The number of individual structural units of the army is a variable value. The number of people serving in a particular battalion or division depends on the effectiveness of the draft campaign and on the type of troops. Let's figure out how many people each of the army units contains.

The personnel of the division and its units: average values

Thanks to a large number military-patriotic films, practically everyone knows that the largest structural unit in Russian army- division. However, there is a much larger unit - the body. It is headed by a lieutenant general, and from two to four divisions can be assembled as part of this unit. The average number of people in the corps is from 30 to 50 thousand.

According to the charter, a division may be headed by a person whose rank is not lower than Major General. Under his command there are from 12 to 24 thousand people. Each division includes:

• from two to four brigades;
• from four regiments;
• from eight battalions.

How many people serve in these units of the army? The exact figure can only be said if you find out about a specific division. The fact is that the number is not a constant value. In one year, a division may consist of only eight battalions, and in others it may reach twelve.

Usually the brigade consists of three to five thousand people. It contains two or three regiments, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel. By the way, the colonel has the right to command a brigade, but most often a major general is placed at the head of this unit.

Up to three battalions can be assembled in one regiment. This structural unit is often called a division, which causes confusion among civilians. How many people can fit in a regiment? The answer to this question depends on the type of troops and the features of the hierarchy in them.

What is a battalion

For several years now, the most significant units of the army have been named, depending on the number of employees in them. IN modern Russia most often one unit includes a regiment, while in the Soviet one this association was larger and consisted of a brigade.

It is easy enough to get confused in the military hierarchy, since names can have different meanings depending on the type of troops or country. Let's say the word "squadron" is used in the navy to denote the association of several ships, while in aviation this name is given to a unit. In the US Army, the concept of "squadron" is used to refer to a battalion of cavalry, and in England it hides a company in tank troops.

The concept of "battalion" came from a literal decoding - a quarter of the battle (the so-called special type of infantry formation used to reduce damage during artillery shelling). How many people were in that formation? The battle included a thousand people who lined up in a large square, internally divided into four smaller ones. In the Middle Ages, there were exactly 250 people in the battalion. With the advent of small arms, this type of army building has ceased to be relevant, but the name has taken root around the world.

In Russia, a battalion is a structural unit that can:

• be part of the regiment;
• be a temporary assembly of military personnel;
• be isolated military unit as part of an association, corps, navy or army.

If the regiment has several battalions of the same type, then they are given serial numbers. The name of this structural unit may contain the word "consolidated", which means the collection of military personnel from different units and units in it. How many people will serve in this association depends on the tactical task assigned to it.

What are the battalions

It is impossible to answer exactly how many people should serve in a particular unit of the army because of the different numbers of units and types of troops. Almost 85% of Russia's military units are staffed with a reduced staff, and the rest are primarily replenished with conscripts and officers, since they are in constant combat readiness.

Interestingly, the number of soldiers in a battalion may vary, depending on the equipment that it uses. A motorized rifle unit armed with the BTR-80 usually includes 530 people, but if they use the BMP-2, then the personnel becomes smaller and amounts to only 498 military personnel.

As for the landing troops, the number here depends on the characteristics of the unit's professional training:

• the parachute battalion includes from 360 to 400 people;
• air assault consists of 450-530;
• separate units of the marines and air assault units are distinguished by the highest number - from 650 to 700 military personnel.

Tank battalions are distinguished by low numbers, if they are armed with T-72, then they will consist of 174 persons. Some types of army troops are formed out of necessity and do not have a clear staffing table. These include:

• chemical troops;
• repair units;
• commandant's office;
• building structures;
• airfield maintenance battalions.

At the same time, tank troops, in addition to military personnel, include 31 pieces of equipment, but if they are attached to motorized rifle troops, then the number of vehicles increases to forty vehicles.

The smallest divisions

In modern Russia, work is underway to transfer the structure of the army to a trinity. This is very clearly seen in the infantry. There, the battalion consists of three companies and several small structural units, for example, a communications platoon. In connection with the change in the hierarchy, personnel changes and reduction of officers are taking place in the army. It is precisely with this that fluctuations in the number of battalions and other units of the army are connected.

Companies appeared back in the time of Peter I. Then it became the main tactical infantry unit. The number of military personnel in a company has changed over time, as troops are constantly evolving. At the end of the imperial period, some companies were called machine gun crews, they consisted of 99 people. At this time, the number of soldiers was fixed.

How many companies and small units can be included in a battalion? It is permissible for this unit to include up to six companies, headed by a senior lieutenant or captain. One company can include up to eight platoons, which in turn are divided into squads and units.

Weakness and failure of the brigade structure

Today, it is already quite obvious that the initiated organizational reform had no other content than a large-scale reduction in the officer corps and the maximum “compression” of the existing structure of the Armed Forces to a size that allows it to function more or less effectively within the allocated budget.

. Why in the Ground Forces, the divisions that existed before 2008 were reorganized into brigades, reducing all control as much as possible and dismantling the existing regiments to battalions and divisions, while at the same time reducing to complete zero the entire mobilization structure.

At the same time, the "reformers" did not even try to somehow experimentally work out their proposals. First, all the Armed Forces were thrown under the rink of total reform, which took tens of billions of dollars, and then, when the old army was dismantled, new brigades were formed, the "reformers" finally set about studying the combat capabilities of what they had.
. And here they were waiting very much unpleasant discoveries. It turned out that the “optimized” brigades in terms of their combat effectiveness did not even reach the regiments of the old state. Covered with all sorts of weapons, advertised as "newest" and "unique", in the course of all past exercises, they sadly consistently show their unacceptably low combat capability. Not once in the course of past exercises did the higher headquarters and numerous advisers and inspectors manage to achieve coordinated, confident, energetic actions of a new-type motorized rifle brigade.

. If at the first stage extensions and deployments even if somehow it turns out to manage it, then as the tactical situation becomes more complicated and inputs arrive, the control of the brigade as a single combat mechanism is lost by the brigade command and a chaotic impulsive movement of troops begins.

As one of the generals of the headquarters of the Ground Forces sadly joked: actions at the exercises of new brigades are very good for studying the unsuccessful actions of Soviet mechanized corps in the academies in the first days of the war. A lot of chaotic movements, constant delay, loss of control and, as a result, the conduct of hostilities by hastily put together consolidated battle groups.

There are many reasons for this.

. Firstly, in brigades, in comparison with regiments, the number of officers has sharply decreased. If in a regiment for 2,000 soldiers there were 250 officers and 150 ensigns, then in a new brigade for 4,000 soldiers there were 327 officers.
. The number of officers decreased and, accordingly, management became weaker. Officers just don't get the job done. Especially at the brigade headquarters level. The combat command of the brigade is simply not capable of managing such a bloated structure. In addition, mass layoffs of officers with combat experience and length of service have led to a sharp decline in the already not very high level of training of today's officers.

As confirmation, we can cite the words from an interview with the commander of the 693rd motorized rifle regiment Andrei Kazachenko, who in August 2008 was the first to enter South Ossetia:

“Reforms had to be carried out. I completely agree here. Another question is how to carry them out? For example, I will speak from my point of view, from the side of the commander. What difference does it make who you command - a regiment or a brigade. On the contrary, a regiment is not as cumbersome an organization as a brigade is. Here in my regiment there were 48 officers and ensigns of the regiment's management. This is for 2200 people. And now there are 33 people in the brigade, where there are 3500-4000 people. What optimization are we talking about? Have we changed officers, or have they become gold with us? Or did they all immediately become professionals? As it was, so it remains .... "

. Secondly, the brigades turned out to be “blind” - the reconnaissance units that are part of the brigade do not provide full-fledged reconnaissance in its zone of operations. Their forces and technical means are categorically insufficient. Battalion reconnaissance platoons are not capable of providing full-fledged reconnaissance in the battalion's zone of operations, and the brigade's scant "reconnaissance battalion" is not able not only to provide them with effective assistance, but simply to conduct reconnaissance to the depth necessary in the interests of the brigade.

