Defeat or the Day of Special Forces - Anempodist Chizhikov - LiveJournal. Special purpose regiment 19th separate special purpose company

You probably don’t know that there was such a thing. But it’s a fact! True, it lasted less than a day.
Because it was the most typical “war by mistake”

In short:

1983
year. The "Kabul" special forces company was sent with the support of two airborne assault forces
to dismantle a village located in the Zaranj region for building materials.
Information has been received that this locality used
"spirits" as a base camp, and at the same time the final point on
routes of large caravans from Iran. At such "points" caravans
ceased to exist as a single whole and disintegrated into many
small caravans, and to catch 6-7 donkeys at the passes "berets" on
yuh it didn’t work out.

As usual, for information support
operations were in charge of the KhAD (Afghan bloody KGB, which, unlike
the Afghan army brought at least some benefit to the Limited
contingent). Its agents should have placed
in the mountains there are triangular panels, the sharp ends of which would point to
village Then the pilots use these landmarks to approach the target, the "air
The cavalry went and...

At this preliminary stage
preparations and some misunderstandings occurred. Either the KhAD members got lost and wandered into
territory of a neighboring state, or did the Iranians have a similar
manner of marking border outposts - most likely, the truth will not be known
no one anymore... The pilots unanimously later swore that the relief they saw
they matched the terrain one to one with those demonstrated by them
pre-operative aerial photographs and mock-up.

In short, valiant soviet special forces launched a surprise attack on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Village
chopped up in a few minutes and without loss - there are clearly no “guests” here
waited. In the process of collecting trophies, the brave "Soviet Rambo" noticed
to the fact that some of the dead “spirits” are dressed in some clearly unfamiliar
they have a uniform, and even with shoulder straps (the latter in conditions of guerrilla warfare
- already obvious nonsense). Taking their eyes off the ground, the fighters were surprised
found in the middle of the village a house not indicated on their plans in
European style with a tricolor flag on the roof - Iranian post
border guard. The interrogation of the prisoners finally clarified the situation -
"What's it like in Leningrad?!?"

They “missed” by 15 kilometers,
and at the same time they also committed an act, you understand, of aggression. To the Kabulskaya asset
company", however, she could write down the fact that, torn apart by all
according to the rules, the village was used by the Mujahideen as a transshipment point
bases on the same caravan route- but for whom does this make it easier? Because
in the morning the home team paid a return friendly visit to
as part of a motorized infantry battalion with the support of two Phantoms.

Fight
in this situation, the special forces, of course, had no desire to
found it useful to perform the maneuver" accelerated departure from the occupied
position", to put it simply - try to get out of place VERY quickly
international incident. Because the special forces arsenal is designed
a lot for something - but not for conducting full-fledged combat operations
against superior enemy forces, who also have aviation.

Necessary
to say that in this operation the “Kabul Company” had practically no
losses. But the most spectacular fucks awaited them at home. Iran demanded
apologies, blood and the convening of an extraordinary UN assembly. Moscow "did
face" and apologized.

But these guys walked around Kabul as heroes. “If it weren’t for the order, they would have reached Tehran,” yeah.

However, this already belongs to the realm of “hunting tales” and “war songs”.

A
in addition to the “Soviet-Iranian war”, the “Kabul company” had
many truly successful and beautiful operations and 8 years “beyond the river”
- more than all the special forces units of the Limited Soviet Contingent
troops in Afghanistan.

Dear colleagues, do you know anything about the differences between the Regiment? special purpose, who has guarded the Kremlin since 1936? IN official history indicated that a uniform was worn internal security. However, a number of photographs show officers in caps with light bands and dark crowns (circa 1940-1941), and in the photo of the issue of shoulder straps in 1943, the code "ORSN" is visible (it is not yet clear to me what it could mean - Separate special forces company ?), later the encryption “PSN” is visible.

Yes, in general, everything is known "about the differences of the special-purpose regiment that has guarded the Kremlin since 1936."

ORSN, as you guessed correctly, this is separate company special purpose, until August 1942 called the military fire brigade. ORSN was not part of the PSN, but was part of the Kremlin garrison. The garrison also included a separate motor transport battalion, whose servicemen wore the OAB code on their shoulder straps, and a military construction battalion, whose servicemen wore the VSB code. In addition, the Kremlin garrison included a separate officer battalion, originally the Separate Battalion of the GUGB NKVD.

