a set of defenses coordinated and interconnected in purpose, tasks, place and time, in a department. directions - counter-offensive. (offensive) battles, hostilities, battles, strikes and maneuvers carried out by connections. and army units in cooperation with neighbors, conn. and units of branches and branches of the Armed Forces and other troops acting in the interests of the army. A.o.o., as a rule, is an integral part of a frontal defensive operation, and sometimes a counter-offensive. (offensive) operations. In some areas it can be carried out independently.
The purposes of A.o.o. are: reflection of air. attacking the pr-ka, defeating its strike forces, holding important areas (frontiers) and creating conditions for subsequent operations. One of the goals of the first is to defend. operations may be a gain of time to ensure the promotion and deployment of Chapter. strength Goals of A.o.o. are achieved by performing a number of operations. tasks, the main of which are: participation in repelling air. attacks by the pr-ka and disorganization of command and control of troops and weapons of the pr-ka; defeat of his group during advancement, deployment and transition to the offensive; retention of occupied lines, positions and areas; prohibition of penetration into depth; destruction of landing troops and special forces operating in the rear. operations and irregular weapons. formations; defeat of the wedged (broken through) gr-k troops of the pr-ka; landing of own troops; restoration of the situation in the most important areas.
A.o.o. includes: defensive, and sometimes offensive. combat operations of combined arms units. 1st and 2nd ash.; Arm. counterattacks; combat operations of the army gr-k missile troops and artillery forces, attached and supporting aviation, anti-aircraft troops. defense and reserves; actions conn. and special parts Armenian troops submission. Components of A.o.o. there may be a landing (ejection) and tactical combat operations. air landings, but to the seaside. direction - sea. (air-sea) landings. The most important component of the A.O.O., carried out in conditions of the use of only conventional weapons, is participation in massive and concentrated fire strikes, and in conditions of the use of nuclear weapons. weapons - participation in nuclear strikes at the front.
The army can prepare defenses and occupy them in advance during a threatened period, with the outbreak of war, as well as during military operations. At the beginning of the war A.o.o. carried out to repel the invasion of the pr-ka, cover and hold the border. districts, important adm. and econ. centers, ensuring the deployment of troops (forces) in the continental theater of war (military operations). During the war, an army can go on the defensive to repel an offensive that has begun, a counter-offensive, if the outcome of an oncoming battle is unsuccessful, if there is a lack of forces to conduct an offensive, as well as in order to save them, to ensure an offensive. actions in other directions. For the defense of the army, a defense zone is assigned. Its width and depth are determined taking into account the combat strength, situational conditions and terrain. In the direction of the expected ch. the strike line of defense, as a rule, is assigned narrower than the secondary one. direction.
The formation of an army's defense includes: a group of troops in accordance with. operator construction; defense system borders, positions, areas; pr-ka fire destruction system; air defense system; anti-tank system defense; system for combating landings and special forces. operations and irregular weapons. pr-ka formations; engineering system barriers, control system, and at the seaside. direction - a naval anti-landing defense system. coast. The occupation of defense troops and its formation is carried out taking into account the received task and the conditions of a specific situation. When occupying defenses in advance on the eve of war, troops can be deployed at designated lines simultaneously in the shortest possible time or sequentially in a certain order. When occupying defense (transition to defense) during a war, army troops are consolidated on the occupied borders or organize defense on newly assigned ones. At the same time, the necessary regroupings (changes) of troops are carried out and a defensive group is created with its corresponding formation. In accordance with the chosen method of conducting the defense. operations, the possible nature of the AR’s actions in the army’s defense zone, a defense system is being created. borders, positions, regions, edges usually include: a support zone or a forward position; the first to defend. line, the second will defend. ru-beige, arm. defensive frontier; cut-off lines and positions, as well as individual areas (nodes) of defense.
When organizing a system of fire destruction in the defense of the army, fire strikes are provided for on the front line at the distant approaches to the defense, the creation of zones of continuous multi-layered fire of all types in front of the front edge, on the flanks and in the depths of the defense, and the destruction of tact. means of nuclear attack and art and pr-ka, reflection of mass. attacks of his tanks and infantry, conducting massir. (concentrated) fire in order to defeat the advancing enemy troops in the most threatened directions, in the intervals between defense districts, strong points and in the depths of the defense. The fire system is based on the close interaction of all conventional weapons of the army, coordinated with air strikes, the engineer system. barriers.
, battles and battles of diverse troops (forces) of types of armed forces, which are carried out simultaneously and sequentially in accordance with a single plan and plan to solve problems in a theater of military operations or a theater of war, a strategic or operational direction (in a certain zone, area) in a specified period of time .
Nature of Operations[ | ]
Operations differ:
Depending on the nature of military (combat) actions, they can be offensive or defensive, in time and order of conduct they can be first or subsequent.
Story [ | ]
The first known classical signs of operation, as one of the forms of warfare, arose in military conflicts and wars at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, and the theoretical concepts and practical implementation of operation as a type of military art (operational art) took shape at the beginning of the 20th century.
