The Russian “God of War” artillery was long before Ukraine

• The key to Russian operations against Ukraine was the overwhelming artillery fire.

• For western armies, the value of artillery seemed to diminish against the magic of smart bombs.

• Russian artillery officers see as a means of putting waste for enemy lines and intimidating their defenders.

The Russian cannon was a killer, and one of the survivors was remembered. “Throughout this time, the huge artillery of Redoubts was in the midst of the enemy line, such a frightening chaos in our ranks.”

The date was September 7, 1812, the place Battle of BorodinoWriter Baron Luis Francois Legon, a staff officer in the Napoleon army. But it could be as easily a German soldier in Stalingrad in 1943, or Ukrainian soldier in Battam in 2023.

artillery He is the “God of War”, Joseph Stalin declared the famous decades ago. For several centuries, Russia worshiped the cannon worship and is still doing today. In the Ukraine war, it is an ancient artillery more than the commando forces or Sukhawi fighting that was the key to Russian operations, which allows Russian pedestrians and clumsy tactics 10,000 shells per day. Russia had about 5,000 artillery in Ukraine as of February 2024, according to some estimates.

“The importance of artillery in the Russian war goes beyond its effectiveness in the battlefield,” wrote Jiangiusibi Billy, Brett Evans and Rederne Vin, in article For the Royal United Services, British Research Tank. “Through history until the present time, its publication was directly political, as it was a clear demonstration of Russia’s determination to achieve its goals, regardless of the level of destruction or the concerned civilians concerned.”

Russia not only looks at artillery as a tool for destruction, but also as a weapon to intimidate its enemies. The authors say: “The psychological impact of Russian artillery is not an unintended result, but it is a deliberate feature of its strategy in wrestling war.”

Russia’s use artillery Return to Sixteenth centuryWhen the cannon became a prevail in the European fighting arenas. As in other European armies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, artillery has become more famous than pedestrians and weapons, because it asks the educated officers who can understand mathematics (Napoleon began his career as a young artillery officer).

the Heavy barrage tactics The Ukrainian forces and trenches follow their roots to the First World War. Despite the weak performance of the cesarean armies on the eastern front, the innovative use of the huge artillery that enabled it was Brucelov attack From 1916, one of the few successful attacks in Russia in World War I. The preparatory shelling used new technologies such as a fire -guning planes, short but intense bonding to increase the surprise. The flood of the shells surprised the Austrian defenders and the dawn of holes in the barbed wire, allowing the Russian pedestrians to seize 26,000 soldiers in one day.

“The Russian military experience in the artillery war in the First World War laid the basis for the use of artillery by Russian forces: prominent dependence on Air reconnaissance In favor of indirectly indirect artillery; Effective use of artillery in psychological processes; Rossi said: “And the use of artillery as a tool to strike obstacles to allow quick offensive maneuvers.”

The Russian artillery Zenith was the Second World War, a conflict called the Russians to be called the great national war that has been eliminated by endlessly Documentary films And advertising films from Katyusha Ructas fiery lights up at night. In the final Soviet leadership in Berlin In April 1945, the Red Army mobilized approximately 10,000 hamzers, mortar shells and multiple missile launchers that might have fired more than a million shells on the first day.

Before the war, Russian experts recommended assembling 75 to 100 guns per kilometer to break the enemy’s defenses. “In the last years of World War II, the Soviet intensity of fiery power was on the fronts of penetration between 150 and 200 guns per kilometer, or about 320 rifles per mile, as Rossi pointed out. This contrast,” shows the Red Army’s dependence on its industrial ability to overcome its enemies with devastating spices of artillery fire. “

If Russia invaded Western Europe during the Cold War, artillery would have provided a lot of firepower to the Rhine. But Cannon has proven limited value in the anti -rebellion operations in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

As in the western armies of the twenty -first century, the perceived value of the artillery seemed to decrease against a sparkle Smart bombs And guided missiles. “At the time of Sofurov [an 18th Century Russian general]Russian authors indicated that artillery was one of the most prestigious and prestigious branches of the Russian army-a view that was largely forgotten at the beginning of the full invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, drones and air tournament Slip bombs The backbone of the successful new Russian attack tactics has become. However, when the weather is very bad to fly, the confusion is very heavy until the drones work, the artillery has a moment.

Russia introduced Minjry to the post -Soviet Union artillery in Ukraine. The highly includes the new 319 msta-SM2 152 mm (with a group up to 25 miles), as well as the old M-30 122 mm withdrew the halls from World War II (ranging from 7 miles).

Russia has also deployed a set of multi -truck missile systems (MLRS), including the new Tornado With 12 300 mm missiles (up to 75 miles) and the 220 mm BM-27 miles (up to 45 miles). While multiple missile launchers have been used to bomb unusual but devastating saturation in World War II, modern Russian MLRS can also launch guided projectiles.

Rossi concluded his saying, “Artillery is seen as an intermediate weapon between strategic weapons (such as nuclear missiles) and purely traditional weapons.” “There is no reason to believe that Russia in future wars will not use artillery as a way to exercise political and psychological pressure and express design, internally and externally.”

Michael Beck is a defensive writer whose work appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy Magazine, and other publications. He holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Rutgers. Follow it twitter and LinkedIn.

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