For the period from 1945 to the beginning of the 21st century. There have been more than 500 local wars and armed conflicts in the world. They not only influenced the formation of relations between countries directly in conflict zones, but also affected the politics and economy of many countries around the world. According to many political scientists, the likelihood of new local wars and armed conflicts not only remains, but is also increasing. In this regard, the study of the reasons for their occurrence, methods of unleashing them, experience in preparing and conducting combat operations, and the peculiarities of military art in them acquires particularly relevant significance.
The term “local war” refers to a war involving two or more states within the borders of their territories, limited in purpose and scope from the point of view of the interests of the great powers. Local wars, as a rule, are waged with the direct or indirect support of major powers, which can use them to achieve their own political goals.
An armed conflict is an armed conflict of a limited scale between states (international armed conflict) or opposing parties within the territory of one state (internal armed conflict). In armed conflicts, war is not declared and no transition to wartime is carried out. An international armed conflict can develop into a local war, and an internal armed conflict into a civil war.
The largest local wars of the 2nd half of the 20th century, which had a significant impact on the development of military affairs, include: the Korean War (1950-1953), the Vietnam War (1964-1975), the Indo-Pakistani War (1971), Arab-Israeli wars, the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the Gulf War (1991), the wars in Yugoslavia and Iraq.
1. Brief overview of local wars and armed conflicts
Korean War (1950-1953)
IN August 1945 The Red Army liberated the northern part of Korea from the Japanese occupiers. The part of the peninsula south of the 38th parallel was occupied by American troops. In the future, it was planned to create a unified Korean state. The Soviet Union withdrew its troops from North Korean territory in 1948. However, the United States continued the policy of dividing this country. In August 1948, a pro-American government headed by Syngman Rhee was formed in South Korea. In the north of the country, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed in the fall of the same year. The governments of both the DPRK and South Korea believed that the creation of a united state under their authority was possible only by destroying the hostile regime in another part of Korea. Both countries began to actively create and expand their armed forces.
By the summer of 1950, the size of the South Korean army reached 100 thousand people. It was armed with 840 guns and mortars, 1.9 thousand Bazooka anti-tank rifles and 27 armored vehicles. In addition, this army had 20 combat aircraft and 79 naval ships.
The Korean People's Army (KPA) consisted of 10 rifle divisions, a tank brigade and a motorcycle regiment. It had 1.6 thousand guns and mortars, 258 tanks, 172 combat aircraft.
The American-South Korean war plan was to encircle and destroy the main forces of the KPA in the areas of Pyongyang and south of Wonsan by attacking ground forces from the front and landing troops in the rear, after which, developing an offensive to the north, reach the border with China .
Their actions were ready to support 3 American infantry and 1 armored divisions, a separate infantry regiment and a regimental combat group that were part of the 8th US Army, which were based in Japan.
At the beginning of May 1950, the government of the DPRK received reliable information about the impending aggression. With the help of a group of Soviet military advisers, a military action plan was developed, which included repelling enemy attacks and then launching a counteroffensive. The USSR provided North Korea with material assistance, including equipment and heavy weapons. The advance deployment of troops along the 38th parallel made it possible to achieve a balance of forces and assets that was favorable for the KPA. The transition of the KPA troops to the offensive on June 25, 1950 is considered by many historians as a necessary measure in connection with numerous military provocations by South Korea.
Military operations in the Korean War can be roughly divided into four periods.
1st period (June 25 - September 14, 1950). On the morning of June 25, 1950, the KPA went on the offensive. Under US pressure and in the absence of a Soviet representative, the UN Security Council authorized the creation of UN troops to “repel aggression.” On July 5, units of the 8th American Army under the UN flag entered into battle against the KPA. Enemy resistance increased. Despite this, the KPA troops continued their successful offensive and advanced 250-350 km southward in 1.5 months.
The dominance of American aviation in the air forced the KPA command to increasingly switch to night operations, which negatively affected the pace of the offensive. By August 20, the KPA offensive was stopped at the turn of the river. Naktong. The enemy managed to retain the Busan bridgehead in the south of the Korean Peninsula.
2nd period (September 15 - October 24, 1950). By mid-September, the enemy had transferred up to 6 American divisions and a British brigade to the Busan bridgehead. The balance of power changed in his favor. The 8th American Army alone consisted of 14 infantry divisions, 2 brigades, up to 500 tanks, over 1.6 thousand guns and mortars, and more than 1 thousand aircraft. The plan of the American command was to encircle and destroy the main forces of the KPA by striking troops from the Busan bridgehead and landing an amphibious assault in the Incheon area.
The operation began on September 15 with an amphibious landing behind KPA lines. On September 16, troops from the Busan bridgehead went on the offensive. They managed to break through the KPA defenses and develop an offensive to the north. On October 23, the enemy captured Pyongyang. On the west coast, American troops managed to reach the Korean-Chinese border by the end of October. Their further advance was delayed by the stubborn defense of KPA units together with partisans operating behind enemy lines.
3rd period (October 25, 1950 - July 9, 1951). Since October 19, 1950, Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) took part in hostilities on the side of the DPRK. On October 25, the advanced units of the KPA and CPV launched a counterattack on the enemy. Developing the offensive that had begun successfully, the KPA and CPV troops cleared the entire territory of North Korea of the enemy in 8 months of hostilities. Attempts by the American and South Korean troops to launch a new offensive in the first half of 1951 did not lead to success. In July 1951, the front stabilized along the 38th parallel, and the warring parties began peace negotiations.
4th period (July 10, 1951 - July 27, 1953). The American command repeatedly disrupted negotiations and began hostilities again. Enemy aircraft carried out massive attacks on North Korean rear targets and troops. However, as a result of the active resistance and tenacity of the KPA and CPV troops in defense, the enemy’s next offensive attempts were not successful.
had. The firm position of the USSR, heavy losses of UN troops and growing demands from the world community to end the war led to the signing of a ceasefire agreement on July 27, 1953.
As a result, the war ended where it began - on the 38th parallel, along which the border between North and South Korea ran. One of the important military-political results of the war was that the United States and its allies, despite all their enormous potential, were unable to win a war with a much less technically equipped enemy, such as the North Korean army and Chinese volunteers.
Vietnam War (1964-1975)
The Vietnam War was one of the largest and longest armed conflicts after the Second World War. Victory over the French colonialists in the War of Independence in 1945-1954. created favorable conditions for the peaceful unification of the Vietnamese people. However, this did not happen. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) was created in the northern part of Vietnam. A pro-American government was formed in South Vietnam, which, using US military and economic assistance, began hastily creating its own army. By the end of 1958, it consisted of 150 thousand people and more than 200 thousand were in paramilitary forces. Using these forces, the South Vietnamese regime began punitive operations against the national patriotic forces of South Vietnam. In response to repressive measures, the Vietnamese people launched an active guerrilla war. The fighting covered the entire territory of the country. The DRV provided the rebels with comprehensive assistance. By mid-1964, 2/3 of the country's territory was already under the control of partisans.
To save its ally, the US government decided to switch to direct military intervention in South Vietnam. Taking advantage of the collision of American ships with torpedo boats of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin as an occasion, US aircraft began systematic bombing of the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on August 5, 1964. Large contingents of American troops were deployed to South Vietnam.
The course of the armed struggle in Vietnam can be divided into 3 periods: the first (August 5, 1964 - November 1, 1968) - the period of escalation of American military intervention; the second (November 1968 - January 27, 1973) - the period of gradual winding down of the scale of the war; third (January 28, 1973 - May 1, 1975) - the period of the final blows of patriotic forces and the end of the war.
The plan of the American command provided for air strikes on the most important objects of the DRV and communications of the South Vietnamese partisans, isolating them from
incoming assistance, block and destroy. Units of American infantry, the latest equipment and weapons began to be transferred to South Vietnam. Subsequently, the number of American troops in South Vietnam constantly increased and amounted to: in 1965 - 155 thousand, in 1966 - 385.3 thousand, in 1967 - 485.8 thousand, in 1968 - 543 thousand people.
In 1965-1966 The American command launched a major offensive with the aim of capturing important points in Central Vietnam and pushing the partisans into the mountainous, wooded and sparsely populated areas of the country. However, this plan was thwarted by the maneuverable and active actions of the Liberation Army. The air war against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam also ended in failure. Having strengthened the air defense system with anti-aircraft weapons (mainly Soviet anti-aircraft guided missiles), the anti-aircraft gunners of the DRV inflicted significant damage on enemy aircraft. Over 4 years, over 3 thousand American combat aircraft were shot down over the territory of North Vietnam.