And even the information received cannot be processed in a timely manner and brought to the brigade command, since the brigade management does not provide for any reconnaissance and information structure: neither a department, nor even a department that could analyze the incoming information, check it, systematize and bring it to the commander .
. All intelligence in the combat command of the brigade is represented only by the head of intelligence, an instructor-foreman and a civilian translator. All!

All this does not allow the command of the brigade, even during exercises, to receive sufficient information to correctly assess the enemy, as a result, it does not allow him to correctly assess him and, accordingly, develop the right decision for battle.
. And this is when conducting hostilities against potential adversary, technologically equal to the level of our army. What can we say about the conduct of combat against similar units of technologically advanced armies? The possibilities of their reconnaissance, target designation and combat use surpass the meager capabilities of the “brigades of a new look” by an order of magnitude!

To understand the weakness and inconsistency of the resulting structure, you just need to put a similar US or NATO brigade side by side, which, in fact, should be “balanced” by our brigades, and compare their capabilities. But not by the number of barrels or heads, which for a long time no longer reflects the real combat capability modern troops, A by combat capabilities:
- depth and density of exploration,
— information support,
- speed and accuracy of target designation,
- reaction time,
- communications and combat control.

In addition to problems with the combat capability of the new brigades, the another no less acute group of problems — "weight" of logistics. Having copied the brigade principle from the US Army, the “reformers” for some reason forgot to copy the American logistics system as well. Namely, it makes the “brigade” organization in the US Army work. According to her logistic support brigades are carried out by the divisions in which these brigades are organizationally included. The brigades themselves are structures that are focused only on the conduct of hostilities.

In our country, with the liquidation of divisions, all the rears were hung on the same brigades. As a result, as the chairman of the board of military experts, Major General Vladimirov, aptly described the resulting monster, instead of combat brigades, we got "ugly swollen regiments". Which completely lost the mobility and unitarity of the regiments, but did not reach the power of the division.

One of the arguments in favor of the transition from divisional to brigade structure was the experience of advanced countries. However, here too the reformers got it wrong. In the US armed forces, as there were divisions (mechanized, armored, infantry, etc.), they remained. The divisional structure also forms the backbone of the ground forces of the People's Liberation Army of China.

If we recall that war presupposes an armed clash with the enemy, then the combat potentials of the opposing military formations must be mutually comparable. In other words, the brigade is at war with the brigade of the opposing side, and not with its division or army. But this just doesn't work. For some reason, the normative zone of defense (offensive) of our "compact" land brigade turned out to be equal to the zone of application of the "non-compact" mechanized division - 20 km along the front.

In the event of a military conflict with an enemy whose armed forces structure coincides with the American one, converge in this band:
from the Russian side:
- two motorized rifle battalions

- two tank battalions

Tank battalion of the mechanized brigade of Russia

(perspective structure)

Two artillery battalions
- one reactive battery

from the side of the enemy:
- two heavy brigades
- two brigade groups
- one brigade army aviation
- one artillery brigade.

TOTAL:
- against 170 enemy tanks, we will put up 84 tanks;
- against 394 of his infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers - 263 of his own;
- 16 thousand soldiers and officers of a mechanized division will meet on the battlefield with 4.5 thousand soldiers and officers of a motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Ground Forces.

And to add to the above, we will not put up anything against 118 army aviation helicopters, regularly located in the division of the American army (including 24 attack helicopters), due to their categorical absence in the state of the brigade of a new look. Let's add to this the little things:
- threefold superiority of the alleged enemy in artillery pieces and mortars;
- sixfold superiority in jet systems salvo fire and etc.

/ V. Shurygin "GREAT REFORM OR BIG LIE?", zavtra.ru /

Rearmament, which will not be

Night launch of missiles by anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 "Triumph".

What actually will not allow to modernize the Russian army on time

Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, doubts that the Russian army's rearmament program will be completed on time. And the main obstacle here is not corruption, but the substitution of military science for propaganda.

The number of state weapons programs adopted in post-Soviet Russia is now even difficult to establish. At the same time, without exception, all programs, both in the "dashing 90s" and in the "blessed 2000s", suffered the same fate. Not only were they not fulfilled, but they were all abandoned in the middle of the term - precisely because of the obvious failure. And in return, new programs were adopted with new deadlines and ideas. After that, everything repeated. In particular, this happened with the 2007-2015 program. More recently, all state media widely advertised it as " new stage in the development of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, ”and now no one remembers her. According to the established tradition, this unfulfilled program "hit the ground" and turned into another new state armaments program (SAP) for 2011-2020.

20 trillion rubles - a minimum for the rearmament of the army

On new program it is planned to allocate approximately 20 trillion rubles. As expected, the liberal public raised a loud cry about "exorbitant military spending" and "militarization of the country" on this occasion. This cry, to put it mildly, is not the case.

But the fact is that the armed forces have practically exhausted the Soviet resource, and they need a total rearmament. So total that in fact these 20 trillion will obviously not be enough. This is the minimum minimum, and not "exorbitant costs." Without total rearmament, we simply will not have an army. The international situation, as it is easy to see, does not stimulate disarmament in any way.

In this regard, it should be noted that the "compact professional army" is another liberal myth, to say the least - amateurish nonsense. This is irrefutably evidenced by the experience of European armies. Their long-term permanent reductions are beautifully called optimization, but in reality it is just a loss of combat capability. In particular, the production of equipment and weapons in microscopic batches is completely pointless. Firstly, it is extremely unprofitable economically: the smaller the series, the more expensive each sample. Secondly, it is extremely irrational from a military point of view. If there is very little equipment, then it is almost impossible to use it in battle, both because of the lack of quantity itself and because of the inadmissibility of losses: it will simply run out. Moreover, now the Europeans began to lack not only equipment, but also ammunition, which also became very complex and expensive, so very few of them are purchased. As a result, as the experience of recent years shows, almost all European armies are losing the opportunity to fight not only independently, but even collectively.

Europe is saved by the fact that there is no one to attack her, and intervention is a voluntary thing. The ironclad NATO discipline exists only in the imagination of Kremlin propagandists. Russia has a fundamentally different geopolitical position, it needs a large army with a lot of equipment. It is obvious that humanity is very quickly sliding into the chaos of the "new Middle Ages", which will certainly be accompanied by many wars between the old and new "centers of power" for a complete redistribution of the world. It is strange to assume that this process will bypass the country with the largest territory in the world and a huge amount of natural resources with not the largest population. Therefore, either complete amateurs or people fulfilling someone's order can talk about a "compact professional army".

Industry is not ready

GPV-2020 faces a host of serious challenges. The first of them is the state of the military-industrial complex, which should produce these same weapons. During the post-Soviet period, he lost many critical technologies, and never had any at all. In addition, production capacities and personnel have been catastrophically lost. During the post-Soviet period, many enterprises of the military-industrial complex ceased to exist, and the surviving ones, as a rule, had a very worn-out machine park. There is nothing to say about the loss of personnel. As a result, a situation is now beginning to emerge where the industry, even with normal financing, is physically unable to fulfill domestic orders and, moreover, export orders. First, she often fails to master production for real. modern technology, because of which it is necessary to return to modernized Soviet models (Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, Mi-35 helicopters, frigates, project 11356, submarines, project 636). Yes, and as if the new equipment often turns out, on closer examination, again, slightly improved Soviet (for example, the S-400 today, in fact, is a kind of S-300PM +, since the “long-range” 40N6 missiles for it have not adopted).

Secondly, there is not enough production capacity to produce equipment in adequate quantities. Now plants are being built in an emergency order in Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov for the production of components for S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. True, it is not very clear where the personnel for these factories will come from. Such problems are experienced by all branches of the military-industrial complex without exception. Consequently, building and equipping new enterprises and training for them can take a lot of time and money. Financing for the construction and modernization of factories may require no less than the rearmament program itself.

