Update II: Russian Naval Infantry subject logo: MILGAM
2007-02-28
Posted by: badanov

We have in the past written about Russian Naval Infantry, but not about naval infantry tactics.

We like Russian naval infantry in WinSPMBT. Not that the modeling is much different between them and regular Russian BTR infantry, except the Russian naval infantry in real life are better trained than the average Russian grunt.

Most Russian naval infantry has organic armored personnel carriers in the form of BTRs, including the latest version with 30mm autocannons and sporting a wire guided ATGM tube. Called the BTR-90 in game terms it is an expensive and unnecessary target for enemy ATGMs.

We buy and prefer the cheapies because those are the versions most likerly to be used by naval infantry. The cheapie BTR is also a target but it has two things most of the world's infantry do not have: intermediate range machine gun couterfire support in the form of a 14.5mm and a 7.62mm coaxially mounted machine gun set, and speed.

Since nearly every military force in the world including terrorists has anti-armor weapons, the BTR in a rapid advance is extremely vulnerable to ATGMs, wire-guided or otherwise. The modeling for the Iranians by WinSPMBT includes killer long range ATGM called the Ra'ad, which is the Iranian version of the old Soviet AT-3 Sagger.

Like all antiarmor weapons it takes the right shot to kill MBTs, but the BTRs are light armor and much more vulnerable. All the projectile has to do is to hit the vehicle and it is destroyed. Loaded with it an entire squad could be wiped out in a flash..

But that's not the reason for this post.

Imagine for a second you are in a Russian naval infantry squad. You have your trusty AK-74 5.45mm rifle, one guy has a SAW, one has a 40mm grenade launcher, and depending on how your squad is organized, an SVD sniper rifle. Armed to the teeth.

Your squad has advanced into a small village. Your unit is in a wooden building. To the north is the first squad and the third squad is engaging an antiarmor unit before deploying from their BTR.

Your BTR is about 100 meters to the east, held back because antiarmor fire in close terrain like a village is murder.

Your squad got here because the squad commander bailed everyone out when another BTR from another platoon about 500 meters away got hit by tank fire. He'll be damned if he's gonna sacrifice his best anti infantry means to tank gunfire, so out everyone went and sprinted into the eastern edge of the town.

To your west is a paved road running north and south lined with wooden buildings like the one your in. The east west road is 100 meters north.

You know an Iranian Pasdaran unit is about 100 meters to your west across the street. The BTR radio received an alert from the platoon commander about the enemy. The unit commander had killed several of them and even more friendly units can see the Iranians there. The squad radioman is receving reports about the Iranian unit. You all know they're there.

The mission for the battalion is the close and destroy. Your squad got the job to engage this particular, but these guys hiding from your squad are fanatics. Not especially well trained, but, well fanatic. With the right tactics, cover advance, the squad should be able to close with the Iranians and destroy them, right?

Wrong.

Owing to the game model, the Iranians will kill at least one rifleman and likely a second one as well. You only got seven shooters in your unit, and two casualties are a severe hit. Plus, the rest of the squad is now scared to death and unable to respond and against fanatics. That's bad news.

If your squad is the platoon commander's squad, regardless of how bad morale has plunged, there is always a quick call to the battalion fire support net; hopefully the 122mm D-30s attached to this advance aren't occupied.

Save for the direct fire support which is at least two minutes away, things ain't looking so good. Your squad leader is hoping the Iranians don't try for a counterattack, because you all know you just want to find "a better firing position."

We wonder why that is so. Hearing Fits tell it, it all goes back to training and fitness. The Russian system doesn't have an emphasis on physical training.

Tired and unfit troops are a potential disaster in any military. Russians can't take the stresses of combat due to the lack of training and motivation. It's a shame they can't take a hint from our beloved Jarheads®.

This is not meant to be a tribute to the US Marines, there will be time enough for that, but it is meant to demonstrate our diappiontment the modeling of a Russian naval infantry squard can't close against an even poorer trained enemy to carry our their mission.

If you have something to add, Fire Away!

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