 1941, the creation of mortar regiments began, which at different periods of the war were part of the cavalry, tank and mechanized corps, combined arms and tank armies, separate mortar brigades of artillery divisions and artillery divisions of the breakthrough, some artillery brigades rifle divisions. The state of the Soviet mortar regiments included 2-3 divisions of 3 batteries each with a total armament of 18 160-mm or 36 120-mm mortars. To conduct combat operations in mountainous areas, mortar regiments were created with weapons from 107-mm mortars. In battle, the mortar regiment assigned subunits to regimental and divisional artillery groups.

Also in the Red Army, the term "guards mortar regiment" officially referred to the regiments of rocket artillery that were armed with MLRS. In the post-war period, such regiments changed their name to the rocket artillery regiment.

During the Second World War, in a number of armies of other states except the USSR, the creation of mortar regiments (Great Britain, France, Germany and others) was also noted.

Regiment in the Navy

Marines

Marine Regiment (PMP) - is the main tactical part of the Marine Corps. Is part of the Marine Corps division or is separate. The purpose of the PMP is to carry out combat missions during the landing of amphibious assault forces, the defense of the basing point for ships, ports and other important objects on the coast. Marine regiments existing in various countries usually include 3-4 battalions of marines, fire support units, logistics and combat support.

In the US Marine Corps, the PMP in the 1990s included: headquarters, headquarters company, 3-4 battalions of marines. Each battalion consisted of a headquarters and service company, 3 companies of marines and a company of weapons. The personnel of the regiment - about 3 thousand people.

Other branches of the navy

In addition to units of the Marine Corps in the Russian Navy, the regimental organization is also found in Naval Aviation and in the Coastal Defense Forces.

Regiment in the Air Force

In the air forces of a number of states, regiments have met and are found in various branches of aviation and are part of aviation formations or are separate as part of a higher aviation association or are directly subordinate to the Air Force command. By belonging to the type of aviation and armament, the following types of aviation regiments are found:

• bombing (dive),
• shipborne (fighter, assault, helicopter)
• fighter (including air defense),
• reconnaissance (long-range reconnaissance),
• and others.

Ground forces aviation regiments (army aviation) are helicopter regiments that perform the following functions:

• close air support (fire support) of ground troops;
• transport functions (supply, transfer of troops, military equipment and cargo)
• combat support (electronic warfare, communications, intelligence, etc.)

Helicopter regiments are part of the aviation of military districts (fronts), combined arms formations (army corps, combined arms and tank armies). A helicopter regiment includes several helicopter squadrons (detachments) equipped with helicopters for various purposes.

The helicopter regiment as part of the British armored division in the 90s included a headquarters, 2 multi-purpose helicopter squadrons and engineering support units. The personnel of the regiment - 340 people. It is armed with 24 Lynx anti-tank helicopters, 12 Gazelle reconnaissance helicopters and over 60 vehicles.

The anti-tank helicopter regiment as part of the Bundeswehr army corps in the 1990s included 2 anti-tank helicopter battalions and a technical support battalion. The personnel of the regiment - 1877 people. There were 60 Tiger helicopters in service.

In the French Army Aviation Brigade in the 1990s, it included 3 helicopter regiments and a combat support helicopter regiment. Each helicopter regiment included: a control and maintenance squadron, a combat support squadron, 3 squadrons of anti-tank helicopters, 2 squadrons of multipurpose attack helicopters, a squadron of reconnaissance helicopters. The personnel of the regiment - about 800 people. About 60 helicopters of the Puma, Cougar, SA-342M Gazel, SA-341M Gazel types are in service. The combat support helicopter regiment performed transport functions and included 4 squadrons of transport helicopters. The regiment's personnel consisted of about 800 people. It is armed with 36 Puma and Cougar helicopters.

Regiment in air defense

• anti-aircraft artillery regiment;
• anti-aircraft missile regiment;
• radio regiment.

Anti-aircraft artillery regiment

Anti-aircraft artillery regiment (zenap) - the main tactical part of anti-aircraft artillery. It was most widely used during the Second World War and in the post-war period before being equipped with anti-aircraft missile weapons. The purpose of the zenap is to cover groupings of troops, administrative and political centers, crossings, railway stations and other objects from enemy air strikes.

In the Red Army, the first zenap were created in 1924-1925 for air defense for air defense of important objects of the country. Initially, the zenap included 5 divisions of 4 batteries of 3 units of 76-mm anti-aircraft guns. In total, the regiment had 60 guns. Since 1936, zenap with such a staff were included in the anti-aircraft artillery division. In 1937, Zenap were included in the air defense divisions, as well as in separate brigades and air defense corps. Before the start of World War II, zenaps were armed with 37-mm automatic, 76-mm and 85-mm semi-automatic anti-aircraft guns, as well as anti-aircraft machine guns to cover important government facilities. In the ground forces of the Red Army zenap began to form to strengthen the air defense of combined arms formations, and to cover rear facilities, armies and fronts. Also, for these purposes, it was planned to use separate zenaps of the VGK reserve. With the outbreak of hostilities, it showed the bulkiness, low maneuverability and ineffectiveness of the zenap in terms of covering troops, and especially when the enemy uses dive bombers and other types of aircraft operating at low altitudes. For this reason, since June 1942, the so-called "army air defense regiments" with mixed weapons began to be formed as part of the combined arms and tank armies. Each such regiment included 3 anti-aircraft artillery batteries (a total of 12 units of 37-mm or 25-mm guns) and 2 anti-aircraft machine gun companies (12 units of heavy machine guns and 8 quad machine gun installations). The personnel of the regiment - 312 people. Since November 1942, the Zenap with mixed weapons began to be included in the newly created anti-aircraft artillery divisions of the RGK. In April 1943, a company of quad anti-aircraft machine guns was replaced by an additional battery of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns in Zenap. From that moment on, the zenap of such a state became part of the tank, mechanized and cavalry corps. Since February 1943, two types of regiments were included in the anti-aircraft artillery division: a zenap with medium-caliber weapons - 4 batteries of 4 units of 85-mm guns (16 guns in total) and a zenap with small-caliber weapons - 6 batteries of 4 units of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns (total 24 guns).