On the other hand, military-industrial complex enterprises raise exorbitant prices for their products, and the pricing scheme is not always clear. Because of such prices, the Ministry of Defense acquires such a small amount of equipment that it would be better not to buy it at all. Moreover, the increase in price is by no means accompanied by an increase in quality, more often it is the other way around. And, of course, a powerful corruption factor is superimposed on all this, both on the part of the Armed Forces and on the part of the military-industrial complex.

However, defense enterprises are far from to blame for everything. Often the customer, represented by the Ministry of Defense, is simply not able to clearly formulate the tactical and technical specifications for the weapons and equipment he needs. In general, over the two post-Soviet decades, the military-political leadership of the country has not decided on external threats in a different time perspective. And without this, the military construction of the army in general and rearmament in particular become in fact impossible. Because of this, various "miracles" such as "Mistrals" arise: it is still unclear what their purchase is - outright madness or banal corruption. The extremely expensive program of the fifth generation fighter T-50 (or PAKFA) is being made from the only consideration - "to be like people", that is, like the United States. At the same time, the American experience so far suggests that the entire concept of fifth-generation fighters may turn out to be a dead end branch of the development of combat aviation.

The reform was carried out without any scientific study

Also, following the US, Russia really wants to create a network-centric army, which in itself is reasonable. But since the essence of this concept is not fully understood by the state, the automated control systems currently being created for different types of armed forces and combat arms turn out to be incompatible with each other, respectively, the money spent on their creation is simply thrown away. Due to a lack of understanding of what exactly the Armed Forces need, a completely paradoxical situation is emerging: the money has already been allocated, but what equipment and in what quantity they will buy has not yet been decided. Naturally, a fierce struggle is unfolding for this money using various lobbying and corruption schemes; as a rule, no one here remembers the interests of the army.

Such a sad state of affairs is largely due to the state of Russian military science, which today, with rare exceptions, is not only unable to create new concepts, but has practically lost the ability to even analyze foreign ones. Moreover, even the descriptive function of military science is almost no longer fulfilled, with the exception of certain questions of a technical nature. In fact, most of the work in the field of military science in Russia is not related to science at all, but is low-level propaganda.

Accordingly, there is simply no scientific basis for military construction. A good example in this case is the military reform of ex-Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov. As a result of this reform, the armed forces underwent tremendous changes (mostly negative, although there were positive aspects), but neither its authors, nor its real goals, nor the criteria by which the transformations were carried out are still known. In fact, the then Chief of the General Staff, Makarov, frankly admitted that the reform was carried out without any scientific study.

To all appearances, the Russian economy is facing significant problems today, which may affect the implementation of the GPV-2020 in the direction of reduction. But for now the main problem not in money, but in the state of industry and science. The import of weapons will definitely not save Russia, simply because no one will sell it truly modern weapons. Industry and technology can still be bought to a certain extent, although it is very expensive, it is already much more difficult to raise personnel for it. But the hardest part is science. Today it is in it our bottleneck. You can't buy fundamental science. Moreover, without such science, even stealing or buying foreign technologies would be pointless, they still cannot be mastered. You can donate a nuclear weapon to Paraguay or Mauritania, but this will not make them nuclear powers, because they will not be able to reproduce it. In the 40s, the USSR, in fact, "borrowed" nuclear weapons from the United States, but this only happened because Soviet science instantly "mastered" this technology.

In this regard, the situation has drastically worsened compared to the Soviet period. The point is not only and not so much in the destruction of schools and the loss of developments, but in the anti-scientific social atmosphere. The current forced clericalization of society is exceptionally dangerous, primarily because it destroys the scientific worldview; Against the backdrop of a rapid decline in the level of secondary and higher education, agitprop does not in any way contribute to the emergence and, moreover, the retention of scientific personnel. Therefore, it will be extremely difficult for us to fulfill SAP-2020. Most likely, in a couple of years it will magically transform into some kind of SAP-2025.

The three-tiered structure of the Russian Armed Forces

Now consider the question what changes took place in the Russian army during the two years of the Serdyukov reform?
. For some reason, the main visible manifestation of this military reform was not social transformations, not measures to improve the situation in the troops, but the organizational “shrinking” of the Armed Forces to a three-stage structure: battalion - brigade - operational command, in which the brigade became the main operational-tactical unit. Such traditional levels as regiments, divisions, corps and armies were completely eliminated.

To date Ground forces consolidated into 85 brigades:
- 39 combined arms brigades,
- 21 brigade of rocket troops and artillery,
- 7 army air defense brigades,
- 12 communication brigades,
- 2 electronic warfare brigades,
- 4 air assault brigades.

To manage them in each district, from one to three operational commands have been formed.
This breakdown was presented to the Russian public as an “optimization” of a chaotic military structure, the legacy of Russia since the Soviet era. As confirmation, the figure of 1890 military units listed as part of the Armed Forces in 2008 was cited. After the "optimization" there should have been 172 of them. At the same time, it was emphasized that all of them would be 100 percent equipped with people and weapons and fully combat-ready. That brigades will become universal combat units from Kamchatka to Pskov.

But the plans in life, beautiful on staff papers, turned out to be very far from their real implementation. Least one third of the brigades as a result, it turned out to be formed according to some “light” states. According to one of them, the number of motorized rifle brigades - the main operational-tactical unit of the ground forces - is 3,500 people. But there are "brigades" totaling 2,200 people, although it was originally stated that all brigades would have a strength of 4,600 people.

Further more. The presence or absence of weapons and geographical features forced the "reformers" to change the already existing states in relation to a particular region and basic kit weapons. As a result, today there are already at least SIX approved brigade states. But in reality, taking into account the various "amendments" to the states, in today's Armed Forces you cannot even find two identical brigades.
. That is there is no talk of any "unification", which the "reformers" were so striving for and how they argued for the rejection of the divisional structure. The resulting brigades are extremely heterogeneous in terms of numbers, organization and weapons. At the same time, no one remembers the promised equipping of them with new weapons. "New" now means just workable. We achieved this in the simplest way - all serviceable kits were removed from the storage bases and reserve warehouses and sent to staff these brigades.

On the one hand, of course, it’s wonderful that now the “new look” brigades have only serviceable and serviceable weapons and equipment, but on the other hand, what will happen to this equipment after its resource ends and it suffers the fate of those kits that were in service before? If the Ministry of Defense does not have money to restore the equipment that was in the regiments and divisions of the "old look", then where will they come from to repair the new one?
. And would it not be more reasonable in this case to repair that “old” one? After all, the current “rearmament” is not a transition to qualitatively new weapons and equipment, but only the “eating up” of the mobilization reserve, without which Russia simply cannot win a single more or less large-scale war.

As an example, take Far Eastern theater of operations(TVD).

In 1986-1997 the number of divisions in the Far Eastern theater of operations decreased from 57 to 23, tanks from 14,900 to 10,068, surface-to-surface missiles from 363 to 102, combat helicopters from 1,000 to 310, combat aircraft from 1,125 to 500. Process cuts continued after 1997, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
. As a result, before the start of the Serdyukov reform, 23 divisions were located here, but more than half of these formations were "framed" - that is, reduced in strength, and the total grouping of the Ground Forces consisted of about 100 thousand soldiers and officers.

In the Shenyang and Beijing military districts of the PLA that oppose us, directly bordering Russia in the Far East and Transbaikalia, 22 divisions are concentrated (4 tank, 6 mechanized, 6 motorized infantry, 3 airborne, 3 artillery) and 38 brigades (6 tank, 12 motorized infantry, 1 infantry, 7 artillery, 1 anti-tank, 11 air defense). In reserve - 7 infantry divisions and 3 air defense divisions, total over 500,000 soldiers and officers, 3,000 tanks and over 1,000 aircraft and helicopters.