During World War II, the army and navy of the USSR carried out offensive and defensive operations depending on the goals and the number of troops (forces) involved, divided into strategic and front-line operations. Front-line operations could be either an integral part of strategic ones or be independent. The division of operations into offensive and defensive only speaks about either who owned the initiative to attack at the beginning of events, or what the goal was pursued in the case of the use of deliberate defense. Often during the operation, offensive and defensive could alternate.
The names of the operations were given a posteriori depending on the development of events and the results achieved during the operation, and during the development of events code names were used, some of which remained the additional name of the operation (Soviet operations “Bagration”, “Uranus”, Wehrmacht operations “Citadel” , "Blau", Anglo-American "Overlord" and the like).
Kinds [ | ]
On Wednesdays By type(s) of participating troops (forces) of the type of aircraft (by type of aircraft) By type of military action..., all military operations must satisfy two main requirements: 1) in thought (plan) correspond to the basic ideas of military science; 2) in execution, to represent a complete whole, in which all particular episodes would be a necessary consequence of the development of one general thought, which is the basis of the operation. To satisfy these requirements, in addition to the talent of a commander, an appropriate weapon of war is also necessary - an army of excellent composition and properly organized, equipped with the necessary technical means of a given era.
Army offensive (defensive) operation called - a set of coordinated and interconnected in terms of goals, objectives, place and time of the offensive (defense), and in certain directions - defensive battles (in defense - counter-offensive and offensive) battles, combat operations, battles, strikes and maneuvers carried out army formations and units, operationally subordinate formations and units of branches and branches of the armed forces, in interaction with neighbors and other troops acting in the interests of the army. In certain areas it can be carried out independently (be an integral part of strategic actions in the theater of military operations).
By scale and goals
- Strategic operation
- Frontline (fleet, district, army group) or group of fronts
- Army operation - carried out by the army (rocket, combined arms, tank, and so on). When conducting offensive operations, it aims to defeat the opposing enemy group and capture areas (objectives) of operational importance; when conducting defensive operations, it is to disrupt the offensive of superior enemy forces, defeat his troops (forces), hold important defensive lines (areas), and win time and creating conditions for going on the offensive. At the beginning of a war (armed conflict), an army operation can be carried out with the aim of disrupting or repelling an enemy invasion, ensuring the deployment of the main forces of the front and their organized entry into battle.
- Hull operation
- Flotilla operation
- Squadron operation
- Operation of strategic nuclear forces
Compound [ | ]
The operation consists of a number of stages. An operation stage is a part of an operation, its specific stage (moment), in which the troops (forces) of an association (and previously the corps and equivalent formations) perform certain operational tasks, as a result of which the general situation changes significantly and favorable conditions are created for further military operations . The stages of operations are also highlighted when studying and describing the operations carried out by associations of armed forces.
For example, Operation Bagration, according to the nature of military operations and the content of the tasks of the formations of the USSR Armed Forces participating in it, was divided into two stages:
Vitebsk-Orsha; Mogilevskaya; Bobruiskaya; Polotsk; Minsk, and included a breakthrough of the enemy’s defense to the entire tactical depth, expansion of the breakthrough towards the flanks and the defeat of the nearest operational reserves and the capture of a number of cities, including the liberation of the capital of the Belarusian SSR - the city of Minsk.
- the first - from June 23 to July 4, 1944, during which five front-line operations were carried out:
Siauliai; Vilnius; Kaunasskaya; Bialystok; Lublin-Brestskaya, and included the development of success in depth, overcoming intermediate defensive lines, defeating the enemy’s main operational reserves, capturing important lines and bridgeheads on the river. Vistula. Specific tasks for the fronts were defined at a depth of up to 160 kilometers.
- the second - from July 5 to August 29, 1944, which included five more front-line operations:
The experience of the military operation codenamed “Iraqi Freedom”, carried out by the US and British armies in 2003, indicates that it was based on the concept of “air-ground operation”, and in the armies of countries belonging to the NATO bloc, its variation - the concept of “fighting the second echelons”.
However, not everyone knows that their essence is similar to the theory of deep operations, developed by Soviet military science back in the 1930s instead of the outdated theory of sequential operations. This theory was a way out of the “positional impasse” that arose in the theory and practice of military art during the First World War. The fact is that the capabilities of defense then turned out to be higher than the capabilities of the offensive, which was reflected in the passive confrontation of the fronts.
Today the term deep surgery can be given a clear definition - This is a form of using armed forces in war, which provides for the simultaneous infliction of defeat on groups and assets throughout the entire depth of the enemy’s operational defense structure.The essencedeep surgery in breaking through the tactical zone of the opposing side in the chosen direction, followed by the rapid development of tactical advantages into operational success through the introduction into battle of the success development echelon - mobile groups (tanks, motorized infantry) and airborne landings to achieve the goal of the operation.
Tactical landing from a helicopter
In essence, this method of combat is a fundamentally new theory of offensive actions by massive, technically equipped armies and at the same time a qualitative leap in the development of military art. With the adoption of the theory of deep operations, the possibility of advancing troops to great depths at high speeds with the aim of encircling and defeating large enemy groups opened up.
