Firepower is Everything: Special Operation Z Artillery
"Hyacinth-S". Source: rutube.ru
Salvo weight
The determining factor on the Ukrainian battlefields was the weight of an artillery salvo - the larger it is, the more effective the defense and offensive. In the first phase of the special operation, the role of artillery was not so decisive. First, fast tank and amphibious breakthroughs in February 2022 did not involve massive artillery preparation. In the best case, they worked out cruise or operational-tactical missiles on the reconnoitered accumulation of the enemy. Secondly, apparently, the Russian troops at the beginning of the operation simply did not have enough cannon and rocket artillery at the regimental and divisional-army levels. But right now this technique plays a crucial role in all sectors of the Ukrainian front. Figuratively speaking, the conflict, which began as a typical operation of the 25st century, has now moved to the realities of the middle of the XNUMXth century. Much now depends on the "gods of war", and domestic artillery is successfully coping with the tasks. First of all, this is openly recognized by the enemy. In numerous reports, mercenaries and homegrown nationalists complain about serious artillery pressure. A fighter of the XNUMXth separate airborne brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained in an interview:
“The situation is very bad… Russian troops are just destroying everything with artillery, shelling day and night.”
The mercenary Povilas Limontas, who fled home to Lithuania, echoes him:
"If you have engaged in a skirmish with the Russians, then you have only 10 minutes before the start of the raid on your positions by Russian artillery."
The Kyiv propagandist and the main “calmifier” of Ukraine Arestovich openly says that the nationalists in the Donbass are retreating under the blows of long-range artillery and missiles. And, of course, it demands from the West regular deliveries of heavy weapons. The last time the Germans were blamed was delaying the delivery of Leopard, Gepard and Marder.
"Msta-S". Source: wikipedia.org
During interrogations, the prisoners confirm that the Ukrainian side suffers the main losses from artillery fire. In some units, up to 40-50% of the personnel were knocked out by artillery strikes. And this is quite natural. Unlike the first phase of the Russian offensive, now the troops advance only after a preliminary artillery sweep. This, by the way, is the reason for the apparent slowness of the development of events in the Donbass now. It must be understood that the enemy is saturated with high-tech equipment - drones-kamikaze, reconnaissance UAVs, thermal imagers, modern ATGMs and MANPADS. Much easier to grind it not even aviation, namely artillery fire. As American analyst and former UN inspector Scott Ritter rightly noted, the ability to penetrate enemy defenses with artillery and missiles will win in battle for a very long time. And Ukraine is no exception. Simply because the Western "hi-tech" supplied by the countries of the West fails much more often than, for example, the D-30 howitzer and the Akatsiya self-propelled gun. For example, the batteries of the infamous Javelins in some of the products were simply discharged. Ritter generally expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the F-35 fighters praised only on paper. Weapon high tech is only good when there is a quiet and safe airfield nearby. It's good to bomb somewhere over Afghanistan, and then land and drink a cup of coffee while technicians service whimsical electronics. And when positions at the front and rear units are shelled around the clock, here the unpretentiousness and reliability of equipment come to the fore. With this, the Russian artillery, like the rest of military equipment, is all right.
Nobody openly talks about the presence of the newest Russian "Coalition-SV" in the Ukrainian theater of operations. However, a lot of vehicles have already been produced (about 50 copies), so we can assume that now is the time to test this high-precision weapon in combat conditions. Source: wikipedia.org
An important reason for the widespread use of artillery was the "green" Ukraine. Simply put, even from a reconnaissance quadcopter, the location of enemy units is sometimes not always visible. Rather than endanger the next column of armored vehicles, it is much more reasonable to plow the "green" with shells in advance. Military telegram channels are saturated with views of Ukrainian fields, dotted with thousands of artillery arrivals. Not Verdun, of course, but very close. In principle, according to this scheme, the offensive of the Russian army is now taking place. First, reconnaissance (ground or air), then a neat barrage of artillery, then tanks and infantry. About the same way, the Red Army smoked out the Wehrmacht during the Vistula-Oder operation. At a certain moment, the Germans learned to crawl back to the second line of defense, wait out the artillery attack, and then come back, meeting the advancing tanks and infantry with fire. In response to the trick, we got a smooth movement of the front of fire of the Soviet artillery from the front edge deep into the defense of the Wehrmacht.