Chinese helicopter pilots

For the transfer of reinforcements from the west, here we have one and only communication - Transsib. Its length (from the Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow to the railway station in Vladivostok) is 9288 km. Wherein more than 1500 kilometers of this railway they go in close proximity to the Soviet-Chinese border, sometimes approaching it at a distance of direct visibility. Therefore, in Soviet times, the high military command never counted on it as a way to bring up reserves in the event of an aggravation of the situation in this region.

The bet was made on something else - in case of war, the Far Eastern group included in its warehouses and storage bases equipment, weapons, ammunition and ammunition for almost a million military group. Under a military threat, the ground military group deployed here could be brought up to almost 500 thousand in thirty days, and up to 700 thousand soldiers and officers in forty-five days, which already qualitatively changed the balance of forces in the region, given the continued technical superiority, and most importantly superiority in command and control at the operational-strategic level. Taking into account the strategic superiority of the USSR in nuclear weapons, covering the main economic centers with fortified areas, this made the war against the USSR a senseless adventure.

After Serdyukov's "optimization", the number of deployed troops in this region even increased by about 20 thousand people. It would seem that one can only rejoice, but at the same time, the entire mobilization part of our military group has been virtually completely eliminated. All "framed" regiments and divisions have been reduced and disbanded. According to the plans of Makarov-Serdyukov, only a few can be deployed here in the event of war. separate brigades. At the same time, after the agreements signed by Putin with China on a hundred-kilometer demilitarized zone along the border and territorial concessions to China all our fortified areas were disarmed and blown up.

In the event of a hypothetical war with China, the half-million Chinese grouping will be opposed by a thin defensive chain of three dozen brigades numbering just over 100 thousand people. In addition, stretched for more than 1,500 kilometers along the Chinese border, without reserves and without any hope of strengthening. Since the transfer of one brigade from the European part of Russia here will take no less than a month, unless, of course, the Chinese cut the Trans-Siberian earlier.

The point of permanent deployment of the northernmost MSBR in Primorye is determined in Sibirtsevo, and the southernmost MSBR Khabarovsk Territory in Bikin. Between them there are more than 400 km of the border strip, protected electronic system observation of border departments with 15% staffing and abandoned military camps: Salskoye, Grafskoye, Vedenka, Dalnerechensk, Lazo, Filino, Koltsevoe, Panteleimonovka, Lesozavodsk, Sungach, Knoring, Spassk, Chernigovka.
. At the same time, perfectly understanding the state of our Far Eastern grouping, the current Chief of the General Staff, General Makarov, cheerfully hypnotizes the public:

« Now the new brigades are ready not only for the immediate use of force, but are also capable of holding back any enemy for 45 days. This time is quite enough to mobilize and reinforce them with additional forces if necessary ...«

I remember that in our history there were already military leaders who promised Comrade Stalin to defeat any enemy with one powerful blow swiftly and on foreign territory. And then there was the forty-first year ...
. I'm afraid that General Makarov remembers very poorly military history his army and the fate of these "optimists" in generals' stripes.
. How sadly Far Eastern officers joke today: after the Serdyukov-Makarov "optimization" for Chinese army it will not be a difficult problem to defeat the Russian army. Finding it will be a problem...

In literature, military documents, in the mass media, in conversations, in official documents on military issues, the terms are constantly encountered - formation, regiment, unit, military unit, company, battalion, army, etc. For military people, everything is clear, simple and clearly. They immediately understand what is at stake, how many soldiers these names hide under themselves, what this or that formation can do on the battlefield. For civilians, all these names mean little. Very often they get confused in these terms. Moreover, if in civilian structures "department" often means a large part of the company, plant, then in the army "department" is the smallest formation of several people. And vice versa, the "brigade" at the plant is only a few dozen people or even a few people, and in the army a brigade is a large military formation, numbering several thousand people. This article was written so that civilians could navigate the military hierarchy.

To understand the terms of general, grouping types of formations - subdivision, part, connection, association, first we will understand the specific names.

Branch. In the Soviet and Russian armies, a branch is the smallest military formation with a full-time commander. The squad is commanded by a junior sergeant or sergeant. Usually in a motorized rifle department there are 9-13 people. In the departments of other branches of the armed forces, the number of personnel of the department is from 3 to 15 people. In some military branches, the branch is called differently. In artillery - crew, in tank troops - crew. In some other armies, a squad is not the smallest formation. For example, in the US Army, the smallest formation is a group, and a squad consists of two groups. But in general, in most armies, a squad is the smallest formation. Typically, a squad is part of a platoon, but may also exist outside of a platoon. For example, the reconnaissance and diving section of the engineering battalion is not included in any of the platoons of the battalion, but is directly subordinate to the battalion chief of staff.

Platoon. Several squads make up a platoon. Usually there are 2 to 4 squads in a platoon, but more are possible. The platoon is led by a commander with an officer's rank. In the Soviet and Russian army, this is a junior lieutenant, lieutenant or senior lieutenant. On average, the number of personnel in a platoon ranges from 9 to 45 people. Usually in all branches of the military the name is the same - a platoon. Usually a platoon is part of a company, but it can also exist independently.

Company. Several platoons make up a company. In addition, a company may include several independent squads that are not included in any of the platoons. For example, in a motorized rifle company there are three motorized rifle platoons, a machine-gun squad, and an anti-tank squad. Usually a company consists of 2-4 platoons, sometimes more platoons. A company is the smallest formation of tactical importance, i.e. a formation capable of independently performing small tactical tasks on the battlefield. The company commander is a captain. On average, the size of a company can be from 18 to 200 people. Motorized rifle companies are usually about 130-150 people, tank companies 30-35 people. Usually the company is part of the battalion, but often the existence of companies as independent formations. In artillery, this type of formation is called a battery; in cavalry, a squadron.

Battalion. It consists of several companies (usually 2-4) and several platoons that are not included in any of the companies. The battalion is one of the main tactical formations. A battalion, like a company, platoon, squad, is named according to its type of troops (tank, motorized rifle, engineer-sapper, communications). But the battalion already includes formations of other types of weapons. For example, in a motorized rifle battalion, in addition to motorized rifle companies, there is a mortar battery, a material support platoon, and a communications platoon. Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel. The battalion already has its headquarters. Usually, on average, a battalion, depending on the type of troops, can number from 250 to 950 people. However, there are battles numbering about 100 people. In artillery, this type of formation is called a division.

Note1: Formation name - squad, platoon, company, etc. depends not on the number of personnel, but on the type of troops and those tactical tasks that are assigned to the formation of this type. Hence such a spread in the number of personnel in formations that have the same name.

Regiment. In the Soviet and Russian armies, this is the main (I would say - the key) tactical formation and a completely autonomous formation in the economic sense. The regiment is commanded by a colonel. Although the regiments are named according to the types of troops (tank, motorized rifle, communications, pontoon-bridge, etc.), but in fact this is a formation consisting of units of many branches of the military, and the name is given according to the predominant type of troops. For example, in a motorized rifle regiment there are two or three motorized rifle battalions, one tank battalion, one artillery battalion (read battalion), one anti-aircraft missile battalion, reconnaissance company, engineer company, communications company, anti-tank battery, chemical protection platoon, repair company, material support company, orchestra, medical center. The number of personnel of the regiment is from 900 to 2000 people.

Brigade. As well as the regiment is the main tactical formation. Actually, the brigade occupies an intermediate position between the regiment and the division. The structure of the brigade is most often the same as that of the regiment, however, there are much more battalions and other units in the brigade. So in a motorized rifle brigade there are one and a half to two times more motorized rifle and tank battalions than in a regiment. A brigade may also consist of two regiments, plus auxiliary battalions and companies. On average, there are from 2 to 8 thousand people in a brigade. The brigade commander, as well as in the regiment, is a colonel.