Prominent Russian military leaders and theorists V.K. Triandafillov, M.N. Tukhachevsky, A.I. Egorov, I.P. Uborevich, I. E. Yakir, Ya. I. Alksnis, K. B. Kalinovsky, A. N. Sedyakin and others. In military works, a deep operation was defined as an operation carried out by a shock army operating in the direction of the main attack (scheme 1).
To deliver a powerful first strike against the enemy and quickly develop success, a deeply echeloned operational formation of troops was envisaged, including an attack echelon, a breakthrough echelon, reserves, army aviation and airborne troops. attack echelon, which included rifle corps reinforced with tanks and artillery, intended to break through the tactical defense zone.
Breakthrough development echelon(mobile group), usually consisting of several mechanized or tank corps, served to quickly develop tactical success into operational success with air support and in cooperation with landing forces. The introduction of this echelon was considered most appropriate after breaking through the enemy's tactical defense zone, and in the case of insufficiently developed enemy defenses and the absence of large reserves - even earlier. When breaking through fortified zones, it was not excluded that this echelon could be used to complete the breakthrough of the tactical defense zone together with the attack echelon. However, this option was considered less feasible.
Scheme 1. Offensive operation of the shock army according to pre-war views
Methods of action for the development echelon of a breakthrough in operational depth using decisive maneuver of forces and means were also developed (especially in the works of V.K. Triandafillov). All this increased the possibility of successfully breaking through the enemy’s defenses and developing an offensive at a high pace to great depth. An important role in the methods of conducting a deep operation was given to the simultaneous impact on the entire depth of the enemy’s operational defense formation through the use of short- and long-range aviation, as well as the sequential landing of air and seaborne assault forces in his rear.
This made it possible to subsequently develop a deep offensive operation on the front. In this regard, views on the role of front-line and army formations have also changed. Shortly before the start of the Great Patriotic War, it was concluded that deep operations could be carried out not only by one front, but also by several interacting front-line formations with the participation of large aviation forces, and in coastal areas - the Navy. The front was considered as an operational-strategic association.
Army formations were intended mainly for action as part of the front. Independent conduct of a deep operation by the army was considered possible only in certain operational directions or in special conditions (mountains, deserts).
To carry out a deep operation, it was considered advisable to have several shock and conventional armies, 1-2 mechanized or tank corps, 15 or more aviation divisions (as part of the front air force and the air force of combined arms armies). It was assumed that with this composition the front could conduct an offensive in a zone of up to 300-400 km and to a depth of 300-300 km (scheme 2). The main blow was delivered in the 60-100 km area. In the breakthrough area, densities were created: one division per 2-2.5 km, 50-10 guns and 50-100 tanks per 1 km of front.
Duration of front-line operation, according to the views of that time, it could reach 15-20 days with an average daily rate of advance of 10-15 km for infantry, and 40-50 km for mobile groups. The front provided for the creation of a strong first operational echelon (from combined arms armies), a mobile group (from tank and mechanized formations), as well as aviation groups and reserves.
The army advancing in the direction of the main attack of the front (shock army) could consist of 4-5 rifle corps, 1-2 mechanized corps, 7-9 artillery regiments and 7-8 anti-aircraft artillery divisions. Its actions were constantly supported by 2-3 air divisions. It was believed that with this composition the army could break through the enemy’s defenses in an area of 25-30 km and advance in a strip 50-80 km wide to a depth of 75-110 km. Front mobile group it was intended to be used to complete the breakthrough of the enemy’s tactical defense zone or to be introduced into battle after breaking through the second echelon of his defense to develop success. In the theory of deep operations, great importance was also attached to the organization of reliable air defense (air defense).
Scheme 2. Front offensive operation according to pre-war views
In accordance with the theory of deep operations in the Soviet Armed Forces, already in the 1930s, separate tank and mechanized corps were created, as well as strong air forces, which were organizationally divided into aviation of the Main Command (special purpose armies), front-line (air forces of military districts) and army (Army Air Force). Subsequently, it was planned to have military aviation (squadrons of corps).
The vitality of the foundations of the theory of deep operations was clearly demonstrated in the operations and battles of the Soviet troops with the German invaders in 1942-1945. During the course of the war, this theory was improved in accordance with the equipping of Soviet troops with increasingly effective equipment and weapons, changes in their organizational structure and the acquisition of combat experience by commanders, staffs and commanders.
Thus, in 1942, when the enemy had not yet used deeply echeloned defense, predominantly single-echelon combat formations were introduced at all levels. This arrangement ensured a strong initial strike and was advisable when breaking through the enemy’s shallow defenses. When the German troops in 1943 moved to build a positional defense in depth, a decision was made to move to deeper combat formations of rifle corps, divisions and regiments.