In 1968-1972. Patriotic forces carried out three large-scale offensives, during which areas with a population of over 2.5 million people were liberated. Saigon and American troops suffered heavy losses and were forced to go on the defensive.
In 1970-1971 The flames of war spread to the states neighboring Vietnam - Cambodia and Laos. The purpose of the invasion of American-Saigon troops was to cut the Indochina Peninsula in two, isolate South Vietnamese patriots from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and strangle the national liberation movement in this region. However, the aggression failed. Having encountered decisive resistance and suffered heavy losses, the interventionists withdrew their troops from the territories of these two states. At the same time, the American command began a gradual withdrawal of its troops from South Vietnam, shifting the brunt of the fight to the troops of the Saigon regime.
The successful actions of the air defense of the DRV and the South Vietnamese partisans, as well as the demands of the world community, forced the United States to sign on January 27, 1973, an Agreement to end the participation of its armed forces in the Vietnam War. In total, up to 2.6 million American soldiers and officers took part in this war. American troops were armed with over 5 thousand combat aircraft and helicopters, 2.5 thousand guns, and hundreds of tanks. According to American data, the United States lost about 60 thousand people killed, over 300 thousand people wounded, over 8.6 thousand planes and helicopters and a large amount of other military equipment in Vietnam.
In 1975, the DRV troops and partisans completed the defeat of the Saigon army and on May 1 captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The puppet regime has fallen. The heroic 30-year struggle of the Vietnamese people for independence ended in complete victory. In 1976, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of South Vietnam formed a single state - the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The main military-political results of the war were that the powerlessness of the most modern military power against the people fighting for their national liberation was again revealed. After its defeat in Vietnam, the United States lost much of its influence in Southeast Asia.
Indo-Pakistan War (1971)
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a consequence of the colonial past of the two countries, which were part of British India until 1947, and the result of the incorrect division of the territory of the colony by the British after it was granted independence.
The main causes of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 were:
the unresolved contentious territorial issues, among which the problem of Jammu and Kashmir occupied a key position;
political and economic contradictions within Pakistan, between its western and eastern parts;
the problem of refugees from East Bengal (9.5 million people at the beginning of the war).
The strength of the Indian Armed Forces by the beginning of 1971 was about 950 thousand people. It was armed with more than 1.1 thousand tanks, 5.6 thousand guns and mortars, over 900 aircraft and helicopters (about 600 combat ones), more than 80 warships, boats and auxiliary vessels.
Pakistan's armed forces numbered about 370 thousand people, over 900 tanks, about 3.3 thousand guns and mortars, 450 aircraft (350 combat), 30 warships and auxiliary vessels.
The Indian Armed Forces outnumbered the Pakistani Armed Forces by 2.6 times; tanks - 1.3; field artillery guns and mortars - 1.7; combat aircraft - 1.7; warships and boats - 2.3 times.
The Indian Armed Forces used mainly modern Soviet-made military equipment, including T-54, T-55, PT-76 tanks, 100 mm and 130 mm artillery mounts, MiG-21 fighters, Su-7b fighter-bombers, destroyers (large anti-submarine ships), submarines and missile boats.
Pakistan's armed forces were built with the help of the United States (1954-1965), and later China, France, Italy and Germany. The instability of foreign policy orientation in matters of military development affected the composition and quality of weapons. Only Chinese-made T-59 tanks were comparable in combat capabilities to Indian tanks. Other types of weapons were mostly inferior to Indian models.
The Indo-Pakistani conflict can be divided into 2 periods: the threatened period (April-November 1971), the fighting of the parties (December 1971).
In December 1970, the Awami League party won the elections in East Pakistan (East Bengal). However, the Pakistani government refused to hand over power to her and grant internal autonomy to East Pakistan. By order of President Yahya Khan on March 26, 1971, political activity in the country was banned, the Awami League was outlawed, and troops were sent into East Pakistan and began punitive operations against the population. On April 14, 1971, the leadership of the Awami League announced the creation of a provisional government of Bangladesh and began preparations for the armed struggle of the Mukti Bahini rebel forces. However, the resistance of armed groups of East Bengal nationalists was broken by Pakistani troops by the end of May and restored control over major cities. Repressions against the population led to a mass exodus of Bengalis to neighboring India, where by mid-November 1971 the number of refugees amounted to 9.5 million people.
India supported the Bengali rebels by providing them with weapons and bases on its territory. After preparation, the detachments were transferred to the territory of East Bengal, where by the beginning of the war their number amounted to 100 thousand people. At the end of October, Mukti Bahini troops, often with the direct support of Indian troops, took control of certain areas along the border and deep into East Pakistan, and on November 21, regular Indian troops crossed the border and, along with the insurgents, began fighting against Pakistani troops.
Pakistan, faced with the threat of East Bengal separatism, at the beginning of 1971 transferred 2 additional divisions to East Pakistan and began the formation of new civil defense units and detachments in this province. Partial mobilization was announced and 40 thousand reservists were called up. The troops moved to the borders, forming 2 groupings - 13 divisions on the western border with India, 5 divisions on the eastern border. In mid-November 1971, the Armed Forces were put on full combat readiness, and on November 23, a state of emergency was declared in the country.
India responded by bringing formations and units up to wartime levels by calling up reservists. By the end of October, 2 groups of troops were deployed: the western - 13 divisions and the eastern - 7. At the same time, India increased assistance, including military assistance, to the units of the East Bengal liberation movement.
On December 3, 1971, the Pakistani government, seeing a real threat of losing the eastern part of the country, declared war on India. At 17:45 local time, Pakistani planes attacked Indian air bases. The strikes did not produce the expected results: the Indian Air Force dispersed its aircraft fleet and camouflaged it in advance. Following this, Pakistani troops attempted to launch an offensive on the western front.
A state of emergency was declared in India, and troops were ordered to begin active military operations on the western and eastern fronts, as well as at sea. On the morning of December 4, the Indian offensive began in East Bengal. The offensive was organized in the direction of Dhaka from the west, northwest and northeast (Indian territory covers East Bengal on three sides). Here India had a two-fold superiority in ground forces and significant air superiority. During 8 days of fighting, Indian troops, in cooperation with the Mukti Bahini detachments, broke the stubborn resistance of the Pakistanis and advanced 65-90 km, creating a threat of encirclement for Pakistani troops in the Dhaka area.
On the western front, the fighting took on a positional character. Here the parties had approximately equal strength. The offensive by Pakistani troops, launched on December 3, was unsuccessful and was stopped.
On December 11, the Indian command invited Pakistani troops on the eastern front to surrender. Having received a refusal, Indian troops continued the offensive and by December 14 finally closed the encirclement ring around Dhaka. Indian units entered the city on December 16. On the same day, the act of surrender of a group of Pakistani troops in East Bengal was signed. In the west, a group of Pakistani troops ceased military operations by agreement of the parties.
The Indian Navy played an important role in achieving victory in the war, which was tasked with conducting active offensive operations, disrupting Pakistan's sea communications, destroying enemy ships at sea and in bases, and striking coastal targets. To solve these problems, two temporary formations were formed: “Western” (a cruiser, patrol ships and 6 missile boats) for operations in the Arabian Sea and “East” (an aircraft carrier with escort ships) for operations in the Bay of Bengal. Submarines (submarines) were tasked with blockading the Pakistani coast in the Arabian Sea (2 submarines) and the Bay of Bengal (2 submarines).
With the outbreak of war, the Indian Navy blocked the naval bases and ports of West and East Pakistan. On December 4, an official announcement was made about a naval blockade of the Pakistani coast. Indian Navy ships deployed in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal have begun inspecting all vessels traveling to and from Pakistani ports.
On the night of December 5, Indian ships attacked Pakistan's main naval base, Karachi. The attack was carried out by 3 Soviet-made missile boats supporting 2 patrol ships. When approaching the base, the lead boat attacked and destroyed the Pakistani destroyer Khyber with two missiles. The first missile from another boat hit a minesweeper
“Muhafiz”, the second missile was the destroyer “Badr” (the entire command staff was killed). The transport stationed at the roadstead was also damaged. Approaching the base, the boats fired two more missiles at the port facilities, and the patrol ships opened artillery fire, damaging the Pakistani minesweeper.
