tank desant
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Tank desant (russian: танковый десант, ''tankovyy desant'') is a military
combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...
tactic Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...
, where
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
soldiers ride into an attack on
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s, then dismount to fight on foot in the final phase of the assault. Note that this differs from infantry troops merely riding on tanks as a form of ad-hoc transportation. ''Desant'' (from the french: descendre, "to disembark") is a pan-Slavic general term for
airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
or parachute drops and
naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
amphibious landing operations. The tactic was used as an expedient by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Tank desant troops () were infantry trained in the tactic in order to offer small-arms support in suppression of enemy
anti-tank weapons Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
or enemy infantry using
anti-tank grenade An anti-tank grenade is a specialized hand-thrown grenade used to defeat armored targets. Although their inherently short range limits the usefulness of grenades, troops can lie in ambush or maneuver under cover to exploit the limited outward vis ...
s. After the war,
T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
and
T-62 The T-62 is a Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-54/T-55, T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick ...
tanks were built with hand-holds for this purpose. In northern areas during winter, similar tactics were used by Soviet infantry riding the skids of
aerosani Aerosani (both singular and plural; russian: aэросани, literally aerosled) is a type of propeller-driven snowmobile, running on skis, used for communications, mail deliveries, medical aid, emergency recovery and border patrolling in northern ...
or towed behind them on
skis A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
. Nowadays, this tactic is very rare (outside of dire emergencies) in well-equipped armed forces, with front-line troops usually riding in
armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
s or
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
s.


Usage

The tank desant tactic, like more conventional airborne and amphibious operations, was used to achieve fundamental goals of
maneuver warfare Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy which seeks to shatter the enemy's overall cohesion and will to fight. Background Maneuver warfare, the use of initiative, originality and the unexpected, combined with a rut ...
- "surprise, leverage, simultaneity and interchangeability." The use of tank desant was only prescribed within the first kilometer of the forward edge of the combat area for only the simplest of tactical mission objectives, since the circumstances would be difficult for the troops engaged.Voyenny Vestnik
No.2, 1944 (Military Herald)
russian: "ВОЕННЫЙ ВЕСТНИК", №2 ЗА 1944 ГОД
Riding on tanks during actual combat is very dangerous. Tank riders are very vulnerable to machine gun and high explosive fire, and the high silhouette of most tanks would draw enemy fire. Smoke and covering fire may be used to reduce the hazards. Tank riding is mostly used when troops need to move faster than is possible on foot and there is a shortage of motor transport or armoured personnel carriers. Usually, the infantry and their heavy weapons were assigned to specific tanks well before the execution of the mission. This allowed the infantry to become familiar with the tanks and train with the tank crews. Support platforms for the heavy weapons were sometimes attached to the tanks to allow firing on the move. Ropes were attached to provide hand-holds for the infantry. The number of infantry assigned to a tank depended on the class of the tank; the usual numbers were: * Heavy tank, 10-12 soldiers * Medium tank, 8-10 soldiers * Light tank, 5-6 soldiers Tank desant would be used in such a way as to ensure surprise, approaching during a snow storm or mist or employing either
smoke grenade Smoke grenades used at demonstrations in Paris, 2008 upBritish L83A1 Smoke Grenade manufactured in May 2008. This grenade has already been used. A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone mark ...
s or a
smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
prepared by
sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
s or laid down by artillery.


History

Today, tank desant is considered a wasteful and human-costly improvisation, which, in the opinion of some writers, was adopted by the Red Army because they failed to appreciate the problem of tank–infantry cooperation.Zaloga, 1999. However, there is evidence that tank desant was used as early as 1937 during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. On 13 October, during the Aragon Front advance in the area of the
Fuentes de Ebro Fuentes de Ebro ( an, Fuents d’Ebro) is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research c ...
, the 1st Independent Tank Regiment ( Republican Army), using BT-5 tanks attached to the
XV International Brigade The Abraham Lincoln Brigade ( es, Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (''XV Brigada Internacional''), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the Internationa ...
, conducted a tank desant mission with the attached 24th Infantry Battalion of the Spanish army (''24ta de Voluntarios'', commanded by Captain Aquilla). But lack of coordination and communication between the Soviet crews, who had just completed a march, and the Spanish infantry resulted in sixteen tanks being either destroyed or disabled (some salvaged) and 37 tank crewmen becoming casualties. Analysis of the Red Army's doctrine developed during the 1930s and documented in the 1936 Field Manual shows that the cavalry arm was expected to perform in the role of the supporting dismounted infantry and this was repeatedly displayed during the operations on the Eastern Front through use of the cavalry mechanized groups. The idea of using infantry tank desant was, however, retained in the 1942 Field Instructions for the infantry (battalion).Combat regulations for infantry of the Red Army
Part 2 (battalion, regiment), Moscow, Voenizdat NKO USSR, 1942 (Боевой устав пехоты Красной Армии. Часть 2 (батальон, полк). — М.: Воениздат НКО СССР, 1942.)
Almost universal
mechanization Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows: In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
has, in theory, rendered this tactic mostly obsolete among the more advanced armed forces, with infantry riding special-purpose
armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
s or
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
s into battle. The use of
active protection system An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle. Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...
s (especially hard kill types such as ''Arena'') and/or explosive
reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...
, which creates a danger zone around an armoured vehicle by detonating an explosive charge when the tank suffers a serious hit, along with
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
engines in some tank designs, with their extremely hot exhaust, makes tank desant generally a dangerous and undesirable alternative.