Outside the USSR, during the Second World War, other armies also had zenaps with weapons of various calibers. For example, in the Third Reich, Zenap had anti-aircraft guns of 20 mm, 37 mm, 88 mm and 105 mm caliber.

In the post-war period, anti-aircraft artillery continued to develop throughout the world. Already in the postwar years, the zenap in the Soviet army switched to 57-mm and 100-mm anti-aircraft guns. In the Air Defense Forces of the USSR, a zenap was created, which was armed with 130-mm anti-aircraft guns.

Similar changes took place in other armies of the world. With the advent of anti-aircraft missile weapons, the Zenap in the USSR Armed Forces and in other armies were reorganized into anti-aircraft missile regiments and brigades. As a rule, in the last period of its existence, zenaps included 4-6 batteries with guns of the same caliber, air enemy reconnaissance, support and maintenance units.

Anti-aircraft missile regiment

Anti-aircraft missile regiment (zrp) - the tactical part of the anti-aircraft missile forces. The SRP includes: anti-aircraft missile units (launch batteries and divisions), technical units (technical batteries or technical divisions), as well as command and control, security and logistics units. The air defense missile system is armed with transportable and mobile anti-aircraft missile systems of various ranges, automated control systems and radar stations (RLS) for various purposes.

The place of the zrp in the structure of the armed forces differs from the state affiliation. In the state of some motorized rifle and tank divisions of the USSR Armed Forces of the late period there was 1 zrp consisting of 5 missile batteries, 1 electronic intelligence battery and 1 technical battery. The regiment was armed with 20 units of the Osa air defense system. In the Air Defense Forces of the USSR zrp were part of anti-aircraft missile divisions.

In the 1990s, the air defense divisions of Germany, which are part of the tactical aviation command of the Air Force, were zrp including 2-3 divisions with 4 starting batteries in each. In total, up to 72 launchers of the Nike-Hercules air defense system and the Hawk air defense system.

Radio engineering regiment

Radio Engineering Regiment ( rtp listen)) is a tactical unit of radio engineering troops. purpose rtp is conducting radar reconnaissance of an air enemy and radar support for anti-aircraft missile forces, fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery.

Soviet anti-tank artillery played a crucial role in the Great Patriotic War, accounting for about 70% of all destroyed German tanks. Anti-tank warriors, fighting "to the last", often at the cost of their own lives repulsed the attacks of the Panzerwaffe.

The structure and materiel of anti-tank subunits were continuously improved in the course of hostilities. Until the fall of 1940, anti-tank guns were part of rifle, mountain rifle, motorized rifle, motorized and cavalry battalions, regiments and divisions. Anti-tank batteries, platoons and divisions were thus embedded in the organizational structure of the formations, being an integral part of them. The rifle battalion of the rifle regiment of the pre-war state had a platoon of 45-mm guns (two guns). The rifle regiment and motorized rifle regiment had a battery of 45-mm cannons (six guns). In the first case, horses were the means of traction, in the second case, Komsomolets specialized caterpillar armored tractors. The rifle division and the motorized division included a separate anti-tank division of eighteen 45-mm guns. For the first time, an anti-tank division was introduced into the state of a Soviet rifle division in 1938.
However, maneuvering with anti-tank guns was possible at that time only within a division, and not on a corps or army scale. The command had very limited opportunities to strengthen anti-tank defense in tank-prone areas.

Shortly before the war, the formation of anti-tank artillery brigades of the RGK began. According to the state, each brigade was supposed to have forty-eight 76-mm guns, forty-eight 85-mm anti-aircraft guns, twenty-four 107-mm guns, sixteen 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. The staff strength of the brigade was 5322 people. By the beginning of the war, the formation of brigades had not been completed. Organizational difficulties and the general unfavorable course of hostilities did not allow the first anti-tank brigades to fully realize their potential. However, already in the first battles, the brigades demonstrated the broad capabilities of an independent anti-tank formation.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the anti-tank capabilities of the Soviet troops were severely tested. Firstly, most often rifle divisions had to fight, occupying a front of defense that exceeded the statutory standards. Secondly, the Soviet troops had to face the German "tank wedge" tactics. It consisted in the fact that the tank regiment of the Wehrmacht tank division struck at a very narrow defense sector. At the same time, the density of attacking tanks was 50–60 vehicles per kilometer of front. Such a number of tanks on a narrow sector of the front inevitably saturated the anti-tank defense.

The heavy loss of anti-tank guns at the beginning of the war led to a decrease in the number of anti-tank guns in a rifle division. The July 1941 state rifle division had only eighteen 45 mm anti-tank guns instead of fifty-four in the pre-war state. In July, a platoon of 45-mm guns from a rifle battalion and a separate anti-tank battalion were completely excluded. The latter was restored to the state of the rifle division in December 1941. The shortage of anti-tank guns was to some extent made up for by the recently adopted anti-tank guns. In December 1941, an anti-tank rifle platoon was introduced at the regimental level in a rifle division. In total, the state division had 89 anti-tank rifles.