This success of the Indian Navy was of great importance for the subsequent struggle at sea. In the Arabian Sea, the Pakistani command returned all its ships to their bases, giving the enemy freedom of action.
Other Soviet-made ships also showed excellent performance during naval operations. Thus, on December 3, the Indian destroyer Rajput destroyed the Pakistani submarine Ghazi using depth charges in the Bay of Bengal.
As a result of two weeks of fighting, the Indian Armed Forces defeated Pakistani troops, occupied the territory of East Bengal and forced the capitulation of the Pakistani group opposing them. In the west, Indian troops occupied several sections of Pakistani territory with a total area of 14.5 thousand km2. Naval supremacy was gained and Pakistani shipping was completely blocked.
Pakistani losses: over 4 thousand killed, about 10 thousand wounded, 93 thousand prisoners; more than 180 tanks, about 1 thousand guns and mortars, about 100 aircraft. The destroyer Khyber, the submarine Ghazi, the minesweeper Muhafiz, 3 patrol boats and several ships were sunk. A number of Pakistan Navy ships were damaged.
Indian losses: about 2.4 thousand killed, over 6.2 thousand wounded; 73 tanks, 220 guns and mortars, 45 aircraft. The Indian Navy lost the Kukri patrol ship, 4 patrol boats and an anti-submarine aircraft. The patrol ship and missile boat were damaged.
Pakistan emerged from the war weakened politically, economically and militarily. The eastern province of the country was lost, on the territory of which a state friendly to India, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, was formed. India has significantly strengthened its position in South Asia. At the same time, as a result of the war, the Kashmir problem and a number of other contradictions between the countries were not resolved, which predetermined the continuation of confrontation, the arms race and nuclear rivalry.
Local wars in the Middle East
After World War II, the Middle East became one of the hottest regions of the world. The reasons for this state lie in the mutual territorial claims of the Arab states and Israel. In 1948-1949 and 1956 (Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt), these contradictions resulted in open armed clashes. Arab-Israeli War 1948-1949 was fought between a coalition of Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq) and Israel. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly decided to create two independent states in Palestine - Jewish and Arab. Israel was formed on May 14, 1948, but the Arab state of Palestine was not created. The leaders of the Arab states did not agree with the UN decision to divide Palestine. To conduct military operations, the Arab states created a group - a total of 30 thousand people, 50 aircraft, 50 tanks, 147 guns and mortars.
Israeli troops numbered about 40 thousand people, 11 aircraft, several tanks and armored vehicles, about 200 guns and mortars.
The offensive of the Arab troops began on May 15 in the general direction of Jerusalem with the goal of dissecting the group of Israeli troops and destroying it piece by piece. As a result of the spring-summer offensive of 1948, Arab troops reached the approaches to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Retreating, the Israelis exhausted the Arabs, conducting focal and maneuverable defenses and acting on communications. On June 11, on the recommendation of the UN Security Council, a truce was concluded between the Arabs and Israel, but it turned out to be fragile. At dawn on July 9, Israeli troops launched an offensive and over 10 days inflicted heavy losses on the Arabs, pushing them out of their positions and significantly strengthening their position. On July 18, the UN ceasefire decision came into force. The UN plan for a peaceful resolution of the conflict was rejected by both warring parties.
By mid-October, Israel had increased its army to 120 thousand people, 98 combat aircraft and formed a tank brigade. The Arab army at that time numbered 40 thousand people, and the number of aircraft and tanks decreased due to losses in battles.
Israel, having a three-fold superiority over the Arab troops in manpower and absolute superiority in aviation and tanks, violated the truce, and on October 15, 1948, its troops resumed hostilities. Israeli aircraft attacked airfields and destroyed Arab aircraft. Over the course of two months, in a series of successive offensive operations, Israeli forces encircled and defeated a significant part of the Arab forces and transferred the fighting to Egypt and Lebanon.
Under pressure from Great Britain, the Israeli government was forced to agree to a truce. On January 7, 1949, hostilities ceased. In February-July 1949, with the mediation of the UN, agreements were concluded that fixed only temporary ceasefire boundaries.
A complex knot of Arab-Israeli contradictions was formed, which became the cause of all subsequent Arab-Israeli wars.
In October 1956, the general staffs of Great Britain, France and Israel developed a plan for joint action against Egypt. According to the plan, Israeli troops, having begun military operations in the Sinai Peninsula, were supposed to defeat the Egyptian army and reach the Suez Canal (Operation Kadesh); Great Britain and France - bomb the cities and troops of Egypt, capture Port Said and Port Fuad with the help of sea and air landings, then land the main forces and occupy the Suez Canal zone and Cairo (Operation Musketeer). The size of the Anglo-French expeditionary force exceeded 100 thousand people. The Israeli army consisted of 150 thousand people, 400 tanks and self-propelled guns, about 500 armored personnel carriers, 600 guns and mortars, 150 combat aircraft and 30 ships of various classes. In total, 229 thousand people, 650 aircraft and over 130 warships, including 6 aircraft carriers, were concentrated directly against Egypt.
The Egyptian army consisted of about 90 thousand people, 600 tanks and self-propelled guns, 200 armored personnel carriers, more than 600 guns and mortars, 128 aircraft, 11 warships and several auxiliary vessels.
On the Sinai Peninsula, the Israelis outnumbered the Egyptian army in manpower by 1.5 times, and in some areas by more than 3 times; the expeditionary force had more than fivefold superiority over the Egyptian forces in the Port Said area. Military operations began on the evening of October 29 with an Israeli airborne assault.
At the same time, Israeli troops launched an offensive in the Suez and Ismaili directions, and on October 31 - in the coastal direction. The Anglo-French fleet established a naval blockade of Egypt.
In the Suez direction, Israeli troops reached the approaches to the canal on November 1. In the Ismaili direction, Egyptian troops abandoned the city of Abu Aweigil. In the coastal direction, the fighting continued until November 5.
On October 30, the British and French governments presented an ultimatum to the Egyptians. Following the Egyptian government's refusal to accept the ultimatum, military and civilian targets were subjected to heavy bombardment. Amphibious assaults were landed. There was a threat of capture of the capital of Egypt.
The emergency session of the UN General Assembly, which opened on November 1, decisively demanded a ceasefire from the warring parties. England, France and Israel refused to comply with this demand. On November 5, the Soviet Union warned of its determination
use military force to restore peace in the Middle East. On November 7, hostilities ceased. By December 22, 1956, Great Britain and France, and by March 8, 1957, Israel withdrew their troops from the occupied territories. The Suez Canal, closed to navigation since the outbreak of hostilities, began operating at the end of April 1957.
In June 1967, Israel launched a new war against the Arab states. The plan of the Israeli military command envisaged carrying out a lightning-fast one-by-one defeat of neighboring Arab states with the main attack on Egypt. On the morning of June 5, Israeli aircraft carried out surprise attacks on airfields in Egypt, Syria and Jordan. As a result, 65% of the air forces of these countries were destroyed and air supremacy was gained.
The Israeli offensive on the Egyptian front was carried out in three main directions. By June 6, having broken the resistance of the Egyptians and thwarted the counterattacks undertaken by the Egyptian command, Israeli troops began pursuit. The bulk of the Egyptian formations located on the Sinai Peninsula were cut off. By 12 noon on June 8, the Israeli advanced units reached the Suez Canal. By the end of the day, active hostilities in the Sinai Peninsula had ceased.
On the Jordanian front, the Israeli offensive began on June 6. In the very first hours, Israeli brigades broke through the Jordanian defenses and expanded their success into depth. On June 7, they surrounded and defeated the main group of Jordanian troops, and by the end of June 8, they reached the river along the entire front. Jordan.
On June 9, Israel attacked Syria with all its might. The main blow was delivered north of Lake Tiberias in the years. El Quneitra and Damascus. The Syrian troops put up stubborn resistance, but at the end of the day they could not withstand the onslaught and, despite their superiority in forces and means, began to retreat. By the end of the day on June 10, the Israelis had captured the Golan Heights, wedged into Syrian territory to a depth of 26 km. Only thanks to the decisive position and energetic measures taken by the Soviet Union, the Arab countries avoided complete defeat.
