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DDt-11&1GTl

DEFENSE NTELLIGENCEREPORT

SOVIET TANK BAT'TALIONTACTICS

AUGUST 977



SOVIET ANK BATTALION ACTICS

DDr-1120-10-??

IDfotmation Cutoff Dat€: 30 NoveEber1976

Ihis is a Deparhent ol Defense ntellige[ce Documentpy@aBdby the Soviet/WaEawPact Division,

Direc'tonte fo! Intelligence &esearch,Delen6e ntelligenceAgency

Autho!: Major A. E. Hemedey,Clound Fotces Branch,Tlctics 8!d Otganization Section



PREFACE

This study i6produced pimadly as an inshuctional aid fot use n seFice schoolsand hoopunits. It is int€nded a! a "how they fight" Eranualand descliber the tactics of a Soviet tankbattslion when t iNdeployed n combinedasn6operations n the European heate! o! a sihilarenvironment. Details of t nk equipment in serviceat the ple8ent time are included as anAppendix. lte dbcus6ion of tactic6 i! at tank company and attached unit level. Tho6erequiling the detrils of bethods of opetrtion of taDk or motolized rifle coEpanies shouldcon6ult Souiet Tank Compan! Ta.tica (U, DDI-1120-129-76 dat€d May ?6, ot The SovictMoto.bed. Rifle Companf (U) DDI-1100-??-?6 dat€d May ?6. Tank tactics usd in btrilt-uparessare descdbed n Sovict Militarr Opetution| in Built-up Atuos (Ul DDI-1100-155-?7(to bepublished).

Addressees re leque6ted to lorward infonation which will 6upplemmt o! co[ect thjs

leport. Questions and comments 6hould be lefened in w ting to the DefenseIntelligenc€Agency A'ITN: DB-1B4),Washineton, .C, 20301.

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TABLEOF CONTENTS

Page

SUMMARY

CHAPTER1PurposeScope

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER2 ORGANIZATIONFOR COMBAT

111

33333

444446

SubordinationStructureEquipmentCommand

Battalion CommandPostBattalion Support GroupConholRadioRadio Security

CHAPTER3 TACTICALMOVEMENT

OrdeIs

Genelal

MarchFormalionAdvance o Contact and Combat FomationMarchSecuriEy

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777I

1313

111111

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181818181818182 l2 l272222

CHAPTER4Concept

THE MEETINGENGAGEMENT

Tank BattalionReconnaissance

Reinforcement

DeploymentExecution

CHAPTER5 THE OFFENSIVE

Tank Battalion Support

Section A ConceptsCeneml

Attack Frcntages nd Depths

Ffte Support

Echelons

Smoke

Estimat€

Relative Strengths

SectionB Attack on a Prepared ositionDeploymentReconnaissance

Attack CoodinationObstacleCrcssingAssault Action



Echelon Tank Battalion in a Resiment's Attack On a PleDared

elonPlanning

SectionD Attack on an EnemyHastyDefenseConceptDeployment

Section E PusuitConceptDeployment

CHAPTER WATEROBSTACLECROSSINGConceptsReconnaissancend Initial ftoEsingFora€d CrossingsOrgsnization

Section c SecondPosition

Pag€

22

232323

27272a28

303234

3636

37

313739393939393940

414l

4L4l414343434343434444

ConceptSecond ch

Deployment UnopposedDeployment OpposedU6eof Smoke

CHAPTER? NIGHT OPERATIONSConeeptsNight Observation

DeploymentFrontagesand Rateol Advance

DESTRUCTIONOF NUCLEAR DELIVERY MEANS

Combat ReinforcementMissionCombat OrganizationCommunications

CHAPTER8

Concept

PlanningOrder8ExecutionSignificance

CHAPTER9Concept

DEFENSE

ReinforcementDeploymentDelen6ivePositionsDefen6eOrganizationReconnaissanceand O!de!8

Administrative PlanningConduct of tlle DefenseInfanby Suppo ing FireCountetPenetrationCount€rAttackWithd!awal



Page

Service Support in CombatSecondEchelon Defense

444444

4545454545

4747474A4a4a

Defenseat Night

CHAPTER1OConcept DISENGAGEMENT ND WITHDRAWAI

Type of WithdrawalMtusion6Rear and Flank Guard ActionsMainBody MovementDisengagementOrganization or Withdrawa-]Orden and CoordinationConductof WitldrawalConduet of Battalion RearcuardActionWithdrawal actics

CHAPTER11Concepts

CHAPTER12General

SECURITYDURING HALTS 49494949495050

5454

Camouflageand ConcealmentReconnaissance f a Rest Arca

Location of Rest Areas

Orden for OccupationSecurityAft€r OccupationRegimentalRest Arcas

CONCLUSIONS

CombatOrganizationCommand nd ControlTacticalEmployment

APPBNDIXAAPPENDIXBAPPENDIXCAPPENDIXD

Figure 1.2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .1 .

Assessmentf CombatPotential

APPENDIXES

SOVIETTANKSSOVIET ANK T.?2TANK ASSOCIATED QUIPMENTSOVIETCONVENTIONALSYMBOLS

LISTOF ILLUSTRATIONS

Oryanization l a SovietLankbatralion L ,Representativeommand et of a reinforcedank batta.lionU,)Tactical omations of a Soviet ank battalion U.)A companyof T-62s n combat ineDeployment f a reinforcedank battalion or the meeting ngagementU.)A combat econnaissanceatrol s bdefed U.)Stages in committing a reinforced tank battalion in a meeting engage-

61

2

89

72

t4ent U.)

vn



Figure 8.9 .

Page

Tank unit"sare usually reinforced lor a mission(U.)Tank battalion deploybent during an assaulton aplepaled position (tt.)

Theunit commander entates is tankcommandeh eforean attack U.)

The stages f an attackon an enemyhastydefense osition U.)Dtect ard pamllel pursuit opention (U.)Tank batttlions in the filst echelon cross wat€r obstacles by snorkel-l i ng U. ) . . . . . . 27

layout of a tar* battalion's control system for a water

2010.

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t4.

27

26

3133

34t1.

DiaglamaticcrossingU,)Unopposed rossing f a wat€robstacleU.)

Assault crossings areint€nse artillery fire

coveled by

Opposed rossing f a waterob6tacle y a tank battalion U,)made by tanks using snorkels and a.re

to'l-62

18. Illustration of the concept of a reinforced tank battalion's attact againstenemynuclear eliverymeansU,)

Tank battaliondefensiveeployment Nuclear onditions)Tank battalion as a reat and flank guardduring a legimental \nithdrawal ,BMPSol attacbed rifle units may be used n reconnaissanceT-?2 n firingpositionthe bottom line--T-5ssin the Att.ck-a "quick concentmtion of tank fire':T-54/55T42

3842464950

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65

19.20.21.22.

24.25.26.27.24.29.30.

31 .32.33 .

34.

36.

T.72 The newSoviet ankT-72 Design eatures n contrastBTU dozermountedon T-55KMT mineplowsMineplow on T-55

T-62with mine olteET-72 showing lre snorkel ube ashed o the rearof the tun€tSoviet ankswith the combatsnorkel ontrast pith thewider rainine ubein this photoglaph

T-62 in the water fitted with combat snorkelT.34-TARVT.54.TARV



SUMMARY

A Souiet tanh battalion, whethet assiEned o a rifle or tcnk d.ivision, .snomally organizeilinto

oheadquorters,

hree tanh companies,a support analmaintenoncephtoon,

and a medicalBectipn. Ind.ependent tdnh battaLionsma! be allocated more. than three tanh companies toaccomplishspecific mi$ions. Bdttalions usually take part in combinealarms operationsunaLerthe command of a regimental headquorters .

The battalion operotesunder the closesuperuisionof the regimental commander etcept inthe meeting engagement,withdruwal, and.on an operation to destroy enemy nucleor deliuerymean$. The battdlion commander has more opportunity to u6e h's init[atiue in these 'tteropemtians. Fire support for the tanh bdttalion is hormslly aftsnEed b' the rcgimentalcommanaLeL he strict control and lach of opportunii! to display initiqtiue by compan! andpla,toon commdnders mdy aLegradehe performance of a tahh bdttalion if tactical plans areseuerelyupset during 4n operdtion.

In combat a tank battalion is reinforced by motorized rifle elements, artillery, combat

entlinee6, and chemrcal defen$e specialists. The extent of rcinforcement depenils on thembsion. The reinforced battalion operatesuhen possibleasa single maneuverelement n orderto concenffate its firepouer. Howeuer, in the meeting engagement,pursuit and in thewithdrawal the battalion may use an aduanceor rear gudrd to pin the enemy alaun by fireuhile the rcst of the battolion maneuDers.

goui.et tactic1l concepts for iLeployment of tank battalions arc sound. Tactical drills areuell rchearsed. nd effectiue. Operctions arc designed o exploit the concentrated fiepower,mobilitf, and armor aniL CBR protection of tanhs. Deployment b normally from the line ofmarch, companies use a combct formatinn suitable to the tetain aniLphase of operations.Combat security ia emphaaized y I elementscf the battalian during operations.

Control of the tank battalion in combat normolly is by rodio supplemented by uisualmeans.Attached. subunih ore on the battalion command net ouer uhich strict railio iLiscipline

i$ maintained, The degree of radia security may inhibit the rapid. disseminatian of taryet

Ouemll. we judge the Souiet tank battalion, re inforced to execute a particular mission, tobe uell-oryanized and troined in sounal actical concepts; and drills; it has high combatpowerand. otential

lx



CHAPTEB

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE

1. This study presents nfomation on theorganization,command techniquesand tacticsoJ the Soviet medium tank battalion. Detailsof vehicle pedonnance are limited to thosethat are relelant to tactical employment. Thestudy is primarily intended to provide instruc-tors at schoolsand in field units with reJer-encematerial.

SCOPE

2.a. The battalion is the badc unit ofmaneuver n the Soviet tank arm. Battalionsare reinforced with detachments ftom otherarms to enable them to complete a padicularmission. The descdption of tactics is atcompany and, in the case of attached arms,detachmert level. Details ol company tacticsmay be found in DD-l120-129-?6 SouietTanh Company ?acfics, and DDI-1100-??-?6,The SouietMotorized.Rifle Company.

b. The study concentmtes on tactics in aEuropean setting in both nonnuclear a.ndnuclear environments. These tactics are de-signed prima-rily for use in {ast moving com-bal be{wpenmpchanizedorces.

Soviet tactical t€rminology has been used

and deJined only when US terms {ail todescribe Soviet concepts, organization andtactics adequately. Unless otherwise stated,military terms in common use have themeaning given them in JCS Publication ldated 3 Sep ?4. Soviet telms which have noUS equivalent are defined when first used

c. In tactical diagams, the reader shouldrecognize that a radio command net linkseach company and detachment commanderwith lhe balLalion ommander. he adminis-

hative and logistic elements of the tankbattalion are a.lso able to list€n to the com-mand net, although they are not shown in themajority of diagrams becauseof space imi-tations. Company tanks a-re on Lisleningwatch.

d. The tactical diagrams are not templatesand should not be used as such. Althoughscaleshave been included when possible, hedeployment of a Soviet tank battalion incombat depends as much on the t€nain asupon tactical concepts. Frontagesused in the

diagrams are for nonnuclear operations. Innucleai operations these frontages would bedoubled. The diagr:ams are illustrative ol thetext and of general principl€s, and are notintended to portray the way in which eachand every Soviet operation wil be conducted.



CHAPTER

ORGANIZATION OBCOMBAT

SUBORDINATION

1. tn both tank ard motorized rifle divi.sions, the tank battalion is subodinat€ to aregiment. In some motorized dfle divisionsthere is ,lso an independent3nk battalionsubordinate o the division commander. henumber o[ Larks in each ba(taiion variesaccordingo subordination. etdiisolperson-nel strcngths nd equipment an be found inDIA Soviet Ground Force Organizational

Guide,DDI-1100-2-75atedJune 1975.