In the field of organizing artillery, the general trend at the end of 1941 was to increase the number of independent anti-tank units. On January 1, 1942, the active army and the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters had: one artillery brigade (on the Leningrad front), 57 anti-tank artillery regiments and two separate anti-tank artillery battalions. Following the results of the autumn battles, five artillery regiments of the PTO received the title of guards. Two of them received a guard for the battles near Volokolamsk - they supported the 316th Infantry Division of I.V. Panfilov.
1942 was a period of increasing the number and consolidation of independent anti-tank units. April 3, 1942 was followed by a decision of the State Defense Committee on the formation of a fighter brigade. According to the state, the brigade had 1795 people, twelve 45-mm guns, sixteen 76-mm guns, four 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, 144 anti-tank guns. By the next decree of June 8, 1942, the twelve formed fighter brigades were merged into fighter divisions, each with three brigades.

A milestone for the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army was the order of the NPO of the USSR No. 0528 signed by I. V. Stalin, according to which: the status of anti-tank units was raised, a double salary was set for personnel, a cash bonus was established for each tank that was destroyed, all command and personnel destroyer-anti-tank artillery units were placed on a special account and were to be used only in these units.

The distinctive sign of the anti-tankers was a sleeve insignia in the form of a black rhombus with a red border with crossed gun barrels. The rise in the status of anti-tankers was accompanied by the formation in the summer of 1942 of new anti-tank regiments. Thirty light (twenty 76-mm guns each) and twenty anti-tank artillery regiments (twenty 45-mm guns each) were formed.
The regiments were formed in a short time and immediately thrown into battle on the threatened sectors of the front.

In September 1942, ten more anti-tank regiments with twenty 45-mm guns were formed. Also in September 1942, an additional battery of four 76-mm guns was introduced to the most distinguished regiments. In November 1942, part of the anti-tank regiments was merged into fighter divisions. By January 1, 1943, the Red Army anti-tank artillery included 2 fighter divisions, 15 fighter brigades, 2 heavy anti-tank regiments, 168 anti-tank regiments, 1 anti-tank battalion.

The improved anti-tank defense system of the Red Army received the name Pakfront from the Germans. RAK is the German abbreviation for anti-tank gun - Panzerabwehrkannone. Instead of a linear arrangement of guns along the defended front, at the beginning of the war they were united in groups under a single command. This made it possible to concentrate the fire of several guns on one target. Anti-tank areas were the basis of anti-tank defense. Each anti-tank area consisted of separate anti-tank strongholds (PTOPs) in fire communication with each other. "To be in fire communication with each other" - means the possibility of firing by neighboring anti-tank guns on the same target. The PTOP was saturated with all types of fire weapons. The basis of the anti-tank fire system was 45-mm guns, 76-mm regimental guns, partially cannon batteries of divisional artillery and anti-tank artillery units.

The finest hour of anti-tank artillery was the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. At that time, 76-mm divisional guns were the main means of anti-tank units and formations. "Forty-five" accounted for about a third of the total number of anti-tank guns on the Kursk Bulge. A long pause in the fighting at the front made it possible to improve the condition of units and formations due to the receipt of equipment from industry and the resupplying of anti-tank regiments with personnel.

The last stage in the evolution of the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army was the enlargement of its units and the appearance of self-propelled guns in the anti-tank artillery. By the beginning of 1944, all fighter divisions and individual fighter brigades of the combined arms type were reorganized into anti-tank brigades. On January 1, 1944, the anti-tank artillery included 50 anti-tank brigades and 141 anti-tank regiments. By order of the NPO No. 0032 of August 2, 1944, one SU-85 regiment (21 self-propelled guns) was introduced into the fifteen anti-tank brigades. In reality, only eight brigades received self-propelled guns.

Particular attention was paid to the training of personnel of anti-tank brigades, purposeful combat training of artillerymen was organized to fight new German tanks and assault guns. Special instructions appeared in the anti-tank units: "Memo to the gunner - destroyer of enemy tanks" or "Memo on the fight against Tiger tanks." And in the armies, special rear ranges were equipped, where artillerymen trained in firing at mock-up tanks, including moving ones.

Simultaneously with the increase in the skill of artillerymen, tactics were improved. With the quantitative saturation of the troops with anti-tank weapons, the "fire bag" method began to be used more and more often. The guns were placed in "anti-tank nests" of 6-8 guns within a radius of 50-60 meters and were well camouflaged. The nests were located on the ground to achieve long-range flanking with the possibility of concentrating fire. Passing the tanks moving in the first echelon, the fire opened suddenly, to the flank, at medium and short distances.

In the offensive, anti-tank guns were quickly pulled up after the advancing units in order to support them with fire if necessary.

Anti-tank artillery in our country began in August 1930, when, within the framework of military-technical cooperation with Germany, a secret agreement was signed, according to which the Germans pledged to help the USSR organize the gross production of 6 artillery systems. To implement the agreement in Germany, a dummy company "BYuTAST" was created (limited liability company "Bureau for technical work and studies").

Among other weapons proposed by the USSR was a 37 mm anti-tank gun. The development of this weapon, bypassing the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, was completed at Rheinmetall Borsig in 1928. The first samples of the gun, which received the name Tak 28 (Tankabwehrkanone, i.e., anti-tank gun - the word Panzer came into use later) were tested in 1930, and from 1932 deliveries to the troops began. The Tak 28 gun had a 45-caliber barrel with a horizontal wedge breech, which provided a fairly high rate of fire - up to 20 rounds per minute. The carriage with sliding tubular beds provided a large horizontal pickup angle - 60 °, but at the same time the undercarriage with wooden wheels was designed only for horse traction.

In the early 1930s, this gun pierced the armor of any tank, and was perhaps the best in its class, far ahead of developments in other countries.