In subsequent years, Israel's refusal to liberate captured Arab territories necessitated Egypt and Syria to achieve this by armed means. The fighting began simultaneously on both fronts in the middle of the day on October 6, 1973. During fierce fighting, Syrian troops knocked the enemy out of their positions and advanced 12-18 km. By the end of the day on October 7, the offensive was suspended due to significant losses. On the morning of October 8, the Israeli command, pulling up reserves from the depths, carried out a counterattack. Under enemy pressure, by October 16, the Syrians were forced to retreat to their second line of defense, where the front stabilized.
In turn, Egyptian troops successfully crossed the Suez Canal, captured the 1st line of enemy defense and created bridgeheads up to 15-25 km deep. However, due to the passivity of the Egyptian command, the achieved success of the offensive was not developed. On October 15, the Israelis launched a counterattack, crossed the Suez Canal and captured a bridgehead on its western bank. In the following days, developing a fan-based offensive, they blocked Suez, Ismailia and created a threat of encirclement of the 3rd Egyptian Army. In this situation, Egypt turned to the USSR with a request for help. Thanks to the tough position taken by the Soviet Union at the UN, hostilities were stopped on October 25, 1973.
Although Egypt and Syria failed to achieve their goals, the results of the war were positive for them. First of all, in the minds of the Arabs, a kind of psychological barrier that arose as a result of defeat in the 1967 war was overcome. The Arab armies dispelled the myth of Israeli invincibility, showing that they were quite capable of fighting Israeli troops.
The 1973 war was the largest local war in the Middle East. On both sides, up to 1 million 700 thousand people, 6 thousand tanks, 1.8 thousand combat aircraft took part in it. The losses of the Arab countries amounted to over 19 thousand people, up to 2 thousand tanks and about 350 aircraft. Israel lost over 15 thousand people, 700 tanks and up to 250 aircraft in this war. A distinctive feature of this war was that it was waged by regular armed forces, equipped with all types of modern military equipment and weapons.
In June 1982, the Middle East was again engulfed in the flames of war. This time the scene of hostilities was Lebanon, on whose territory there were Palestinian refugee camps. Palestinians carried out raids on Israeli territory, thus trying to force the Israeli government to negotiate for the return of territories captured in 1967. Large forces of Israeli troops were introduced into Lebanese territory and entered Beirut. Heavy fighting continued for more than three months. Despite the withdrawal of Palestinian troops from West Beirut and the partial solution of the assigned tasks, Israeli troops remained in Lebanon for the next eight years.
In 2000, Israeli troops were withdrawn from southern Lebanon. However, this step did not bring the long-awaited peace. The demands of the Arab public for the creation of their own state on the lands occupied by Israel did not find understanding in Tel Aviv. In turn, numerous terrorist attacks committed by Arab suicide bombers against Jews only further tightened the knot of contradictions and forced the Israeli army to respond with harsh force measures. At present, the unresolved Arab-Israeli contradictions could at any moment explode the fragile peace of this troubled region. Therefore, Russia, the USA, the UN and the European Union (the “Middle East Four”) are doing everything possible to implement the Middle East settlement plan they developed in 2003, called the “Road Map”.
War in Afghanistan (1979-1989)
IN At the end of December 1979, the Afghan government once again turned to the USSR with a request to provide military assistance in repelling external aggression. The Soviet leadership, faithful to its treaty obligations and in order to protect the southern borders of the country, decided to send a Limited Contingent of Soviet Troops (LCSV) to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA). The calculation was made that with the introduction of Soviet Army formations into the DRA, the situation there would stabilize. The participation of troops in hostilities was not envisaged.
The presence of OKSV in Afghanistan, according to the nature of the actions, can be divided into 4 periods: 1st period (December 1979 - February 1980) - deployment of troops, placing them in garrisons, organizing the protection of deployment points and critical facilities; 2nd period (March 1980 - April 1985) - conducting active combat operations against opposition forces, work to strengthen the Afghan Armed Forces; 3rd period (April 1985 - January 1987) - transition from active hostilities mainly to supporting government troops, fighting rebel caravans on the border; 4th period (January 1987 - February 1989) - continued support for the combat activities of government troops, preparation and withdrawal of the OKSV from Afghanistan.
The calculation of the political leadership of the USSR and the DRA that the situation would stabilize with the introduction of troops did not come true. The opposition, using the slogan of “jihad” (sacred struggle against infidels), intensified armed activity. Responding to provocations and defending ourselves, our units were increasingly drawn into the civil war. The fighting took place throughout Afghanistan.
The initial attempts of the Soviet command to carry out offensive operations according to the rules of classical war did not bring success. Raid operations as part of reinforced battalions also turned out to be ineffective. The Soviet troops suffered heavy losses, and the Mujahideen, who knew the terrain well, escaped the attack in small groups and broke away from pursuit.
Opposition formations usually fought in small groups of 20 to 50 people. To solve more complex problems, groups united into detachments of 150-200 people or more. Sometimes so-called “Islamic regiments” numbering 500-900 people or more were formed. The basis of armed struggle was the forms and methods of guerrilla warfare.
Since 1981, the OKSV command switched to conducting operations with large forces, which turned out to be much more effective (Operation “Ring” in Parwan, offensive operation and raids in Panjshir). The enemy suffered significant losses, however, it was not possible to completely defeat the Mujahideen detachments.
The largest number of OKSV (1985) was 108.8 thousand people (military personnel - 106 thousand), including 73.6 thousand people in combat units of the Ground Forces and Air Force. The total number of armed Afghan opposition in various years ranged from 47 thousand to 173 thousand people.
In the course of operations in areas occupied by troops, state authorities were created. However, they had no real power. After Soviet or Afghan government troops left the occupied area, their place was again taken by the surviving rebels. They destroyed party activists and restored their influence in the area. For example, in the Panjshir River valley, 12 military operations were carried out over 9 years, but government power in this area was never consolidated.
As a result, by the end of 1986, a balance had emerged: government troops, even those supported by OKSV, could not inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy and force him to stop the armed struggle, and the opposition, in turn, was unable to overthrow the existing regime in the country by force. It became obvious that the Afghan problem could only be resolved through negotiations.
In 1987, the DRA leadership proposed a policy of national reconciliation to the opposition. At first it was a success. Thousands of rebels stopped fighting. The main efforts of our troops during this period were transferred to the protection and delivery of material resources coming from the Soviet Union. But the opposition, sensing a serious danger to itself in the policy of national reconciliation, intensified its subversive activities. Fierce fighting began again. This was largely facilitated by the supply of the latest weapons from abroad, including the American Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
At the same time, the declared policy opened up prospects for negotiations on resolving the Afghan issue. On April 14, 1988, agreements were signed in Geneva to end outside interference in Afghanistan.
The Geneva agreements were fully implemented by the Soviet side: by August 15, 1988, the strength of the OKSV was reduced by 50%, and on February 15, 1989, the last Soviet unit left Afghan territory.
The withdrawal of Soviet troops was carried out on a planned basis. In the western direction, troops were withdrawn along the route Kandahar, Farakhrud, Shindand, Turagundi, Kushka, and in the eastern direction - along five routes, starting in the garrisons of Jalalabad, Ghazni, Faizabad, Kunduz and Kabul, then through Puli-Khumri to Hairatan and Termez. Some of the personnel from the airfields of Jalala-bad, Gardez, Fayzabad, Kunduz, Kandahar and Shindand were transported by plane.
Three days before the columns began to move, all routes were blocked, outposts were strengthened, artillery was brought to firing positions and prepared to fire. Fire-
The military impact on the enemy began 2-3 days before the start of the advance. Aviation operated in close cooperation with the artillery, which ensured the withdrawal of troops from a position of duty in the air. Important tasks during the withdrawal of Soviet troops were carried out by engineering units and subunits, which was determined by the difficult mine situation on the movement routes.
Formations and units of the OKSV in Afghanistan were the decisive force that ensured the retention of power in the hands of government bodies and leaders of the DRA. They are in 1981 - 1988. almost continuously carried out active hostilities.
For the courage and courage shown on the soil of Afghanistan, 86 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Over 200 thousand soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals. Most of them are 18-20 year old boys.
The total irretrievable human losses of the Soviet Armed Forces amounted to 14,453 people. At the same time, control bodies, formations and units of the OKSV lost 13,833 people. In Afghanistan, 417 military personnel were missing or captured, of which 119 were released.