Division. The main operational-tactical formation. As well as the regiment is named after the type of troops prevailing in it. However, the predominance of one or another type of troops is much less than in the regiment. A motorized rifle division and a tank division are identical in structure, with the only difference being that in a motorized rifle division there are two or three motorized rifle regiments and one tank regiment, while in a tank division, on the contrary, there are two or three tank regiments, and one motorized rifle regiment. In addition to these main regiments, the division has one or two artillery regiments, one anti-aircraft missile regiment, a jet battalion, a missile battalion, a helicopter squadron, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion, an automobile battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, an electronic warfare battalion, and a material support battalion. a repair and restoration battalion, a medical battalion, a chemical protection company, and several different support companies and platoons. In the modern Russian Army, there are or may be tank, motorized rifle, artillery, airborne, missile and aviation divisions. In other military branches, as a rule, the highest formation is a regiment or brigade. On average, there are 12-24 thousand people in a division. Division Commander Major General.

Frame. Just as a brigade is an intermediate formation between a regiment and a division, so a corps is an intermediate formation between a division and an army. The corps is already a combined arms formation, i.e. usually it is deprived of the sign of one type of troops, although tank or artillery corps may also exist, i.e. corps with a complete predominance of tank or artillery divisions in them. The combined arms corps is usually referred to as the "army corps". There is no single corps structure. Each time a corps is formed on the basis of a specific military or military-political situation and may consist of two or three divisions and different quantity formations of other military branches. Usually a corps is created where it is impractical to create an army. In peacetime, there were literally three to five corps in the Soviet Army. During the years of the Great Patriotic War corps were usually created either for an offensive in a secondary direction, an offensive in a zone where it was impossible to deploy an army, or vice versa, to concentrate forces in the main direction (tank corps). Very often then the corps existed for a few weeks or months and was disbanded upon completion of the task. It is impossible to talk about the structure and size of the corps, because how many corps exist or existed, so many of their structures existed. Corps Commander Lieutenant General.

Army. This word is used in three main meanings: 1. Army - the armed forces of the state as a whole; 2. Army - ground forces of the armed forces of the state (unlike the fleet and military aviation); 3. Army - military formation. Here we are talking about the army as a military formation. The army is a large military formation of operational purpose. The army includes divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. Usually, armies are no longer subdivided according to the types of troops, although there may be tank armies, where tank divisions predominate. An army may also include one or more corps. It is impossible to talk about the structure and size of the army, because how many armies exist or have existed, so many structures existed. The soldier at the head of the army is no longer called "commander", but "army commander". Usually the staff rank of the army commander is Colonel General. In peacetime, armies are rarely organized as military formations. Usually divisions, regiments, battalions are directly part of the district.

Front (district). This is the highest military formation of a strategic type. Larger formations do not exist. The name "front" is used only in wartime for a formation conducting combat operations. For such formations in peacetime, or those located in the rear, the name "okrug" (military district) is used. The front includes several armies, corps, divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. The composition and strength of the front may be different. Fronts are never subdivided according to the types of troops (that is, there cannot be a tank front, an artillery front, etc.). At the head of the front (district) is the commander of the front (district) with the rank of army general.

Note 2: Above in the text there are the concepts of "tactical formation", "operational-tactical formation", "strategic ..", etc. These terms indicate the range of tasks solved by this formation in the light of military art. Military art is divided into three levels:
1. Tactics (the art of combat). Squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment solve tactical tasks, i.e. are fighting.
2. Operational art (the art of conducting battles, battles). The division, corps, army solve operational tasks, i.e. are fighting.
3. Strategy (the art of warfare in general). The front solves both operational and strategic tasks, i.e. conducts major battles, as a result of which the strategic situation changes and the outcome of the war can be decided.

There is also such a name as "group of troops". In wartime, this is the name given to military formations that solve operational tasks inherent in the front, but operate in a narrower sector or a secondary direction and, accordingly, are much smaller and weaker than such a formation as the front, but stronger than the army. In peacetime, this was the name in the Soviet Army of associations of formations stationed abroad (Group Soviet troops in Germany, Central Group of Forces, Northern Group of Forces, Southern Group of Forces). In Germany, this group of troops included several armies and divisions. In Czechoslovakia, the Central Group of Forces consisted of five divisions, three of which were combined into a corps. In Poland, the group of troops consisted of two divisions, and in Hungary of three divisions.

In the literature, in military documents, there are also such names as "team" and "detachment". The term "team" is now out of use. It was used to designate formations of special troops (sappers, signalmen, intelligence officers, etc.) that are part of general military formations. Usually, in terms of numbers and combat missions, something in between a platoon and a company. The term "detachment" was used to designate such formations in terms of tasks and numbers as an average between a company and a battalion. Occasionally, as a designation for a permanently existing formation, it is also used now. For example, a drilling team is an engineering formation designed to drill wells for water production in areas where there are no surface water sources. The term "detachment" is also used to designate, temporarily for the period of a battle, an organized grouping of subunits (forward detachment, outflanking detachment, cover detachment).

Above in the text, I specifically did not use the concepts - division, part, connection, association, replacing these words with the faceless "formation". I did this to avoid confusion. Now that we have dealt with specific names, we can move on to unifying, grouping names.

Subdivision. This word denotes all the military formations that make up the unit. Squad, platoon, company, battalion - they are all combined in one word "unit". The word comes from the concept of division, divide. Those. part is divided into divisions.

Part. This is the main unit of the armed forces. The term "unit" most often refers to a regiment and a brigade. The external features of the unit are: the presence of its own office work, military economy, bank account, postal and telegraph address, its own stamp seal, the commander’s right to give written orders, open (44 educational tank division) and closed (military unit 08728) combined arms numbers. That is, the part has sufficient autonomy. The presence of the Battle Banner for the part is optional. In addition to the regiment and brigade, division headquarters, corps headquarters, army headquarters, district headquarters, as well as other military organizations (military department, army hospital, garrison clinic, district food depot, district song and dance ensemble, garrison house of officers, garrison household complex services, the central school of junior socialists, military school, military institute, etc.). In a number of cases, the status of a unit with all its external features may have formations that we have referred to as subdivisions above. Parts can be a battalion, a company, and even occasionally a platoon. Such formations are not part of regiments or brigades, but directly as an independent military unit on the rights of a regiment or brigade can be part of both a division and a corps, army, front (district) and even directly subordinate to General Staff. Such formations also have their open and closed numbers. For example, 650 separate airborne battalion, 1257 separate communications company, 65 separate electronic intelligence platoon. A characteristic feature of such parts is the word "separate" after the numbers before the name. However, the regiment may have the word "separate" in its name. This is the case if the regiment is not part of the division, but is directly part of the army (corps, district, front). For example, 120 separate regiment of guards mortars.

Note 3: Please note that the terms military unit and military unit do not mean exactly the same thing. The term "military unit" is used as a general designation, without specifics. If we are talking about a specific regiment, brigade, etc., then the term "military unit" is used. Usually, its number is also mentioned next: "military unit 74292" (but you can not use "military unit 74292") or abbreviated - military unit 74292.

Compound. By default, only a division is suitable for this term. The very word "connection" means - to connect the parts. The division headquarters has the status of a unit. Other units (regiments) are subordinate to this unit (headquarters). That's all together and there is a division. However, in some cases, the brigade can also have the status of a connection. This happens if the brigade includes separate battalions and companies, each of which in itself has the status of a unit. The brigade headquarters in this case, like the division headquarters, has the status of a unit, and battalions and companies, as independent units, are subordinate to the brigade headquarters. By the way, at the same time, battalions and companies can exist as part of the headquarters of a brigade (division). So at the same time there can be battalions and companies as subdivisions, and battalions and companies as units in the formation.

An association. This term combines a corps, an army, an army group and a front (district). The headquarters of the association is also a part to which various formations and units are subordinate.