After modernization, having received wheels with pneumatic tires that can be towed by a car, an improved carriage and an improved sight, it was put into service under the designation 3.7 cm Pak 35/36 (Panzerabwehrkanone 35/36).
Remaining until 1942 the main anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht.

The German gun was put into production at the plant near Moscow. Kalinin (No. 8), where she received the factory index 1-K. The enterprise mastered the production of a new weapon with great difficulty, the guns were made semi-handicraft, with manual fitting of parts. In 1931, the plant presented 255 guns to the customer, but did not hand over any due to poor build quality. In 1932, 404 guns were delivered, and in 1933, another 105.

Despite the problems with the quality of the guns produced, the 1-K was a fairly perfect anti-tank gun for the 1930s. Its ballistics made it possible to hit all the tanks of that time, at a distance of 300 m, an armor-piercing projectile normally pierced 30-mm armor. The gun was very compact, its light weight allowed the crew to easily move it around the battlefield. The disadvantages of the gun, which led to its rapid removal from production, were the weak fragmentation effect of the 37-mm projectile and the lack of suspension. In addition, the guns produced were notable for their low build quality. The adoption of this gun was considered as a temporary measure, since the leadership of the Red Army wanted to have a more versatile gun that combined the functions of an anti-tank and battalion gun, and 1-K was poorly suited for this role due to its small caliber and weak fragmentation projectile.

1-K was the first specialized anti-tank gun of the Red Army and played a big role in the development of this type. Very soon, it began to be replaced by a 45-mm anti-tank gun, becoming almost invisible against its background. In the late 30s, 1-K began to be withdrawn from the troops and transferred to storage, remaining in operation only as training ones.

At the beginning of the war, all the guns available in the warehouses were thrown into battle, since in 1941 there was a shortage of artillery to equip a large number of newly formed formations and make up for huge losses.

Of course, by 1941, the armor penetration characteristics of the 37-mm 1-K anti-tank gun could no longer be considered satisfactory, it could only confidently hit light tanks and armored personnel carriers. Against medium tanks, this gun could only be effective when firing into the side from close (less than 300 m) distances. Moreover, Soviet armor-piercing shells were significantly inferior in armor penetration to German ones of a similar caliber. On the other hand, this gun could use captured 37 mm ammunition, in which case its armor penetration increased significantly, exceeding even the similar characteristics of a 45 mm gun.

It was not possible to establish any details of the combat use of these guns; probably, almost all of them were lost in 1941.

The very great historical significance of the 1-K is that it became the ancestor of a series of the most numerous Soviet 45-mm anti-tank guns and Soviet anti-tank artillery in general.

During the "liberation campaign" in western Ukraine, several hundred Polish 37-mm anti-tank guns and a significant amount of ammunition were captured.

Initially, they were sent to warehouses, and at the end of 1941 they were transferred to the troops, because due to the heavy losses of the first months of the war, there was a large shortage of artillery, especially anti-tank artillery. In 1941, the GAU issued a "Brief Description, Operating Instructions" for this gun.

The 37 mm anti-tank gun developed by Bofors was a very successful weapon capable of successfully fighting armored vehicles protected by bulletproof armor.

The gun had a fairly high muzzle velocity and rate of fire, small dimensions and weight (which made it easier to disguise the gun on the ground and roll it on the battlefield with crew forces), and was also adapted for rapid transportation by mechanical traction. Compared to the German 37 mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun, the Polish gun had better armor penetration, which is explained by the higher muzzle velocity of the projectile.

In the second half of the 1930s, there was a tendency to increase the thickness of tank armor, in addition, the Soviet military wanted to get an anti-tank gun capable of providing fire support to infantry. This required an increase in caliber.
A new 45 mm anti-tank gun was created by imposing a 45 mm barrel on the carriage of a 37 mm anti-tank gun mod. 1931. The carriage was also improved - wheel suspension was introduced. The semi-automatic shutter basically repeated the 1-K scheme and allowed 15-20 rds / min.

The 45-mm projectile had a mass of 1.43 kg and was more than 2 times heavier than the 37-mm one. At a distance of 500 m, an armor-piercing projectile pierced 43-mm armor normally. At the time of adoption, the 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1937 pierced the armor of any tank that existed then.
A fragmentation 45-mm grenade, when burst, gave about 100 fragments, retaining lethal force when scattered along the front by 15 m and to a depth of 5-7 m. When fired, grapeshot bullets form a striking sector along the front for up to 60 m and in depth up to 400 m .
Thus, the 45 mm anti-tank gun had good anti-personnel capabilities.

From 1937 to 1943, 37354 guns were produced. Shortly before the start of the war, the 45-mm gun was discontinued, as our military leadership believed that the new German tanks would have a frontal armor thickness impenetrable for these guns. Shortly after the start of the war, the gun was put back into production.

The 45-mm guns of the 1937 model of the year relied on the state of the anti-tank platoons of the rifle battalions of the Red Army (2 guns) and the anti-tank divisions of the rifle divisions (12 guns). They were also in service with separate anti-tank regiments, which included 4-5 four-gun batteries.

For its time, in terms of armor penetration, the "forty-five" was quite adequate. Nevertheless, the insufficient penetration of the 50-mm frontal armor of the Pz Kpfw III Ausf H and Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1 tanks is beyond doubt. Often this was due to the low quality of armor-piercing shells. Many batches of shells had a technological marriage. If the heat treatment regime was violated in production, the shells turned out to be excessively hard and as a result split against the tank's armor, but in August 1941 the problem was solved - technical changes were made to the production process (localizers were introduced).

To improve armor penetration, a 45-mm sub-caliber projectile with a tungsten core was adopted for armament, which pierced 66-mm armor at a distance of 500 m along the normal, and 88 mm armor when fired at a distance of 100 m dagger fire.