The breakthrough of the powerful defense in depth of the Germans was carried out by front troops in one or several sectors, followed by the development of efforts in depth and towards the flanks, as well as in converging directions, with the aim of encircling and destroying large enemy groups. Compared to 1941, the rate of breakthrough increased sharply (up to 12-20 km per day), and in a number of operations (Yassy-Kishenev, Vistula-Oder, etc.) they reached 20-35 km per day or more. By the end of the war, the depth of front-line offensive operations increased significantly and reached 400-600 km. At the same time, in narrow areas of the breakthrough, amounting to 7-12 percent. width! offensive fronts and armies, often concentrated up to 70-80 percent. artillery and up to 100 percent. tanks and self-propelled guns.
To develop success in the fronts and armies, strong mobile groups, second echelons, aviation groups, as well as reserves from all branches of the military were created. Great success in operations was achieved in the art of encircling large enemy groups with the forces of one or two interacting fronts. The art of eliminating surrounded groups by cutting them into pieces during the encirclement and their subsequent destruction was further developed. The most typical examples of the liquidation of encircled enemy groups include the Vitebsk-Orsha, Bobruisk, East Prussian and other offensive operations.
In the post-war period, the theory of deep operation continued to develop taking into account the emergence of new equipment and weapons. Although the term “deep surgery” is no longer used in official documents, the general principles of this theory have not lost their meaning to this day. Moreover, the main content of the theory of deep surgery has organically entered into the foundations of modern operational art.
Nowadays, the decisive role is no longer considered to be a front-line (army group) operation, but an operation in a theater of military operations (TVD). Being a qualitatively improved operation of a group of fronts during the Second World War, it is carried out to great depth, representing a set of battles, battles, and strikes coordinated and interconnected in purpose, place and time, carried out in a theater of military operations or a strategic direction to solve strategic or operational problems. By its nature, it is a new combined arms operation carried out by the efforts of all branches of the Armed Forces.
It is a theater operation includes a system of not only simultaneous (as was previously the case), but also sequential operations of several fronts (army groups) and fleets, as well as amphibious and anti-amphibious, impact and counteraction operations in the theater of military operations under a single combined arms command. It is she who fully embodies the idea of deep surgery.
An operation in a theater of war can be either defensive or counter-offensive (offensive). Unlike the operations of a group of fronts during the Second World War, in many cases it can be of a focal nature, carried out at a higher pace, and be distinguished by the exceptional dynamism of combat operations on land, in the air and at sea, unfolding simultaneously over large areas not only along the front, but and in depth.
As part of a strategic operation, the first and subsequent operations of fronts (army groups) can be carried out on a continental theater of operations, and the first and subsequent operations of fronts can also be carried out in coastal areas. The qualitatively new nature of modern deep operations requires clarification of other concepts, including the concept of “direction of the main blow” in the operation.
The main strike in modern conditions must necessarily include, along with the actions of troops (forces) to defeat the opposing enemy group in the most important direction, also the primary destruction of the enemy’s most important targets and objects in depth, even if they are not in the zone chosen for the strike, but also in Due to their range and significance, they can have a decisive influence on the success of the breakthrough and the operation as a whole. Maintaining superiority until the end of the operation is achieved through wide maneuver of fire, forces and means. At the same time, the role and importance of air attack weapons is sharply increasing.
The ideas of the pre-war theory of deep operations are now used in the military concepts of the NATO bloc, with their implementation by modern means of armed struggle. The development of long-range, high-precision weapons, and above all reconnaissance-strike and reconnaissance-fire complexes, qualitatively new means of command and control and equipping troops with them, as well as strike space assets have caused changes in the methods of conducting combat operations.
For example, the operations of the US troops, as already mentioned, are based on the concept of an air-ground operation (battle), and in the armies of countries belonging to the NATO bloc, its variation is the concept of fighting the second echelons. Their essence is similar to the theory of deep operations and consists in the simultaneous delivery of massive strikes not only against the troops of the first echelon of the opposing group, but also at the most important targets in the rear (on the second echelons, control points, reserves, positions of missile forces, artillery, airfields and communications) throughout the depth of the operational formation of the enemy force grouping.
The depth of simultaneous destruction by means of an army group, according to these views, can reach 500 km more. At the same time, attacks on targets in the depths are planned to be carried out by heterogeneous forces with strict coordination of their actions by target, place, time and in coordination with the combat operations of airborne assault forces and troops advancing from the front. In this case, paramount importance is attached to a sudden transition to the offensive and seizing the initiative.
Thus, simultaneous strikes throughout the entire depth of the opposing enemy in modern conditions are becoming the leading trend in the development of combined arms operations with the widespread use of high-precision air attack weapons, all means of deep impact.
High tension in the actions of troops, their wide focal nature, rapid and sudden changes in the situation, the unprecedented dynamism of the conduct of operations, as never before, increase the role of interaction between the groupings of troops, aviation and naval forces participating in the operation (and mainly coalition forces) and the pre-organized control of them by the combined arms commander and headquarters, as well as a large complex of measures for operational (combat), material and technical support.
The final version of the operation plan was formalized only on March 18, 2003. The invasion of ground forces and the amphibious landing were supposed to take place on the morning of March 21.
There was a grouping of troops “South”, whose main task was the defeat of Iraqi troops on defensive lines along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, access to Baghdad and its blocking. The attack on the capital was planned simultaneously in two operational directions: northeast (Kuwait-Iraq border - Basra - Amara - Baghdad) and northwest (Kuwait-Iraq border - Nasiriyah - Hilla - Baghdad).