STRUCTURE

2. The Soviet ankbattalion s organized sshown n Figure1.

In the tank batt€lion o4anic to a tankregiment here are31 tanks(10 percompanyplus a battalion comma.rdank), and in thetank battalion of a motorized rifle r€gimentthere ale 40 tanks (13 per companyplus abatta.lion ommand ank). The independent

tank battalion f a motorized ine divisionprobably s organizedike the tank battrlionof a motonzed ifle reglment.

lnformation conceming the equipment sndperformance of these tanl6 is included inAppendix A. Battalions are also equippedwith an armored recovery vehicle,an almoledcommand vehicle, an armored scout car, andan ambulance.Each battalion alsohasnrnemheclearingplow6.Officersand soldiers reequippedwith pei€onalweapons.Hard-heldsudace to air missiles and tank mounted

anliafcrafi machine unsare ound n va.ryingnumbersn each ype of battalion.

EQUIPMEIYT

3. The main battle tank ol the mecuumtank battalion s still eith€r the T-62 or th€T-54/55, but growingnumbersof the newT-72 are being intrcduced into Soviet units inthe USSRand EastemEurope.COMMAND

4, Usualy,a majoror a captain omm.urclsa Soviet ank battalion. Companiesr€com-mandedby captains r senior ieutenants,ndplatoonsby lieut€nanb or pmporchchihi a

Figure .Organizationl a Tanl ErtialionSubordinalcoa TankReSiment



lank roughly equivalent to a US wanantofficer). A commarderbelow battalion evelhas ittle latitude in the way he executes ismissionexceptwhenhjs unit is employed saleconnaissanceroup or a march securitydetachm€nt. The battalion headquarterc isdivided nto a battalion commandpost (CP)groupanda battalionsupportgtoup.

BATTALION COMMAND POST

5. The battalion CP is mounted in anarmoredpeFonnelcarrier (APC). It is con-trolled by the battalion chief of staJf,nor'mally a captainor senior ieutenant. The CP smannd by the opemtions fficer, communl-cations chief, political officer, a chemical-biological-radiotogical(CBR) specia.list, adio

operato$ and clerks. The battalion com_mander s mounted in a tank for combatopentions. Communications re maintainedby the CP with the battalion and regimentalcommanders. he CBR warning net is a.lsomaintsined in the CP. A second APC issometimes eld in the battalion with radioson listeningwatch on th€same etsas he CPbut rrithout a radio on the CBR waming net.

6. The battalion CP collatesand dissemi-nates actical intelligence and preparesopera-tion ordeE underthe battalioncommander's

guidance. he chieJof staff organizesrainingirnd is responsible or keeping both thebattalion and regimental commander rn-formed as to the combat strendh of thebattalion. Out of combat, he chief of staffoiganizeshe daily routine of administration.

BAIAALION SUPPOBTGBOIJP

7. Thisgroupconsists f the deputybattal-ion commander for technical affais, themedicalsection,and the supply and mainte-

nanceplatoon.When he battalion s on themarch, he supportgroupsupplieshe neces-sary ammunition, fuel, and lubricanf,sbydlect delivery n halt areas.When n action,the tanks are resupplied in their lorwardpositions. The support $oup establishestechnicalobservation oint in order to main-tain visual surveillanceover the battlefield tolocate damaged ank6. A lepair and evacua'tion group hencarries uLon lle spot epairs

or evacuatesa damaged €nk. Medical teamsrecove! he wounded, dministerirst aid, andevacuate them to regimental aid posts fortreatment or movement to the rcar. Thebattalion'ssupport resources re augmentedftom regihent asrequired.

CONTROL

8. The battalion commander ontrols h€

battslion by radio, visual, andaudio signalsnthe employment of well-rehearsed tacticalformatiols and dlills. Tenain is identified byleferencepoints. Sovietproduced naps ateextremely detailed and heated as classifieddocuments. hey arccarriedonly by office$.Except in the assault, ank units are usuallyled by commanders,The Soviets demand a

high standard of personal eadershipandexample e set by unit leaders.

RADIO

9. R,adionets are, when possible,con-troled at battalion level. Comma.ndersromthe motorized iflc, artillery, and air defenseunits attached o a tank battalion oin thebattalion command net. Companies ransmitfLe support requ€sts to the battalion com-

mander-andnot directly to the supportunit.Thrs reduces he time available or artillery toengage €igetsof opportunity.The types ofradio setsvary accordingo division,but tankbattalion'sntemal radio communications reeffective.An exampleof a representativeetis at Figure2.

BADIO SECURITY

10. Radio transmissionsecurity in the

SovietFound forces s stdct. Normallyorderiare given by battalion and company com-mandels of tank and attached units and arcacknowledged y subordinatecommandeis,Codewotds or numbels are used or referencepoints. Though hey have common requen-ci€s, t doesnot appea! o be the custom ortanks to transmit info@ation on ta.rgetsofopportunity dilectly to eithe! the infantry orihe artillery.



RIFTE ARTITTERYCOMPANY BAITERYco^ MANDTRCOAA{ANDtt

€NGINEER

R€CONNAISSANCEFAII

BAIIATION COMMAI.IDERS ANX

NOTE: l should e.oted hat he .nks n hecompaniesoperaten eceiv gmode n hebattalionetduringmosroperarons.

Fisure2.RepresenlaliveommandetotaReinlorcedankBaltalion

5

REGIMENTCO'IIAAANOER



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CHAPTEB

TACTICALVlOVEMENT

GENERAL

1. Soviet tank bathlions train to moveinto combat in well-reheaEed ormations.Eachvehiclehas ts predesignatedositionmt}le battalion formation. Tank battalions areable o change omation rapidly upon eitherradio, flag, or hand signals. They placticeformationsappropdate or movement n orout of contact with the enemy,Variation6aredesignedo take nto account oth theenemy

threat and the tenain. Att€ched units aredeployeda5 he situationdemands. he pur-pose of dgid aalherenceo set batde drill istwo-fold:

a. To move as rapidly as possible in allphases f operations.

b. To move n sucha way as o employ hemaximum direct and iDdirect fire whencontacts,ith the etremys made,

Suchdeploymentdrill proficiencyalsomini-mizes he effect of t}Ie lack of skill of newlyconscripted Soviet 6oldiers n maintainingIinesof the advance.

MARCH FORMATION

2. Duing movement o coiltsct, a tankbattalion moves in column, on roads withcommandels eading their respectivesubunits.Tank battalions move at 15-20 kilometersperhour at night and 20 to 30 kilometersperhour in the da].time. If suitable loads exist,companiesmay move on parallel roads toavoidhaffic congestion.

ADVANCETO CONIACT AND COMBATFORMATIONS

3. When ontact with lhe enemy s immi-nent, tank batta.lions will move fLst into aIine of company columns, hen a line ofplatoon columns, and finaly in an assaultline. Attached Eotorized ifle units ca.neitherprecede r follow tank companies,ependingon the situation. The company and platooncolumns and lines are echeloned to left orright to use t€nain cover or guarda flank asrequir€d. Attached artilery, air defense andengin€er units are given loca.l protectionwithin battalion formations.Figure3 showssom€ Wpical battalion formation8 (attachedarmsnot shown or sakeof clarity).



-+€ <b- -<{r€ -<-r}++- <+TAN|(COMPANY

TrANx COMPANY lAflK COM?ANY SUp?ryANDTATNTINANCa

]SI IANX BATTALION C OQUAITEiS

NOTE 30 matarsbatw6an ahicles nd sub unitsA. a.fl.lton.olnn (out ol contet th 6.6y o, t6.l6erch) .i 30 kihnctr.s pcrhour.

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MARCHSECURMY

4. Whencontact S expected,matrch ecu-rity procedules are put into eff€ct by eachcornponent etachEentof the battslion.Theentire battalion may also be employed a6 neadvanceguard for a regiment. In

either caretlte battalion will be reinforced--,typically bythe following units:

a. A motodzed dfl€ company.b. An artillery batt€]ion.

h.,,M"u,.

c. An edgineersquad.d. An air defensebattery.e. A chemicaland radiologicaleconnais-

sanceeam.

5. Eachdet€chmenr6 deployed, s errain

dictates, in order lapidly to be cohmittedinto action. Battalion formation6 ate changedto meetvariousmarchsecurity equireme;b.Primary consideratioDsare rapid movemmfand all lound prot€ction.

Filun 4. A onrnny or T6- la tut n iE



CHAPTER

THEMEETINGNGAGEMENT

@NCEPT

1. Ihe Soviets define the meeting engage-ment as combat between opposing columnsnpidly advancing towsrds each other. Arcinforced tank battalion, is most likely t,o becommitted to ameeting engagemmt:

a. During an advance o contact.b. Against enemy resewesalter a success-

tuI brcakthrough opelation.c. In the course of either an enemy or

Soviet counterattack.d. During pusuit opemtiom.The Soviets consider that successn meet-

ing engagementss gained by the force thatfirst deploys into combat lornation andassaults he enemy by fire. They regad themeeting engagementas being carried out rntlEeephases:

a. Advance of leconnarssance nd secudtvelements.

b. Deplo''mmt and a.6sa'l1tby securityelemenb (if faced by a weak en€my).

c. Assault by the mair body (when rc-quted by strength).

The Soviets coEsider he meetrngengagementto be the most impofiant batta.lion operationand it fteque[tly is the focu6 of trainnrg

TANK BAITAIION REINTORCEMEI{I

2. A tank batt€lion may take part in ameeting engagement either as ttre advanceguad of s regidmt or ss part of the mambody after contact has aheady been madewith the enemy. A typical reinforcement of atank battalion has beeB de6cribed n Chap-t€r 3. Figure 5 shows tlle type of fornationwhich a battalion employs during the meetingengagement pproachmarch.

11



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RECONNAISSANCE tue while the Eain body of t}le battalionassaulus,f the Soviet ank battalion is part ofthe regimental main body, then the battalioncommander rill be eiven an axis of advance

3. Thethe tank

combat leconnarssance patrol ofbattalion, usually a tsnk platoon, is

Fisurs6. A @nbar r&omrisnce latrol i. bri€l.d {U.l

tasked with identjfying enemy locations,strengths,movements,and axes,and rcportingthem to battalion and regimental staffs.

DEPLOI'},IENT

4. When the battalion is employed a.6an

advanceguard, the commander of the leadmarchsecurity detachment normallya rein-forced tank company) has the authority tomake the decision as o whetier to assault heenemycolumn. f the enemy s n strength, emay deploy and engage he enemy with tank

by the regimental commander. Orders or theexecutionof a meehngengagemenLregivenby Edio. Fire support from artillery attachedto the battalion is augmented,as ime allows,by aftilery attached to the regiment. Smoke€ither delivered by artiuery or generatedbythe tanks hemselves ay be used o concealmovement or obscure the freld of view ofenemy Antitsnk Guided Missile (ATGM)opemtors.Tf Lhe main body i6 to attack, twill do so approx[nately 20 minutes alter

.initial contact is made.

I3



€nemyorcearivls in hisposilion nmarch olumn ppror.O minules llcrbeing sight€d by combat recon.

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FEur.7.SlatesnConmittingR€intorc.dT.nkattalionna Meetingnga$ment

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NO. UNIT

I Corhb.t Rec.nn6issanceReporlso b3llalion dmanderttloveso obse.vationostandupdales nlormalaonnen€my

2 L.ad MarchS.cur i ty

3 Uoves lro|n l€.d narch securily.l€tachmento lire position

Rec€ivesontrci reporlBallaliononmanderiv€s rd6rs

Mill.ry Battalion Deployeso tjre osition ron column

MainAody DeploysntoconDanyolumns

7 MainBody Deploysnloplatoonolumns

a MainBody Ass3ullswith fire support ronmarchs.curity detachmenl ndiill€ry

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CHAPTER

THEOFFENSIVE

SectionA--Concepts

GENERAL

1. The Soviet offensive oncept s to neu-tralizeenemydefensiveositionswith nuclearo! nonnuclear fte and attack on a naITowftont, if possibleo the llank and rear of theenemymainposition.Rapidlymountedoper-ations from the line of march are caEied outagainst hasiily prepared enemy defenses,whjle delibemte opentions are conducted

againstwell-preparedpositions.