With the advent of sub-caliber shells, the later modifications of the Pz Kpfw IV tanks became "too tough" for the "forty-five". The thickness of the frontal armor, which did not exceed 80 mm.

At first, new shells were on special account and were issued individually. For the unjustified consumption of sub-caliber shells, the gun commander and gunner could be court martialed.

In the hands of experienced and tactically skilled commanders and trained crews, the 45-mm anti-tank gun posed a serious threat to enemy armored vehicles. Its positive qualities were high mobility and ease of disguise. However, for better destruction of armored targets, a more powerful gun was urgently required, which was the 45-mm cannon mod. 1942 M-42, developed and put into service in 1942.

The 45 mm M-42 anti-tank gun was obtained by upgrading the 45 mm gun of the 1937 model at factory No. 172 in Motovilikha. The modernization consisted in lengthening the barrel (from 46 to 68 calibers), strengthening the propellant charge (the mass of gunpowder in the sleeve increased from 360 to 390 grams) and a number of technological measures to simplify serial production. The armor thickness of the shield cover has been increased from 4.5 mm to 7 mm to better protect the crew from armor-piercing rifle bullets.

As a result of the modernization, the muzzle velocity of the projectile increased by almost 15% - from 760 to 870 m/s. At a distance of 500 meters along the normal, an armor-piercing projectile pierced -61mm, and a sub-caliber projectile pierced -81mm armor. According to the memoirs of anti-tank veterans, the M-42 had very high firing accuracy and relatively low recoil when fired. This made it possible to fire at a high rate of fire without correcting the pickup.

Serial production of 45-mm guns mod. 1942 was launched in January 1943 and was carried out only at plant number 172. In the most stressful periods, the plant produced 700 of these guns monthly. In total, in 1943-1945, 10,843 mod. 1942. Their production continued after the war. New guns, as they were produced, were used to re-equip anti-tank artillery regiments and brigades, which had 45-mm anti-tank guns mod. 1937.

As it soon became clear, the armor penetration of the M-42 to fight German heavy tanks with powerful anti-shell armor Pz. Kpfw. V "Panther" and Pz. Kpfw. VI "Tiger" was not enough. More successful was the firing of sub-caliber shells on the sides, stern and undercarriage. Nevertheless, thanks to well-established mass production, mobility, ease of camouflage and low cost, the gun remained in service until the very end of the war.

In the late 30s, the issue of creating anti-tank guns capable of hitting tanks with anti-shell armor became acute. Calculations showed the futility of the 45-mm caliber in terms of a sharp increase in armor penetration. Various research organizations considered calibers 55 and 60 mm, but in the end it was decided to stop at 57 mm. Guns of this caliber were used in the tsarist army and navy (guns of Nordenfeld and Hotchkiss). A new projectile was developed for this caliber - a standard cartridge case from a 76-mm divisional cannon was adopted as its cartridge case with a re-compression of the cartridge case mouth to a 57 mm caliber.

In 1940, a design team led by Vasily Gavrilovich Grabin began to design a new anti-tank gun that meets the tactical and technical requirements of the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU). The main feature of the new gun was the use of a long barrel with a length of 73 calibers. The gun at a distance of 1000 m pierced armor 90 mm thick with an armor-piercing projectile

A prototype gun was made in October 1940 and passed factory tests. And in March 1941, the gun was put into service under the official name "57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1941" In total, from June to December 1941, about 250 guns were handed over.

57-mm guns from experimental batches took part in the fighting. Some of them were mounted on the Komsomolets light tracked tractor - this was the first Soviet anti-tank self-propelled gun, which, due to the imperfection of the chassis, was not very successful.

The new anti-tank gun easily pierced the armor of all German tanks that existed at that time. However, due to the position of the GAU, the release of the gun was stopped, and the entire production reserve and equipment were mothballed.

In 1943, with the appearance of heavy tanks among the Germans, the production of guns was restored. The gun of the 1943 model had a number of differences from the guns of the 1941 issue, aimed primarily at improving the manufacturability of the gun. However, the restoration of mass production was difficult - there were technological problems with the manufacture of barrels. Mass production of guns under the name "57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1943" ZIS-2 was organized by October - November 1943, after the commissioning of new production facilities, provided with equipment supplied under Lend-Lease.

Since the resumption of production, until the end of the war, more than 9,000 guns entered the troops.

With the restoration of production of the ZIS-2 in 1943, the guns entered the anti-tank artillery regiments (iptap), 20 guns per regiment.

From December 1944, the ZIS-2 was introduced into the staff of the guards rifle divisions - into the regimental anti-tank batteries and into the anti-tank battalion (12 guns). In June 1945, ordinary rifle divisions were transferred to a similar state.

The capabilities of the ZIS-2 made it possible at typical combat distances to confidently hit the 80-mm frontal armor of the most common German medium tanks Pz.IV and StuG III assault self-propelled guns, as well as the side armor of the Pz.VI Tiger tank; at distances of less than 500 m, the Tiger's frontal armor was also hit.
In terms of the cost and manufacturability of production, combat and service performance, the ZIS-2 became the best Soviet anti-tank gun of the war.

According to materials:
http://knowledgegrid.ru/2e9354f401817ff6.html
Shirokorad A. B. The Genius of Soviet Artillery: The Triumph and Tragedy of V. Grabin.
A. Ivanov. Artillery of the USSR in the Second World War.

Disbanded

87th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Poznan Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment (abbr. 87 Guards SAP; former 87th Guards Artillery Regiment)- military formation of the Armed Forces of the USSR, which took part in the Great Patriotic War. As part of the 39th Guards Motorized Rifle Barvenkovskaya Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division of the GSVG (GSOVG, ZGV). Military unit field mail (V/Ch PP) 38862, call sign - Doktriner. Place deployment - Gotha (-), Germany (GDR).