The operational formation of troops provided for the creation of a second echelon in the north-western direction and the allocation of a general reserve from the airborne and amphibious landing formations, which were intended to solve further tasks of capturing the capital and other large cities.
In other areas, limited operations were envisaged by special forces units. In addition, in the northeastern operational direction, part of the forces of the “South” group was allocated to solve the problem of taking control of the oil-bearing areas on the Faw Peninsula by conducting an amphibious landing operation.
Order for creation of a joint group of troops (forces) was issued by the Secretary of Defense through the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces on December 24, 2002. By the beginning of hostilities, the deployment of Navy and Air Force groups was completed.
Navy grouping was deployed in three main directions:
— in the Persian and Oman Gulfs - 81 warships, including three aircraft carriers of the US Navy and one of the British Navy, 9 surface ships (SC) and 8 nuclear submarines (SNB) - carriers of the Tomahawk SLCM;
— in the northern part of the Red Sea - 13 SLCM carriers (7 NK and 6 SSN);
— in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea - 7 warships, including two aircraft carriers and four SLCM carriers.
In total, there are 6 aircraft carriers carrying 278 strike aircraft and 36 SLCM carriers with ammunition of up to 1,100 missiles. At the same time, about 900 missiles were located directly on ships and up to 200 on support transports.
As part of a deployed Air Force group included more than 700 combat aircraft, of which about 550 tactical strike aircraft of the US Air Force, Great Britain and Australia, stationed at air bases (AVB) of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, as well as 43 strategic bombers of the US Air Force, based on ABB UK, USA and Oman. At the same time, part of the B-2A bombers was for the first time stationed not at its regular Whitement air base, but at the air base of the island. Diego Garcia, where special hangars were equipped for them with a system for maintaining a certain temperature and humidity regime.
The total composition of the air attack forces and means of the air force and navy of the coalition group was about 875 attack aircraft and more than 1,000 sea- and air-launched cruise missiles.
The deployment of the coalition group of ground forces was carried out with a lag behind the build-up of the Air Force and Navy in the region. Direct supervision of its creation in the area of the upcoming operation was carried out by the headquarters of the 3rd Field Army of the North Central Command of the US Armed Forces. Since the second half of 2002, the headquarters' efforts have been aimed at deploying a combat command and control system; obtaining intelligence information about the state and activities of Iraqi troops; creating conditions for the rapid reception and deployment of ground troops. For this purpose, five brigade sets of ground forces weapons were stockpiled in Kuwait in advance. The advance creation of reserves of material and technical means and the storage of weapons and military equipment in the theater made it possible to reduce the deployment time of ground formations from 40 to 15 days.
At the beginning of the operation, the combat composition of the coalition ground forces included3 divisions, 7 brigades and 8 battalions. To support them, the 11th operational tactical group (OTG) of the army aviation, 75 OTG field artillery and OTG air defense/missile defense of the US ground forces were formed. The group consisted of up to 112 thousand people, up to 500 tanks, more than 1,200 armored combat vehicles, about 900 guns, MLRS and mortars, over 900 helicopters and up to 200 anti-aircraft missile systems.
The basis of the coalition forces was the “South” group, which included three divisions, seven brigades and two battalions. Most of it was located in field camps in the north-west of Kuwait, and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Battalion (EBMP) of the United States and the 3rd Marine Brigade (BRMP) of Great Britain were located on landing ships in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
The West group was created on the territory of Jordan. It included two battalions of the 75th Ranger Infantry Regiment, a US Army Special Forces battalion and up to a UK Army Special Forces company. Units with a total strength of about 2 thousand people were stationed in the field in the eastern part of the country. In the north of Iraq (territory of the Kurdish Autonomous Region), up to two battalions and up to a company of Special Forces of the British and US ground forces were concentrated. Their actions were supported by up to 10 helicopters.
Operation Iraqi Freedom as planned, it began at 21.00 on March 19, 2003 with the massive use of special operations forces in Iraq. Combat operations of the ground group The coalition deployed a day before the planned date and before the start of the massive use of forces and means of air attack (air offensive operation).
Troops of the "South" group(scheme 3) in the northeastern operational direction went on the offensive in the early morning of March 20, simultaneously with the coalition launching selective missile and bomb attacks on Iraqi targets. The invasion of Iraqi territory was carried out in pre-battle formations with the support of artillery, army and tactical aviation. There was no fire preparation for the attack. Military units and units of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Division (EDMP), 7th Armored Brigade (brtbr), 1st armored division (brtd) and 16th separate air assault brigade (shbr) developed an offensive on the city of Basra , and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Battalion (EMB) - to the city of Umm Qasr.
Diagram 3. Military actions of the South group of troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003)
On the night of March 21, an amphibious landing operation was carried out. The landing on the Faw Peninsula was carried out in a combined manner using helicopters and amphibious assault forces with the support of naval and coastal artillery. As a result, the task of taking control of the southern oil terminals was successfully completed. At the same time, the main forces of the coalition group in the northeastern operational direction failed to capture Basra and Umm Qasr on the move and had to abandon further advance in the direction of Basra - Amara.
In the northwestern operational direction, the troops went on the offensive on the evening of March 20. First echelon as part of the military units of the 3rd Mechanized Division (MD) he advanced mainly in pre-battle formations through the desert area along the right bank of the river. Euphrates. In the second tier There were military units of the 101st Air Assault Division (vshd). Brigade tactical groups(BrTG) of the first echelon tried to seize bridges and bridgeheads on the left bank of the river on the move. Euphrates near the cities of Nasiriyah, Samawa and Najaf. However, the stubborn resistance of the Iraqi garrisons forced the Americans to switch to positional actions.
Under these conditions, the advanced military units of the 3rd MD continued their offensive to the north and by March 25 reached the first defensive line of the Iraqi defense on the approaches to the capital in the area of Karbala, covering about 400 km in four days. At the same time, further advancement was not possible, since up to two-thirds of the division’s forces were tied up in battles near Nasiriya, Samaw and Najaf. Due to large gaps between military units, there was a threat of attacks by Iraqi troops on the exposed flanks and rear. The great extent of communications made it difficult to solve problems of logistical support for the advancing troops (Diagram 4).
In the current situation, the command of the “South” group suspended the offensive and regrouped its troops. Military units and subunits of the 1st infantry battalion, 2nd brigade and 15th infantry battalion were redeployed from the north-eastern direction to the area of the city of Nasiriyah, and the 101st airborne division (second echelon) was tasked with releasing military units of the 3rd infantry division on the approaches to the cities of Es-Samawa and Najaf. One brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division (Airborne), withdrawn from the operational reserve, was sent to strengthen the West group. The second brigade also received a new task: it was supposed to guard the supply routes for the troops.
Diagram 4. Military operations in the northern and western directions in Operation Iraqi Freedom
Marine formations and military units concentrated in the Nasiriyah area were given the following tasks: to block Iraqi garrisons in populated areas with part of their forces, to concentrate the main efforts on a breakthrough in Mesopotamia and an accelerated exit to the Iraqi capital, which meant the opening of hostilities in a new operational direction (Nasiriyah - Al-Kut - Baghdad).
On March 27, military units and subunits of the 1st infantry battalion and the 15th infantry battalion, reinforced by 24 infantry fighting vehicles brought into battle from the operational reserve, crossed the river with the support of aviation. Euphrates, went to Mesopotamia and developed an attack on the city of El-Kut. After crossing the river. Tiger and the blockade of El-Kut, part of the forces and assets of the Marine Corps was redirected to capture the city of El-Amara from the northern direction, together with units of the British Armed Forces operating from the south. The main forces of the 1st Airborne Forces continued their offensive along the Al-Kut - Baghdad highway and on April 5 reached the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the capital.
In the northwestern direction, the brigade tactical groups of the 3rd Mechanized Division, having transferred the captured lines on the approaches to the cities of Nasiriya, Samawa and Najaf, moved to the city of Karbala, which made it possible to resume the offensive on Baghdad. After blocking a group of Iraqi troops in the Karbala Hill area, the main forces of the division made a roundabout maneuver along the shore of the lake. El-Milkh and by April 5 reached the southwestern outskirts of Baghdad.
For three days, American artillery and strike aircraft systematically destroyed fortified positions, resistance centers and individual firing points of the Iraqi defense on the closest approaches to the capital.
The assault on Baghdad, which, according to the Anglo-American command, was supposed to be the most difficult part of the operation, did not happen as such. The inglorious result for Iraq of the “strange defense of Baghdad” was the result of an operation to bribe senior Iraqi military leaders, including the commander of the Republican Guard in the capital, General Al-Tikriti. Later, the American side, represented by the commander of the OCC, General T. Franks, generally admitted that it resorted to widespread bribery of Iraqi commanders, forcing them in certain cities to lay down their arms without a fight.
After capturing Baghdad, the main efforts of the “South” group were focused on capturing Tikrit. In the direction of the main attack(Baghdad - Tikrit) there were military units of the 3rd MD, 1st Edmp and up to two BrTGr 4th MD, which arrived from Kuwait. Part of the forces of the 1st Airborne Forces was used to eliminate one of the last centers of resistance in the area of Ba-Aquba (about 80 km northeast of Baghdad). However, with the fall of the capital, the garrisons of other Iraqi cities stopped resisting. Tikrit was abandoned by Iraqi forces on April 13. On the same day, British troops established control over Umm Qasr.
In other directions (Diagram 4), the content of military operations of the coalition forces generally corresponded to the plans of the operation.
On March 27, the deployment of the coalition group of ground forces “North” began. Its basis consisted of the 173rd airborne brigade and the battalion of the 10th infantry division with an attached company tactical group of the 1st infantry division. Weapons and equipment were airlifted to airfields in the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq. Most of the personnel landed by parachute.
