The Russian Way of War

[MedCorps]

Just finished reading The Russian Way of War: Operational Art 1904-1940 by Richard W. Harrison. (University of Kansas Press, 2001).

One of the best reads I have had on the development of the Operational Art and insightful as to how Russian strategic and operational thought developed into what it is today / how they applied in in WWII.

Covers five periods sequentially and you can see the build as the operational art evolves over battles and political changes.

• Period 1 - 1904-1917 (starting with the Russo-Japanese War)
• Period 2 - 1918-1920 (starting with the Russian Revolution)
• Period 3 - 1921-1929 (which really shows the theoretical development)
• Period 4 - 1930-1936 (which show theory backed with economic development)
• Period 5 - 1937-1940 (including the impact the the intellectual purge).

Good read if this sort of thing floats your boat. Also interesting to hear people talk about manoeuvring Corps and Armies when we talk about combat teams and battle groups all the time.

MC

 

[FJAG]

For a 2016 update you can read Grau and Bartles "The Russian Way of War: Force Structures, Tactics and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces" which is available from the US Army U Press here.

 

[OldSolduer]

For a 2016 update you can read Grau and Bartles "The Russian Way of War: Force Structures, Tactics and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces" which is available from the US Army U Press here.

When I studied the old Soviet Union Red Army IIRC their basic maneuver unit was the Motor Rifle Division. If you really needed a model of a Mech Div the old Soviet model is a good start point IMO. The Tank Div was something else too.

 

[Rudburg]

Just finished reading The Russian Way of War: Operational Art 1904-1940 by Richard W. Harrison. (University of Kansas Press, 2001).

One of the best reads I have had on the development of the Operational Art and insightful as to how Russian strategic and operational thought developed into what it is today / how they applied in in WWII.

Covers five periods sequentially and you can see the build as the operational art evolves over battles and political changes.

• Period 1 - 1904-1917 (starting with the Russo-Japanese War)
• Period 2 - 1918-1920 (starting with the Russian Revolution)
• Period 3 - 1921-1929 (which really shows the theoretical development)
• Period 4 - 1930-1936 (which show theory backed with economic development)
• Period 5 - 1937-1940 (including the impact the the intellectual purge).

Good read if this sort of thing floats your boat. Also interesting to hear people talk about manoeuvring Corps and Armies when we talk about combat teams and battle groups all the time.

MC

David Glantz has a number of good books on this topic. The most relevant to the development of theory are The Military Strategy of the Soviet Union or Pursuit of Deep Battle, but he has also written extensively about Soviet operations during WW2.

 

[Rudburg]

When I studied the old Soviet Union Red Army IIRC their basic maneuver unit was the Motor Rifle Division.

That's basically correct. The MRD was expected to do the bulk of the fighting in any major war, either by forming the bulk of a defensive system, or in smashing through one.

If you really needed a model of a Mech Div the old Soviet model is a good start point IMO. The Tank Div was something else too.

I don't think we could successfully adopt an MRD clone. Its organization is derived from its intended doctrinal role, and it has some features that the Soviets considered acceptable (for example, relatively weak CSS support) that we would not.

The Tank Division had an interesting role in Soviet (and now Russian) doctrine. They were expected to do relatively little tactical fighting, but were intended to convert small victories into big ones by going after operationally or strategically significant targets deep in the enemy rear area. In Cold War Europe, it would have been MRDs that went toe-to-toe with NATO divisions; once a gap had been created, the TDs would be unleashed in the direction of Bonn, Brussels, the Rhine river crossings, etc.

 

[Infanteer]

Just finished reading The Russian Way of War: Operational Art 1904-1940 by Richard W. Harrison. (University of Kansas Press, 2001).

One of the best reads I have had on the development of the Operational Art and insightful as to how Russian strategic and operational thought developed into what it is today / how they applied in in WWII.

Solid recommendation. Harrison is one of the giants of Soviet military history and thought in the English language.