All of the above military personnel, except for the GUGB battalion, wore uniforms internal troops, part of which were:

36. The special purpose regiment is equipped with:
a) command and control personnel - through special selection from the border and internal troops of the NKVD
b) ordinary personnel - from regular conscription contingents, subject to the obligatory condition of checking and studying the assigned personnel during the year.
Covering the shortfall in the period between conscriptions is carried out through a special selection from units of the border and internal troops.

37. The term of service in a special-purpose regiment is set at 3 years.

38. When calculating the length of service for retirement of the command and command staff of units of the Kremlin garrison, a year of service in the garrison is taken as 1.5 years.

39. The military fire brigade is equipped with:
a) ordinary personnel - by special selection from among the Red Army and junior command personnel and long-term servicemen of the border and internal troops of the NKVD, who have undergone special training;
b) command and control personnel - by special selection from among the command and control personnel of the border and internal troops of the NKVD who have undergone special training;
c) specialists - by special selection from among those who graduated from the NKVD paramilitary fire brigade school

40. A separate battalion of the Main Directorate of State Security of the NKVD of the USSR is intended to serve in particularly responsible positions.

41. The battalion is equipped with:
a) from among the Red Army soldiers and junior command and control personnel of a special-purpose regiment subject to long-term leave;
b) from among the junior and middle command and command personnel of the border and internal troops of the NKVD.
c) from among the commanding staff of the GUGB.
Recruitment is carried out by special selection on a voluntary basis.

42. All selected Red Army and junior command personnel are previously trained in GUGB schools.
The personnel of the battalion are assigned special ranks of the commanding staff of the GUGB.

43. The battalion’s personnel serve on a common basis with all commanding personnel of the GUGB.

44. The battalion service units are recruited and serve on a common basis with the personnel of the special purpose regiment.

"Hussars" in Bamut.

We flew to Chechnya in the fall and a helicopter picked us up, there were 6 of us, and 6 two-hundredths were unloaded from the helicopter and the pilot, smiling, said, “What do you need to replace these or something?” But we returned alive, it didn’t come true.
.

876 Separate special purpose company, based in the Costa area of ​​Vladikavkaz, at first they took an active part in eliminating the consequences of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. Chermen, Chermensky circle, Tarskoye, Vladikavkaz. Border patrol, mine clearance, protection of important people such as: Lozovoy, Kvashnin, Troshev and Shamanov. Then a business trip to Chechnya, I stayed there for 9 months. Basically, the unit was located in Khankala and, by order, was sent to the mountains by helicopter, then on foot they worked on squares in the mountains, searching for and destroying irreconcilables, either by themselves or by artillery fire or by aviation, liquidating oil refineries, searching for and releasing prisoners, and capturing the Mujahideen. Bamut was a demobilization chord for me.
.

"Hussars" in Bamut.
.

It took us two or three weeks to get to Bamut. Our task was to blockade the village and continue to rescue prisoners during the assault, if any. This was the only time when we acted with the reconnaissance company of the 166th Motorized Rifle Brigade (with the “Mad Company”), we were going to Bamut from the other side of the pass, there was such a moment: we confused them with militants and called artillery on them.

“The battery on my radio died; it only worked for reception. And I heard someone with the call sign “Hussar” contact our artillery and ask to send 3-5 “cucumbers” (min), they say they are observing some bodies. At the same time, our coordinates are called. The God of War was not stingy, sent 5 “cucumbers”, and, what is most surprising, they did not miss this time.”
.

From left: Nikolai “Svyaz” and Yura “Frost” in Bamut.

Near Bamut, we had no skirmishes with militants except for a single shelling, where only one wounded was left. It was like this: We walked from below, and the militants were above, they walked noisily, we heard and lay down under the leaves of the fern (probably) in principle, the bearded men could be seen in the sights, but if they entered into battle, they would have killed many of us because our position was not favorable. We waited... someone apparently noticed something from them and fired a burst through the foliage in our direction. One bullet entered our guy who was with VSS in the arm, into the flesh. He was in front of me, I only saw how he clenched the machine belt with his teeth. There was no more shooting.