Sanitary losses amounted to 469,685 people, including: wounded, shell-shocked and injured 53,753 people (11.44%); sick - 415,932 people (88.56%).
Losses of equipment and weapons amounted to: aircraft - 118; helicopters - 333; tanks - 147; BMP, BMD and armored personnel carrier - 1314; guns and mortars - 433; radio stations and KShM - 1138; engineering vehicles - 510; flatbed vehicles and tank trucks - 11,369.
The following should be noted as the main conclusions from the experience of combat activities of the OKSV in Afghanistan:
1. The group of Soviet troops introduced into the territory of Afghanistan at the end of 1979 - beginning of 1980 found itself in very specific conditions. This required major changes to the standard organizational structures and equipment of formations and units, to the training of personnel, and to the daily and combat activities of the OKSV.
2. The specifics of the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan determined the need to develop and master forms, methods and techniques of combat operations that are atypical for domestic military theory and practice. Issues of coordinating the actions of Soviet and government Afghan troops remained problematic throughout the entire period of stay in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has accumulated a wealth of experience in the use of various branches of the Ground Forces and Air Force in difficult physical, geographical and climatic conditions.
3. During the period of the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan, unique experience was gained in organizing communication systems, electronic warfare, collecting, processing and timely implementation of intelligence information, carrying out camouflage measures, as well as engineering, logistics, technical and medical support for the combat activities of OKSV. In addition, the Afghan experience provides
4. There are many examples of effective information and psychological influence on the enemy both within the country and abroad.
5. After the withdrawal of the OKSV, fighting between government troops and mujahideen detachments continued until 1992, when opposition parties came to power in Afghanistan. However, peace never came to this war-torn land. An armed struggle for power and spheres of influence now broke out between parties and opposition leaders, as a result of which the Taliban movement came to power. After the terrorist attack in the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent international anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, the Taliban were removed from power, but peace never came on Afghan territory.
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
This is the bloodiest and most destructive war of the last quarter of the 20th century. had a direct impact not only on neighboring countries and peoples, but also on the international situation as a whole.
The main causes of the conflict were the parties' irreconcilable positions on territorial issues, the desire for leadership in the Persian Gulf area, religious contradictions, and personal antagonism between them. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, provocative statements in the Western media about the collapse of the Iranian military machine after the Islamic Revolution (1979), as well as the inflammatory policies of the United States and Israel, who sought to use the deepening Iran-Iraq confrontation in their strategic interests in the Middle East and the Middle East.
The grouping of ground forces of the parties at the beginning of the war in the border zone consisted of: Iraq - 140 thousand people, 1.3 thousand tanks, 1.7 thousand field artillery guns and mortars; Iran - 70 thousand people, 620 tanks, 710 guns and mortars.
Iraq's superiority in ground forces and tanks was 2 times greater, and in guns and mortars - 2.4 times.
On the eve of the war, Iran and Iraq had approximately equal numbers of combat aircraft (316 and 322, respectively). At the same time, the parties were armed, with rare exceptions, either only American (Iran) or Soviet aircraft, which since the 1950s. has become one of the characteristic features of most local wars and armed conflicts.
However, the Iraqi Air Force was significantly superior to the Iranian Air Force both in the number of combat-ready aircraft manned by the flight crew, and in the level of logistics of aviation equipment and the ability to replenish ammunition and spare parts. The main role in this was played by the continued cooperation of Iraq with the USSR and Arab countries, whose air forces used the same types of Soviet-made aircraft.
The combat readiness of the Iranian Air Force was hit, firstly, by the severance of traditional military ties with the United States after the Islamic Revolution, and secondly, by the repression of the new authorities against the top and middle levels of the Air Force command staff. All this led to Iraq's air superiority during the war.
The navies of both countries had an equal number of warships and boats - 52 each. However, the Iranian Navy significantly exceeded the Iraqi Navy in the number of warships of the main classes, armament and level of combat readiness. The Iraqi Navy lacked naval aviation and marines, and the strike force included only a force of missile boats.
Thus, by the beginning of the war, Iraq had an overwhelming superiority in ground forces and aviation; Iran managed to maintain an advantage over Iraq only in the field of naval weapons.
The start of the war was preceded by a period of aggravated relations between the two states. On April 7, 1980, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the withdrawal of its embassy and consulate personnel from Baghdad and invited Iraq to do the same. From September 4 to 10, Iraqi troops occupied the disputed border areas of Iranian territory, and on September 18, the Iraqi National Council decided to denounce the Iran-Iraq Treaty of June 13, 1975. Iran sharply condemned this decision, saying that it would comply with the provisions of the treaty.
The fighting during the Iran-Iraq War can be divided into 3 periods: 1st period (September 1980-June 1982) - the successful offensive of Iraqi troops, the counter-offensive of Iranian formations and the withdrawal of Iraqi troops to their original positions; 2nd period (July 1982 - February 1984) - offensive operations of Iranian troops and maneuverable defense of Iraqi formations; 3rd period (March 1984 - August 1988) - a combination of combined arms operations and battles of ground forces with combat operations at sea and missile and air strikes against targets deep in the rear of the parties.
1st period. On September 22, 1980, Iraqi troops crossed the border and launched offensive operations against Iran on a front 650 km from Qasre Shirin in the north to Khorramshahr in the south. Over a month of fierce fighting, they managed to advance to a depth of 20 to 80 km, capture a number of cities and capture over 20 thousand km2 of Iranian territory.
The Iraqi leadership pursued several goals: the capture of the oil-bearing province of Khuzestan, where the Arab population predominated; revision of bilateral agreements on territorial issues in their favor; removing Ayatollah Khomeini from power and replacing him with another, liberal secular figure.
In the initial period of the war, military operations proceeded favorably for Iraq. The established superiority in ground forces and aviation, as well as the surprise of the attack, had an effect, since Iran's intelligence services were seriously damaged by the post-revolutionary purges and were unable to organize the collection of information about the timing of the attack, the number and deployment of Iraqi troops.
The most intense fighting broke out in Khuzestan. In November, after several weeks of bloody fighting, the Iranian port of Khorramshahr was captured. As a result of air strikes and artillery shelling, many Iranian oil refineries and oil fields were completely disabled or damaged.
The further advance of Iraqi troops at the end of 1980 was stopped by Iranian formations advanced from the depths of the country, which equalized the forces of the warring parties and gave the fighting a positional character. This allowed Iran in the spring and summer of 1981 to reorganize its troops and increase their numbers, and in the fall to move on to organizing offensive operations on individual sectors of the front. From september
From 1981 to February 1982, a number of operations were carried out to unblock and liberate cities captured by the Iraqis. in spring
In 1982, large-scale offensive operations were carried out in the south of Iran, during which the tactics of “human waves” were used, leading to huge losses among the attackers.
The Iraqi leadership, having lost the strategic initiative and having failed to solve the assigned tasks, decided to withdraw troops to the state border line, leaving behind only disputed territories. At the end of June 1982, the withdrawal of Iraqi troops was largely completed. Baghdad made an attempt to persuade Tehran to negotiate peace, the proposal to begin which, however, was rejected by the Iranian leadership.
2nd period. The Iranian command began carrying out large-scale offensive operations on the southern sector of the front, where four operations were carried out. Auxiliary attacks during this period were carried out on the central and northern sectors of the front.
As a rule, operations began in the dark, were characterized by huge losses in manpower and ended with either minor tactical successes or the withdrawal of troops to their original positions. Iraqi troops also suffered heavy losses, conducting an active maneuver defense, using planned troop withdrawals, counterattacks and counterattacks by armored formations and units with air support. As a result, the war reached a positional deadlock and increasingly took on the character of a “war of attrition.”
The 3rd period was characterized by a combination of combined arms operations and battles of ground forces with combat operations at sea, which received the name “tanker war” in foreign and domestic historiography, as well as with missile and air strikes on cities and important economic objects in the deep rear (“war cities").
The initiative in conducting military operations, excluding the deployment of a “tanker war,” remained in the hands of the Iranian command. From the fall of 1984 to September 1986, he carried out four large-scale offensive operations. They did not produce significant results, but, as before, they were extremely bloody.