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✪ Panther and Tiger killer. Victory tank IS-2. How our heavy tank destroyed the armored vehicles of the Reich

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IS-2 is perhaps the most famous heavy tank of the Great Patriotic War. They conquered the battlefields in the last year and a half of the war and became a well-recognized symbol of the anti-blitzkrieg. In terms of formidable reputation, perhaps only its main competitor, the German Tiger-I, can compete with the IS-2. Meanwhile, the path of the ISs to victory was not strewn with roses... The Birth of a Hero The creation of a new heavy tank began to be thought about in the spring of 1942. It was then that the upgraded German Pz-4 tanks and StuG-III self-propelled guns with reinforced armor and improved guns first went into battle. In addition, the Germans began to use cumulative shells, which made real devastation in the ranks of Soviet tanks. The project to create a new tank was supervised by Joseph Kotin. He was one of the most experienced designers of the USSR, who gained vast experience in designing heavy tanks, in particular, it was he who became the father of the KV family. "Klim Voroshilov" was not without flaws, ranging from low reliability to very difficult working conditions for the crew. The direct designer of the tank was Nikolai Shashmurin, whom Kotin knew very well from his work in the 1930s at the Kirov Plant in Leningrad. Initially, it was about a machine weighing 30 tons and with a gun with a caliber of 85 mm. Tank builders tried to create a universal vehicle that combines good mobility with survivability. The first sample received the designation KV-13. On tests, the new car completely failed: the chassis turned out to be unreliable. Refinement of the KV-13 led to the emergence of prototypes with different weapon systems. On one of the versions there was a 76-mm cannon, similar to the one used on serial KVs. However, the heavy tank of the second half of the war required something more powerful. In the fall of 1942, a downed "tiger" fell into the hands of the designers. And practically in working order, even with technical documentation. An equally significant event was the meeting of the Red Army with the latest German field fortifications. These included, for example, the mass-produced armored machine-gun nest of the "Crab" type. The armored cap entirely made of armored steel was sunk into a specially dug pit, after which only the embrasure and the roof remained sticking out. In a word, it became clear that the troops needed a vehicle armed with a cannon capable of hitting even a very well-protected target. The shelling of captured "tigers" led to an unambiguous conclusion: it is necessary to increase the caliber. True, more powerful weapons inevitably led to an increase in dimensions: the car was distributed in breadth, the mass grew. The idea of ​​creating the perfect tank with high speed, armor protection and firepower was abandoned, and mobility fell victim. At first, they thought of limiting themselves to an 85 mm caliber gun. Such a gun was quite suitable for a medium tank, but Kotin insisted on installing an even more powerful gun: at a typical distance of a tank battle, the enemy’s medium armored vehicles could be knocked out of an 85-mm gun, but there is no longer a heavy one. As a result, Kotin and his team decided to experiment with a 122-mm gun. The 122-mm A-19 hull gun was chosen as the base model. It was a powerful artillery system, and Perm Plant No. 172 mastered them long ago and produced them quite intensively. In the autumn of 1943, a preliminary design was ready, which impressed Vyacheslav Malyshev, People's Commissar for the Tank Industry, and then Stalin. The new model made an even greater sensation at the training ground, where a captured "Panther" was shot from it. From a one and a half kilometer distance, the projectile literally turned the "cat" tower, breaking through it. True, at the same time the muzzle brake on the gun exploded. Fortunately, no one was killed, and the brake design had to be completely redesigned. The new tank had flaws. Firstly, the extremely poor rate of fire for a tank gun (only 1.5-3 rounds per minute) did not allow shells to be thrown at the enemy at a high pace. Another serious problem of the IS-2 was the small ammunition load. Tankers often tried to put shells in excess of the state in cars. However, much better survivability compared to any medium tank and, most importantly, a powerful gun redeemed everything. IS-2 went into series. The noise and fury of the IS-2 began its combat career in April 1944 in the Ukraine. The IS-1s that went into battle before them did not impress either their soldiers or the enemy too much: these vehicles suffered losses that were not adequate to their successes. But the same could not be said about the IS-2. To begin with, the survivability of the new machines presented an unpleasant surprise to the enemy. Even the shells of the "tigers" did not always ensure their defeat. In the summer of 1944, one of the ISs received 18 hits from 75-mm cannons at once and survived. There are no invulnerable tanks, but the contrast with the T-34s vulnerable to fire was obvious. One of the infantrymen later recalled that when he saw the padded IS, the first reaction was surprise: "I thought nothing would take them at all." The real benefit of the IS-2 was the battles of the summer of 1944. IS-2s did not replace medium tanks, they were thrown into battle as part of separate heavy regiments - later brigades - in key breakthrough directions. And in this capacity, they showed themselves brilliantly. - Big battles for settlements often followed the same scenario. Ahead, our IS-2 tanks from the corps heavy tank regiment were launched, which rammed the German defenses. Then came, accompanied by motorized riflemen, brigade tanks, "Sherman", which immediately burned like candles or like matches, and T-34 tanks from the brigade that constantly accompanied us, - the memories of Zakhar Fridman from the reconnaissance company of the mechanized brigade. The key difference between the "Tiger" and the IS-2 is the weapon system. They differ not even at the level of technology, but conceptually. In the case of the "Tiger" we see a gun with excellent ballistic characteristics, very good optics, high rate of fire and high armor penetration. This is a tank gun, whose main function is to hunt enemy armored vehicles. However, the developers of the IS-2 could not set themselves the task of creating a perfect anti-tank gun. The main enemy of the IS-2 was not enemy tanks, but concrete pillboxes, machine-gun nests in solid stone houses, and artillery batteries. And the IS-2 gun coped with this task perfectly. The shells weighing 25 kilograms produced a sea of ​​fragments, and the high-explosive action made it possible to simply "fold" the floors of the house along with the enemy who had settled inside. The IS-2 coped somewhat worse than the "Tiger" with the task of shooting many enemy tanks: the low rate of fire interfered. However, defenseless in a collision with IS tanks cannot be called. The same 25-kilogram shells rained down on German tanks and self-propelled guns, causing terrible damage. Heavy equipment under the fire of the ISs did not expect anything good. Alexander Fadin recalled: - Out of nowhere, two of our IS-2s are coming. I saw them for the first time. Lined up with us, stood up. Two "tigers" separate and go a little forward, sort of like a duel. Ours preempted them with a shot and demolished both towers. One thing is very important here. The repair units of the Wehrmacht were distinguished by excellent equipment and highly qualified personnel. Therefore, it was highly desirable not only to hit the German car, but to inflict such damage that there was nothing to repair in it. IS shells did an excellent job with this task. With their correct application, not a single enemy machine could feel confident. Interestingly, the "royal tigers", first used in the summer of 1944 on the Sandomierz bridgehead, did not make any sensation. The clash on the Vistula ended in the fiasco of the new armored vehicles of the Wehrmacht. The 501st heavy battalion of the Wehrmacht, just completed by the "royal tigers", was simply beaten by the "team" acting from ambushes of several battered tank units of the Red Army, only a part of which were ISs. 24 tanks, of which 13 were "Royal Tigers", were lost by the enemy. However, the main target still remained fixed firing points. Characteristic is the report of the 80th Guards Heavy Regiment on the results of the Vistula-Oder operation. The regiment claimed to destroy 19 tanks and self-propelled guns, 41 guns, 15 machine-gun nests, 10 mortars and 12 dugouts. Some regiments and brigades even reported on the destruction of hundreds of firing points and artillery positions with extremely modest requests for knocked out armored vehicles. None of the qualities of the vehicles could be useful if it were not for the radically improved level of training of tankers and commanders. At the beginning of the war, tanks were constantly dying due to the fact that they were not supported by infantry. It was precisely the well-established interaction with shooters and artillery and high personal qualities that allowed the IS tankmen to emerge victorious even from very difficult battles against the superbly armed tank battalions of the Wehrmacht and the SS. One of the tankers later wrote: “Suddenly, in the fall of 1944, very smart boys began to come to us from the rear - junior lieutenants ... They no longer made the impression of schoolchildren in clothes that were not tall, but normally commanded, they knew very well the materiel, not only their own, but also enemy ... and most importantly - almost all of them did it all mechanically! Without hesitation! They were called - "academicians"! Even in highly urbanized Germany, the IS-2 remained a powerful ram that could be fruitfully used. The Red Army soldiers used the classic herringbone technique in the cities: tanks, accompanied by submachine gunners and snipers, walked along opposite sides of the street, insuring each other. The infantry fired off Faustniks and artillerymen, tanks crushed machine gunners with fire, demolished bunkers and destroyed barricades. Of course, war, even on such powerful machines, remained a frighteningly dangerous business. According to the participants in the battles, from the personnel of the end of 1943, from the crews of tanks, approximately 25% of the tankers reached the Victory. In the spring of 1945, the IS-2s ended their main war. Later, they served in the tank forces of several countries allied with the USSR, but first of all, he remained a symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War, a tank that ended the war with a convincing knockout on the streets of Berlin, Prague and Vienna.