Later we tried to contact the “Mad Ones”, but they turned off the radio because... The "cucumbers" flew at us and at them, well, they apparently decided that they were detecting and beating us through the communications. We also turned it off for a while (in fact, the radio operator Nikolai “Svyaz” simply ran out of battery on the radio and it only worked for reception).

I don’t remember the moment of the meeting and its details with the “Mad Company”. We had a delay the day before; the turntable did not arrive on time. And since yesterday evening we have been “light”; the soldiers haven’t eaten anything. And then the guys shared their lunch with us.

"Hussars".

On the armor of the Hussars BMP, on the right are the guys from the Mad Company.

Then we descended from the hills, it was already completely dark. An order was given to spend the night near the stream, if paired patrols appeared, then remove it silently - with knives and silent weapon. At night, when it started to rain, we found ourselves in a stream and lay in the water all night. I think something happened at night, but it was like drinking tea. Somewhere there is noise, you have a line there, then it seems like they answered, well, a couple more people should join you. The next morning, May 25, together with the “Mad Ones” we entered Bamut. I don’t remember the battle as such, there were small skirmishes at unknown people, or rather we shot before entering the house or courtyards, there were underground passages between the houses, grenades were thrown there, and so the whole village was plowed by artillery. The whole day passed like this, then we occupied some house and spent the night there. Then I had a little fight with the officers, we were tired, our boots were all covered in clay, and they started chasing us like spirits, well, we kind of “pulled the bolts” a little. On the second day of our stay in Bamut, we went into the dungeons, missile silos, there was nothing interesting there, garbage was dirt and shit, then they brought in sappers, Shamans seemed to arrive and then they tore up these mines at the entrance, the entrance was blocked and everyone went home. I don’t remember how many years ago it seems that at the “Korova” helicopter in Khankala, the order for demobilization had already been given a long time ago. From Khankala by helicopter back to Vladikavkaz and then home by train.

The Ministry of Defense decided to return special-purpose reconnaissance companies. Scouts will work behind enemy lines and then report the coordinates of targets for missile systems"Iskander" and high precision systems volley fire"Hurricane". Moreover, each army of the RF Armed Forces will have its own company.

Soviet special forces had similar tasks during the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya - reconnaissance officers coordinated artillery and air force fire and brought great benefits to the army.

In those days, separate special purpose companies (OrSpN) operated. But after the end of the First Chechen war and the 1998 crisis, military reform followed - combat units began to be reduced. And individual special forces companies were no exception. Now, 20 years later, Russia has decided to recreate elite combat units.

As Izvestia reports, citing its source at the headquarters of the ground forces, the first companies have already been formed in the combined arms armies of the Southern Military District. In other districts it is still in process. It is also known that the intelligence officers were allocated new armored vehicles "Tiger", "Lynx" and "Typhoon".

Nothing has yet been announced about the organization of the company - this information is kept secret. But it can be assumed that the unit is being formed on the model of a separate GRU special forces company of the early 1990s.

OrSpN numbered 110-120 people personnel and consisted of four reconnaissance platoons. As well as support and special communications platoons. Could be included in the company and educational unit, where they trained scouts or an entire squad of snipers. Special companies could have different purposes.

Now we are talking about the formation of full-fledged deep reconnaissance companies.

According to military expert Vladislav Shurygin, this is happening as part of the transition to high-precision weapons.

“In order to use Hurricanes or Iskanders, you need to have accurate information. And this is mainly at the tactical level. Images from space in this case are ineffective, since targets are constantly moving,” says Vladislav Shurygin. “For example, this can "There must be protected mobile command posts; they need to be identified in time and targeted."

Drones are also not always able to help reconnaissance officers. UAVs have learned to shoot down and disable them using means electronic warfare, but this cannot be done with a person. Reconnaissance companies will report the coordinates of targets not only to Iskanders and Hurricanes, but also to aviation.

Photo: Valery Matytsin/TASS

In Syria, this work has long been carried out by the Russian Special Operations Forces (SSO). Photographs of the fighters of this unit spread all over the world after the liberation of Palmyra. Then the MTR transmitted the coordinates to the VKS command posts And military equipment militants. Including tanks hidden in concrete hangars. Satellites and drones simply will not detect such targets.