TANK BATTAIION STJPPORT

2. A tank battalion s usually upported ythe fLe of artillery and aircraJt and has thefollowing attachments rom other arms inoffensive operations.

a. Onemotorized ifle company.b. An engineer latoon.c. A CBR econnajssancelatoon.d. Armored ecovery ehicles, upplyvehi

cles snd ambulances.

Figur.a, T.nk unil3aret{6lly Einforc6d or a hasion {u.l

17



ECHELONS

3. A battalion may attack in either one ortwo echelons.The secondechelon,usuallyone tank company, ollows the first echelonat a distance of three kilometels. lf the filst

echelon ails to reach ts objective.Lhemi6-sion is teken ove! as a plioity task of thesecondechelon.Whenthe fi$t echelon takesiLs objective, the second echelon is used toexploit the success. he second echelon slrequently-bul inaccurarely-refeEed o inSoviet military writing as a "resewe".Thetlue reserve (usually one tank platoon) islormed by the battalion codrmander. Thereselve s not givena miBsionat the outset ofan operation. It is used to contend withuntoreseen ontingencies.nd o mate a shift

in the thrust of the operation.

ATTACK FRONIAGES AND DEPTHS

4. Terrain, he degl€e o which the enemyfolce hasbeenneuhalized, nd whether hereis to be use of nuclear weapons dictat€ thefrontage of a battalion during an attack. Thefollowing distance6may be taken as typical:

Nuclee Non'NucieuUuit Conditioru Conditioc

formulation) 2 kilometeF 1-1.6LilometeB

twice or thrcetimesasstrongas he attackingforce may beengagedf preparationfues aveeffectively neutralized he enemy defpnsiveposition. This inve$ion of usual attack de-fense ratios shows the effectiv€ness theSoviets expect from the destructiv€ force ofnuclea.r eapons ndheaw a.rtillery ire.

FIRE SUPPORT

6. Ffue support for the t€nk battalion snomally aranged by the regimentalcom-mander.Artillery is allocated bom divisionresoruces. irc supportmay be augmentedydilect or indirect fte of tank units not takingpart in the attack. Preparatory firc js usuallyon a fimed basis nd canbe up to 40 minutesin length. Artiuery attached o an attacking

tank battalion covers he movementof thebattalion's fi$t echelon.During the finalassaulL,rtillery engages nemy reserve osi-tions. Soviet tanlG close to 150-200m ofartillery fire du ng the advance. Artillelytargels n supportof second chelonmissionsare selected y the tank battalioncommanderafter consolidation f firct echelon bjectives.

SMOKE

7. Smokemay be usedbeforeor after the

start ol an offensive.Before lhe offensivestarts the control of smoke is likely to beletained at legimental level or higher. Whenthe battalionpenetrateshe enemy d€fensesthe battalion commander Daycall for smok€either to conceala flank or to confuse heenemyas to the direction of the attack.TheSoviets recognize le value of smoke inobscuring the field of vision of ATGM oper-Etors. Since Soviet tank unit commandeEregad ATGMS s he enemyrsmost dangerousantitank weapon,we believe hat smokewill

frequentlybe used.

SectionB

Attack on a Prepared osition

DEPLOYMENT

8. A tank battalion requLes an initialdeploymentareaof 8 to 10 square ilometetsto prepale for an attack on a prepa.red

800 meteE 600 meteB

200 meters 160 meteB

100 meleB ?6 meieB

A batt€lion attack in two echelons isnormally carried out to a depth of 3 to 4kilometers. After preparation fires, the fi$techelon aniesout anattsck o overcomehe

enemy forward poEitions. When the firstechelon has consolidat€d its position thesecondechelon attack is deliveted against heenemy'6 ositionsn depth.

RELATIVE STRENGTHS

5. The Soviets judge t}lat the usual pre-ponderance f attackers o defense houldbebetwe€n3 and 5 to 1 in tanks.But an enemy

18



position. The arca should be out of enemyobseFation, allow for camouflag€, and havegood access roads: In this arca, tanks areresupplied with arnmunition and POL and areprepa.red for combat. Preliminary orders aregiven and units from motolized dfle andother attached units join th€ tarik companies.

A poinL aL }lc Eronl ol Lhedeploymenr area sdesignated th€ departwe point from whichsubsequent movement is timed. Once thebattalion starts its advance no stops are made,although movement contol points may beestablished approximately every one to one

a.nd a hal-f hours march along ihe route.

Routes arc Bom€times posted with c'oloredma.rkers. An area i6 selected some 4 to 6kilomete$ ftom the eD€myposition for com-panjes to deploy into column. Companies

move into a column of platoons 1 to 3

kilomete$ ftom the enemy position depend-

ing on the tenain, and into 3n assault tine1000 meters to 500 met€B in ftont of theenemy position. (See Figue 9). Second

ech€lon companies remedfl approximatelythree kilomete$ behind the fust echelon inthe advancemovement.

19



A

{ *

No. ACITON

I Brtlrlioncross€s epartur.inc n b:ttalio. column

2 Battalionmov€s niocompanyolumn to5 tildnctcrs

3 8.tt.lionrnovesnloass.ult orm.tion l comp.ni.s(tuo companiesn lst ech€lon) kilom€terron thoobj€ctive

4 Th. third conp.nr (znd.ch.lon) mov€s tibnGt rsbahindhe st edleloo n column

5 A 3.condbattalioo rovid$dir.ct fir. suppondunntthea3sault

5 Artillory rtralbnprovid6 ar. suppon rior o anddurin8ttuassault

DEPARII'RE .INE

Figure . Trnt B.ttrlion Deglolm€nt urirysnAss.uhona PcparudPosition

20



RECONNAISSANCE

9. When a battalion attacks from a posi-

tion which is behind the Soviet FEBA, thebattalion commander makes a reconnaissanc€on the ground with the commander6 of his

tank companies and attached units. Thebattalion commander and the reconnaissancegroup follow the planned route of advance,and familia.rize themselves with the departure

and conhol poink and those deployment

areasbehind their own FEBA. Detailed recon-naissance i-6 made of fords and other cdticalpoints. Areas to be used as second echelondeployment areas and by the batta.lion medi-

cal ald station and the battalion supportgoup arc confirmd. The reconnaissancegroup js aided in its task by the command€$

ol units along the FEBA. Radio Commuhica-tions are establishedwith units which are to

support the Lanl{ batl,alion with 6Je dudng

the offensive. Soviet military rvdte$ stressthe

importance of effective coordination by the

attacking and supporting units during recon-

naissance. n the assault, he battalion com-mander maintains peBonal surveillance over

the battlefield ftom his command po6t. The

battalion command is abl€ therefore both to

transmit to the regimental commander up-dated tactical intelligence and to personally

influence the battle.

ESTIMATE

10. An estimat€ s made of the amount of

neutalization possible, and the objectives of

the bnk battalion's ffust and second echelonsand suppolting units aie tien decided. Specialattention is given to identifying the enemytank and ATGM threat. The location of thebattalion CP, the fire positrons o{ attachedarmored pe$onnel cardels (APCS), and dis-mounting areas for motorized infantry ,.replanned in thi6 phase. Not€ t}Iat if theoffensive is to be mounted by the battalionfrom a defensive position in contact with theenemy, orden for the advance and attack ar€given at this stage.

ATTACK COORDINATION

11. The tank baltalion commander is re-

sponsible for coordinating passageof lin$,

and supporting fires of attached units and

those units along the FEBA which are within

range. He is assisted by the battalion chief of

staff. This coordination is worl(ed out r rithiE

,l"t;'

Fig. 10. The unii commrnderorientates is hrk commande$beforean atiack

2 l



the fi-re plan laid down by the regimentalcommander. Movement timings are plannedso that the battalion attacks as soon aspossibleaJter nuclear, air or artilery strikes.The last stage n coordination s descdb€d s"political agitation" in {hich the Sovietsoldier is exhorted by the political officers to

be brave and complete the unit ta6k with"upliftedsptiLs."

OBSTACLE CROSSING

12. A tank battalion crossesminefieldsafter clealance of platoon lanes by enginee$units or by battalion tanks filled vrith muleploughs.Each ank companyholds hreesetsof mine ploughswhich may be fitted whenrequted, Such clerring operationsmay becovered by use of smoke,Areascontaminated

by nuclear fa.llout are crossed at high sp€ed,partial decontamination eing completedassoon ar placticable after the assault.Engineerunits create passagesn obstacles(includingminefields) y demolition,usuallyduring heprepantory artillery barra8e, Once made,these pas6ages re marked and guarded byengineer units. NaEow defiles, canals orsfuealrs which could impede the attack arebddgedby engineer nit6.

ASSAULT ACTION

13. Following prepa-ratoryires, the firstechelon oi the battalion assaults n companyIine formation. An assault speedof fouteento twenty-two km/hr is usual. Tanks engagetargetsaccording o the priority set by, andupon the orde$ Of, company commandeE.This strict ffuecontrol ensurcs he concentra-tion of fire against the most dangerousta.rgels. nfanl,ry may djsmount or remainmounted dependingon the situation. Djs-

mounted infantry follow the tanks as closelyaspossibleo gaincover rom file. Infontry nA.P.CS ollow 150-200mbehind the tanks.Secondechelonsa.$sault hrough gaps n thefiIst echelon. The battalion consolidates thedefenseof the objective once it is taken andenemycounterattscks reneutralized y artil-Iery or nuclear fire support. The battalioncommander then calls the battalion supportgroupforwad l,o replenish OL andammuni-tion or continues he advance r orderedbv

t}Ie regimentalcommander.Damaged anksare repailed in the battalion position if andwhen possible,Each deputy companycom-mander or t€chnicalaffair€ s responsibleorthe vehicles f his own unit. Technical s6ist-ance s providedwhere necessary y regiment.A sepaEt€ technical radio net is established

and suppl€ment€dby audio and visual signalsas needed. Human casualties arc evacuatedonce the tank is moved into a coveredposition.

SectionC

SecondEchelonTank Battalionin a Regiment's ttack on a

Prepared osition

CONCEPT

14. The tank battalion in the secondechelonof a regiment's ttack on a preparedpositioncanhaveone or more of the follow-ing missions:

a. Completionof the missionof fi$t eche-Ion units.

b. Destructionof enemy deep or resewepositions.

c. Neutralization l enemy ounterattacks.d. Pursuitof a withdrawing nemy.e. Attack of enemyhastyor mobiledefen-

sivepositions.f. Destructionof enemynucleardelivery

Since achieving such objectives can rcsult inmany changes n the routine descibed for afilst echelon unit. each slageof planning sabbreviated.Success suallydependson theinitiative of the regimental commander andhis closely monitoring the status of filstechelon rnits.

SECONDECHELON PI,ANMNG

15. The battalion commarder n the sec-ond echelonmustbe thoroughly amiliarwitithe missions of first echelon units. Thisincludes a knovledge of file planning andsupport. He also eceiveshe following nfor-mation rom theregimental ommander:

a. Details of attached and detached unils.b. Intelligence nfomation on known en-

emypositionsn depth and eserves.

22



c. Deployment a.reasand routes of ad-

d. The pfiority of likely missions andobjectives.

Once his mission is defined, and aJtermaking his estimate of the situation, thesecond echelon tank battalion commanderissues is ordersby radio.

SectionD

Attack on an Enemy Hasty Defense

CONCEPT

17. The Soviets consider that an enemywill move into a haslily prppared defensiveposition:

a. At the outset of opemtions.

b,When mB-lcingcontact $rith a Soviet

advanceguard.

c. Dudng mobile defensiveoperalions.d. When t}le Soviets have the initiative

duing withdrawal or pu$uit operation.

The Soviets count on the fact that a hasty

defense ack6 the stability and fte support of

a fully coordinat€d defensiveposition. Com-

munications may not have been checked andpositions will not be dug in and may not be

on advantageous tenain. The Soviets seek to

expioit such wealalesses y rapid declsiveaction tom the lin€of march.

DEPLOYMENT

18. The breakthrough f an enemyhastilyprppared cfensivp osilion saLremptedromthe line of march usually after a successfulattack on a preparedposition. Soviet tankbattalions which carry out the operations aretask organized ndsupportedn the samewayas for the meeting engagement. dvanceguard units assault enemy shong points andattempt to djsrupt the defense before it canstabilize. The operation is dynamic and firesupportsutilized as t becomes vailable. hemain body deploys nto combat fomationdirectly from the march and assaults o theflanks and rear of tbe enemy position topreventenemy reinforcement.nitial successis exploit€d o force he enemy o withdraw.Should the initial breakthrough of such ahasty defense fail, a further attempt is madefrom a different flank or axis. In this case hebattaiionrvhich made ,tle nitial assault on-solidatpson the most advantageouserrainand givesdircct firc support to the attack oI asecond chelon attalion, SeeFigure11.)

23



5ro9. I f n.Dy witrdrowt dtr.roSovr.t

b.dkthrousl' op.rotr.n hor su...d.dSrds., Sovr€, ..rntorc.d ronk lEtrdhoh 6tso^i,at

Io. o h..thg engdg.h.nt ond odvonc.s

stosr3 ted doftt ttutity deto.hne^, onockt

belo.. .telente .o^ s,obili.4

ma.ch ecuily delachmentestablishes defense nd giv€smainbody iresupporl

NOTE:

ARTILTERYATTALIONN FIREPOSITION

st s6 1 Mdin bodr ot,t.*s l.on o dnk

FiSue 1 . TheStates l anAttack nan Enemy astyDefens€

24



SectiouE

Pursuit

CONCEPT

19. Orce a brcaHbrough of either a pre-pared or hafty defen$iveposition has beenaccomplished, a tank battalion will refomriDto columnE aDd attempt to di$upt theenemy's withalrawal. Such an operation maybe carded out by pusuing the eneBydiEctly, oD a parallel rout€, or both (SeeFigure 12.)

DEPLOYMENI

20. During ttre pusuit, a tank batt4lionuses lle tsctical fomation appropdat€ t tllesituation. The battaliotr remaiDsin combatfom?rtion until the edemy s forced to reaeat

but will form into march columns as 6oonaspracticable, rn order to make a rapid advance.If the battalion penetrat€s th€ rcm deploy-ment area of a routed enemy, it caD beexpected to folm into tactical colurntsheaded by a reconnaissance lement aBd anadvanceguard. t]le battalion commande! iscbarged with making every eftori, t-o keep incontact with the reheating enemy by meansof reconnaissancepahols and flank seculitydetachments.



-olcr't}-ott>-

.' €>-

in directpursuit. _*>_

ca>

Reinlorced ant battarion

_€T}-

FiSure12. Directand ParallelPursuitOp€rations f a Tank Resiment

:e!or)-

26



CHAPTER

WATEROBSTACLE ROSSING

CONCEPTS

1. Tank battalions may cross water ob-stacles by fording, snorkeling, or usingbridges, r feEiesdepending n the situation.Balta.lions n first echelon unil,s may berequired o make opposed rossings y ford-ing o! snorkeling.Battalions n secondeche-lons, or in support of forward echelons

noImallyc!o6swaterobstacles verbridges rby ferly and are not further discussed n thisstudy. Battalions eading cgimental olumnsas forward elements or advanceSuardsantici-patecrossing bstaclesndependently y ford-ing or snorkeling.Main body battalions rossobstacles 6a controlledoperation,probablyaspart ol a regimental peration! suallyoverb dsesor feries.

rFisur€13. tank baflalioB in helirsl echelon .oswaler oblra.|4 bv rnorkgllinq U,J



RECONNAISSANCE AND INITIALCROSSING

2. Initial selection of crossingareas s madeafter reconnaissance by units from division orregiment. These unils arc accompanied byengineer officers who are responsible or the

technical as6e6sment f theproposed

sites.Leading units ivitl attempt io cross u.rde-fended obstacles mmediately and establish abddgehead 3 to 4 kms deep on the enemybank. Helibome troops may be used insecuringsuch b dge heads.

TORCED CROSSINGS

3. If the obstacle s held by the enemy, oris under enemy observaLion.heoperation sconsidercd a "forced crossing." In this case,a

regimental operation is mounted to make abridgehead and the battalion cross€s theobstacle as ordered,

ORGANIZATION

4. The tank battalion headquarte$ section,in an APC and controled by the chief ofstaff, collates tactical intelligence from divi-sional, regimental, and battalion patrols. Thissection continuously updat€s intelligence on

enemy shengths and dispositions and thecharacteristics of the water obstacl€. Anorganization is established to control thepassageof the battalion ftom its deploymentarea ovel the crossing. Control points areestablished both on the ioute to the site(s)and at the crossing. The route from thedeployment area o the crossingsite is some-times marked with colour€d flags. In airunderwater crossing the deputy commanderfor technical affairs establishes a commandpost at the site. Crcssing control points are

supported by engineer units who improveentry and exit points if requtued. Figure 14depicts the control system for a crossingsite.

2a



/---r-\

sNorKEL nOSSrr{G

9>q,

@

@@

@A

llit roEliq coirrEnd Fo.l

EiciBflico6s.EtbRiir

Elt n**cao

J rn i . . . l 'R .@tv . | ' i l .

DEPLOYMENTSiAIi) TINE FONCROSSINCOi FORDING

(2NOBAtrAlrON)

\

FiSur+4.Diagramaticayoutolafankattalion'sontrolSystemora WrterGossing



0

'lq

eeI-oppFaJsB{

a$Sp

-maJ 'eSorIeBuSp

(dNw



p**'$Y/

Stog., Cro$rag ti t t dt. inttldlll s.l..t.d bf dtvttto ol

r.grh..r r&onnoi$on6 patrols oc.onPdniad br

.ngire.r lpecrdllth otld oP.rcthg 50 to loo

kilom.t B in lrcnt tI tdv.n ins .otomnt

advan@g{i{d lords river_\L-

stogc2 f,.sih.ntu odvono suotd (t.hlq...t toik b.ttoion)

cstobfrth.so h.rdg. h.od 3 ,o 1kil6n.,eB.le6P onth. .nemf bonk-

M.in bodf ot rcgtm.at totscs d.r.,gi"..r bridgts

Fisurc15.AnUnopposedrossinSt a WaterObstacle



.ds7?uIo-rsuaLloI

-oJ

a_qV

nuB[BBSa{J

ooO



o/ft\

Reconnaiss.nce atrols in .mphib6us tanks cross obstacb \ U )undercoverol d6rknessorn owvi.ibilily

V

'o:pr./-\ tt \

\0\Sfog. I cj6.he trt r.r.,ttnoll, t t..rod br.ltuIttd ond I l\ \

r.t a.nt ,!@[email protected].. Flrclt o.tsF,r.d by \ \ ) I.nat@t 'p.ctoh.r' 6n l oPettns 50 to ,00

\"_/ktlor.t6 tn lM,.t..rwn tngcdu6B

Advancins ain olumnso cross bstacrevsnorl(elling-<>-<>{{'-

Stq.2 ,,'o,*,tu t . la lnth It daPl bl@t APCI do$ r,6.

old o o.r. dd| lDd.r tonk ond d.rtq..y tvPPdr

R.maind.rd r.Siripntadvanc!to ctossnveronc. erriesandbridt€s

+-.G:!*>-

tr6 Put nPocition

Sto9.3 !.dgeh.od,! 6tobft.h.d on tt tutnlot .<t b! o tonk

&ttolt n whLh tu..d rtr.r lry tno'l[.llns. [email protected] bf brtdgBq @.'

Figure6. Opposs€drossingla WaterObstacleva T



USE OF SMOKX

?. The Sovietsproject the extensiveuseofsmoke during fiver crossing operations loobscule6'iendlytroop movementwbensulr_able conditions exist. To allow a favorable

buildup of the smoke screen the weathetshould be cool and humid witb a wind speedor b meters per second parallel l,o tbe respec_tive fronts. Smoke is also u_sed s part of adeception plan to confuse he enemy as Lo bearea in ]vhich the sossing is to t€ke place.

.-:-.

Fisure17. Asuh crcsi;q! ar€mde hy r,nks uridqeo,k€t3.nd.E [email protected] i.teN. anitbry firu

34



CHAPTER

NIGHTOPERATIONS

CONCEPTS

1. lbe Soviets onsider ightopentions obe nomal combat activity. Tank battalionshave th€ same ormationsand tacticaldrillsfor day andnight operations. arknesss usedto gain the initiative, achieve su$rise, andminimize the threat posedby enemygroundobsewation econnaNsancenits. Smokemaibe used o obstructthe viewof the enemy'soptical suweillance quipment.Nightobserva-tion equipment, both passive nd active. isconcentrated primaJily at platoon and com-pany level. Night viewing equipmentallowsthe tank to operate and use ts gun to aaangeof approximately 00 meters. hismngemaybe increased ith the new$t Soviet ank, heT'72. During night operations ank battalionsate norrDally einforcedwith a companyormore of infantly.

NIGIIT OBSERVATION

2. The night observation evices sedbySovi€t t nk batt4lionsand moto zed riflesupporting elements are designed to allowdriversand command€rsimited visibility inthe dark. They are therefore particularly

'suited to allow the battalion o move, ecoD-noiter, and obs€w€at night. As most of the€quipdent is active Infta Red (IR), it isdetecta6le and therefore is less usefui as atsrget acquisitionmeans.Once surprisehasbeen ost at night, the Soviet ank battalioncan be expectedmmediately o us€ artificial

illumination. Considenbleuse s madebothof white ligh0 to illuminat€ the battlefield,and of colored ights to mark objectives ndseweasdirectional ids.

NIGHT TRAINING

3. The Soviet tank battalion tiains fornight movementas a unit. The most commontlaining ex€rcise s a l€ngthy march ratherthan maneuver r practiceof assault orma-tion6. Night firing is caried out by platoonsin strictly conholled range exelcises.Thetarget is normally illuminat€d and gunnersprefer to use he day sight if there is sufficientlight to do so. Night taining, for the most

part, s stereotyped nd acks ealism.

DEPLO}'I\,TENT

4. Coordination betweenthe tank batal-lion andsupportingmotorized ifle and artil-lery units is stressed s he key to ruccessfunight operations. Movement is organizedduring daylight whenpossible, nd, when hetactical situation permits, personnel areallowed to familiafize themselveswith theterrain to be crossed.Reference oints arc

designated nd malked by cololed flar€s.D ection is kept by use of the tank'6 dftec-tional g'yro and by marking objectives withcolored flarcs. Routesare markedby lumi-nous posts. Machinegunnels ire trace! tomark targets. Motorized rifle units geneHllyfollow tanks during night operations. eploy-mentdrillsare hoseusedby day.

FRONTAGES ND RATE OF {)VANCE

5. Fire support and ftontages emain hesame as during daytime operations but themte of advances cut to between5 and 15kilometers €rhour.



CHAPTER

DESTRUCTIONFNUCLEAR ELIVERY EANS

CONCEPT

1. The Sovietssbte in their tactical wdtingthat they wiU use a heavily teinforced tankbattalion in coniunction with nuclear andnonnuclear artillery to desftoy enemynucl4rdelivery rdeans following a breakthroughopelatron. Thi! type of opgration allows thet€nk bath.lion commander 6o!e tlutt normallatitude and opportunity for initiative in boththe planning and execution stages.The opera-tion is a.lsounique as the battalioD cornman-der is responsible or an extensivecommandradio net including communications withartillery, aviation, and even aAbome forces.The Soviets stat€ they will employ nuclearweaponr in a.ll stages ol the operation toneutralize eneEy defensivepositions.

@MBAT REINFORCEMENT

2. A taDk battalion tasked to deshoy a

locat€d enemy nuclea! delivery syst€m istypically reinforced by:

a. A reconnaissancelatoon.b. A motorized ri-fle company.c. A howitzer battery or multiple rocket

launcher battery.d. An aitiaircraft battery.e. An engiDeerlatoon.f. Bridge aying vehicles,g. A minelayingparw.h. A repair and recovery section.

