Depth of battle formation is a military term denoting the conditional distance from the front edge of the advanced units of a military unit or formation to the location of its rear or the echelons of troops following it [1] [2] [3] .
Depending on the method of constructing the formation, the circumstances of the combat collision and terrain conditions, the depth of the battle order of the same formation can vary significantly.
In a defensive battle, the depth of the battle order is closely related to the concept of the depth of defense ; in an offensive battle, insufficient depth of the battle order can quickly deplete the pace and the very possibility of an offensive [4] .
Depth of defense. I believe that the developed depth of defense should consist of the following elements: - from the foreground or front line . The outer boundary of the foreland can be made 12-15 kilometers from the front edge of the main defense line, and further, under favorable conditions. Depending on the situation, there may not be a foreground.
What forces and means will defend the field? In each case, forces and means will be determined by the appropriate situation. In all cases, it is only important to maintain that basic principle so that there is no dispersion of forces in the defense. The allocation in the foreground of large forces and means will undoubtedly entail the dispersal of the forces of the defender. The People's Commissar of Defense has repeatedly pointed out how to wage a battle in the foreground:
- From the position of the military guard , advanced 1 to 3 kilometers from the front edge of the main defense line. I believe that a military guard position will certainly exist; Comrade Smirnov is wrong here. In any form? Whether in the form of a rear strip of the pre - field, or in the form of an independent position of combat guard, but it will exist. Moreover, as a rule, not at the expense of those units that are fighting in the near field. These units will retreat into the depths of defense.
- From the main, I emphasize, main defense line, which includes the main forces of the division and the entire depth of its battle formation .
- From the second defensive line created in the rear of the main defense line occupied by the corps reserves .I will not dwell on identifying the individual elements of modern defense, since they have already been given and are obvious to all of us (the foreground, the position of military guards, etc.), I want to emphasize only on the main defense line.
- V.N. Kurdyumov , Lieutenant General , Head of the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army , RGVA , f. 4, op. 18, d. 60, l. 37 - 44.
Notes
- ↑ Depth of battle formation // Dictionary of military terms / Comp. A. M. Plekhov, ed. S. G. Shapkin. - M .: Military Publishing , 1989 .-- 335 p. - 65,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00175-8 .
- ↑ Depth of battle formation // Brief Dictionary of operational tactical and general words (terms) / B. Morozov. - Moscow : Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR , 1958. - P. 88. - 324 p.
- ↑ Depth of battle formation // Military Encyclopedic Dictionary . - Moscow: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1986. - S. 196. - 863 p. - 150,000 copies.
- ↑ * Chapter 5 Basics of battle formations // Field Charter of the Red Army of 1939. (PU-39) . - Moscow: State Military Publishing House of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR , 1939.
Literature
- Chapter 4 Formations and battle formations of units and units // Combat charter of armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army . - Moscow : Military Publishing House of the People's Commissariat of Defense , 1944.