“In the 90s of the last century, a grave mistake was made,” recalls Vladislav Shurygin. “The GRU, in order to preserve its personnel, liquidated individual special-purpose companies. And these were well-coordinated teams of professionals.”

Indeed, by the end of 1998 there were only two companies left for life important areas: 75th, subordinate to the Kaliningrad defensive region, and 584th, part of the 205th motorized rifle brigade in Budennovsk, which actively participated in both Chechen campaigns.

But now, almost 20 years later, special forces companies are returning to the Russian armed forces. Moreover, their range of tasks became much wider, taking into account the fact that during this time rocket troops and the artillery went forward by leaps and bounds. The same Iskanders are capable of hitting a range of 500 km, effectively replacing an entire group of bombers - this means that reconnaissance aircraft will have to go deep behind enemy lines to aim at targets. Or the modern Uragan-1M, from which you can fire 300-mm projectiles from the Smerch systems. When attacking with a weapon of such destructive power, it is necessary to have the most accurate coordinates. Therefore, intelligence officers have a great responsibility.

In just a few years, parts and Special Forces units experienced an amazing round of development: from serious reductions and reassignment to the formation of new brigades and even battalions, re-equipping the latest designs weapons and military equipment, communications, reconnaissance and surveillance devices. But, even despite the successful actions " polite people“In Crimea, Russian special forces have a lot of serious problems.

Everything that has been happening in special forces units since 2009 has received the quite apt name “chaotic throwing” or, even more simply, “chaos” from the special forces themselves. As they joke in units and divisions of the Special Forces: “ At first they withered, but now we are trying to bloom in a new way. But everything is somehow unsuccessful».

Wild brigades

From the very beginning announced by the ex-Minister of Defense and former boss The General Staff transition to a new look, special forces brigades underwent sudden reductions and reorganization. Moreover, units and units of the Special Forces, by a strong-willed decision of the leadership of the military department, were reassigned to the intelligence department Ground Forces, leaving the structure of the GRU General Staff. But the department responsible for special forces remained in the GRU.

In 2009, the 12th (city of Asbest) and 67th (Berdsk) special purpose brigades were disbanded, and the 24th Special Forces Brigade managed to change several locations in just a year and a half, moving first from near Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk, and then to Berdsk, losing with each movement military personnel who did not want to continue serving in the new garrisons.

According to some reports, it was planned to disband the youngest brigade - the 10th Special Operations Brigade from Krasnodar Molkino, created in 2003 to solve special problems in the North Caucasus. However, the situation in the region forced us to abandon these plans. But nevertheless, one of the brigade’s detachments was transferred to the newly formed experimental 100th reconnaissance brigade.

In other special forces units and units, the positions of officers and warrant officers were cut, and the number of conscripted military personnel, replacing contract soldiers, increased significantly. At one time, unit commanders had a special schedule for the dismissal of contract soldiers, the implementation of which was asked at each meeting.

According to the initial plan, approved by the former National General Staff, for a group of 12 people, two or three contract servicemen were enough - a deputy group commander, a sniper and a signalman. As the special forces soldiers themselves say, first they broke everything down, and then they started building new system, without fully understanding what they want in the end.

In 2009, so-called national special-purpose battalions appeared in several combined arms brigades. In particular, in the 19th Motorized Rifle Brigade such a battalion is staffed by servicemen of Ingush nationality, and in the 18th and 8th brigades - mainly by Chechens.

The Olympics in Sochi brought even greater chaos to the reform of special forces units. To ensure this, the Ministry of Defense began the formation of a special purpose brigade - the 346th Special Forces Brigade and separate regiment– 25th Special Special Forces. According to some reports, the main task of these military units was to protect the Sochi area from possible terrorist raids from the Greater Caucasus Range.

It is noteworthy that until 2012, before the appointment of Sergei Shoigu as Minister of Defense, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had only one special-purpose regiment - the 45th Special Forces Airborne Forces, although formally (despite the name) it was not part of the structure of the GRU special forces units. And the 25th regiment, stationed in Stavropol, became a unique military unit. According to some reports, his companies were assigned areas of responsibility in the mountains even at the formation stage. The regiment coped with the task of protecting the Olympics “excellently,” however, like other involved units and units of the Special Forces.