In addifion, the battalion commander hasnucleat and nonnuctrear fire suppori fromartillely and suppolt ftom strike aviation.Airbome o! helibome a6saultscan be usedeith€! in conjunction wiih the main attsck orto prevent the movement of enemy leaelves.(SeeFigwe 18 for illustration).

37



En€sy felerves n.utralizedbysovi.t airborn.assautt

l 3

IrNcHHOW N(rC)

Frontalassiult y cad

Fr.my posilionsndetense t nL,ct.irdchverymeansare attrctedby Soviet ucte.rstntes

battalionahacls .nemy nucteardeliv.ry fleans ,ft.r successfulbr.atthrougn oparalion

Initia brlal$roughot enemy .tenses

Figur€ 8. llustrationl heConceDtta R.i

g8

Atlack taanstn€ny uclerr ctive.yleans



MISSION

3. WhiI€ a singular mission is usua.l inSoviet tank tactics, Sovi€t military wyitingsunderline the importance of avoiding anycombat which may detract ftom the destruc-tion of nucleardelivery means.Stealth

andsurprise r€heavilyemphasized.

COMBATOBGANIZATION

4. For an attack againstan erleriy nuclesrdeliverymeans, reinforced ank battalion sorganizednto a reconnaissanceetachment,lead march securirydetachmen!, nd a mainbody. The strcngth of each componentd€-pends on the Iocation and strength of theenemy position, the tactical situation and

t€rrain. Ingeneral,

t}Ie lead Earch securitydetachment is shong enough to create a firebase to support subsequent action by themain body. The main body is split into anumber of coveringgoups and a tacticalreserve, aconnaissancenrou[e o the objec,tive is detailed and continuous, aid cariedout both to the front snd llanks.

COMMUNICATIONS

5. Considembleommunicationsreinfolce-

ment isprobably

required o coordinatehevariousground groups,file supportunits, andaviation. Details of communications me notavailablebut the complexity of the operationprobably leads to coNiderably more signalstraffic than is nomal in Soviet t€nk opera-

PLANNING

6. The battalion commander, fl,er eceiv-ing his mission,givesa warningoder to his

troops outlining the natule of the operation.He follo!r's this order by making an estimateof the situation, consideringn detail thefollowing actors.

a. Enemy f'orce!(1) Location and strength of €nemy

gtound unik on or nearaxis.(2) Nuclear delivery capability and

means hroughout the arca to be taversed,including he time expected etweenstrikes.

(3) Position and shehgth of mobile

b. Own Forces(1) Planned ocation, ime and type of

nuclear t kes n support.(2) Planned dtection and timings of

fi endly l ankingoperations.(3) Drop zones or planned airbome

supporting peration.c. Terrain

(1) Locationof areas ivingprctectionftom nuclear strikes on axis of advance.

(2) Concealedcutes obiective,d. CBR

(1) Location of area6 f chemiea.lndradiologicol onlamination n or near he axisol advance.

(2) Plannedstrikes in support of the

opeEtion and theireffect

on the time sched-ule.e. Commrmications

(1) Method of communicating withsupporting file units and aviation,

(2) Codewords, eferencepoints, andftequenci€s.

(3) Cbannelor updating actical nt€l-ligence om higher headquartels.

(4) Identification Friend or Foe (IFF)for strike aircraft.

ORDER,S

7. Oral ordeis for the operation are givenby t}le battalion command€! to his subodinatecommanders. model s sometimes sedto explain terrain and enemy positions. Inaddition to assigning issions, he batta.lioncommander rojects ow theenemywill leactand the countemeasures e intends o u6e.Orders encompass ubunit mGsions or theapproach march, assault, consolidation, andexploitation phasesof the battalion opera-

tion. The batta-lioncommander ries to organ-ize the execution of the milsion to follow upnuclear strikes asquickly aspossible.

EXECUTION

8. the operation takes place aJter a suc-cessfuI Soviet breakthrough of enemy de-fenses. In these circumst€nces the tacticalsituation is fluid.

39



0

'uouJaaea$€.u

JoluJld^q€

{UrJ

slaloppmu€eusU

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CHAPTER

DEFENSE

CONCEPTS

1. The Soviets egarddefensive perationsas a transitional phasedesigned o rcpel theattackor supedorenemy orceswhilecreatingfavorable conditions for a retun to theoffensive.Reconnaissanceroops may be 50to 100 kilometers in fronr oI lhe maindefensive ositions,Combat securitydetach-ments, usually taken ftom secondecheionbatta.lions, ay be deployedasmuchas15 to16 kilometers forwa.rd oJ the fir6t echelon

units to break up enemy probing attacks.Lastly,batta.lions endout combat econnais-sance atlolsup to 500meten n front of theFEBA. On defense, lank balralion'smissionis either to hold $ound; to act as a mobileIesewe, oI serveas a counter attack forc€. Ineach case a tank battalion conducts thedefensivebattle aspart of a regimentalop€ra-

REINFORCEMENT

2. Dudng deJensive peratiom a tank bat-talion normallyb reinforcedby the followingunits:

a. A moto zed ifle company.b. An engineer latoon.c. An artiilery batta-lionand morta.runit to

support the battalion by fire.d. Chemical pecialisko monitorthe CBR

haz rd.

DEPLOYMENT

3, During deJensive perationsa tank bat-talion usually deploys n one echelon.Nor-maily. a resewe he size of one platoon isconstituted.Regiments eploy combat secu-dty detachments p to 15 to 16 kilometersforward of the main defensivepostion t,obreakup probingattacks,Platoon-sizedecon-naissancepatrols are dispatched up to 500min ftont of the battalionsposition and to

exposed flanks. Two or three defensive em-placements are dug for each tank either by

engiaeersor by a combat tank fitted with a

dozer blade. A tank with the dozer blade

attachment can dig between two and four

emplac€ments an hour. Minefields, wirc a.nd

demolitions are used to dfuect he enemy ntokilling zones. Mines are laid in cluste$ of fifty

to a hundred. The Soviets have he capability

to lay mines by helicopter.

DEFENSIVE POSITIONS

4. The baris for a lank battallon defensiveposition is the antitank fire plai. A com-mander ays out his defenseso that tanks haveoverlapping areas oi obsewation at 1000metels without tuming the turret. By math-ematical analysis the Soviets ardve at thefollowing frontages, depths and intervals, asbeing the ideal:

Platoon. 150 meters b€tw€en tanks; ftont-age 300 meters.

Company. 300 meters between platoons;

frontage 1000 meters; deptfi 500 meters.

Battalion. 1000 to 1500 meters between

companies; ftontage up to 5 kilometers;depth 3 kilometers.

Tanks ar€ positioned on reverce slopesl,vhen possible, and have one or two altematepositions. The intervals between subunits arecovered by indir€ct firc means. Local protec-

tion for tanks is given by motodzed infantry

dug in up to 200m in front of tank positions.

The BMPS and APCS of the moto zed rifle

units a.lso arepositioned on reverse slopes.

Each platoon and company position is de-signed a6 a "sbong point" $rith all-round

defense. The battalion position is 6etup 60

that "shong points" are in mutual support.Figure 19 shows a typical layout for a tank

battalion in defense. Tanks have p mary and

seconda.ry fields of firc in each of theirpositions.

41



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Fi$Jre 9.R.inlorcedank rtt.lionDelensiv..ploymeolNucle.r onditions



DET'ENSEORGANIZATION

5. The drill for organizing a defensiveposition is affected by both the tacticalsituation and t}le availability of time. Adefenseakenup in contacl,with the enemy sinil,ially inear-tanks remaining n the pos!tions they were in when the offensive lost itgimpetus.Sucha defenses developed s imeand enemy action allows.Reinforc€ment smade as soon as possibleand positionsad-justed until the situation is stabilized.Thismay ake up to 10 or 12 hours.

RXCONNAISSANCEN'DORDERS

6. After beinggivenhis mission, he bat-talion comrnandermovesquickly Lo his aE-signeda.reawith the commandersof attachedunits. Ta6korganization nd ire coorduationare decidedupon. Reconnaissances ca-rriedout. If time is short, the battq.lion hief ofst€ff positions the secondechelonand theresewe.Du ng the reconnaissance,he fol-Iowingquestions re esolved ndordersgivenfor:

a. Attachment of motorized ifle units totank companies.

b. Location of company and platoonstrongpoints.

c. Zones f concentratedank fire.d. Positionsof combat reconnaissancea-trolsand lanksecudtyunits.

e. Fieldsof fLe,f. Indirect ire supportmissions.g. Orders initiating diect and indirect

fires.h, Action to be takenagain6t h attacki. Priodtiesor enginee$j. Protection rom nuclear trikesk. Designationof counter attack routes

and inesof deployment

l. Defense oints to the front and flanks

ADMINISTRATIVEPLANNING

7. After the commander's econnaissanceand sslrancef orders, he deputy or techni-cal affai$:

a. Positions the Technical ObsewationPost.

b. Organizes he recovery and lepai! ofdamaged quipment.

c. AEangesevacuation of second ine ta.nkcasualties o workshops n the rear.

d. Locat$ the supply platoon and plansthe resupplyof ammunition.

The deputy fo! technical affain al6oalrangesthe combat administration of the battalionfor the move forward into l,he defensiveposition.

CONDUCTOF TI{E DEFENSE

8. The Soviets xpect o faceboth nucleajand conventional artillery fLe prior to gloundattack. After such preparatory fire the tankbatallioncommander estores he integlity ofthe position by rclocating his tanks andcommunications quipmentas necessary.norder to presewethe secudty of tank fLingpositions,combat seculity

detachments e-pulseenemyprobing,attacks. mokemay beused to obserse strong points and to silhou-ette an assaulting nemy. Combatsecuitydetachmentsact as artillery forward obsenersfor as long as possible efore breakingcon-tact, As the enemy closes o 1500 meter6,tanks concentlate fire on taryets n previouslyd€signated ateas. Artillery and machine gunfites are used to try to separate he enemyinfantry from their amor. The ank battalioncommandermaintainsobsefiation over the

battle field from his comrnand tank thrcueh-out the enemyattack.

INFANTRY SUPPORTING IRE

9, Infanhy fire support, especially againstenemy APCS, s givenby the BMP6of at-tached moto zed rifle units. Each infantrycompa.ny is also equipped with hand-heldantitank weapons which, together with theirATGMS, add significantly to the combatpowerof companyandplatoonshongpoints.

COUNTERPENETRATION

10, The tank battalion commandermustuse his own tesources o mount counterpenehation operations against enemy ele-ments that succeed rr breaking into thebattalion's defensiveperimeter.The enemypenetEtion is reducedby artillery fire, andthe fire of tanks and attached APCs. Thebattalion reserve maneuve$ along pteviously



reconnoitered outes to b ng maximum di-rect firc to bear,

COUNTERATTACK

11. Counter attacksare operationsorgan-ized by a higher commandero dislodgean

enemy rom within the pe metersof a tankbattalion defensiv€ osition.Count€tattacksmay be supported y the tank battalioneitherby fire or by assigningubunits o accompanyassaulting orces. The regimenta.lcommanderorders the delivery of counterattacksbysubunitsof the secondechelonbattalion onroutes econnoitered elorehand.

WITIIDRAWAL

12. The tan} battalioncommander rdersa withdrawa.l tom the defensiveposition onlyon the authority of a highet commander.Chapter 0 dealswith this topic n detail.

SERVICESI'PPORT N COMBAT

13. During combat, ammunition forwardresupply s caried out when requiredunde!cover of smoke or artillery fire, POL isrcsupplied uring ulls in the battle.Damagedequipment is remov€d by a recoveryandevacuation roup o apositionwhere t canbeprep-ared o move back for repair under itsown power. According to doctrine, thewounded n damaged anks are rcmoved orevacuation once the vehicle has been rclo-cated o a coveredposition.During combat,the deputy commander for technical affairsmakesa dailyassessmentf equipment ondi-tion, tepai!, and recoverystatus,and issuesthe necessaryrders or l,he ouline servicing.

