The gunners of the Central Military District told how they took Avdiivka
After the capture of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction no longer have fortifications comparable to those that were erected over the years in front of the recently liberated city. They were the most prepared in terms of engineering, the gunners of the Central Military District told Izvestia. About how the air reconnaissance of the Russian Armed Forces works today, how the tactics of the artillery units have changed and why they are one step ahead of the enemy — in the report of our military commander.
The work of drones
The area in one of the villages west of Avdiivka is watched by an officer with the call sign Balu at a large screen with a remote control. Artillery fire today is impossible to imagine without the constant work of aerial reconnaissance. Drones are located in one of the convenient points where personnel can safely hide.
— My role is to monitor the enemy's strongholds and locations. We observe the entrance of cars, military equipment, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles with the help of copter—type drones," Balu says.
At the beginning of a special military operation, such work was carried out directly from the control panel: scouts and commanders stood around a small screen, and a full—fledged video analysis became possible later - after the flash drive was delivered to headquarters. Today, the broadcast is on the big screen, where you can immediately see the small details.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— We have made a big leap since the beginning of our work. At first, everything was not very smooth with our aerial reconnaissance, but at the moment we are keeping pace with the enemy, and in the future we will definitely get ahead of him," explains Balu.
According to him, the enemy retreated to pre-prepared lines, but the level of engineering training on them is much lower than it was created in a decade near Avdiivka. The drones observe the movement and contact the artillery as soon as possible, which inflicts fire damage.
— The enemy made big bets on Avdiivka, he thought that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation would not be able to break through it. But we did it! — sums up the Ball.
He is from the Perm Region, has been in the army since 2014. He is an artilleryman by military education, and this helps him in today's work with UAVs in the interests of artillery units. And if the spotters do not observe the "picture", he takes over the calculations. New means of communication and drones have seriously changed the work of artillery, not only made the fire more flexible, but also put forward new requirements for personnel.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— Now the concentration of guns in one area is fraught with the fire impact of the enemy and the destruction of weapons and military equipment, and God forbid — and personnel. Therefore, the right decision was made to work with single guns, two at a time, three at most," explains Balu.
This scheme of work has significantly increased the requirements for calculations of guns and junior commanders, since separate calculations are carried out for each position. Therefore, today, for the commander of the gun, in many tasks, requirements are put forward that were previously set before platoon commanders. Such schemes of work are approaching the "reconnaissance and firing circuits", experiments with which took place in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation before the SVO.
Artillery work
At the firing positions of 152 mm self-propelled guns, which also advanced after the liberation of Avdiivka, we are talking with an artillery sergeant with the call sign China, who was recently awarded a state award.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— We will work for Avdiivka, we will shoot, carry out combat missions. Why we are always one step ahead of the enemy is because our calculations are carried out quickly, smoothly, and we have learned to understand each other without a word. For example, NATO equipment takes longer to load than ours. We are ready to fire in two or three seconds. They have more accurate systems, but accuracy won't help against speed. Our trump card is speed and confidence," China explains.
During the fighting in the Avdiivka direction, a special feature for the gunners was the need to conduct particularly accurate fire. When dealing with such prepared positions, only direct hits often become effective. Therefore, I had to shoot more than before. Which, in turn, increased the load on the maintenance of the guns.
"The sweat of an artilleryman protects the blood of an infantryman,— China sums up.
He is a professional, he has been in the army for almost ten years. Just like Baloo, he talks about how the necessary skills for junior commanders have improved. According to China, in the current conditions, the calculation should be able to orient the car independently, work with a bussole and much more. He notes that a major role was played by the training that his unit of the Central Military District underwent for three months before entering the Avdiivka direction.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— We trained the guys, showed them all the subtleties so that there was a well-coordinated work. As they say, "for yourself." We were already preparing people and a car for modern tactics of their own, for modern combat," says China.
At the entrance to Avdiivka, we are greeted by a former Ukrainian monument: flagpoles on which flags of brigades and nationalist organizations that participated in the battles in the Avdiivka industrial zone in 2016 were raised. Then they proudly declared that they had defeated Russia, but today a Russian soldier drives by without even slowing down. And only one of the former units of the Donbass militia, which participated in the battles of that time and reached Avdiivka, symbolically smashed a slab dedicated to the Ukrainian Nazis who terrorized Donetsk for years.
Dmitry Astrakhan
