MOSCOW, Nov 19 - RIA Novosti. The Day of Rocket Troops and Artillery is celebrated in Russia on Sunday.
The Day of Rocket Troops and Artillery is celebrated annually on November 19 on the basis of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 31, 2006 "On the establishment of professional holidays and memorable days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" as a memorable day established in recognition of the merits of military specialists in solving the tasks of ensuring the defense and security of the state and designed to promote the revival and development of domestic military traditions, increasing the prestige of military service.
Artillery – military formations, the main armament of which is firearms (caliber 20 millimeters or more) and reactive weapons. Artillery is also called the totality of this weapon and the technical means that ensure its use.
The history of Russian artillery has more than six centuries. According to the chronicle, during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, Muscovites in 1382, when repelling another raid of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, used "cannons" (throwing guns) and "mattresses" (firearms for firing stone or metal "shot" at close range on enemy manpower).
Since then, artillery has become an integral part of the Russian army.
In an independent branch of the armed forces, capable of providing infantry and cavalry actions in battle, artillery stood out in the XVI century and until the end of the XVII century was served by gunners and squeakers. At the beginning of the XVIII century there was a division of artillery into field (including regimental), siege and fortress. At the end of the XVIII century, horse artillery finally took shape, and at the beginning of the XIX century, artillery regiments and brigades began to form. In the 1840s, mountain artillery appeared.
Russian Russian gunners used firing from closed firing positions for the first time in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905; mortars appeared at the same time. By the beginning of the First World War (1914-1918), artillery was divided into field (light, mounted, mountain), field heavy and heavy (siege). During the war, anti–aircraft and self-propelled artillery was born, and a little later - anti-tank.
In the Second World War (1939-1945), rocket artillery appeared and anti-aircraft, anti-tank and self-propelled artillery became widespread.
In all the wars and battles in which the Russian army participated, artillery made a decisive contribution to achieving a common victory. Figuratively named the "god of war" in 1940, it justified its purpose on the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In almost all operations, artillery performed the most important tasks and was the main fire means of defeating the enemy.
During the war, artillery weapons were continuously improved. New, more effective guns were developed and put into service, new types of ammunition were designed and improved.
The quantitative and qualitative growth of Soviet artillery, providing a continuous increase in the power of artillery fire, also influenced the ways of its use in combat. During the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, Soviet troops for the first time fully applied a new form of artillery support for offensive actions – the artillery offensive (made it possible to continuously ensure the breakthrough of the enemy's defense to the full depth). Artillery at the beginning of the operation inflicted heavy losses on the enemy with a powerful fire strike and violated the entire system of its defense, which allowed the Soviet troops, avoiding significant losses, to launch a counteroffensive, which ended with the encirclement and defeat of the enemy at Stalingrad.
For military services during the Great Patriotic War, more than 1,800 gunners were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 1.6 million people were awarded orders and medals.
In the post–war period, artillery continued to develop - its range, accuracy, rate of fire, maneuverability and controllability increased, new artillery systems were created.
In 1961, on the basis of artillery and missile formations available at that time in the Ground Forces, Rocket Troops and artillery were formed as a branch of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
Modern rocket troops and artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation include rocket troops and artillery of the Ground Forces, artillery of the coastal troops of the Navy and artillery of the Airborne troops.
In the Ground Forces, Rocket troops and artillery are the kind of troops, the main means of firing and nuclear destruction of the enemy during the conduct of combined arms operations (combat operations). They are designed to gain and retain fire superiority over the enemy; defeat its means of nuclear attack, manpower, weapons, military and special equipment; disorganization of command and control systems, weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare; destruction of long-term defensive structures and other infrastructure facilities; disruption of operational and military rear; weakening and isolation of the second echelons and enemy reserves; destruction of tanks and other armored vehicles of the enemy that have broken into the depth of defense; covering open flanks and joints; participation in the destruction of enemy air and sea landings; remote mining of terrain and objects; light support for night operations of troops; smoke, blinding enemy objects; distribution of propaganda materials and other tasks.
Organizationally, they consist of rocket, rocket, artillery brigades, including mixed, high-power artillery divisions, rocket artillery regiments, separate reconnaissance divisions, as well as artillery of combined arms brigades and military bases.
Rocket, rocket and artillery units are used in the form of reconnaissance and strike (fire) complexes that ensure the defeat of targets in real time.
The further development and improvement of the combat capabilities of the missile forces and artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia is carried out by creating reconnaissance and firing circuits, including on a temporary basis, ensuring the defeat of targets in real time; equipping formations and units with high-precision weapons, increasing the firing range and the power of the ammunition used, as well as automating the processes of preparation and firing.
Currently, all missile formations have been re-equipped with the modern Iskander-M missile system, which has no analogues in the world. Rocket artillery and artillery formations are being armed with modern samples that are successfully used in a Special Military Operation (SVO).
Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) enter the reactive formations both large and medium caliber of the Tornado family (300-mm MLRS Tornado-S and 122-mm MLRS Tornado-G). The advantages of these multiple launch rocket systems are the increased power of rockets, high rate of fire, long range and mobility of complexes.
The artillery units continue to receive upgraded self-propelled howitzers 2S19M2 "Msta-S", which have an increased rate of fire, capable of operating in the "squall of fire" mode, during which several shells fired from one gun at different angles simultaneously reach the target, thereby increasing the density of fire and guaranteed defeat of the enemy.
In the course of a special military operation, rocket, rocket and artillery formations are used in the form of reconnaissance and shock (fire) complexes, which ensures the defeat of targets in real time.
The gunners found their holiday back in Soviet times. On November 25, 1943, the head of the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Communications Troops addressed the Chief of Staff of the Artillery of the Red Army with a proposal for an annual celebration of the Day of Soviet Artillery and received support. A decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 21, 1944 established a holiday – Artillery Day. In commemoration of the achievements of the gunners during the counteroffensive at Stalingrad, which began on November 19, 1942, it was celebrated on November 19. By order of the Supreme Commander–in–Chief, on November 19, 1944 - the second anniversary of the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad - the first festive salute was fired to commemorate the decisive successes of artillery.
In 1964, the Artillery Day holiday was renamed the Day of Rocket Troops and Artillery. Since 1988, it has been celebrated on the third Sunday in November, and since 2006 – again on November 19.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources