The automobile forces of the Russian Federation (the official abbreviation for the Russian Armed Forces) are an association in the Armed Forces. They are intended for the transportation of personnel, the supply of food, fuel, ammunition and other materiel that are necessary for warfare. In addition, automobile troops are used to evacuate sick, wounded, equipment. They also transport other units that do not have their own transport.
The automobile troops of Russia consist of formations, units, institutions, and command. They can be part of units and structures of a combined arms nature, types of armed forces , combat arms, or make up separate automobile formations and units.
History of Automobile Troops: Tsarist Russia
The first automobile teams of the Russian imperial army appeared in 1906. They became part of the engineering troops. They served as the prototype of the modern autobaht. Four years later, on May 29, 1910, the first educational author was created in St. Petersburg. Today, this date is celebrated as Automobile Troops Day. A few months later, an automobile branch of the Military Communications Department of the General Directorate of the General Staff is being created. The first regular autorotes appeared in the spring of 1911, at the same time the first motor rally of freight transport was organized, which was planned to be adopted. The following year, cars were tested.
World War I
Before the start of the war, in 1914, the Russian army numbered five autorots, which were armed with 418 trucks and 259 cars. Despite its small numbers, as well as disgusting roads, vehicles played a big role in this war. As a result, car troops were able to prove their worth. They were used to deliver military cargo, the wounded, personnel, as well as moving machine gun and artillery points. At the same time, vehicles began to wear armor. So the first armored cars appeared. In the Russian army, there were 400 units, they were consolidated into 50 armored detachments, which successfully fought on the battlefields. By the beginning of the October Revolution in the army, there were about ten thousand units of vehicles, which amounted to 22 autorotas.
Soviet time: civil war
Automotive equipment was widely used during the civil war. So, in August 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a special resolution, as a result of which half of the country's cars were transferred to the military department. By the end of the year, the Red Army totaled four thousand cars, and in 1920 - seven and a half thousand. Some of them were automobile detachments, and some were transferred to the troops. The replenishment of the fleet was due to trophies. The main objective of this type of troops was the transportation of goods over long distances and for the rapid transfer of personnel. In addition, weapons were often mounted on cars - guns and machine guns. In addition, vehicles were used as sanitary, staff and for radio communications.
Red Army: before the Second World War
After the end of hostilities in the Red Army, the renewal of worn-out vehicles begins. The first domestic car that entered the army was the AMO F-15 truck. In the same period, training motor transport battalions (consisting of five companies) began to form in each military district. In 1933, the first mechanical case was created, which became the world's first movable unit, all of whose weapons and equipment were mechanically thrust. According to the state, it provided for more than two hundred cars. And by 1936, four such corps had already been formed as part of the Red Army.
Industrial revolution
Industrialization was taking place rapidly in the young Soviet state, among other things, old factories were reconstructed and new car factories were built. After updating the technical base of AMO and renaming it to the plant to them. Stalin produces three-ton ZIS-5 trucks on it. At the same time, the production of the legendary GAZ-AA lorry starts at the new Gorky plant. As a result, automobile troops are equipped with modern technology, and in addition, service management is being improved in them. Initially, they were subordinate to the Main Military Engineering Directorate, in 1924 the State Military Intelligent Institution was transformed into the Military Technical Supply Department of the Red Army, and in 1929 the Office of Motorization and Mechanization under the People's Commissariat of Defense was created. In 1935, the next reorganization of the UMM into an armored directorate took place, and in 1939 - into the Main Armored Directorate.
The Great Patriotic War
The Great Patriotic War became a new stage in the development of automobile troops. The rapid change in the operational situation and the growing dynamism of warfare necessitated the transfer of a large amount of material assets and personnel of the army as soon as possible. All this required an increase in the number of automobile troops and a more perfect form of their organization. As a result, in July 1941, the road administration was created, which is subordinate to the rear of the Red Army. Such departments are created under the management of all fronts. The number of vehicles in the ranks of the Red Army in this period amounted to 272,600 units. They were based on passenger cars GAZ-61 and GAZ-M1, as well as trucks and special vehicles based on GAZ-AA, GAZ-AAA, GAZ-MM, ZIS-6 and ZIS-5. In the first months of the war, automobile troops suffered catastrophic damage both in personnel and in material parts. Partly these losses were compensated by mobilizing equipment from the sectors of the national economy, and partly due to the production of new ones, however, due to the occupation of industrial regions of the country, total production was low. In addition, the acquisition of units also occurred as a result of the supply of equipment from abroad. In addition, trophy vehicles were widely used (from 1942 to 1943, the Red Army got 123 thousand cars as trophies). All this allowed to significantly increase the capabilities of military transport. Immediately after the end of hostilities in the army, there were more than 664 thousand vehicles, of which 33 percent were Lend-Lease vehicles, and 10 percent were captured. During the Second World War, tens of thousands of fighters were awarded state awards, and many - the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Post-war time
After the end of the Second World War, the question of equipping the army with all-wheel drive vehicles, including for special purposes, became acute. In this regard, from the late forties, Soviet industry began the production of army vehicles, which had a 6x6 ZIS-151 wheeled platform. In 1953, the first ZIL-157 and ZIL-164 rolled off the conveyors of the Likhachev plant, and the Gorky plant began production of the GAZ-53. In the period of the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, work continues on equipping automobile troops with new types of equipment. So, the UAZ-469, Ural-375, GAZ-66, ZIL-131 enter service. In 1975, an automobile service was created in the Soviet Army , which was colloquially nicknamed “Autobat” almost immediately. In the same year, the first representatives of the Kama Automobile Plant, KAMAZ-5310, entered the troops.
Afghan war
At the beginning of this military conflict, transportation of materiel to the troops of the fortieth army was carried out by thirteen automobile battalions. So, delivery was carried out by automobile columns, which included flatbed trucks (up to fifty units) and support vehicles (up to ten units). In addition, refrigerators were also part of them. The movement was carried out only in the daytime. Protection of the columns was carried out BMP, armored personnel carriers and ZSU. During the hostilities in Afghanistan, a lot of cargo was transported by truck, the total weight of which amounted to more than ten million tons. In 1987, another reorganization took place, and automobile troops became subordinate to the Central Automobile and Road Administration of the Ministry of Defense (TsADU). They have a fairly branched structure. Now, military units of various branches of the armed forces have received their units, which ensure the transportation of personnel and military cargo. The most powerful means of road transport on an operational and strategic scale were special automobile brigades, which are in the front, army and central subordination.
New time
In 2000, by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Military Motorist Day was established. This holiday is celebrated by military personnel throughout the country. In St. Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities, automobile troops receive congratulations on May 29. On this day, motorized soldiers hear words of gratitude from their loved ones and command. In addition, on the Day of the military motorist it is customary to congratulate reserve officers and veterans who have served in the autobat of the Russian Federation. In 2010, this type of troops turned one hundred years old. An exhibition was timed to the holiday in the city of Bronnitsy (Moscow region). Here were presented cars that are currently in service with modern parts of the vehicle.
Is car service easy?
To date, many recruits seek to get into this service, and most of them for some reason consider it easier than other military units. However, repaying a debt to the Motherland in an autobaht is no easier, and at times much more difficult than in other troops. Not everyone can withstand frequent marching crossings of military transport convoys, besides this, one should take into account the main direction of the kind of troops to which this automobile part is attached. For example, an autobaht as part of an engineering force takes a permanent part in guiding pontoon crossings, and this is a very difficult task.
The training of officers for the automobile troops is carried out in military engineering schools and academies, because there is simply no special school for automobile troops. In addition, six civilian universities in Russia have military departments specializing in this area.
Emblem of automobile troops of Russia and other attributes
The form of this kind of troops is combined arms. A distinctive sign are chevrons and buttonholes and the emblem of automobile troops. The photo provided in this article demonstrates this attribute. The flag of the automobile troops is a black cloth on which a chevron emblem is framed, framed by a St. George ribbon, as well as the motto: "Automobile troops are always ready to throw."