In an effort to end the war victoriously, the Iranian leadership announced a general mobilization, thanks to which it was possible to compensate for losses and strengthen the troops operating at the front. From the end of December 1986 to May 1987, the command of the Iranian Armed Forces consistently carried out 10 offensive operations. Most of them took place on the southern sector of the front, the results were insignificant, and the losses were huge.
The protracted nature of the Iran-Iraq war made it possible to speak of it as a “forgotten” war, but only as long as the armed struggle was carried out mainly on the land front. The spread of the war at sea in the spring of 1984 from the area of the northern part of the Persian Gulf to the entire Gulf, its increasing intensity and direction against international shipping and the interests of third countries, as well as the threat created by strategic communications passing through the Strait of Hormuz, not only brought it out of scope “forgotten war”, but also led to the internationalization of the conflict, the deployment and use of naval groups of non-coastal states in the Persian Gulf zone.
The beginning of the “tanker war” is considered to be April 25, 1984, when the Saudi supertanker Safina al-Arab with a displacement of 357 thousand tons was hit by an Iraqi Exocet AM-39 missile. A fire broke out on the ship, up to 10 thousand tons of oil was spilled into the sea, and the damage amounted to $20 million.
The scale and significance of the “tanker war” is characterized by the fact that over the 8 years of the Iran-Iraq war, 546 large merchant fleet vessels were attacked, and the total displacement of damaged vessels exceeded 30 million tons. The priority targets for attacks were tankers - 76% of the ships attacked, hence the name “tanker war”. At the same time, warships used mainly missile weapons, as well as artillery; aviation used anti-ship missiles and aerial bombs. According to Lloyd's Insurance, 420 civilian sailors have died as a result of hostilities at sea, including 94 in 1988.
Military confrontation in the Persian Gulf zone in 1987-1988. In addition to the Iran-Iraq conflict, it developed mainly along the lines of aggravation of US-Iranian relations. A manifestation of this confrontation was the struggle on sea communications (“tanker war”), in which the forces of the United States and Iran acted with directly opposite goals - respectively, protecting and disrupting maritime transport. During these years they took part in protecting shipping in the Persian Gulf
also the navies of five European NATO member countries - Great Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Shelling and inspections of ships flying the Soviet flag led to the dispatch of a detachment of warships (4 ships) from the squad deployed in the early 1970s to the Persian Gulf. in the Indian Ocean of the 8th operational squadron of the USSR Navy, subordinate to the command of the Pacific Fleet.
Since September 1986, ships of the squadron began escorting Soviet and some chartered ships in the bay.
From 1987 to 1988, the ships of the squadron conducted 374 merchant ships in the Persian and Oman Gulfs in 178 convoys without loss or damage.
By the summer of 1988, the participants in the war had finally reached a political, economic and military impasse and were forced to sit down at the negotiating table. On August 20, 1988, hostilities ceased. The war did not reveal a winner. The parties lost more than 1.5 million people. Material losses amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars.
Gulf War (1991)
On the night of August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. The main reasons were long-standing territorial claims, accusations of illegal oil production and a decline in oil prices on the world market. In one day, the aggressor's troops defeated the small Kuwaiti army and occupied the country. The demands of the UN Security Council for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Kuwait were rejected by Iraq.
On August 6, 1990, the US government decided to strategically deploy a contingent of its armed forces in the Persian Gulf area. At the same time, the United States began to form an anti-Iraqi coalition and create a Multinational Force (MNF).
The plan developed by the American command provided for two operations: “Desert Shield” - the advance inter-theatre transfer of troops and the creation of a strike force in the crisis area and “Desert Storm” - the conduct of direct combat operations to defeat the Iraqi armed forces.
During Operation Desert Shield, hundreds of thousands of people and gigantic amounts of material were transferred to the Persian Gulf region by air and sea over the course of 5.5 months. By mid-January 1991, the concentration of the MNF group ended. It consisted of: 16 corps (up to 800 thousand people), about 5.5 thousand tanks, 4.2 thousand guns and mortars, about 2.5 thousand combat aircraft, about 1.7 thousand helicopters, 175 warships. Up to 80% of these forces and assets were American troops.
The military-political leadership of Iraq, in turn, carried out a number of measures to increase the combat capabilities of its troops. Their essence was to create in the south of the country and in Kuwait
powerful defensive grouping, for which large masses of troops were transferred from the western and central regions of Iraq. In addition, a lot of work was carried out on engineering equipment for the area of upcoming combat operations, camouflaging objects, building defense lines and creating false troop deployment areas. As of January 16, 1991, the southern group of the Iraqi armed forces included: more than 40 divisions (over 500 thousand people), about 4.2 thousand tanks, 5.3 thousand guns, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and mortars. Its actions were to be supported by over 760 combat aircraft, up to 150 helicopters and the entire available staff of the Iraqi Navy (13 ships and 45 boats).
Operation Desert Storm, as the second part of the overall plan, lasted from January 17 to February 28, 1991. It included 2 stages: the first - an air offensive operation (January 17 - February 23); the second is an offensive operation of the ground group of forces of the MNF (February 24-28).
Combat operations began on January 17 with attacks by Tomahawk cruise missiles on Iraqi Armed Forces control system facilities, airfields and air defense positions. Subsequent raids by MNF aviation disabled the enemy's military-economic potential facilities and the country's most important communications hubs, and destroyed missile attack weapons. Strikes were also carried out on the positions of the first echelon and the nearest reserves of the Iraqi army. As a result of days of bombing, the combat capabilities and morale of Iraqi troops sharply declined.
At the same time, preparations were underway for an offensive operation of the ground forces, codenamed “Desert Sword”. Its plan was to deliver the main blow in the center with the forces of the 7th Army Corps and the 18th Airborne Corps (USA), to encircle and cut off the southern group of Iraqi troops in Kuwait. Auxiliary attacks were carried out in the coastal direction and on the left wing of the front with the goal of capturing the capital of Kuwait in order to cover the main forces from an attack on the flank.
The offensive of the MNF ground group began on February 24. The actions of the coalition forces were successful along the entire front. In the coastal direction, US Marine Corps formations, in cooperation with Arab troops, penetrated the enemy’s defenses to a depth of 40-50 km and created a threat of encirclement of the Iraqi group defending in the southeastern part of Kuwait. In the central direction, formations of the 7th Army Corps (USA), without encountering serious resistance, advanced 30-40 km. On the left flank, the 6th Armored Division (France) quickly captured the Es-Salman airfield, capturing up to 2.5 thousand enemy soldiers and officers.
The scattered defensive actions of the Iraqi troops were of a focal nature. Attempts by the Iraqi command to carry out counterattacks and counterstrikes were thwarted by MNF aircraft. Having suffered significant losses, the Iraqi formations began to retreat.
In the following days, the MNF continued the offensive in order to complete the encirclement and defeat the enemy troops. On the night of February 28, the main forces of the southern group of the Iraqi Armed Forces were completely isolated and cut up. On the morning of February 28, hostilities in the Persian Gulf zone ceased under ultimatum conditions for Iraq. Kuwait was liberated.
During the fighting, the Iraqi Armed Forces lost up to 60 thousand people, 358 aircraft, about 3 thousand tanks, 5 warships, and a large amount of other equipment and weapons killed, wounded and captured. In addition, heavy damage was done to the country's military and economic potential.
The MNF suffered the following losses: personnel - about 1 thousand people, combat aircraft - 69, helicopters - 28, tanks - 15.
The war in the Persian Gulf has no analogues in modern history and does not fit the known standards of local wars. It was of a coalition nature and, in terms of the number of participating countries, went far beyond regional boundaries. The main result was the complete defeat of the enemy and the achievement of war goals in a short time and with minimal losses.
After World War II, the USSR participated in many local military conflicts. This participation was unofficial and even secret. The exploits of Soviet soldiers in these wars will forever remain unknown.
Chinese Civil War 1946-1950
By the end of World War II, two governments had emerged in China, and the country's territory was divided into two parts. One of them was controlled by the Kuomintang party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, the second by the communist government headed by Mao Zedong. The USA supported the Kuomintang, and the USSR supported the Chinese Communist Party.
The trigger for war was pulled in March 1946, when a 310,000-strong group of Kuomintang troops, with direct support from the United States, launched an offensive against the positions of the CPC. They captured almost all of Southern Manchuria, pushing the communists beyond the Songhua River. At the same time, relations with the USSR begin to deteriorate - the Kuomintang, under various pretexts, does not fulfill the terms of the Soviet-Chinese treaty “on friendship and alliance”: the property of the Chinese Eastern Railway is stolen, Soviet media are closed, anti-Soviet organizations are created.