There are no other specific and grouping concepts in the military hierarchy. At least in the Ground Forces. In this article, we did not touch on the hierarchy of military formations of aviation and navy. However, an attentive reader can now quite simply and with minor errors imagine the naval and aviation hierarchy. As far as the author knows: in aviation - a flight, squadron, regiment, division, corps, air army. In the fleet - a ship (crew), division, brigade, division, flotilla, fleet. However, this is all inaccurate, experts in aviation and the navy will correct me.

How many people are in different army units? Not everyone will be able to immediately answer such a question. However, each tactical unit in has a well-defined number, and this is worth bearing in mind.

When going to serve, a young man must study in advance, at least in passing. After all, then it will be much easier for him in the service. And such basic things as the number of people included in a platoon, for example, or in a squad, are just included in the list of necessary knowledge.

Basic order: how many people are in the basic units of the army?

Even an ordinary private must understand and understand how many people are in army units up to about a regiment. Larger-scale concepts, such as a brigade, for example, or a division, have to be manipulated much less often. But still, it is not superfluous to understand what the corps, the army, and even the military district are also. However, let's start with the basics.

So how many people are department- everyone should know this. After all, the department consists of 5-10 people. It is under the command of a sergeant as the squad leader. A junior sergeant can also lead him.

Further - platoon, which can combine 3-6 divisions. According to the total number in its composition, there are from 15 to 60 fighters. The commander usually becomes a lieutenant or captain, that is, such a unit is already headed by officers.

Company It has 3-6 platoons, with a strength of 45-360 military personnel. The commander is a major. In practice, a captain or even a starley who has successfully started a military career usually becomes a company commander. And 3 or 4 companies are already battalion. Also included are:

• Headquarters;
• A certain list of specialists - signalmen, for example, and so on;
• Sometimes - mortars, air defense.

IN total the number of this unit can be 145-500 people. The battalion commander should be a colonel, but in practice the position is sometimes transferred to majors, captains.

Regiment- these are 3-6 battalions, that is, from 500 to 2500 or more people. After all, here in the state there is also artillery, air defense, PTB. Colonels and lieutenant colonels are considered as command.

Largest units

The brigade consists of 1-4 thousand personnel, representing a number of battalions, sometimes 2 or 3 regiments. She is also under the command of a colonel.

Several regiments can be combined into division, which also often includes artillery, air defense, aviation, rear services. The command of a division may fall on the shoulders of a colonel or a major general. The number is about 4500-22000 people.

Several divisions form frame with up to 100,000 members. The corps is under the command of a major general.

Further - army, which includes 2-10 divisions belonging to different branches of the military. Its size varies greatly, from 200,000 to 1 million people or more. It is under the command of the general staff, representing an object of a high degree of responsibility.

Front- this is the concept of wartime, in peacetime it is called the district. Here the numbers can be even more vague. Much depends on the specific situation, the specifics of the region, and so on. If we talk about the front, here the concept includes our own schools, warehouses, reserves, and so on. The command of such units is the task of lieutenant generals or generals of the army.

As a rule, one front has control and 1-2 missile armies, as well as 5-6 armies, 1-2 tank armies. Maybe an air defense army, 1-2 air armies, special types of troops, rear formations and institutions. There is a possibility of strengthening the front according to the situation - various parts Armed Forces, the reserve that the Supreme High Command has.

Other tactical terms used in the professional military environment

There are other terms that imply a certain number of military personnel. Yes, there is a concept subdivision, which includes various formations that are part of the military unit. So, a platoon or company, as well as a squad or battalion, are all subdivisions. That is, the part is divided into similar elements, hence the term arose.

As for the parts- This unit can be considered the most popular. As a rule, this concept means a brigade or regiment that has its own:

• military economy;
• Construction part;
• address;
• Settlement account;
• Seal and number, both open and closed;
• The right of command to issue written orders.

Thus, a part is a fairly autonomous entity, which is based on a certain territory.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that a military unit and a military unit are somewhat different things.

So, a military unit is not a specific, general designation. However, if we talk about a particular brigade, for example, it is necessary to use the term military unit. The same applies to the situation when the number is indicated - in this case, the military unit is also indicated. In addition, there is a written designation of the military unit, which is used as an official abbreviation.

Next is the term compound. It can only denote a division, because it involves the unification of parts. At the same time, the divisional headquarters is, according to the status, a part. He has subordinate regiments - other units. Together they form a division. However, sometimes a brigade also becomes a unit - if it contains separate companies or battalions that have the status of separate units.

Another important term is Union. Here everything can be considered as in the previous case, only on a larger scale. The association will already include armies, corps, districts. There is also a headquarters in the form of a unit and a number of other formations that form the overall composition.

Instead of a conclusion

It is worth pointing out right away that there are no other official concepts in this category. These tactical units are generally accepted, and they are relevant for the Ground Forces. At the same time, it should be noted that the fleet and aviation have certain differences in this regard. They have their own hierarchy and there are other tactical units that are relevant in connection with the conditions that are present in these areas. Here there is the concept of a link and some others that allow you to streamline the actions of the commanders of individual crews, for example.

In general, the hierarchy and strict order of tactical units are necessary to maintain the combat capability of the army. Indeed, the basis of the success of its actions is always discipline and order, subordination. Without these key foundations, its very existence would be impossible.

It should be borne in mind that the number of different tactical units can vary greatly in peacetime and wartime. So, in a calm period, these units can represent a kind of backbone, staffed to a minimum. However, at the moment of need, with the activation of the activities of the military commissariat and in the conditions of a mass conscription of people from the reserve, they can grow significantly, reaching their maximum indicator in terms of strength. This property allows you to maintain defenses and quickly respond to any threat from the outside, increasing the number if necessary in a matter of days.

Armed Forces (AF) of the state- government-supplied defensive and militant organizations used in the interests of the state. In some countries, in the structure Sun paramilitary organizations are included.

Aircraft types

WOS are usually divided into different types; usually they are the army (ground forces), aviation ( air Force) and navy (Navy / naval forces). A number of countries organize part of their Armed Forces as separate corps - Marines(USA), etc. The Coast Guard may also be part of the Armed Forces (although in many countries it is part of the police, or is a civilian agency). The French structure, copied by many countries, includes three traditional views, and, as a fourth, the Gendarmerie.

The term consolidated forces is often used, meaning military units made up of two or more branches of the Armed Forces.

Organizational hierarchy of the Armed Forces

The minimum unit of an aircraft is a unit. The unit usually acts as a single unit, and is homogeneous in composition (for example, only infantry, only cavalry, etc.). In turn, divisions can be divided into smaller units.

In the Soviet and Russian armies, the main unit is the battalion, or company. They represent tactical level .

Larger units of the Russian Armed Forces are called, depending on the size, parts, formations and associations (English formations). An example of formations are brigades, divisions, wings, etc. They form strategic level , in a number of countries, for example, in Russia, there is operational level , the main operational unit was the division.

In different states (and even in different types of aircraft of the same state), the same unit name can be used in different meanings, for example, squadron (English squadron). It can be used in the navy as a designation for a formation of several ships; can be used in aviation as the name of a unit (squadron); in a number of armies, including the American and Red Army - the name of the cavalry unit corresponding to the battalion; in the armies of the British Commonwealth, a squadron often denotes a tank company.

Command (English command) are units, units and formations that together form a single whole, and are under the command of one officer. This is usually a high-level organizational unit responsible directly to the government or national headquarters. In a number of countries, commands are united by type of armed forces, for example, the Command of the Ground Forces.

In the Russian Army, the term "command" roughly corresponds to the term "association".

Hierarchy of modern armies

Steps in this ladder can be skipped: for example, in NATO forces there is usually a battalion-brigade organization (in Russia such an organization is also used, it is an alternative to the battalion-regiment-division division). At the same time, units of higher levels can exist only in large armed forces.