History of creation

The 87th artillery regiment was formed on August 2, 1942 in the city of Ramenskoye, from the 1107th reserve howitzer-artillery regiment previously created in the Urals, in the city of Verkhniy Ufaley.
Since its inception, the 87th Artillery Regiment has been part of the 39th Guards Rifle Division.

Participation in the Great Patriotic War

The 87th Guards Artillery Regiment participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, the liberation of the Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine (Kharkov operation, Odessa operation), in the Izyum-Barvenkovskaya offensive operation, in Lublin - Brest, Warsaw-Poznan and Berlin offensive operations. The courage and heroism of artillery soldiers are forever inscribed in the history of the Great Patriotic War.

Combat period of the regiment:

• 12.8.1942 - 5.2.1943;
• 20.3.1943 - 7.6.1944;
• 15.6.1944 - 9.5.1945.

Battle of Stalingrad

A separate line in the history of the regiment is the Battle of Stalingrad, which Marshal of the Soviet Union V. I. Chuikov wrote about in his memoirs, who in the post-war period was repeatedly in the 8th GOA and in the 39th GMSD, which included the regiment.

Liberation of Ukraine

The 87th Guards Artillery Regiment as part of the 39th Guards Rifle Division showed valor and heroism in the liberation of Ukraine from Nazi invaders. The 39th GSD received its honorary title and three of the five orders for military merit shown in Ukraine. Order of the Red Banner on October 14 - for courage and heroism shown in the battles for the city of Zaporozhye, Order of Suvorov II degree on March 19 - for courage and heroism shown in the battles on the river Ingulets on the Right Bank of Ukraine, Order Bogdan Khmelnitsky II degree April 20 - for courage and heroism shown in the battles for the city of Odessa.

The division received the honorary name "Barvenkovskaya" for the liberation of the city of Barvenkovo ​​on September 10, 1943.

Liberation of Poland

The 87th Guards Artillery Regiment took an active part in the liberation of Poland in 1945. (Vistula-Oder operation). 87th Guards Artillery Regiment received an honorary title "Poznansky" and his first order - the Order of the Red Banner for the liberation of the cities of Wloclawek, Brzesc-Kujawski and Kolo.

