An artillery battalion is a specialized form of a military brigade designed to provide artillery support. Other combat formations may have an artillery component, but an artillery division is an armed unit dedicated to artillery and relies on other units to support infantry, especially when attacking.
Formation
Initially, the division was usually formed either for attack or for defense, but in the twentieth century, when military operations became more mobile and stationary fortifications less useful, artillery divisions were created for a defensive purpose. The main exception was coastal defense. During WWII, the use and formation of artillery divisions (typically 3,000 to 4,000 men and 24 to 70 guns) took on significant importance as they could be attached to units in need and then detached and reattached elsewhere as needed.necessary.
Aircraft brigades and divisions
A specialized type of artillery battalion or brigade is an anti-aircraft brigade. During World War II, many anti-aircraft formations served both as defense against air attacks and as offensive units against armored vehicles - this was especially important for effective German artillery.
Modern anti-aircraft artillery battalions tend to be smaller and even more specialized than in the past, often specially trained to handle only one or two types of artillery. Tactically, the use of helicopters has captured much of the artillery brigade's historical advantage. Separate anti-aircraft artillery battalions are awarded special awards for their collective deeds.
History
From 1859 to 1938, the term "brigade" was used to designate a battalion unit of the Royal Artillery of the British Army. This was because, unlike infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, which were organic, artillery units consisted of individually numbered batteries, which were essentially divisions.
Commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In 1938, the Royal Artillery adopted the term "regiment" for this unit size, and the word "battalion" came to be used in its usual sense, especially for groups of anti-aircraft regiments commanded by a brigadier. These units consisted of artillery battalions.
Individual artilleryunits in the USSR
What can be said about the Soviet experience in this area? Specialized howitzer artillery battalions came into vogue in the Soviet Army during the later stages of World War II. For example, the 34th Artillery Division and the 51st Guards Artillery Division. Artillery divisions are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms groupings such as corps, combat commanders or theaters.
India and Iraq
The artillery divisions were later adopted by the Indian Army from 1988 (two artillery divisions), the Iraqi Army briefly between 1985 and 1998 and the PAVN between 1971 and 2006. The concept of an artillery division is deeply rooted in Soviet military doctrine and is based on viewing artillery as a unique stand-alone combat weapon capable of achieving large-scale targets using only its own resources and assets - it is a way to concentrate the vast majority of massed firepower in a small geographical area to achieve strategic and overwhelming breakthrough in the defense of the enemy. Self-propelled artillery battalions are especially effective for this purpose.
In Germany
18th Artillery Division was a German unit formed during WWII in 1943. As the first independent mobile artillery force, it never rose to its planned strength. The division fought on the Eastern Front.
The 18th Artillery Division was formed by combining the headquarters and some remaining corps units from the 18th Panzer Division, disbanded on 1 October, with other smaller units. It was the first unit planned as an independent and mobile artillery force. The special element of this unit was that it had its own (heavy) infantry element, the Schützen-Abteilung 88 (tmot), also known as the Art.-Kampf-Btln. 88 and Art.-Alarm-Abteilung 18. With the mission of protecting the artillery in all dangerous situations, this battalion, carefully trained in rear operations, saved the division from total annihilation at least three times.
Battle Glory
The division was part of the XXXVIII Army Corps of the 1st Tank Army. It operated until the end of March 1944, when it was encircled in the Kamenetz-Podolsky pocket. Although he managed to break through, he lost all of his heavy equipment. Until November 4, 1944, he participated mainly in infantry combat; and due to heavy losses, the division almost ceased to exist. It was listed for the last time in April 1944 as a single unit as Kampfgruppe 18. Art. Div. and was officially disbanded on July 27, 1944. The remaining officers and men from headquarters and troops were used to form the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland and the artillery regiments were reorganized into several independent artillery brigades.