SECONDECHELONDEFENSE

14. A tank battalionwhich s used n aregiment's econd chelonof defense as hefollowingmissions:

a. To provide depth to the regiment'sdefense.

b. To providea counter-penehationolcefor use inside he regiment'sdelensiveperimet€r,

c. To provide a counterattack force for usein the fust echelon attalions'delensivepenmeterc.

d. To pmvide an exploitation force topurcue n enemy thoseattack ails.

The latter three taskarequle considerabletime to be spent in reconnaissance.Thedefensive ositionof a second chelon attal-ion is laid out in the santemanner as hat of afilst echelon nit. As a second chelon attal-ion assumes he defenseout of contact withthe enemy, he position s cdpableof beingdevelopedext€nsivelyby engineerc. econdechelonbattalion6establish ommunicationswith the regimental headquarters and filstechelonunib. Duling combat, h€ battslioncommande!monitors he battle and collectsand collates actical ntelligence. he secondechgloncommander s ftee to maneuver istank within his battalio! defensiveerimeterto face a threat to a particular lank. If thebattalion is required to counterattack, thecomhander endsout a combau econnais-sancepatlol befole moving into the assaultonprearTangedoutes.

DEFENSEAT NIGHT

15a. The ank battalionmay be nvolvedncombatat night either as h€ continuationofnormal daytine defen6iveoperationsor torepulse n enemynight attack.

b. If the battalion s required o takeup adefensive ositionat night, nitial deploymentusually s based n a map reconnaissance.tdawn, a terrain reconnarssances made andmissions and tasks ale adjusted as necessary.

c. In planning for night operations, ef-erencepoinLsare assigned; hese are markedby colored flares during the course of anenemyattack.OPsare ocated oas o be ableto obselve dead space and artillery fte sup-port is planned o coversuchareas. llumina-tion meansare used o light up the battlefieldduringenemyattacks,

44



CHAPTER O

DISENGAGEI\4ENTND WITHDRAWAL

CONCEPT

1. Befole a successfulwithdra{r61can bemade, disengagement tom contact vrith theenemy s requLed,The Sovietswithdmw onlyon orders of a seniorcommande!.The pur-posesof a withdnwa.l by a tank batta.lionare:

a. To occupy more advantageouserrain.b, To avoidenemynuclear r conventional

fires.c. To adjust a position to secure an ex-

posed lank duringa defensive attle.

d. To regroup after an unsuccessful onclu-sion of a meeting engagementor alterstubbomenemy esistance.

e. To avoidencirclement.f. To shorten inesof communicationg. To free men and €quipment or other

operairons.The tenor of Soviet military writing on the

withdmwal operation is that it is a usefultactic to free a forcefor a newmission ut isnot to be dictat€dby enemypressure.

TYPE OF WITHDRAWAI

2, ff the tank battalion s not in contactwith the enemya withdrawalwithout useofintermediatebounds may be made. With.drawals using int€m€diate bounds are madeunder enemy observation,ire, or the threatof attack.Of the two withdrawalby bounds ssloFer and requles geat€I trainingand skill;it is this tactic which is addre$sed n thiscnaprer.

MISSIONS

3, A tlnk battalion has the followingmissions uring he witldnwal:

a. To prevent an en€my bleakthrough(when the battalion i6 part of the mainbody of the regiment).

b. To insure t,lle unhindered withdrawal oithe main body ol the r€giment whenfjre battalion acts as a rear or flank

euad).

BEAR AND FLANK GUARD ACTIONS

4. In order to tuUiUrelying on suppolt AeEtasks withoutmain body, a

itsthe

tlnk battalion employed a! a tegiment's rea!-guardduring a withdrawal may be rcinforcedwith:

A motodzed ifle company.An ortillery battery.An engineerplatoon,Chemicalspecialists.

The reatguardhoves on the same axis asthe main body of the regiment to protect it

ftom enemygound

action. A flankguardmoves parallel to th€ main body on Chethrcatened flank betwe€n the enemy and themain body. (SeeFigue 20) A tank battalionwith a flankguard mission is expected to bereinforced in the samemanner asa rearguard.The Soviets realize that such task oientedorganizationsmust be sufliciently shong topreventan enemybreakthloughwhich mightcompromise he withdrawal of the main bodyof either the Egiment or division. Thercfore,if the situation warrants, the tank battalion

may be assignedconsiderably more artillerysupport thaD a battery. Du.ringrear and flankguardactions wide use of tank ambushessmadeon enemyputsuitroutes.

b .

d .

45



S,

NOTE:Subunils.iithin th. r..r lnd fl.n* turid3 nrov.m rorrn r|onsap9ro9ri.t! to tha t r.i. r,iici a ot,.apidch.nar intoconb.t ionn tid

{ *,",* .orr."o,.tr

A.lill.ry ,tt.ctrcd to r..r ts.rdcov.rin8ornalv.r babaln"hrb.ct" Do.itirns

P.7t ot rithdr.$nA nlin body ol

tftr

Fature 0' R.iniorr.dT.nk&tt tions Rc.r;nd Flroi cu.rd Duriry,



MAIN BODY MOVEMENT

5. Should the tank battalion be moving\vith the main body of the regimentduringt}le withdlawal, one tank company is em-ployed as a rear march security detachment.

Additionally each behavior in t}le main bodyprovides its own tark prot€ction, usually aplatoon.The tank battalion s responsibleorits own combatsecurityno matt€r where tmovesn the regimental olumn.

DISENGAGDMEIII

6. The critical phaseof a withdrawal is thebreal ftom contact with the enemy.Sovietdoct ne calls for a tank battalion to breakcontacteither under conditions f low vi6ibil-ity (fog, snow, rain, dusk o! dawn) or unde!cover of neuhalizing ile or smoke. Goodplanning and stealth are shessed.The battal-ion thins otrt either by companiesor byleavingone platoon from each company ncontact with the enemy. During disengage-ment, the battalion commandermay use hefire power of his resewe to conceal generalmovements o the rear. Shouid the enemy beactive during the disengagement period,counterattackmay be required mm€diatelybefore withdmwal. lt is important that the

enemy be deceivedor

as ong aspossible

sto the exact ime of the withdrawa.l.

ORGANIZATION FOR WITTIDRAWAI

?. The tank battalion cornmandermakesan estimate f the situation mmediately ponreceiving the withdrawa-l mission ftom theregimental commande!. His estimate nclude6such acticalconsiderations5:

a. Axes of advance,strength and locaiionsof enemy orces.

b. Reconnaissancef the enemyby regi.mentandbattalion.

c. Artillery targeta requi&d to aid disen-gagement.

d. Task olganization of the battalion andattachedsubunitsfo! the witldrawal,

e. Deploymen! ines or the battalionmainbody and resewesog€therwith timirg6fo! the with&awal.

f. The CBR situation and its effect onenemyand tiendly forces.

Having made his estimate, the battalioncoErmarder and his chief of staff aEange o!reconnaissancendplace ank ambusheslongthe battalion's withdrawal foute. NecessaryadjustEents in the batt3lion position aremade to lelocate resewesand allow the early

withdawal of adminisftative elements. Ar-Izmgemmts are made for the evacuation ofwounded throughout the opention. An as-sembly area for attached motorized infantryis designated kilometer o a kilometerandahalf from the FEBA. The battalion is thenresupplid q,ithammunjtionandPOL l this 6

necessaryand iJ tlle tactica.l situation allows.

ORDERSAND COORDINATION

8. Oral orders or fie withdrawal -re ivento the assembled ank company andattachedcommanders when time pelmits. Cooldina-tion details ollow. A typical ormat s:

a. An evaluation of enemy intentions andtaskorganization,

b. Artillery and nuclear file suppoft plan6covelinghe withdnwal.

c. Mision of t}le batblion and conceptofoperatrons.

d. Missions of neighboling units andboundaliesbetween hem and the bat-

tslion.e. Missions and task organization of thebattalion's 6ubunit6 o include:

(1) Time up to which the presentposition is to be denied to theenemy.

(2) Time and method of disengage-ment fo! each subunit in the bat.tslion.

(3) Control points on withdrawalroutes, and times subunits are topasshrough thetn.

(4) Point! at which battalionelementsa.re o pass hrough the rcgimentalrearguard,

(5) Order of match to the battalion'snewposition.

(6) Location of the battalion CPthroughout he operation.

(?) Report ines.(8) Action to be taken in the event

atcraft o! alrborne troops ale at-hched.

41



(9) Deployment to be used if thebatta.lioD is in action against apursuing nemy.

(10) Method of crossingalees withchemicalo! Ediological contaml-nation.

(11) Antiaircraft defensive posil,ionsalong withdrawal route.

(12) Disposition f the battalion n thenewdefensivearea.

CONDUC'TOF WIT'IIDRAWAL

9. The tank battalion commander e$on-ally commands he disengagementiom anOP. If the battalion provides ts own rearguard, a commarder (usually he batta-lionchief of staff or a deputy battalion com-

mander) is appointed for this force. Hemaintains communication erith, and is directly subordinate to, the batblion com-mander.The battalion movesby boundsofeithercompanies r platoons.As eachsubunitof the battalion successfullydisengagesror!the enemy andpasseshrough the rca.rguardtfofms into first platoon and then corrpanycolumn and takes its aasignedplace in thebattalion majn body. The main body isorganizednto battalioncolumnby either hechiefof staffor a deputy commander.

As the main body oI the regiment's €arguard, the battelion commander sends thesignal for the company or platoons still incontactwith the enemy o breakcontactandwithdraw. These subunits then pass hroughthe regimenialearguardand ink up with themain body of the battalion.The regiment'sattached artilely ftes concentrations to pre-vent the enemy tom following he withdraw-

ing subunits. Attached artiuery then movesirto the regimental column to withdraw.

CONDUCT OF A BATTALIONRXAR,GUARDACTION

10. A ta-nkbattalion employpdas a regi-mental rear luard tak$ up iLs assignedde-fense line before any rehogtade movement.The rear guardmasks he enemy'sexpectedrout€s of advance. Ik task is to force thepursuing enemy to deploy his main forces.The reer guald battslion holds its positionuntil the regiment's main body has achievedaclean brea-kwith the enemy.After receivingorders o witidraw, it breaks ontactwith theenemy by thinning out to successivent€r-

mediatepositions until disengagements com-plete. During its yrithdrawal the rear guarduses ambushes and obstacle lines to slowenemyadvance.Opelations y the rearguardbattalion ale Eupportedby artilery tue andaviation strik$ planned by the regimentalcommsnder.f the enemy ails o carryout aclo6e pu$uit, the lear gua.rdmoves intocolumn as soon as possible and follows themain body covering ts move with a reaimarch security detschmentand flank securitydetachments.

MTHDRAWAL TACTICS

11. The tactics employed by th€ tankbatt€lior in withdrawal opeEtions show thatthe Soviets, hough nomally prefer ng tomaneuve! soneunit, are trained o movebyboundsof companies r evenplatoonswhenthe tacticalsituation equires,

48



CHAPTER 1

SECURITYURING ALTS

CONCEPIS

1. When not in contact with the enemy,Lank bart€lions empoHrlly deploy in posi-tions of all-round gecudty in rest areas. De-ployment in a rest area will take place:

a, For restandmaintenance f vehicles.b, Before or after a road march or rail

c. To concenhate before or after an opera-tton.

d. For rcsupplyof combatsupplies.e. Prior to dver or obstacleclossing.f. while the battalion is acting as a tactical

The battalion may occupy en area separatehom its parent regiment or withjn a regj-menta-l halt area, depending on the tscticalsituation.

LOCATIONOF RESTAREAS

2. The locationof a battulion halt area sassignedby the regimentalcomhander basedon his map reconnaissanc€,t is usua.lly 8 to10 squarekilometers n Bize. h€ areashouldhsvegoodaccessoads,water sources, ndbesituated away ftom inhabited areas n order topresene secu ty. Although halt areas ar€

located out of contact with the enemy, theareamust allow for quick concentration of the

battalion into combat fomation.