By the beginning of April, the “North” group, which, in addition to the transferred military units, included special forces units of the US and British ground forces operating in the northern regions, numbered about 4,000 people. Military units and divisions of the group, together with Kurdish armed forces, with the support of aviation, during the fighting on April 10, captured the city of Kirkuk, and on April 12, Mosul. At the final stage of the operation, part of the forces and means of the North group took part in the capture of Tikrit.
The success of the coalition forces in the operation was achieved thanks to the organization of close interaction between all types of armed forces. At the same time, according to the American command, the main role in its achievement was played by the combat actions of the Air Force and Navy, which ensured absolute dominance in airspace, information superiority over the enemy, as well as powerful support for the actions of ground forces.
The massive use of air attack forces and means as part of the air offensive operation was carried out from 21.00 on March 21 until the end of the day on March 23. During the VNO, two massive missile and air strikes (MRAU) were carried out. In just two days, aviation carried out about 4 thousand sorties. About 3 thousand units of high-precision weapons were used against Iraqi targets, of which up to 100 ALCMs and 400 SLCMs.
From March 24 until the end of the operation, aviation was used in the form of systematic combat operations with single and group missile and air strikes. Every day, Air Force and Navy aircraft carried out an average of 1,700 sorties. At the same time, there was a tendency towards a decrease in the proportion of sorties to destroy pre-planned targets (from 100% during military operations to 20% during systematic combat operations). Direct air support for ground forces and marine groups with the start of the ground offensive operation was carried out with limited forces, and from March 25, up to 75 percent was allocated to this task. strike aircraft sorties.
The share of US strategic bombers There were more than 500 sorties, with the most actively used B-52 H aircraft based at Fairford airbase (Great Britain) and about. Diego Garcia. On the fourth day since the start of hostilities, B-52 H bombers went on airborne duty over western Iraq to strike against ground forces, a new way to use these heavy strategic aircraft. In military operations against Iraq, B-1 B bombers from the Markaz-Tamarid airbase (Oman) and B-2 A bombers from Whitement air base (USA) and the island were also used. Diego Garcia.
Tactical aviation The united Allied Air Force, represented by the F-15 E, F-16 C/D and Tornado multirole fighters, F-117 A, A-10 A and Harrier fighter-bombers, operated from 30 airfields in the Middle East. In-flight refueling was provided by over 250 KS-135 and KS-10 refueling aircraft.
The use of carrier-based aircraft was planned to be carried out from the aircraft carriers of the 50th carrier strike force (AUS) from the northern part of the Persian Gulf and the 60th AUS from the areas of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In the latter case, the choice of combat maneuvering areas was determined by the need to fire at Iraqi armed forces groups in the northern regions of the country.
Launches of sea-launched cruise missiles against Iraqi targets were carried out from surface ships and nuclear submarines from the Persian Gulf, northern Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean. The first missiles were launched on March 20, two hours after the US President made the decision to carry out selective strikes.
As part of the implementation of the concept of “conducting combat operations by dispersed platforms united by centralized networks,” a method of massive use of nuclear submarines (SSNs) against enemy coastal targets was implemented for the first time. Thus, in the first MRAU of the air offensive operation, 14 submarines took part (US Navy - 12, British Navy - 2), from which about 100 cruise missiles were fired. It is estimated that during the air campaign, submarines of the US and British Navy used about 240 Tomahawk SLCMs. In total, up to 23 NK and 14 submarines were involved in missile strikes, using a total of more than 800 missiles (62% of the total ammunition).
In just 25 days (20.3-13.4), aircraft of the US and British Air Forces and Navy carried out about 41 thousand sorties, and about 29 thousand ammunition was consumed. Taking into account the use of SLCMs and ALCMs, the share of high-precision weapons was 68%.
The main outcome of Operation Iraqi Freedom is of geostrategic significance. The United States has expanded the strategic foothold for its further advance in this region.
In military terms, the trend towards an increase in the role of the Air Force and Navy, reconnaissance and precision weapons in achieving the objectives of the operation was confirmed. A qualitatively new stage in the development of high-precision systems was the implementation of the concept of joint and interconnected in time and space use of space, air, sea and ground reconnaissance and destruction means integrated into a single system.
The results of military operations in Iraq had a direct impact on the content of the main programs for building the US armed forces. The priority areas that will receive the most intensive development in the coming decades were: improving surveillance, reconnaissance and information collection systems; increasing the accuracy of destruction of air and sea strike weapons and increasing their capabilities in striking targets at long range, including both the weapon itself and its carriers; expanding capabilities in the field of data transmission and networking of all the above tools and systems.
Combat operation without firing a single shot
Relatively recently, some archival documents of the General Staff of the USSR Ministry of Defense were discovered. Their analysis showed that even after the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, very serious events took place.
High-ranking generals of Nazi Germany held separate negotiations with representatives of England and the United States. Their goal was to stop military operations on the Western Front, and throw the liberated German troops - about 2 million people - to the Eastern Front against the Soviet army. Grand Admiral Dönitz, as the new Reich Chancellor of Germany, appointed on April 29, 1945, before Hitler's suicide, declared at the first government meeting: “We must go together with the Western powers. With them we can then hope that we will take our lands from the Russians.” Doenitz quite seriously counted on the help of the British and was not mistaken.