Our artillery battalion
34th Guards Artillery Division of the Ground Forces of Russia and the Soviet Army wasformed in Potsdam and served there together with a group of Soviet troops in Germany. In 1993, he inherited the decorations of the 2nd Guards Artillery Division. The division withdrew to Mulino in 1994 and was disbanded in 2009. Now it is a rocket-artillery battalion.
History
The division was formed as the 34th artillery division as part of the group of Soviet occupation forces in the 4th German artillery corps in Potsdam from June 25 to July 9, 1945. It included the 30th, 38th Guards and 148th Cannon Artillery Brigades. In 1953, the 4th Artillery Corps was disbanded, the division was subordinated to the headquarters of the GSFG.
In 1958, the 38th Guards Artillery Brigade was renamed the 243rd Guards Artillery Regiment. In 1960 it became the 248th Guards Cannon Artillery Regiment. She later returned to the Soviet Union in 1960 with the 6th Artillery Division. The 17th Cannon Artillery Regiment and the 245th Heavy Howitzer Regiment were transferred to the 34th of the 5th Battalion.
70s
In 1970, the 245th Regiment became the 288th Howitzer Heavy Artillery Brigade. In 1974, the 243rd became the 303rd Guards Artillery Brigade. In 1982, the 303rd was rearmed with 48 2S7 Pions. In 1989, the 303rd was re-equipped with 2S5 Giatsint-S, the 122nd Anti-tank Artillery Brigade joined the division in January 1989.
In 1993, the division inherited the honors of the disbanded 2nd Guards Artillery Division and became the 34th Guards PerekopRed Banner Order of the Suvorov Artillery Division. From 10 April to 1 September 1994 it was recalled to Mulino where it replaced the 20th Artillery Training Division. The division was disbanded in 2009.
Kutuzov Division
The 127th Order of the Kutuzov Machine Gun Artillery Division, Second Class (127 Machine Gun Artillery Division) was a unit of the Russian ground forces that traced its history back to the 66th Infantry Division during the Second World War.
Initially, the division was formed on May 14, 1932 in the village of Lutkovka-Medikal in the Veditsky Shmakovsky district of the Ussuri region of the Far Eastern military district as the 1st or 2nd Kolkhoz Artillery Battalion. It was redesignated the 66th Rifle Division on 21 May 1936.
The division was part of the 35th Army of the Independent Coastal Group in the Far East in May 1945. In August 1945, the division, as part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, took part in the Soviet operation against Japan. On August 9, 1945, the division began operations as part of the 35th Army, advancing 12 kilometers, crossing the Songcha River in the northern part of Heilongjiang. The division fought on the Ussuri River in the Khotun, Mishan (Mishan), Border and Dunin fortified districts, capturing the cities of Mishan, Jilin, Yangtze and Harbin. For valor in battle and courage on September 19, 1945, the 66th Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, Second Class. The personnel of the division were awarded three medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union, 1266 awards and 2838 medals.
November 29, 1945 she wasreorganized into the 2nd Panzer Division, but in 1957 it was again renamed the 32nd Panzer Division, and in 1965 - the 66th Panzer Division. On March 30, 1970, the division became the 277th motorized rifle division. However, their firepower is no match for anti-tank artillery battalions.
In May 1981, the division headquarters was transferred to Sergeevka. On June 1, 1990, the 277th motorized rifle division was transformed into the 127th machine gun artillery division. The 702nd Motorized Rifle Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 114th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment. It included the 114th and 130th machine-gun artillery regiments, the 314th motorized rifle regiment, the 218th tank regiment, the 872nd artillery regiment and the 1172nd anti-aircraft missile regiment.
Our days
In mid-2008, the division, under new commander Sergei Ryzhkov, replaced some of its former personnel units with high readiness units. The regiment arrived from Sergeevka, two regiments of constant readiness from Kamen-Rybolov (438th motorized rifle regiment). On the western shore of Lake Khanka and to Ussuriysk (231st motorized rifle regiment). These changes effectively turned the division into a motorized infantry formation, although it was still designated as a static defensive formation.
