Content
Group tactics is an obsolete military term that came into use during the First World War and denoted the entire set of techniques and methods of using group battle order [1] [2] . Under infantry group tactics are usually understood as actions deployed in the depth and along the front of small rifle groups, the number from branch to platoon , which lead the offensive, following the available fire means (heavy machine guns, escort artillery , tanks, etc.) [1] [ 2] It was believed that this allows more complete use of the results of fire impact on the enemy and achieve closer coordination of infantry units with fire weapons [1] [2] .
With the growth of material and technical equipment of combat units, group tactics lost a significant part of their effectiveness and in the 30s of the 20th century were replaced by maneuverable forms of combat, built, for example, on the basis of the deep battle theory [1] [2] .
Historical essay
The origin of group tactics is associated with the saturation of troops with group armament and an increase in the role of fire influence on the enemy in combat [1] [2] . It is believed that the first to use group tactics were French troops, who in small groups captured the strongholds of the Germans during the battle of Verdun (1916) [2] .
The final formation of group tactics as a new type of offensive battle belongs to the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 , during which small groups of British riflemen, supported by tanks, artillery and machine guns, penetrated deep into the defense of the Kaiser troops, bypassing or destroying German strongholds [2] . The effectiveness of their actions was recognized as higher than the patterned frontal attack by waves of rifle chains ; nevertheless, during the First World War, rifle chains continued to be used along with group battle order [1] [2] .
With the end of the First World War, the armies of almost all European countries almost completely switched to group tactics; in the Soviet Union, its widespread introduction in the units of the Red Army dates back to the period of military reform of 1924–25. The evolutionary improvement of group tactics continued in connection with the sharp increase in firepower of rifle units, primarily due to the increase in the number of machine guns and their appearance in the armament of branches and platoons [2] .
Soviet developments and methods of group tactics were reflected in the Combat Regulations of the infantry of 1927, which provided for its use both in offensive and defensive combat [1] [2] . In this case, the basis of the group combat formation became a rifle platoon, which included three rifle divisions, a branch of heavy machine guns and a branch of light machine guns [1] [2] .
However, the continued growth of technical equipment of the units led to the fact that the group tactics ceased to meet the increasing requirements and began to lose their effectiveness due to the fact that in a defensive battle it complicated the fire interaction between individual groups of infantry, and in the offensive - did not ensure the application of sufficient force to the initial hitting [1] [2] . The 30s of the 20th century were marked by the birth and combat development of the theoretical foundations of deep combat , which went along with the further improvement of weapons systems and systems [1] [2] . The concept of deep combat made it possible to move to more effective, highly maneuverable forms of attack, refusing to slowly and gradually overcome enemy defensive lines [1] [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Group tactics // Soviet military encyclopedia . - Moscow: Military Publishing House of the USSR Ministry of Defense, 1979. - Vol. 3. - p. 65-66.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Group tactics // Military Encyclopedia / P. S. Grachev . - Moscow : Military Publishing House , 1994. - Vol. 2. - p. 525. - ISBN 5-203-00299-1 .
Further reading
- The evolution of tactical forms and modern battle // War and military affairs. The manual on military affairs for a party, Soviet and trade-union active. - Moscow : Military publishing house , 1933. - p. 523.
Links
- Group tactics . Encyclopedia . The website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The appeal date is March 10, 2017.