There is information that Winston Churchill actually gave the order to his military: “Reform for rapprochement with the Germans.” In the British zone of occupation beyond the Elbe there were more than 1 million German soldiers and officers who retreated there under the attacks of the troops of Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, with full weapons, artillery, tanks and aircraft. There were also Muller's army group - Group Nord - headquarters and two infantry corps numbering up to 200 thousand Nazis.
The headquarters continued to function; in the seaports in northern Germany there were 258 warships flying Nazi flags, 195 submarines and 95 transport ships.
The government of the USSR faced a difficult problem. What to do? More fighting? But there are British troops in the zone! However, why not leave such a powerful group of Germans in the north-west of Germany? We came to a common decision: to “put pressure” on the British. Through diplomatic channels, Molotov contacted Churchill, who realized that he was in a delicate position, promising that the obligations would be fulfilled.
On May 15, 1945, Stalin instructed Zhukov to arrest the Doenitz government and disarm the German group. Difficult tasks! Our delegation, headed by Major General Nikolai Mikhailovich Trusov, was urgently sent to the Allied Control Commission, who asked for 25 experienced intelligence officers, two aircraft, a radio station and codes. Everything was prepared in one night. In the morning the group flew to Germany.
Trusov later recalled: “Once we got to Flensburg, we found ourselves in Nazi Germany. Flags, swastika. A mass of armed soldiers. All with orders and insignia. There are fascist signs everywhere. Hitler’s order and fascist laws were in effect here.”
General Trusov realized that the matter ahead was mortally dangerous. He knew that British counterintelligence could easily “eliminate” unwanted visitors. And the behavior of the Germans was not predicted...
On May 18, 1945, the delegation of Nikolai Trusov settled in Flensburg on the passenger ship Patria. He gave the command to all the officers of his group: “Be ready for battle.” His scouts themselves understood this.
Suddenly, representatives of the USA, England and France moved onto the ship. Apparently, they were also afraid of the Nazis. Or perhaps they decided to keep an eye on our delegation. The security was entirely English.
In Flensburg, the British troops were commanded by Brigadier General Ford. First of all, Trusov turned to him with a request for a meeting with Doenitz. Our intelligence knew that Doenitz was captured by the British in 1918, and it was possible that the Grand Admiral from those ancient times may have been in the service of the British.
Major General Trusov knew, of course, a lot about Doenitz. And therefore he was not surprised at any attempts by General Ford to delay the meeting or cancel it altogether. At the same time, Ford frightened Trusov with the possibility of a German mutiny if the government was arrested. As a last resort, Ford suggested interning him. Our delegation was against it.
Finally, the meeting took place in Doenitz's office. Trusov put forward a demand to the British to disarm the Germans, but the British persisted. However, with the support of the American General Rooks, they were able to break them.
On May 20, the British began disarmament of the group. Trusov further insisted on the arrest of the entire Doenitz government - about 200 senior officials - simultaneously and on the same day. The British, under pressure from our delegation, agreed to schedule the arrest for May 23, 1945. They suggested that our 25 officers themselves (?!) arrest 200 members of the government. Trusov realized that this was a trap and insisted that the British do it themselves.
Task forces were created and dispersed to their intended addresses. Soviet military representatives summoned the Reich Chancellor and Minister of War, Grand Admiral Doenitz, the chief of staff of the operational leadership, Colonel-General Jodl, and the Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces of Friedeburg to headquarters. Here, representatives of three parties - Soviet, American and British - announced that from that moment the Doenitz government would be dissolved, the three of them would be taken into custody, all government institutions would cease to exist, and all government personnel and officials of government agencies would also be taken into custody.
Doenitz and Jodl agreed with the Allied decision. Only Admiral Friedeburg, after his arrest, asked to go to the toilet and there he was poisoned by the potassium cyanide he found.
Overall everything went according to plan. The German government ceased to exist on the 16th day after the surrender. The officers - intelligence officers of General Trusov's group? - these days found out that the British managed to take all the German intelligence documents about the Soviet army from Flensburg and hide them in Belgium in the city of Dienst. Trusov again “put pressure” on the allies. As a result, three large boxes with important documents flew to Moscow.
Even a German captured soldier is happy about the death of the Fuhrer
It should be noted one more result of the work of our intelligence officers in Flensburg. They took possession of Doenitz's personal briefcase, which contained important documents. Including two personal wills of Hitler. In addition, the officers of Trusov’s group managed to master German maps of minefields in the Baltic. Major General Trusov’s great merit is that he was able to establish it already on the first day. For example, that the Allies “divided” the German fleet among themselves. And this is 448 combat and auxiliary ships! He reported to Moscow: “An illegal division of the fleet is underway! The Americans are not interested in German ships and agree to give the Soviet Union its share. The British are against it." As a result, more than 100 ships went to the USSR.
This is how the last combat operation was carried out in seven days. Without firing a single shot, more than a million Nazis were disarmed and the threat of a new war was eliminated.
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