Modern usage

Other military forces, including the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Sino Vietnamese War the
Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...
in the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, and the
Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
in the
First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда ...
, have chosen to ride atop their carriers while on patrol or routine movement, rather than inside them. In contrast to the offensive Soviet tank desant tactics of World War II, these were soldiers who wanted to be able to move from their vehicles quickly in case of ambush (which often turned their transports into death traps). Fearing
land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s and
rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...
s widely used by guerrillas, these soldiers refused to stay inside the personnel carriers—contravening normal standing orders for several reasons: * The infantrymen on the outside represented more eyes and rifles at the ready to locate and fire upon a small force or single ambusher. * Explosive concussion inside the personnel compartment, caused by a rocket-propelled grenade or land mine hitting the armour, was said to be more dangerous than enemy fire on the personnel mounted outside. Many of these soldiers wore
body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...
, which reduced their fear of small-arms fire.
Spall Spall are fragments of a material that are broken off a larger solid body. It can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball ...
liners have only recently become common. * Wounded soldiers trapped inside were very unlikely to be extracted safely until after the battle, especially if the vehicle was on fire. Soviet soldiers also adopted the tactic of riding the roofs of their
BTR BTR may refer to: Companies * BTR Aerospace Group * BTR plc, formerly BTR Industries, one of the predecessor companies of Invensys plc * British Thomson-Houston (former name BTR), a British engineering and heavy industrial company Media, music, ...
s (armoured personnel carriers),
BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...
s,
BMD-1 The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Desanta'' (Боевая Машина Десанта, which literally ...
s, and, more rarely, tanks. During the
Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...
and other local conflicts of the post-Soviet era, the units of the Russian military and law enforcement acquired the tactic, making it a routine. However, riding outside the vehicles is still prohibited by Russian military doctrine, so it is not used during training and maneuvers. Tank desant was employed in combat during hostilities between the
Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They we ...
and separatists in the 2015
Battle of Debaltseve The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Force ...
. It was used in an attempt to quickly retreat from Debaltseve and the surrounding region, so as to avoid being encircled by separatist armies.


Gallery

File:Panzer III with infantry.jpg, German infantry desant, during an advance, 1941 File:Tank-borne infantry moving up to take the town of Ghuta before the Japanese can occupy it. The men are members of the... - NARA - 532549.tif, Tank-borne infantry desant, of the 29th Marines, Okinawa, 1945 File:VietnamCombatArtCAT09DavidEGravesAPC.jpg, APC by David E. Graves,
Vietnam Combat Artists Program In June 1966, the Army Vietnam Combat Artists Program was established as part of the United States Army Art Program, utilizing teams of soldier-artists to make pictorial records of U.S. Army activities in the course of the Vietnam War for the a ...
, CAT IX, 1969–70. Courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Army File:M1A1 desant.JPEG, U.S. Marines ride desant aboard an
M1A1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest t ...
tank in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
in April 2003 File:International Mine Action Center in Syria (Aleppo) 27.jpg,
Russian Engineer Troops The Engineer Troops of the Russian Federation () are a military administrative corps of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation designed to perform military engineering operations (combat actions), requiring special training of personnel and ...
ride desant aboard
BTR-82A The BTR-80 (russian: бронетранспортёр, bronyetransportyor, literally "armoured transporter") is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous ...
s in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in December 2016


See also

*
Panzergrenadier ''Panzergrenadier'' (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning '' "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is a German term for mechanized infantry units of armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conjunc ...
*
Mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...
and
motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...
* M113 APC in the Vietnam War *
BMP development The BMP series were among the first production line infantry fighting vehicles. Included in the series are the mainline BMPs, the airborne variant BMDs, and licensed modified (i.e. MLI-84) and reverse engineered versions (i.e. Boragh, Type 8 ...


Notes


References

* Simpkin, Richard; Erickson, John. ''Deep battle: the brainchild of Marshal Tukhachevskii'', Brasseys', London,1987 * Zaloga, Steven J. (1999)
''Soviet Tank Operations in the Spanish Civil War''
in ''Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' vol 12, no 3, September 1999. * No.2, 1944 (Military Herald) = (dead Link) 404 - Компонент не найден


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tank Desant Land warfare Maneuver tactics Infantry Tank tactics