In 1947, Soviet pilots, tank crews, and artillerymen arrived in the United Democratic Army (later the People's Liberation Army of China). The weapons supplied to the Chinese communists from the USSR also played a decisive role in the subsequent victory of the CCP. According to some reports, in the fall of 1945 alone, the PLA received from the USSR 327,877 rifles and carbines, 5,207 machine guns, 5,219 artillery pieces, 743 tanks and armored vehicles, 612 aircraft, as well as ships of the Sungari flotilla.
In addition, Soviet military experts developed a plan for managing strategic defense and counteroffensive. All this contributed to the success of the NAO and the establishment of the communist regime of Mao Zedong. During the war, about a thousand Soviet soldiers died in China.
Korean War (1950-1953).
Information about the participation of the armed forces of the USSR in the Korean War was classified for a long time. At the beginning of the conflict, the Kremlin did not plan for the participation of Soviet troops in it, but the large-scale involvement of the United States in the confrontation between the two Koreas changed the position of the Soviet Union. In addition, the Kremlin’s decision to enter into the conflict was influenced by American provocations: for example, on October 8, 1950, two American attack aircraft even bombed the Pacific Fleet Air Force base in the Sukhaya Rechka area.
Military support for the DPRK by the Soviet Union was aimed mainly at repelling US aggression and was carried out through gratuitous supplies of weapons. Specialists from the USSR trained command, staff and engineering personnel.
The main military assistance was provided by aviation: Soviet pilots made combat missions in MiG-15s, repainted in the colors of the Chinese Air Force. At the same time, pilots were prohibited from operating over the Yellow Sea and pursuing enemy aircraft south of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line.
Military advisers from the USSR were present at the front headquarters only in civilian clothes, under the guise of correspondents for the newspaper Pravda. This special “camouflage” is mentioned in Stalin’s telegram to General Shtykov, an employee of the Far Eastern department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
It still remains unclear how many Soviet soldiers actually were in Korea. According to official data, during the conflict the USSR lost 315 people and 335 MiG-15 fighters. By comparison, the Korean War claimed 54,246 thousand American lives and over 103 thousand were wounded.
Vietnam War (1965-1975)
In 1945, the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed, and power in the country passed to the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. But the West was in no hurry to abandon its former colonial possessions. Soon, French troops landed on Vietnamese territory in order to restore their influence in the region. In 1954, a document was signed in Geneva, according to which the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia was recognized, and the country was divided into two parts: North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The latter quickly lost popularity among the people, and guerrilla warfare broke out in South Vietnam, especially since the impenetrable jungle ensured its high efficiency.
On March 2, 1965, the United States began regular bombing of North Vietnam, accusing the country of expanding the guerrilla movement in the south. The USSR's reaction was immediate. Since 1965, large-scale supplies of military equipment, specialists and soldiers to Vietnam began. Everything happened in the strictest secrecy.
According to the recollections of veterans, before departure the soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes, their letters home were subject to such strict censorship that if they fell into the hands of a stranger, the latter would be able to understand only one thing: the authors were relaxing somewhere in the south and enjoying their serene vacation.
The USSR's participation in the Vietnam War was so secret that it is still unclear what role Soviet military personnel played in this conflict. There are numerous legends about Soviet ace pilots fighting “phantoms,” whose collective image is embodied in the pilot Li-Si-Tsin from the famous folk song. However, according to the recollections of participants in the events, our pilots were strictly forbidden to engage in combat with American aircraft. The exact number and names of Soviet soldiers who participated in the conflict are still unknown.
Algerian War (1954-1964)
The national liberation movement in Algeria, which gained momentum after World War II, escalated into a real war against French colonial rule in 1954. The USSR took the side of the rebels in the conflict. Khrushchev noted that the Algerians’ struggle against the French organizers was in the nature of a liberation war, and therefore it should be supported by the UN.
However, the Soviet Union provided the Algerians with more than just diplomatic support: the Kremlin supplied the Algerian army with weapons and military personnel.
The Soviet military contributed to the organizational strengthening of the Algerian army and participated in planning operations against French troops, as a result of which the latter had to negotiate.
The parties entered into an agreement according to which hostilities ceased and Algeria was granted independence.
After the signing of the agreement, Soviet sappers carried out the largest mine clearance operation in the country. During the war, French sapper battalions on the border of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia mined a strip from 3 to 15 km, where there were up to 20 thousand “surprises” for every kilometer. Soviet sappers cleared 1,350 square meters of mines. km of territory, destroying 2 million anti-personnel mines.
March 12th, 2016
1. Soviet-Polish war, 1920 It began on April 25, 1920 with a surprise attack by Polish troops, who had more than a two-fold advantage in manpower (148 thousand people versus 65 thousand for the Red Army). By the beginning of May, the Polish army reached Pripyat and the Dnieper and occupied Kyiv. In May-June, positional battles began, in June-August the Red Army went on the offensive, carried out a number of successful operations (the May operation, the Kiev operation, the Novograd-Volyn operation, the July operation, the Rivne operation) and reached Warsaw and Lvov. But such a sharp breakthrough resulted in a separation from supply units and convoys. The First Cavalry Army found itself face to face with superior enemy forces. Having lost many people as prisoners, the Red Army units were forced to retreat. Negotiations began in October, which five months later ended with the signing of the Riga Peace Treaty, according to which the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were torn away from the Soviet state.
2. Sino-Soviet conflict, 1929 Provoked by the Chinese military on July 10, 1929. In violation of the 1924 agreement on the joint use of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was built at the end of the 19th century by the Russian Empire, the Chinese side seized it and arrested over 200 citizens of our country. After this, the Chinese concentrated a 132,000-strong group in close proximity to the borders of the USSR. Violations of Soviet borders and shelling of Soviet territory began. After unsuccessful attempts to peacefully achieve mutual understanding and resolve the conflict, the Soviet government was forced to take measures to protect the territorial integrity of the country. In August, the Special Far Eastern Army was created under the command of V.K. Blucher, which in October, together with the Amur military flotilla, defeated groupings of Chinese troops in the areas of the cities of Lakhasusu and Fugdin and destroyed the enemy’s Sungari flotilla. In November, the successful Manchu-Zhalaynor and Mishanfu operations were carried out, during which the first Soviet T-18 (MS-1) tanks were used for the first time. On December 22, the Khabarovsk Protocol was signed, which restored the previous status quo.
3. Armed conflict with Japan at Lake Khasan, 1938 Provoked by the Japanese aggressors. Having concentrated 3 infantry divisions, a cavalry regiment and a mechanized brigade in the area of Lake Khasan, the Japanese aggressors at the end of June 1938 captured the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights, which were of strategic importance for the area. On August 6-9, Soviet troops, with the forces of 2 rifle divisions and a mechanized brigade advanced to the conflict area, knocked out the Japanese from these heights. On August 11, hostilities ceased. The pre-conflict status quo was established.
4. Armed conflict on the Khalkhin Gol River, 1939 On July 2, 1939, after numerous provocations that began in May, Japanese troops (38 thousand people, 310 guns, 135 tanks, 225 aircraft) invaded Mongolia with the goal of seizing a bridgehead on the western bank of Khalkhin Gol and subsequently defeating the Soviet group opposing them (12.5 thousand people, 109 guns, 186 tanks, 266 armored vehicles, 82 aircraft). During three days of fighting, the Japanese were defeated and driven back to the eastern bank of the river.
In August, the Japanese 6th Army (75 thousand people, 500 guns, 182 tanks), supported by over 300 aircraft, was deployed in the Khalkhin Gol area. Soviet-Mongolian troops (57 thousand people, 542 guns, 498 tanks, 385 armored vehicles) with the support of 515 aircraft on August 20, forestalling the enemy, went on the offensive, surrounded and by the end of the month destroyed the Japanese group. Air combat continued until September 15. The enemy lost 61 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 660 aircraft, the Soviet-Mongolian troops lost 18, 5 thousand killed and wounded and 207 aircraft.
This conflict seriously undermined Japan's military power and showed its government the futility of a large-scale war against our country.