Since 2013, the special forces, having returned under the wing of the GRU, began, as the servicemen themselves joke, to “multiply rapidly.” In just two years, national Special Forces battalions appeared as part of the 4th and 7th military bases. It is noteworthy that these units are staffed mainly by residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, only those who have passports of Russian citizens.

Special purpose companies appeared in the reconnaissance battalions of several brigades, in particular the 34th motorized rifle (mountain) brigade. After an unsuccessful experiment, the Special Forces detachment from the 100th reconnaissance brigade returned to the 10th Special Operations Brigade, and in its place was formed reconnaissance battalion with two companies of Special Forces. Until recently, the 33rd reconnaissance brigade (mountain) also existed under the same staff. True, this military unit in Once again reorganized, but into a regular motorized rifle brigade.

It should be noted that within each combined arms, air assault brigade(regiment) has a company of snipers, which is also formally a special forces unit. At the same time, in the North Caucasus 8, 18, 19th motorized rifle brigades, in addition to sniper companies and special forces battalions, there are also groups of snipers - as they say in the North Caucasus Military District, motorized rifle special forces brigades.

Despite the return of units and units of the Special Forces to the structure of the Main intelligence agency, a paradoxical situation arose with their subordination. For example, Special Forces brigades are subordinate to the GRU, and various battalions and companies are simultaneously subordinate to brigade commanders, army and district intelligence chiefs, and in some cases, to the chief of staff and personally to the district commander. At the same time, the GRU is responsible for their training, as well as, under certain conditions, for combat use.

Whatever the warrior is, it's Rambo

In fact, in two years, a kind of special forces took place in the Russian Armed Forces, when special forces units appeared even in motorized rifle and tank brigades. It is clear that the need not only for trained intelligence officers, but also for signalmen, special miners, etc. has increased many times over. We must not forget about the snipers, who must finish special courses, which until recently were held only in the Moscow region.

One of the attempts to solve the problem of training specialists was to expand the capabilities of specialized training centers for reconnaissance military personnel and special forces soldiers in each district. For example, in the North Caucasus District the Daryal center specializes in mountain training, and a similar military unit in the Central Military District - on actions in winter conditions, particularly in wooded and hilly areas.

But as special forces officers admit, the main problem– a small proportion of contract military personnel, especially in newly formed sniper companies, as well as companies and battalions of special forces. Often there are two or three contract soldiers for several dozen conscripts. The personnel situation in the Special Forces brigades is not much better, although the commanders there, from the beginning of the creation of the new look, made every effort to preserve the core of the existing military teams.

It is worth noting: despite the widespread belief that all Special Forces brigades before the new look were contract ones, the percentage of conscripts in Special Forces units was quite large. Only the North Caucasian 10th and 22nd Specialized Brigades could boast a high proportion of professionals. Although in August 2008, urgently transferred to South Ossetia The 108th Special Forces detachment of the 22nd Brigade had to be reinforced with combined reconnaissance groups of contract servicemen from other units of this Special Forces.

Until recently, out of four companies and individual platoons in special forces units of brigades, only one company was fully contracted, not counting individual military personnel, in particular armored personnel carrier drivers, signalmen, miners, etc. All other units consisted of conscripts. It is clear that they tried not to involve conscripts to carry out combat missions, so for the brigade’s task it was difficult to deploy one special forces detachment from three special forces companies, a special weapons company and individual platoons.

True, by now a decision has been made “not to spread a thin layer” of contract servicemen throughout the entire brigade (battalion), but to form a so-called contract detachment or company.

One of the most pressing problems is the training of special forces snipers. Even sniper companies of combined arms brigades are currently equipped with several Austrian Steyr-Manlicher SSG-04 rifles. They prepare for several months at courses in the Moscow region, where they not only master Steyr, but also undergo special tactical training, topography, camouflage, etc.