An army, an army group, a region, and a theater of operations are the largest formations, which can vary greatly in size and composition. At the division level, support forces are usually added (field artillery, medical service, logistics service, etc.), which may not be at the level of regiments (English regiments) and battalions. In the US, a regiment with support units is called a regimental combat team, in England and other countries it is called a combat team.

In some countries, traditional names may be used, creating confusion. So, British and Canadian tank battalions are divided into squadrons (companies, English companies) and troops, English. troops (corresponding to platoons, English platoons), while in the American cavalry the squadron does not correspond to a company, but to a battalion, and is divided into troops (troops, corresponding to companies) and platoons.

The fronts of the Red Army during World War II corresponded, according to this classification, to army groups.

Add-ons

1. The names of the listed units may vary depending on the type of troops. For example:

1. The specified number refers to the infantry (motorized infantry, motorized rifle) troops. In other branches of the military, the number of units with the same names may be significantly smaller. For example, an infantry regiment consists of 3-4 thousand people, an artillery regiment - of 1 thousand.
2. Any military unit in the army has not one, but two states - peacetime and wartime. In the wartime staff, new positions are added in existing units, new units and new units. The missing military personnel are called up for general mobilization in wartime. In the Soviet (and Russian) Army, there are:

In the modern Russian Army, about 85% of military units have a reduced staff, the remaining 15% are the so-called. "parts constant readiness”, which are deployed to the full state. In peacetime, the Armed Forces in Russia are divided into military districts, each of which is headed by the commander of the district troops with the rank of colonel general. In wartime, fronts are deployed on the basis of military districts.

1. In all modern armies, a "triple" (sometimes "quaternary") composition has been adopted. This means that an infantry regiment consists of three infantry battalions (“three-battalions”). In addition to them, it includes smaller auxiliary units - for example, a mortar battery, a repair company, etc. In turn, each infantry battalion of the regiment consists of three infantry companies, and smaller auxiliary units, for example, a communications platoon.
2. Hierarchy, therefore, may not go directly, for example, a mortar battery in an infantry regiment is not part of any battalion (division). Accordingly, separate battalions can be allocated, each of which is an independent military unit, or even individual companies. Also, each regiment can be part of a division, or (at a higher level) immediately report to the command of the corps (“regiment of corps subordination”), or, at an even higher level, the regiment can report directly to the command of the military district (“regiment of district subordination”);
3. In an infantry regiment, the main units - infantry battalions - report directly to the regiment commander. All auxiliary units are already subordinate to his deputies. The same system is repeated at all levels. For example, for an artillery regiment of district subordination, the chief will not be the commander of the troops of the district, but the chief of artillery of the district. The communications platoon of an infantry battalion reports not to the battalion commander, but to his first deputy - the chief of staff.
4. Brigades are a separate unit. According to their position, the brigades stand between the regiment (the regiment commander is a colonel) and the division (the division commander is a major general). In most armies of the world, there is an intermediate rank between the ranks of colonel and major general. "Brigadier General" corresponding to the brigade commander. Traditionally, there is no such title in Russia. In the modern Russian Army, the Soviet division military district-corps-division-regiment-battalion, as a rule, is replaced by an abbreviated military district - brigade - battalion.

The transition to a "new image of the armed forces" is currently underway. Russian Federation corresponding to the corps-brigade-battalion structure. This transition leads to a reduction in the number of officers, which presents certain difficulties for the Ministry of Defense, the need to provide housing or housing certificates for discharged officers. As well as the redistribution of personnel and weapons of the disbanded units.

different levels

In the Russian Army, the units indicated in this article are divided into divisions(squad - battalion), parts(separate battalion - regiment), connections(brigade, division) and associations(corps, army, front). Accordingly, they distinguish, the lowest, tactical the level at which the basic unit is the division, operational level (army-front), the largest - strategic(group of fronts).

Detailed description

branch

In the Soviet and Russian armies, a branch is the smallest military formation with a full-time commander. The squad is commanded by a junior sergeant or sergeant. Usually in a motorized rifle department there are 9-13 people. In the departments of other branches of the armed forces, the number of personnel of the department is from 3 to 15 people. In some military branches, the branch is called differently. In artillery - crew, in tank troops - crew. In some other armies, a squad is not the smallest formation. For example, in the US Army, the smallest formation is a group, and a squad consists of two groups. But in general, in most armies, a squad is the smallest formation. Typically, a squad is part of a platoon, but may also exist outside of a platoon. For example, the reconnaissance and diving section of the engineering battalion is not included in any of the platoons of the battalion, but is directly subordinate to the battalion chief of staff.

Platoon

Several squads make up a platoon. Usually there are 2 to 4 squads in a platoon, but more are possible. The platoon is led by a commander with an officer's rank. In the Soviet and Russian army, this is a junior lieutenant, lieutenant or senior lieutenant. On average, the number of personnel in a platoon ranges from 9 to 45 people. Usually in all branches of the military the name is the same - a platoon. Usually a platoon is part of a company, but it can also exist independently.

Company

Several platoons make up a company. In addition, a company may include several independent squads that are not included in any of the platoons. For example, in a motorized rifle company there are three motorized rifle platoons, a machine-gun squad, and an anti-tank squad. Usually a company consists of 2-4 platoons, sometimes even more platoons. A company is the smallest formation of tactical importance, that is, a formation capable of independently performing small tactical tasks on the battlefield. The company commander is a captain. On average, the size of a company can be from 70 to 200 people. Motorized rifle companies are usually about 101-150 people, tank companies 30-35 people. Usually a company is part of a battalion, but it is not uncommon for companies to exist as independent formations. In artillery, this type of formation is called a battery; in cavalry, a squadron.

Battalion

It consists of several companies (usually 2-4) and several platoons that are not included in any of the companies. The battalion is one of the main tactical formations. A battalion, like a company, platoon, squad, is named according to its type of troops (tank, motorized rifle, engineer-sapper, communications). But the battalion already includes formations of other types of weapons. For example, in a motorized rifle battalion, in addition to motorized rifle companies, there is a mortar battery, a material support platoon, and a communications platoon. The battalion commander is a major or lieutenant colonel. The battalion already has its headquarters. Usually, on average, a battalion, depending on the type of troops, can number from 250 to 950 people. However, there are battalions of about 150 people. In artillery, this type of formation is called a division.

• Note1: The name of the formation - squad, platoon, company, etc., does not depend on the number of personnel, but on the type of troops and those tactical tasks that are assigned to the formation of this type. Hence such a spread in the number of personnel in formations that have the same name.

Regiment

In the Soviet and Russian armies, this is the main (one might say, the key) tactical formation and a completely autonomous formation in the economic sense. The regiment is commanded by a colonel. Although the regiments are named according to the branches of the military (tank, motorized rifle, communications, pontoon-bridge, etc.), but in fact this is a formation consisting of units of many branches of the military, and the name is given according to the predominant branch of the military. For example, in a motorized rifle regiment there are two or three motorized rifle battalions, one tank battalion, one artillery battalion (read battalion), one anti-aircraft missile battalion, reconnaissance company, engineer company, communications company, anti-tank battery, chemical protection platoon, repair company, material support company, orchestra, medical center. The number of personnel of the regiment is from 900 to 2000 people.

brigade

As well as the regiment is the main tactical formation. Actually, the brigade occupies an intermediate position between the regiment and the division. The structure of the brigade is most often the same as that of the regiment, however, there are much more battalions and other units in the brigade. So in a motorized rifle brigade there are one and a half to two times more motorized rifle and tank battalions than in a regiment. A brigade may also consist of two regiments, plus auxiliary battalions and companies. On average, there are from 2,000 to 8,000 people in a brigade. The brigade commander, as well as in the regiment, is a colonel.

