"The armies of the West use the Soviet version": the Czech press discusses the new structure of the tank battalion
In the countries of the former socialist bloc, criticism of the Soviet legacy has become a template for the authorities in the formation of their military strategy. At the same time, NATO standards are presented in every possible way. However, as it turned out, among the allies in the alliance, unification does not affect all areas of military development; moreover, in a number of NATO armies, Soviet models of troop formation are actively used.
All this came as a surprise news for the Czech public, discussing the re-equipment of the local army with new Tanks: it is planned to purchase up to 50 Leopard 2 A7 + tanks and a “free” transfer of 15 Leopard 2 A4 units from Germany is expected - in exchange for those transferred to the independent T-72M1. Currently, the Czech army has one heavy and one light brigade each. The first includes one three-company tank battalion with 30 T-72M4 CZ tanks (3 platoons of 3 tanks each form a company, supplemented by a commander's MBT).
However, according to the Soviet model, this is not even a full-fledged battalion, because it had one more command tank [battalion commander]. This "ternary" structure is called the obsolete Soviet system. But this label is not justified. This model was used not only in the USSR, it is used by a number of armies, including Western ones. The “three” has its own rationality, like the “four”, and you can argue endlessly about which of these templates is better.
- noted in the Czech edition of CZDefence, listing a number of examples of the formation of troops.
Poland had about 1 thousand tanks (before the start of deliveries of the Armed Forces of Ukraine), which were consolidated into battalions. They are subdivided into 4 companies of 14 MBTs each (consisting of 3 platoons - two squads of two pairs of tanks, numbering 4 vehicles, plus 2 command tanks) and are supplemented by two more command tanks at the battalion level - a total of 58 vehicles.
Tank battalions formed in this way have been popular in recent years - they allow you to concentrate huge forces. But at the same time, this structure is much more demanding in terms of management, it requires high organizational skills [of the commanding staff] and high-quality logistics. In many countries, a tank battalion built in this way is considered too bulky.
- indicated in the publication.
Therefore, a number of armies use a modified “four” model - a battalion (44 vehicles in total) consists of not 4, but 3 companies of 14 tanks each.
This pattern is also very popular. It is used, among others, in the German and Austrian armies
- explains the author.
In his words, the classic Soviet "ternary" system is also not a dogma and is subject to various changes:
In recent years, more and more armies using the "troika" in their tank units have modified this model.
As explained, the conflicts of recent decades show that there is a need to strengthen the chain of command, both at the battalion and company levels. Companies (as well as a battalion) receive two command tanks instead of one. In total, there are 35 tanks in total.
De facto, it was precisely this structure of its tank units that was used, for example, by the Iraqi army. This organizational structure proved itself in heavy battles with terrorists.
- the author notes.
According to him, from all this variety, the Czech command intends to choose the most difficult construction option, creating a tank battalion of 58 vehicles according to the "Quarter" model.
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