So far, only officers and contract military personnel are sent to the courses, since the conscript will most likely be transferred to the reserve after completing the courses. The classes are quite complex and require candidates not only to have physical endurance, but also high level intelligence. Alas, it is not always possible to select such a contingent. Often, military personnel return to their units after being discharged. It is noteworthy that the snipers of one of the motorized rifle brigades received certificates of completion of the courses, but based on the results of the training, they were not entrusted with complex and expensive Austrian rifles.

Soldiers of unconventional warfare

Not only the structure and composition of the units and units of the Special Forces, but also the tasks have undergone changes. Despite the fact that the documents regulating the combat use of special forces remain classified as “Secret” and even “Top Secret,” one can learn from open sources that one of the main tasks of special forces units is conducting so-called special reconnaissance. It's about not only about observation, but also about conducting ambushes, raids and searches deep behind enemy lines. Currently, these tasks have also been supplemented by work in zones of local conflicts.

If we look at the American charter FM 3-18 Special Forces Operations, adopted in May 2014, we will find that the so-called special reconnaissance is not included in the “short list” of the American “Green Berets”, whose main task, as indicated in Chapter 3 field regulations, conducting unconventional warfare, literally - unconventional warfare. The second most important task is considered to be the training of foreign specialists, and the third is counter-insurgency operations.

The experience of counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus has proven that it is time for special forces units to move from special reconnaissance to work in a much wider range. According to some information, the new combat manual of special forces units contains new sections regulating assigned tasks.

However, such an expansion of functions does not always find understanding not only among the special forces themselves, but also, more importantly, among the military command and control bodies responsible for planning combat use units and units of the Special Forces, which traditionally believe that their main task is conducting reconnaissance, as well as protecting headquarters, mobile command posts and command personnel.

Although the annexation of Crimea to Russia last year once again proved that special forces are not only reconnaissance behind enemy lines, but also a tool for solving complex military-political problems. The special forces were not deployed for the purpose of reconnaissance, but blocked military units, acted against hostile elements, organized local self-defense forces - in fact, they conducted the very unconventional warfare prescribed in American regulations. But, despite those declared in the new Russian documents missions, the combat training program in most units and divisions of the Special Forces is still focused mainly on reconnaissance.

It is worth noting that in the US Army the Green Berets are organized into special forces groups assigned to certain regions globe. In particular, the 1st group of special forces forces, based in Fort Lewis, operates in the Pacific region, the 10th is focused on Europe, the Balkans, etc.

Depending on the military specialty, the training of an American special forces soldier takes from one year (engineer, heavy weapons specialist) to two years (medic). The structure of not only groups, but also the entire Special Operations Command is optimized for unconventional warfare.

The question is whether such special forces are advisable in Russian army? What unconventional fighting Can it be conducted by a special-purpose company as part of a reconnaissance battalion, which actually performs the task of previously existing reconnaissance and landing companies, or by a sniper company of a combined arms or even an air assault brigade, moreover, staffed primarily by conscripts?

It must be admitted that the overwhelming majority of newly formed units of the Special Forces are not special forces, but rather some kind of military intelligence agency with increased capabilities. But the success of the “polite people” in Crimea led the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to a paradoxical conclusion: instead of structuring the chaotic mass of various companies, battalions, regiments and special forces brigades and clearly distributing tasks and areas of responsibility between them, special forces continues.

True, judging by latest decisions military department, in particular the reorganization of the 45th reconnaissance regiment Airborne Forces into a separate reconnaissance brigade, as well as changes to the organizational and staffing structures of units and subunits of the Special Forces, most likely, quantity is still beginning to turn into quality.

Return status

In less than six years of reductions and reorganization, units and units of the Special Forces have grown, even becoming part of combined arms brigades. True, the special forces have so far created a large number of difficulties: no established structure, no trained specialists.

« There is never too much special forces. This is a custom tool for difficult work “- this phrase can summarize the opinion of many military personnel regarding what is happening now in special forces units.

And yet, it cannot be denied that over the course of several years, the Russian Armed Forces, despite all the difficulties, have developed well-trained special forces units capable of solving even such complex tasks as unconventional combat operations, as the events in Crimea proved. The conclusion suggests itself: special forces must be elite. And by definition there cannot be too much of it. So let military intelligence remain intelligence, without any “specials”. This will not diminish her authority.