CAMOUFLAGE AND CONCEALMENT

3. The tank battalion is positioned withinthe halt area so that it is concealed rom bothair a,11d round obsewation, Tanks and othervehicles arc camouflaged i{ith natural mate-dal, Locations for command posts and rearsubunits a.Ie chosen hldden so as io giveprotection from nuclearattack.

RECONNAISSANCE OF A REST AREA

4. Prior to a$ival in a rest area he battal-ion commander organizes a reconnaissancegroup led by an officer. Each of the tank

companies and attached units in this recon-

naissancegroup is represented by an officer o!sergeant. Engineer ar1d chemical specialistsaccompany the group to insure that the area is

not mined or contaminated. The $oup locates

subunits and marks any hazards within th€

ar€a. A reconnaissanceepod is made by the

senior officer to the battalion commandereither in person or by mdio pdor to th€battalion's arrival.

Figlre21. BMPsofrtt*h.d rifle!.itshay beu*d in rocornaasnce

49



OBDERS FOB OCCUPATION

5. Prior to occupation of the rest alea thebattalion commander gives olal orders cove!-ing:

a. Tactical intelligenceon the enemy.h E.hdinaar nri^rifia.

c. Location of tank companiesand at-tach€d ubunits.

d. Compositionand missionsof secu tyunlts,Antiatcraft fie and CBR defense lans.Altemate estareaand outes o it.Action on contact with enemy$oundor airbome forces,Communicationslan.Locations of the CP and deputy com-

nications security. An obselvation post js

established some 1500 met€ls from the !$tarea on each possible €nemy axis. Sentdes aleposted on acce$ roads. Personal protection

foxholes are dug for all men. Emblasures aredug fo! bnks and APCS f time allow6.Soviet

doctrine ca.lls or small enemy parties movingtowards the rest area to be killed or captured.If the enemy advances n force, the obselva-tion posts ar€ to engage t and maintain theirpositionsuntil ordered o withdraw.

f.

h .i .

mande$.

The edtirc position is s€lected to give ma.x!Illum plotection from nuclear attack.

SECURITY AFIER OCCL'PATION

6. If the alea is to be occupied for morethan a few hours, field telephone links are$tablished between the battalion commanderand subunit comtranders to preservecommu- Fi!!r.22. T-72 n lirinq po!ition

50



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sCU



CHAPTER2

coNcLUsroNs

GENERAI

1. Significant findings of this study, a.6they relate to the combat potential of aSoviet medium tank batblion, are sum-marized elow:

a. Combatorganization.b. Command ndcontlol.c. Tacticalemployment.

COMBAT ORGANIZATION

2.a. The combatorganization f the Sovieftank battalion is d€signed to allow it toexploit ffuepower and mobiity in a war ofrapid movement. Exc€pt for carrying outsecudty tasks and setting out obsenationposts, Soviet comrDanders seldom employtanks in less t}tan compaby stiength. Tankunits are thercfore able to echieve highconcentrationsof fire again$tpriodty taryets.wheleplatoonsare employed, he Soviets re

ca.reful to maintain a capability to counte!any potential threat vrith at least a company-6ized nit.

b. Tank units normally operat€ in com-bined arms task forces. Motorized rifle unitsprovide close-in protection to tanks in rreaswher€ they are especiallyvuln€rable o attackby ATGME. Tank a6saults ale usua.llyp!e-ceeded y afiillery preparation6f objective6.Enginee$and chemicr.l pecialistsccompanytdnk unit"s when the mi$ion $quires theitskills.

c. The combat r€infolcement of the Soviettank battalion tu tailored to a particularmission and this, together with the operationol tanks in company sizd units, makes aneffective combEt organization.

COMMAND AND CONTROL

3.a. Soviet tank battalion commande$closely supewise tl|e tactical employment oftheir comDanies and attached unit5, The

maximumof routineoperational nd adminis-trativ€ planning is delegat€d o the Chief ofStaJf and the depu8 battalion commanderfor technical affairs; this allows the bsttalioncommander to concentrate on persona.lcon-trcl of combat. ndtect fue supportusually sprovided by the regimental commander,allowing th€ battalion commander urther toconcentrate n the maneuver f hh tanks.Atthe sa.meime this, along with a t€ndency toadhere o a timed fue plan, gives he potpntial

for a significant time lag n engagingargetsofoppodunity. Thus when immediate fuesup-port is requested,srtillery is attacheddtu€ctlyto thebatta.lion.

b, Most battalion opentions take placev/itbin the framework of a regimental plan.However, in the me€ting engagement,with-&awal, and in operations to destloy enemynuclear delivery means, the battalion com-hander has considerable opportunity to usehis initiative. In combat, the battalion com-mande! takes up a position for enough for-

ward to be able to 6ee the result of hiscompanies' ctions.He is therefole able toreact quickly to success r a sudden hleat byreinforcing o! by enploying hi6 leserve. Outof combat, the batblion and company com-manderspersonally lead their hoops in tacti-cal movement,This allows rapid movementbetween ngagements.

c, Tank units us€ well-rehearsedacticajformations both in and out of contact withthe enelny, The6e fomations are varied inkeeping with the t€Ilain, the enemy threat,

and the phale of operations. lndividual com-panies in the batt€lion may employ diflerentformation6 at any one time to suit the tacticalsituation. The tactical fomations allow lapidmaneuve! o face a change n situation with aminimum of l8dio taffic. In the assault, heconcentration of t€nk units in nanow zone ofaction allow6 for concentrationof fte againstpriority target6. Once the assault s launched,the attack is to be pressedby every ardoredvehicle capableof moving.



d. W}lenpo$sible, ll tanks n the battalionopemte on the samenet. The Sovietshavestrict standards f communications ecuity.Commands re passed y use of codewords,and numbers.Radio is supplemented y useof visualand audio signals n combat. Flagsand arm signalsareused when units are on themarch. Attached unit commande$ oin thebattalion net. There ale strict limitationsoninitiating radio traffic; line tanks arc tooperate n the receivingmode. n fact, Sovietradio disciplinecan be so rigid as to inhibitthe lapid flow of taqet intelligence. ow wella battalion commandercan adjust deploy-ment of his force during an assault s notknown.

e. The command nd control system f theSoviet tank battalion is highly centralized.

The system acilitatesBpid movementandeffective communicationssecurity. Successlagely dependson the tactical skill of thebattalioncommander.

TACTICAL EMPLOYMENT

4.a. The Soviets,n thet military ouinals,placea $eat deal of emphasis n combinedarms tactics. The tank battalion may, for aparticularmission, e einforcedwith attach-ment6 rom regimentor divisionas he situa-tion warlants. The emphasis in tacticaldeployment s on rapid follow-upof prepara-tion fir€6by a task organizedorce of tanksandmotorized ifle units.

b. The Soviet ank battalion's actical as-sault dri11sely on shock action and concen-tuation of tank fire to the rea.!or flanks of aneutralized bjective. lanning or suchopera-tions is detailed lom the line of marchwhenpossible-battalionshanging ormation fromcolumn o line as enain dictates.Thebattal-ion maneuvenas one unit; firc suppot is

provided either by artillery or tank unit6operating on the flarks. Smoke is used toconceal dovement and block the field ofvisionof ATGM operations.

c. TheSoviets tronglyhold to the conceptthat the best defense s a good offense.

Accordingly, hey consider mployingdefen-sive i€cl,ics a Lemporaryneccssityduringpausesn offensiveactivity. In the defense,tank battalionsestabljshplatoon and com-panyshongpointswith close-in rotectionbyinfantryand fire support rom artillery.Posi-tions arc dug n when ime allows,and tanksprcparealtelnatepositions.A cove ng forceattempts to break up probing attacks and hemain attack s met by concentratedankfire.

d. The Soviet ank battalion s trained ofight suchoperations smeeting ngagements,withdrawals, nd obstacle rossingsn forma-tions which enhancecombat securily andconcentmtion f f ire. In lheseoperalions.advance nd rearguaJds reusuallybased n atank company.Maneuvers by company-sizedunits.

e. TanL fLe at night in T-54/55and T-62tanks hasbeen imited by targetacquisitionmeans o a mnge of 800 mete$.This range,however,may be ncreased ith the n€w T-72tank-in serial production, and being de-ployed in increasingnumbers.

f. We assesshe tacticalddus ofthe Soviettar* battalion to be effective,exploitingasoundcombatorganization.

ASSESSMENT F COMBATPOTENTIAL

5. The Soviet ank batta-lions a basic nitof maneuver. he battalion s reinforcedandgiven irp suppofl to fulfill a paJ|cularmis-sion by exploiting itr mobitity, ftepower,shock action, ard nuciearprotection. Themaneuver f tankcompaniesn anarrowzoneof action, n echelon, llowsheaq,'casualtiesto be talen without endangering uccessfulexecution of the rnission. n a nuclear en-vuonment, tank units operate on increasedfrontagesgenerally ouble).

On the one hand,Sovietmethodsof bothcommunicationseculityandof passingaryetinformation to the artillely tend to lestrictthe immediateengagement f targetsof op-portunity. On the other hand,highly cential-ized conhol of tacticalmaneuver y the tankbattalion commandermakes for the quickconcentration f tankfLe.

54



Figure23, Th€ bottom ti.e-T-sstin rh€ attacki "quick con@nlration ftankfire"



APPENDIX

SOVIET ANKS

SCOPE

1. Appendixes A, B and Cprovide unclassi

fied pictorial details of some of the a.rmored

equip.nent used in combat with a Soviet

radicaly different in design to its prede-cessors.A description of this tank is includeda.sAppendix B. A tank pedormance compara-

tive table is below.

reinforced medium tank battalion. Furtherequipmentdetailsof armoredequipmentandtanks can be found in FOMCAT Vol 3 TB381-5-03undated)

MEDII'M TANKS

2. T-54 tanks are used for haining pur-poses. T-55 is still the most numerousmedium anks in sewicewith Soviet$oundforcesat thepresentime. T.62 s an mprove-ment on the T-55 and s n se$ice hroughoutthe Soviet Union and the Groupsof Forc€s.T-?2, the most recent ank introduced ntos€mice,s now beingdeployed nto the Groupof Soviet Forces Germany. The T-?2 is



APPENDIX

SOVIET ANK T.72

PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT

1. The late$ Soviet tank to be developed,the T.?2, has been n prcduction lor the lasttrro yesrs. Ove! treo thousand of tlle T-?2

Tte weightof l,henew ,ank 6 estimated t 35metric tons and mobility ha6 been imptovedover earlier Soyiet tanks botlt by ttte newsuspensionsyst€m and a new type ot track.the chamct€ristic low silhouette of previous

Fiour.26. 1.72 Tha n.w Soviel lnk

have now be€n produced and the new tankhas been deployed into the Group of SovietForcesGermany. It is expect€d that the T.54and T-55 tsnks will be replaced as moleT-?2'scomeofi the production line.

DESICN

2,a. Hull and Suspension.he T'72 sho$'s

6ome mdical changesn design o previous

Soviet tanks. The chassisand hull h easilyrecognized s beingdilferent to the previous

Soviet tanks. The T-?2'sglacisplate s esti'

mated at ?0' and is markedlymole slop€dthan that of the T-62.The suspensionyst€m

is bssedon six road wheelswith return lollers

SovietLanks asbem maintained. he T.?2 sslightly sEaller than its predecesso!.

b. Armament- T-72's main annament ap-pcais similar to T-62's and is estimat€d as

being115 mm in calibre. Its accuncy has

probably been improved by a new controlsyst€m with a laser range finder, though it issigniiicant to note that laser beamscannotpenetnte smoke or fog. There i6 thereforeplobably an alt€mative systelr of tanging tothe laser system. It has also been reportedihat the main gun $ystetn featule3 an auto-matic loader 'erhichpermitJ a reduction of thetank cJewftom four to lhree men. A coaxialmachine gun is supplemented by a cupola

59



mounted machine gun on th€ commander'sside of the turet. The IR equipment foundon earlier t€nks has possibly been improvedlot'l-72.

c. Dngine. The appearanceof the enginecompartment indicates an improved engine othat used in T-62. The drive$ position hasalso been moved from the left of the vehicleto the center significantly reducing thechances of multiple casualties caused by oneshot.