Division

The main operational-tactical formation. As well as the regiment is named after the type of troops prevailing in it. However, the predominance of one or another type of troops is much less than in the regiment. A motorized rifle division and a tank division are identical in structure, with the only difference being that in a motorized rifle division there are two or three motorized rifle regiments and one tank regiment, while in a tank division, on the contrary, there are two or three tank regiments, and one motorized rifle regiment. In addition to these main regiments, the division has one or two artillery regiments, one anti-aircraft missile regiment, a jet battalion, a missile battalion, a helicopter squadron, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion, an automobile battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, an electronic warfare battalion, and a material support battalion. a repair and restoration battalion, a medical battalion, a chemical protection company, and several different support companies and platoons. In the modern Russian Army, there are or may be tank, motorized rifle, artillery, airborne, missile and aviation divisions. In other military branches, as a rule, the highest formation is a regiment or brigade. On average, there are 12-24 thousand people in a division. Division Commander Major General.

Frame

Just as a brigade is an intermediate formation between a regiment and a division, so a corps is an intermediate formation between a division and an army. The corps is already a combined-arms formation, that is, it usually lacks the sign of one type of troops, although there may also be tank or artillery corps, that is, corps with a complete predominance of tank or artillery divisions in them. The combined arms corps is usually referred to as the "army corps". There is no single corps structure. Each time a corps is formed on the basis of a specific military or military-political situation and may consist of two or three divisions and a different number of formations of other military branches. Usually a corps is created where it is impractical to create an army. In peacetime, there were literally three to five corps in the Soviet Army. During the Great Patriotic War, corps were usually created either for an offensive in a secondary direction, an offensive in a zone where it was impossible to deploy an army, or vice versa, to concentrate forces in the main direction (tank corps). Very often then the corps existed for a few weeks or months and was disbanded upon completion of the task. It is impossible to talk about the structure and size of the corps, because how many corps exist or existed, so many of their structures existed. Corps Commander Lieutenant General.

Army

This word is used in three main meanings: 1. Army - the armed forces of the state as a whole; 2. Army - ground forces of the armed forces of the state (as opposed to the fleet and military aviation); 3. Army - military formation. Here we are talking about the army as a military formation. The army is a large military formation of operational purpose. The army includes divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. Usually, armies are no longer subdivided according to the types of troops, although there may be tank armies, where tank divisions predominate. An army may also include one or more corps. It is impossible to talk about the structure and size of the army, because how many armies exist or have existed, so many structures existed. The soldier at the head of the army is no longer called "commander", but "commander of the army." Usually the staff rank of the army commander is Colonel General. In peacetime, armies are rarely organized as military formations. Usually divisions, regiments, battalions are directly part of the district.

Military District (Front)

This is the highest military formation of a strategic type. Larger formations do not exist. The name "front" is used only in wartime for a formation conducting combat operations. For such formations in peacetime, or those located in the rear, the name "district" (military district) is used. The front includes several armies, corps, divisions, regiments, battalions of all types of troops. The composition and strength of the front may be different. Fronts are never subdivided according to the types of troops (that is, there cannot be a tank front, an artillery front, etc.). At the head of the front (district) is the commander of the front (district) with the rank of army general.

• Note 2: Above in the text there are the concepts of “tactical formation”, “operational-tactical formation”, “strategic ..”, etc. These terms indicate the range of tasks solved by this formation in the light of military art. Military art is divided into three levels:

1. Tactics (the art of combat). Squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment solve tactical tasks, that is, they are fighting. 2. Operational art (the art of conducting battles, battles). The division, corps, army solve operational tasks, that is, they conduct a battle. 3. Strategy (the art of warfare in general). The front solves both operational and strategic tasks, that is, it conducts major battles, as a result of which the strategic situation changes and the outcome of the war can be decided.

There is also such a name as "group of troops". In wartime, this is the name given to military formations that solve operational tasks inherent in the front, but operate in a narrower sector or a secondary direction and, accordingly, are much smaller and weaker than such a formation as the front, but stronger than the army. In peacetime, this was the name in the Soviet Army of formations stationed abroad (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Central Group of Forces, Northern Group of Forces, Southern Group of Forces). In Germany, this group of troops included several armies and divisions. In Czechoslovakia, the Central Group of Forces consisted of five divisions, three of which were combined into a corps. In Poland, the group of troops consisted of two divisions, and in Hungary of three divisions.

In the literature, in military documents, there are also such names as “team” and “detachment”. The term "team" is now out of use. It was used to designate formations of special troops (sappers, signalmen, intelligence officers, etc.) that are part of general military formations. Usually, in terms of numbers and combat missions, something in between a platoon and a company. The term "detachment" was used to designate such formations in terms of tasks and numbers as an average between a company and a battalion. Occasionally, as a designation for a permanently existing formation, it is also used now. For example, a drilling team is an engineering formation designed to drill wells for water production in areas where there are no surface water sources. The term "detachment" is also used to designate temporarily for the period of battle an organized grouping of subunits (forward detachment, bypass detachment, cover detachment).

Above in the text, I specifically did not use the concepts - division, part, connection, association, replacing these words with the faceless "formation". I did this to avoid confusion. Now that we have dealt with specific names, we can move on to unifying, grouping names.

Subdivision

This word denotes all the military formations that make up the unit. Squad, platoon, company, battalion - they are all combined in one word "unit". The word comes from the concept of division, divide. That is, the part is divided into divisions.

Part (V.ch.)

This is the main unit of the armed forces. The concept of "part" most often refers to the regiment and brigade. The external signs of the unit are: the presence of its own office work, military economy, bank account, postal and telegraph address, its own stamp seal, the commander’s right to give written orders, open ( V/Ch 08728) and closed ( 44 training tank division) names. That is, the part has sufficient autonomy. The presence of the Battle Banner for the part is optional. In addition to the regiment and brigade, division headquarters, corps headquarters, army headquarters, district headquarters, as well as other military organizations (military department, army hospital, garrison clinic, district food depot, district song and dance ensemble, garrison house of officers, garrison household complex service, central school of junior specialists, military school, military institute, etc.). In a number of cases, the status of a unit with all its external features may have formations that we have referred to as subdivisions above. Parts can be a battalion, a company, and even occasionally a platoon. Such formations are not part of regiments or brigades, but directly as an independent military unit on the rights of a regiment or brigade can be part of both a division and a corps, an army, a front (district) and even directly report to the General Staff. Such formations also have their open and closed names. For example, 650 separate crossing - landing battalion, 1257 separate communications company, 65 separate platoon of electronic intelligence. A characteristic feature of such parts is the word "separate", standing after the numbers before the name. However, the regiment may have the word "separate" in the name. This is the case if the regiment is not part of the division, but is directly part of the army (corps, district, front). For example, 120 separate regiment of guards mortars.

• Note 3: Please note that the terms military unit (V.ch.) and military unit (V/Ch No.) do not mean the same thing. The term "military unit" is used as a general designation, without specifics. If we are talking about a specific regiment, brigade, etc., then the term "military unit" is used. Usually, its number is also mentioned next: “military unit 74292” (but you can’t use “military unit 74292”) or abbreviated - military unit 74292.

Compound

Usually this term refers to a division. Here the word "connection" means the connection of parts. The division headquarters has the status of a unit. Other units (regiments) are subordinate to this unit (headquarters). All together and forms a connection - a division. However, in some cases, the brigade can also have the status of a connection. This happens when the brigade includes separate battalions and companies, which in themselves have the status of a unit. The brigade headquarters in this case, like the division headquarters, has the status of a unit, and the battalions and companies, as independent units, are subordinate to the brigade headquarters. By the way, at the same time, battalions and companies can exist as part of the headquarters of a brigade (division). So at the same time there can be battalions and companies as subdivisions, and battalions and companies as units in the formation.

An association

This concept includes the corps, the army, the troops of the district (front), and army groups. The headquarters of the association is a department (part) to which various formations and military units are subordinate.