At the moment, Soviet helicopter units are in a period of transition. There are a number of different types of helicopter units in service, some on an experimental basis, as the Soviets try to determine which style is the most effective. Divisional helicopter units, when they exist, tend to have eighteen to twenty helicopters. Usually there are three flights of four helicopters each, equally divided among Mi-24 attack helicopters, Mi-8 transport helicopters, and Mi-2 utility helicopters. In some units, there are eight Mi-8 transport helicopters instead of the usual six. The more common formations are the helicopter regiments under army or front jurisdiction.
Transport helicopter regiments, like the fictional 14th Helicopter Transport Regiment in the scenario, are used to transport airmobile forces. They will typically have two or three squadrons of medium transport helicopters (Mi-8 or Mi-17) and one squadron of heavy (Mi-6 or Mi-26) transport helicopters. These will number about fifty-two helicopters, with as many as a dozen spares.
The picture regarding attack helicopters is somewhat more complicated. There appear to be several different types of attack helicopter regiments, varying in the number of squadrons. The typical attack helicopter regiment, like the fictional 69th Attack Helicopter Regiment in the scenario, has two attack helicopter squadrons and one transport helicopter squadron. Some attack helicopter regiments at front level will have four attack helicopter squadrons, or three attack and one transport squadron. There is also a variety of other specialized helicopter formations.
Air Assault Forces
The Soviets have also been experimenting with a variety of airmobile forces tailored to helicopter operations. The airmobile brigades, first organized in the 1970s, are the first Soviet attempt to directly integrate helicopters and ground forces in one unit. The brigade has an air force helicopter regiment attached to it for airlift operations, and its fighting strength centers around three light infantry battalions. The helicopter regiment is not sufficient to lift the whole brigade at once. It would need either the assistance of another helicopter regiment or two sorties of its own helicopters. These brigades permit the Soviets to train ground forces troops in airmobile operations in peacetime, and are probably used as experimental formations to investigate the future of airmobile operations. In many respects, the airmobile brigades are pioneer formations, like the early mechanized units of the Red Army of the 1930s. They are the experimental basis for future, and probably larger, Soviet heliborne formations.
Another type of unit tailored to heliborne assault is the air assault brigade. Because it has no helicopters of its own, for heliborne operations the air assault brigade would depend on helicopters obtained from front-level aviation units. The air assault brigades are trained for either paratroop or heliborne assault. Depending on the circumstances, they can be airlifted into the landing area using either technique.
The Soviets added these two types of brigades in order to give front and army commanders highly mobile forces for specialized operations. The airborne (paratroop) divisions require so much airlift support that they remain under high command control from Moscow. In contrast, the new brigades are at the disposal of front and army commanders as "keys to unlock the stability of the enemy defense." They would be husbanded for critical missions, like seizing key bridgeheads as described in the scenario. These heliborne brigades give the Soviet front and army commanders the ability to project forces twenty kilometers into the NATO rear to disrupt key defenses.
It remains to be seen whether helicopters will live up to their potential. They remain very vulnerable to ground fire and missiles. They have never been used in a conflict where both sides had substantial helicopter units and equally substantial antihelicopter missiles and guns. As suggested in the fictional scenario, helicopters do have an important role to play on the battlefield, but their accomplishments may come at a considerable cost in men and machines.
CHAPTER 6
Red Artillery: The God of War
"All right, comrades, try to make some room."
The officers of the 155th Artillery Battalion tried to crowd, as best they could, into the back of a Ural-375 maintenance truck. It was cold and raining, and there were no houses in the dispersal area in which to conduct the staff briefing. The battalion commander, Maj. Pyotr Yefimov, and his deputy, Capt. Pavel Gonchar, sat on a workbench at the front of the van. The officers were drenched from the incessant rain; their boots were soggy and their moods were foul.
The major continued his briefing. "We're going across the Danube tomorrow." Fine, most thought. Only five days late. What a relief to get out of the forests. Finally onto flat ground! "We'll be crossing here near the town of Ainbrach. The engineers are erecting another pontoon bridge tonight. So much for the pleasant news. The new bridge is going to have to handle a lot of traffic tomorrow morning. You all saw how much equipment is in this area. That means the 2S1s and the 1V12s are going to have to make the crossing in the water." [52]
The officers were not keen on this idea. Their 2S1 armored howitzer vehicles and the 1V12 armored command vehicles were designed to be amphibious. But it would take an hour or so to get them ready for swimming, and any swimming operation with armored vehicles was risky, especially if the river was fast.
"I don't want to hear any complaints about this. There's plenty of engineer equipment around, so if anybody gets stuck in the riverbank, we will tow you out. All of the battalion's trucks will go over the pontoon bridge. We have priority. The boys on the western edge of the bridgehead need our support."
Although the 155th Artillery Battalion was normally attached to the 55th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, their parent regiment had been pretty badly shot up during the forest fighting. The divisional artillery group assigned them wherever they might be needed. The battalion was in much better shape than the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division's tank and motor rifle troops. Out of the twenty-four 2S1 howitzer vehicles the 155th had started the war with, they had lost only four to mechanical breakdowns or mines. Normally, the battalion had four batteries, but these had been consolidated to three due to the loss of equipment.
"We will be crossing around daybreak, at 0615 tomorrow morning. That means we start moving out of here at about 0530. You'll get all your trucks onto this road leading to Huterhof, and all the tracked vehicles will form up on the southeast edge of the village. The trucks will have a code painted on the front bumpers to help the MPs sort out the traffic.
"Now, on another matter. All tracked vehicles will have a large white triangle painted on the roof. We're going to be up close to the edge of the battle line. The fly-boys have been having problems sorting our tanks and vehicles from those of the enemy. So for your own good, paint the triangle in a prominent position and keep it clear of tarps and the usual junk.
52
The 2S1 is an armored self-propelled howitzer vehicle, armed with a 122mm gun. It uses a tracked suspension and is amphibious. It is also known as the SO-122, or by its project name, Gvozdika (Carnation).
The 1V12 is a family of armored artillery command vehicles, based on the same chassis as the 2S1 artillery vehicle, but armed only with a single machine gun. There are several different versions, designated 1V13 through 1V16. They are better known in NATO as the ACRV M-1974 armored command and reconnaissance vehicle.