OTITSIDE UEL STORAGE

3. The charact€ristic auxiliary luel drumscaried on earlier Soviet tarks (seeFig.) areabsenton T-?2. Flat auxiliary uel contsinelsappear on either side of the n€w vehicle.Dieseluel ha! a ow flashpoint and hough t

will burn it is difficult to ignite. The Sovietahave ong accepted his fire haza.!d.

ffi*mffiffi

ffi@

[m!EEt!t

HmEErB

SrFEEnF|f.m

flffiEffi[EIIEt

EffE!!]TE

Wffi**

Fisut.27, f .72 D6ish t€atur€.Incontart to J-62

d, Outside Stovage.There are a number ofequipment t€ms stowed on the outside ofT'?2, On either side and at the rear of th€

turet there are storagepanni€ls,

a newfeature in Soviet tarks. Tanks n combat unitshave t}leA turret numbers painted on ttresepadnie$. A new type of snorkel s usuallyattached o the rearpannier.An "unditching"log is caried at the rear of the tank. Towchainsare ashedo the op ol theT.?2'6hullas snolrnal Sovietplactice.

COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS

4. It js not possible o fully assessnecombat potentia.lof the T-?2 until mote

infomation is availableabout the tanks arma-ment. The introduction of the T-72 n placeof T-55 does mean however hat the standardof tank gunnerymay be expect€d o improve.The older tanks have been hampercd nbringing fire to bear by th€ necessityof thegunnerestimatinghe range.Thisprcblemnolonger exists with the introduction of thelaser aDgefinder.

60



APPENDIX

TANKASSOCIATEDOUIPMENT

GENERAL

1. SoDeof the tank associatedquipmentused n the reinforced ank battalion duringtacLical operal,ions! held in the engineercompany of the regiment. Pictules of suchequipment are included for reference andIecognitionpurposes.t shouldbe noted hatthe use of tank associatedequipment createsexcess wear on tle engine and haining istherelore strictly limit€d.

BTU DOZERBLADES

2. the BTU dozer blade canbe fitt€d in 90minutes and requies 60 minutes to be re-moved, his equipment s held in the enginee$companyof a t3nk regiment.

Fig!@ 28, BTU do:.r mounld o. T55

KMT 4 MINE PLOW

3. The KMT 4 mine plow is used o clearEinefield lanes in conjuncrjon with minerollels,We assess ine setsol equiprnent reheld in the battalion, three sets in eachcompany.

Flslro 2S. KMI mineprows



Fisu . .30 ,Mimp lowo . T .55

MINE ROLLERS PT.54M

4. The Mine Roller P'f-54-M is standard

equipment in the Soviet Cround Forces forbreaching minefields. The roller is designed ntwo individual sectionswhich ale fitted to a

medium tank by a pusher alm and cableassembly. The equipment clean a lane?.62mm wide. The ar€a between eacb tracklemains uncleared. Difficulty in contrcllingthe roller leaves he pusher vehiclewlnelableto da.rnagewhen operating in an antitankminefield,

62



i - - - i + - -. ; - f : . :& €

Fiqur€31. T.62 whh mine rolleis

SNORKELLINCEQUIPMENT

5. A high proportionof Soviet ankshave

the capability o deep ord waterobstaclesoa depth of 5.5 meters using snorkelling€quipment.T-55 andT-62 weredesigned itha snorkelling apabilitybuiit in, somemodelsof T-54 were modified n order to do so. Asnorkellingube canbe seen n the rearof theturret of the T-72 n Fig.32.Thesnorkel ube

., 1.: - - - - ' - j l

Figu .s32 ,T .72 howing thssnotke l rubEashedo th€r6arof the rur€r

63



is mounted on the tank turret and supplies air

to both the tank crew aid the engine. A

narow snorkel tube is used in combat, while

in haining a wide "chimney" snorkel s fitted

Fislrd 33. Sovid r..ks with thoconbrr 3no.l.r contasrwith tns*idsrtniningrobe n thb photogrsph

over the right ha.nd atch.Amored recovery

vehicles re fitted with the "chimney" snor-kels as standardequipment.To fit the iankwith the snorkel ube during xaining an akeas Iittle as 15 minutes though to fuUy prcpar€a tank for a river crossingoperation will tak€up to one and a ha.lfhours.Upon eaving hewater he tank requires bout wenty minuteswork before it can opente nomally. Incombat the snorkel tlrbe is jettisoned if thetactical situation demandst. Each ank in thebattalion carriesa snorkel tube during opera-tions.

ARMOREDRECOVEBYVEHICLES

6, The most lecent medium armoredre-covery vehicle used by the Soviets s theT-54-T,The earlier ersion s the T-34-T.Bothvehiclesare the basictank chassis itted withrecovery equipment es shown in t}le chartbelow.

Fiqur€34. T62 inthewar.rlinsd wiih comhai.no&.|

"-34'T(ModelB)1

T-54-'l

x

x

x

X x x

x

Each aDl battalionhasone armored ecove.y ehicleod it! invenrory.

64



Fiqure35, T34-TARV

Fisur.36.T-5zlTAFV



BOLS

t

at9rqIla

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0

--L-.+

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SOVIETONVENTIONALYM

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0Cofi,n.nd t nk Th. horimlll baBd.nol6 conm.nd level nd n.y beu3€don anybasicsymbol,

+ Or b.r isfor Plaloonhvel

* Tm !.6 are o. Cohprny lcvel.

+ Th..e barsare or 8.ttllion revet

r/iovinaoLnnsorv.hit3 lhorins.

XdiE colnn ot anr!$owirtFoi*bd dirlion ot ddmnt

APC,n.r.l rymbol lwlnr.n Arc

T.nk nding in mb.t lomrtbn.

L.k rhorinsprim!ry rc ol ie

U ,.*.n*'**.*o...ro-

T..k!! mding in db.i lom.tioir ehdin!pni|.ry.rcolfE Th..ror.d ri6 6n b. $dtoshoq h. ren.nd riani [mns otprnn.ry.rc oitiB byulingons ins.l 6!d extremity,

tuiriilix. APc, eirr, o,rri.s

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67



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SO/IETCONVETT'IONALYMBOLS

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,/'+--.t- D'dlih ol tuin drort

FdlaS€ dGcEr.d td Gup.rlm

4.6@Upid byt@pi Synbor nskteciEL de@t6lype .nd mmnd l6v€l

L.nd liE onding . t bphdro h.nd*t

W.ierc|cin€mmn<|.r

Batrrlion DapuiyCohfian&r [email protected]$Mtirh post

'R!da el op.r.tnEm HanRlqrad.

.R.db 3.i o9.Eli'rsor \r.rt HE

--=ra

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DaGrbno! min .tt .t ph.md

B.sa symbol ndi6t6 6dio dmu.k tiBd dErbn ol 6dio mnun€rbnr

68



DISTRIBUTIONYDIA/RD93C

TITLE:SOVIET ANKBATTALIONACTICSU} DDI-1120.1G77

DOD AND JOINT AGENCIES

AOO9 OASDATOMENERGYAO1O AFSCOLAO24 DEF NUCLEARAGCYAO85 NAT DEF UNIVER,SITYA'104 OASD CCC&I)A115 OASD SAA117 OSD OPD&E)A310 JCS/J-3SPOPDrV)

A315 JCS/SAGAA325 JCS/J-3A335 JCS/J.4A340 JCS/J-sMrL SECA353 JSTPSAO34 DDPSECDEFAO9? DIA CRPANMCC4'102 OSD/DTACCS4124 OSDNET ASSESSMENTA137 OSD SA/MBFR.PP4'361 USLOSACLANTA'362 USDOCOLANDSOEAST

A363 USNMRSHAPE4'368 USRMC/NATOA835 USMIL LN MSNGDRA916 MAAG RAN

DIA

8040 DrA/DIOB055 DTA/DT4B8080 DIA/SWS8132 DrA/DE-1

B134DrA/DE-2

8159 DrA/DT-1A18169 DIA/DT.2D8363 DIA/DB.1B28364 DIA/DB-1B3 2)8485 DrA/IS8545 DIA/VP8565 DIA/DB.IF18566 DIA/DB-1F285?1 DIA/DB-4G1B573 DIA/DB-4E1

B5?9 DIA/DN-2B2B58O DIA/DB-186OPO8581 DIA/DB.IB8583 DIA/DB-1D8584 DIA/DB-184 25)8586 DIA/DB-4D18593 DIA/DB-IG28594 DIA/DB-1F (2)859? DIA/DB-1G18615 DIA/DN-2CB?31 DIA/DB.5FB?37 DIA/RDS-3B3 LIB) (5)B?87 DIA/DB.IF38362 DIA/DB-1818364 DIA/DB-1B3B563 DIA/DB.1B5PENTB5?5 DrA/DB-18576 DIA/DB.1A8582 DIA/DB.ICB?7? DIA/DN.2B18855 USDAOAUSTRIA8856 USDAOBELGIUM8859 USDAOBULGARIA8862 USDAOCANADA8871 USDAOCZECHOSLOVAKIAB8?2 USDAODENMARK88?6 USDAOENGLAND8878 USDAOFINLANDB8?9 USDAOFRANCEB88O USDAOGERMANY8882 USDAOGREECE8886 USDAOHUNGARY8892 USDAO SRAEL8893 USDAO TALY

B9O8 USDAONETHERLANDS8912 USDAONORWAYB91? USDAOPOLAND8918 USDAOPORTUCAL8919 USDAOROMANIA8925 USDAOSPAINB92? USDAOSWEDEN8928 USDAOSWITZEBLAND8933 USDAOTURKEY8934 USDAOUSSR8939 USDAOYUGOSLAVIA

69



NAVY

DOO8 NISCD150 CMC0Nr) (12)D217 NAVWPNCEND218 NRL WASHDCD246 NAVSURFWPNCENDAHLD496 DIR SSPODgOO NFOIOD971 0P-009FD9?2 OP-OOgBIP

AIR FORCE

E016 AFIS/rNCEOl? AF/RDQA.WEO18 AF/RDQA-CE046 ?602ArNTELG/INOA1EO53

AF/INAKAEO54 AF/INAKBE100 TAC(9Tr{TrS/LDD)D3O3 AF/INAPE4O8 AFWLE41O ADTC8413 ESDE437 AFIS/rNrE451 AUL/LSEE500 3420 TCHTG/TTMNL

U & S COMMANDS

fiOOs USCINCDURHOO6 USEUCOMDEFANALCTRH010 soTFE (J-3)H101 USAFE49?RTC rRC)H3O6 DCSIUS COM BERLINH301 COMBINEDARMSTNGCEN

J5?6 COMPHIBGRU

KOOs CINCPACKOOT COMUSJAPAN

KOzO COMUSTDCK115 5THAFK300 rPAC(CODE C-L)K5O5 FICPACK658 COMUSNAVPHILL005 CINCSACLO4O SAC544TH AR,TW

NOOS USREDCOM

OTIIER

P055 CrA/CRS/ADD/SD 14)P085 STATE (5)P090 NSA (5)

SOSO FRD LIB OF CONG

TOTAL DtA DISTRIBUTION 268 COPIES

ARMY DISTRIBUTION

Active Army, ARNG, USAR:To be distributed in accord-ance with DA Form 12-9Arequirements for Milita-ry In-t€lligence- B (Qty rgr block\o . 337) . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . .2 ,000 , p ies

MARINECORPSDISTRIBUTION

Distributionode:TBA .......... 2.300 opies

DISTRIBUTIONSUMMABY:

DTADISTRBUTION.............. 268copinsDIASTOCK. . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 .op iesDTATOTAL. . . . . . , . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 .op iesARMYDISTRIBUTION........ 2.00J opiesMARINE CORPSDISTRIBU-T ION . , . . . . . . . , . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,300 cop iesTOTALPRINT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 ,?20op ies

soviet tank battalion tactics

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