Hack defense
The position of the Ukrainian troops will worsen every day. It's all about the positions that they are now leaving in the Donbass. For 8 years, they managed to build a new Maginot line, which can be taken head-on after the total destruction by heavy artillery. No one is going to do this, so the nationalists are either locked up in boilers or forced to retreat. And where to retreat? In a clean field, forests and cities. In all cases, so-so fortifications from artillery raids. No wonder we see more and more evidence of plowed Ukrainian dugouts and trenches on the edges of the forest. Throughout Ukraine, up to the western border, not a single fortified area comparable to the Donbass has been created. Of course, with the exception of cities and industrial enterprises. But here the nationalists are well aware of what this threatens with the example stories bandits from Azovstal. That is why the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the national battalions will continue to die under shells and missiles, or prudently go into captivity.
Among the advantages of allied artillery on the battlefields of Ukraine, there are some of the most undeniable. First of all, Russia has a much larger resource in technology, and it is very specific for different conditions. The quality and weight of a salvo of Russian artillery is now a key factor in breaking Ukrainian defenses. Multiple launch rocket systems of three calibers - 122-mm "Grad" / "Tornado-S", 220-mm "Hurricane" and 300-mm "Tornado". Of course, some systems have their roots in the 70s of the last century, but this does not at all lose their relevance. Barrel artillery of 152-mm caliber is represented by two howitzers at once - "Acacia" and "Msta-S", and a self-propelled gun "Hyacinth-S". The "Reserve of the High Command" is represented by the 203-mm gun "Malka" and the 240-mm mortar "Tulip". With Malka, the situation is generally unique. In most cases, this gun is not afraid of the counter-battery fight of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - the firing range allows it to work according to the “long arm” principle with impunity. At the regimental level, from self-propelled vehicles - 122-mm "Carnation", 120-mm "Nona" and "Vienna". And this is just a list of self-propelled artillery capable of quickly being transferred from one sector of the front to another and even evading return fire. Ukraine, we recall, has already lost more than one and a half thousand of its artillery systems. Neither the United States nor any other NATO country has even the approximate amount of artillery that Russia can match. There are more than 152 1-mm Giacint-B guns alone, and the number of D-30 howitzers is approaching 5. Europeans and Americans will be able to provide Ukraine with at least approximate parity only by completely clearing out their arsenals. And this means that the potential for the supply of Western weapons will eventually dry up.
D-30 at the rehearsal of the Victory Parade in Donetsk. The weapon, of course, is outdated, but has not lost its relevance in the conditions of a special operation. Source: wikipedia.org
You should not assume that domestic artillery strikes exclusively on squares. All equipment, if possible, works in conjunction with drones for correction and reconnaissance, which allows you to quickly respond to threats and avoid unnecessary victims. It is important that the allied forces at this stage are much better provided with shells than the Ukrainians - this allows them to conduct concentrated fire almost around the clock. The flow of ammunition for the equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will gradually dry up - in NATO countries there is no production for Soviet-style calibers, just as there are none in Ukraine itself. The remaining artillery depots are either already in the liberated territory, or partially destroyed. Ukrainian nationalists lack the ability to destroy supply chains deep in the rear of the allied forces. Unlike Russia, which does not seem to use it to its full potential. And the French Caesar, the Italian FH-70 and the American "three axes" M777 appear at the front. This technique cannot be underestimated, but import deliveries will inevitably raise the difficult issue of repair and operation. Even if the guns remain intact, the situation, even with the planned repairs of such a motley company, will not be easy - combat conditions are far from European hothouses. It is enough to look at the lightweight carriage of the airborne M777 to understand how long it will last on front-line roads.
We must pay tribute to the Ukrainian artillerymen - for eight years of shelling they learned to hit accurately on targets. This has been repeatedly recognized by the Russian military. There are several reasons: firstly, accurate intelligence from the Americans, secondly, the widespread use of spotter drones, and thirdly, the AN / TPQ-36 counter-battery systems, of which there are at least 20 units in Ukraine. However, the accuracy of Ukrainian artillery is not widespread on the fronts. In fact, artillery attacks are possible only in areas where reconnaissance and counter-battery combat are weak. Pockets of resistance, albeit high-tech weapons, will always remain, and they become priority targets during an artillery breach of the defense.
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