Storming Berlin

The first phrase of the battle for the German capital was to force the rivers and canals along almost the entire perimeter of the city's defenses. The inner belt of the German defense of Berlin in the offensive zone of the 39th Guards Rifle Division passed along the Teltowkanal. Forcing the canal was entrusted to the 117th Guards Rifle Regiment. Part of the forces crossed the canal in dense German heavy fire. The commander of the regiment Gritsenko personally led the soldiers into the attack and was killed.

Advancing to the northwest, in the direction of the zoo, the 87th Guards Artillery Poznan Red Banner Regiment, on April 29, went to the Landwehr Canal. The channel was not wide and shallow, but it was almost impossible to overcome it. Its banks were steep and lined with stone. From the upper edge of the coast to the water - about 3 meters of a smooth and slippery wall. The entire canal and the approaches to it were shot through with dense machine-gun fire and direct-fire guns. But for the guards, this was not an obstacle. They found drainpipes that led into the canal directly to the water level. With these pipes, they crawled to the canal, overcame its water part by swimming, and on the opposite bank, through the same pipes, they got to the surface, finding themselves in the rear of the Germans, who were defending the canal bank directly. Thus, the rifle regiments of the 39th Guards Rifle Division with two battalions, supported by the artillery of the regiment, crossed this canal and captured the southern part of the Tiergarten park. Rifle regiments could successfully advance in a northeasterly direction towards the Reichstag. However, the attack did not take place. An order was received: leave part of the forces to hold the reached line, withdraw the rest of the forces.

By the evening of April 29, 1945, fighting hard for every house, the division came close to the fence of the Zoological Garden. But it was not possible to master them on the move. As is known, the command post of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling (Helmuth Weidling), was located in the Zoological Garden. The garden was surrounded by a reinforced concrete fence. Inside the garden, solid reinforced concrete bunkers were built in advance, which were three-story buildings. The reinforced concrete walls were up to 2.5 meters thick and were not penetrated by shells. On all floors of the buildings there were loopholes closed with steel plates. On the roofs there were anti-aircraft guns of 88 and 128 mm caliber, which fired direct fire. All buildings adjacent to the zoo were also prepared for defense in advance. All the streets leading to the zoo were shot through with rifle-machine-gun and artillery fire. Almost the entire personnel was thrown into making these passages and pulling out howitzer guns on their hands.

By dawn, the guns of the 87th Guards Artillery Poznań Red Banner Regiment were aimed at bunkers and fortified buildings and were carefully camouflaged. On a signal, they opened rapid fire. All bunkers and buildings were instantly shrouded in smoke and dust. However, even these systems failed to break through the walls of the bunkers. But they did their job. The Germans for some period were stunned and stunned. Taking advantage of the confusion of the Germans, the 112th and 117th Guards Rifle Regiments quickly rushed to the bunkers and other objects of attack. In addition to conventional weapons, the soldiers dragged gasoline with them in all kinds of dishes; sappers - explosives; chemists are smokers. Coming close, they began burning and smoking out the Germans. General Weidling, with part of his staff, was forced to flee to a new command post. The rest of the garrison surrendered. Already after the capture of the general, Weidling showed that the loss of these bunkers by him deprived him of communication and the ability to control the fighting of the Berlin garrison.

With a decisive thrust already in the morning of May 1, 1945, units of the 39th Guards Rifle Division captured the southern part of the Tiergarten park, the zoo and joined with units of the 3rd Shock Army, the 2nd Guards Tank Army and the 1st Polish Infantry Division ( 1st Army of the Polish Troops).
It is not superfluous to note such a fact. Despite the strong fire and heavy fighting to take over the zoo, the vast majority, or rather, almost all the animals and birds of the zoo turned out to be alive.

The 87th Guards Artillery Poznan Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment completed its combat path on May 9, 1945.

The division commander during the Berlin offensive operation and the assault on Berlin was Guards Colonel Efim Trofimovich Marchenko.
This section is based on his unpublished memoirs.

Distinguished Warriors of the Regiment

During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the 1st soldier of the regiment became a holder of the Order of Glory of 3 degrees.

Awarded with orders of the USSR:

• Order of the Red Banner - 28
• Order of Kutuzov III degree - 1
• Order of Alexander Nevsky - 7
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class - 72
• Order of the Patriotic War II degree - 126
• Order of the Red Star - 247
• Order of Glory, 1st class - 1
• Order of Glory II degree - 41
• Order of Glory III degree - 188

(Data taken from the orders of the 39th Guards Rifle Division, 28th Guards Rifle Division, 8th Guards A, 1st Belorussian Front, 3rd Ukrainian Front, posted on the website of the RF Ministry of Defense: Electronic Bank of Documents "The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945") .

Thousands of officers, sergeants and soldiers were awarded medals "For Courage", "For Military Merit", "For the Defense of Stalingrad", "For the Capture of Berlin", "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

Sukharev, Nikolay Ivanovich, private guard, senior intelligence officer of the division. Cavalier of the Order of Glory of three degrees. Awarded: by order of the commander of the 39th Guards Rifle Division No. 0120 / n dated January 20, 1945, the Order of Glory III degree, by order of the military council of the 8th Guards Army No. 569 / n dated April 9, 1945, the Order of Glory II degree, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 15, 1946 Order of Glory, 1st class. He died on May 1, 1945 in the battle for Berlin.

Presented to the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", but not awarded:

• Markov Valentin Ivanovich, lieutenant of the guard, commander of a control platoon. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. (Order of the Military Council of the 8th Guards A No. 357 / n of September 26, 1944)

Recipients of the Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky

The list was compiled on the basis of site data: Electronic Bank of Documents "The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945".