5. Liberation campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. The collapse of Poland, this “ugly brainchild of the Versailles system,” created the preconditions for the reunification of Western Ukrainian and Western Belarusian lands, seized in the 1920s, with our country. On September 17, 1939, troops of the Belarusian and Kyiv special military districts crossed the former state border, reached the line of the Western Bug and San rivers and occupied these areas. During the campaign there were no major clashes with Polish troops.
In November 1939, the lands of Ukraine and Belarus, liberated from the Polish yoke, were accepted into our state.
This campaign contributed to strengthening the defense capability of our country.
6. Soviet-Finnish war. It began on November 30, 1939 after numerous unsuccessful attempts to achieve the signing of a territory exchange agreement between the USSR and Finland. According to this agreement, an exchange of territories was envisaged - the USSR would transfer part of Eastern Karelia to Finland, and Finland would lease the Hanko Peninsula, some islands in the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus to our country. All this was vital to ensure the defense of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). However, the Finnish government refused to sign such an agreement. Moreover, the Finnish government began to organize provocations at the border. The USSR was forced to defend itself, as a result of which on November 30 the Red Army crossed the border and entered the territory of Finland. The leadership of our country expected that within three weeks the Red Army would enter Helsinki and occupy the entire territory of Finland. However, a fleeting war did not work out - the Red Army stalled in front of the “Mannerheim Line” - a well-fortified strip of defensive structures. And only on February 11, after the reorganization of the troops and after strong artillery preparation, the Mannerheim line was broken through, and the Red Army began to develop a successful offensive. On March 5, Vyborg was occupied, and on March 12, an agreement was signed in Moscow, according to which all the territories required by the USSR were part of it. Our country received a lease on the Hanko Peninsula for the construction of a naval base, the Karelian Isthmus with the city of Vyborg, and the city of Sortavala in Karelia. The city of Leningrad was now reliably protected.
7. Great Patriotic War, 1941-45. It began on June 22, 1941 with a sudden attack by the troops of Germany and its satellites (190 divisions, 5.5 million people, 4,300 tanks and assault guns, 47.2 thousand guns, 4,980 combat aircraft), which were opposed by 170 Soviet divisions, 2 brigades, numbering 2 million 680 thousand people, 37.5 thousand guns and mortars, 1475 T-34 and KV 1 tanks and over 15 thousand tanks of other models). At the first, most difficult stage of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942), Soviet troops were forced to retreat. In order to increase the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, 13 ages were mobilized, new formations and units were formed, and a people's militia was created.
In border battles in Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, the Baltic States, Karelia, and the Arctic, Soviet troops bled the enemy's strike forces dry and managed to significantly slow down the enemy's advance. The main events unfolded in the Moscow direction, where, in the battles for Smolensk that unfolded in August, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and forced German troops to go on the defensive for the first time in World War II. The battle for Moscow, which began on September 30, 1941, ended in early 1942 with the complete defeat of the German forces advancing on the capital. Until December 5, Soviet troops fought defensive battles, holding back and crushing selected German divisions. On December 5-6, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and pushed the enemy back 150-400 kilometers from the capital.
The successful Tikhvin operation was carried out on the northern flank, which contributed to the diversion of German forces from Moscow, and the Rostov offensive operation was carried out in the south. The Soviet army began to wrest the strategic initiative from the hands of the Wehrmacht, but it finally passed to our army on November 19, 1942, when the offensive at Stalingrad began, ending in the encirclement and defeat of the 6th German army.
In 1943, as a result of the fighting on the Kursk Bulge, Army Group Center was significantly defeated. As a result of the offensive that began, by the fall of 1943, Left Bank Ukraine and its capital, the city of Kyiv, were liberated.
The next year, 1944, was marked by the completion of the liberation of Ukraine, the liberation of Belarus, the Baltic states, the entry of the Red Army to the border of the USSR, the liberation of Sofia, Belgrade and some other European capitals. The war was inexorably approaching Germany. But before its victorious end in May 1945, there were also battles for Warsaw, Budapest, Koenigsberg, Prague and Berlin, where on May 8, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, putting an end to the most terrible war in the history of our country. A war that claimed the lives of 30 million of our compatriots.
8. Soviet-Japanese War, 1945 On August 9, 1945, the USSR, faithful to its allied duty and obligations, began a war against imperialist Japan. Conducting an offensive on a front of over 5 thousand kilometers, Soviet troops, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla, defeated the Kwantung Army. Having advanced 600-800 kilometers. They liberated Northeast China, North Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The enemy lost 667 thousand people, and our country returned what rightfully belonged to it - South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which are strategic territories for our country.
9.War in Afghanistan, 1979-89. The last war in the history of the Soviet Union was the war in Afghanistan, which began on December 25, 1979 and was caused not only by our country’s obligation under the Soviet-Afghan treaty, but also by the objective need to protect our strategic interests in the Central Asian region.
Until mid-1980, Soviet troops did not directly participate in hostilities, being engaged only in protecting important strategic facilities and escorting convoys with national economic cargo. However, with the increase in the intensity of hostilities, the Soviet military contingent was forced to be drawn into battle. To suppress the rebels, large military operations were carried out in different provinces of Afghanistan, in particular, in Panjshir against the gangs of the field commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, to release the large provincial center - the city of Khost and others.
Soviet troops courageously completed all the tasks that were assigned to them. They left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989, leaving with banners flying, music and marches. They left as winners.
10. Undeclared wars of the USSR. In addition to the above, parts of our armed forces took part in local conflicts in hot spots of the world, defending their strategic interests. Here is a list of countries and conflicts. Where our soldiers participated:
Chinese Civil War: 1946 to 1950.
Fighting in North Korea from Chinese territory: from June 1950 to July 1953.
Fighting in Hungary: 1956.
Fighting in Laos:
from January 1960 to December 1963;
from August 1964 to November 1968;
from November 1969 to December 1970.
Fighting in Algeria:
1962 - 1964.
Caribbean crisis:
Fighting in Czechoslovakia:
Fighting on Damansky Island:
March 1969.
Combat operations in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol:
August 1969.
Fighting in Egypt (United Arab Republic):
from October 1962 to March 1963;
June 1967;
from March 1969 to July 1972;
Fighting in the Yemen Arab Republic:
from October 1962 to March 1963 and
from November 1967 to December 1969.
Combat in Vietnam:
from January 1961 to December 1974.
Fighting in Syria:
June 1967;
March - July 1970;
September - November 1972;
October 1973.
Fighting in Mozambique:
1967 - 1969;
Fighting in Cambodia:
April - December 1970.
Fighting in Bangladesh:
1972 - 1973.
Fighting in Angola:
from November 1975 to November 1979.
Fighting in Ethiopia:
from December 1977 to November 1979.
Fighting in Syria and Lebanon:
June 1982.
In all these conflicts, our soldiers showed themselves to be courageous, selfless sons of their Fatherland. Many of them died defending our country on the distant approaches to it from the encroachments of dark enemy forces. And it is not their fault that the line of confrontation now runs through the Caucasus, Central Asia and other regions of the former Great Empire.
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20th century
1. War with the Japanese Empire of 1904-1905.
2. First World War 1914-1918.
Defeat, change in the political system, the beginning of the civil war, territorial losses, about 2 million 200 thousand people died or went missing. The population loss was approximately 5 million people. Russia's material losses amounted to approximately 100 billion US dollars in 1918 prices.
3. Civil war 1918-1922.
The establishment of the Soviet system, the return of part of the lost territories, the Red Army died and went missing, according to approximate data from 240 to 500 thousand people, in the White Army at least 175 thousand people died and went missing, total losses with the civilian population for the years of the civil war amounted to about 2.5 million people. The population loss was approximately 4 million people. Material losses are estimated at approximately 25-30 billion US dollars in 1920 prices.
4. Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921.
According to Russian researchers, about 100 thousand people died or went missing.
5. Military conflict between the USSR and the Japanese Empire in the Far East and participation in the Japanese-Mongolian War of 1938-1939.
About 15 thousand people died or went missing.
6. Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.
Territorial acquisitions, about 85 thousand people died or went missing.
7. In 1923-1941, the USSR participated in the civil war in China and in the war between China and the Japanese Empire. And in 1936-1939 in the Spanish Civil War.
About 500 people died or went missing.
8. Occupation by the USSR of the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in 1939 under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty (Pact) with Nazi Germany on non-aggression and division of Eastern Europe of August 23, 1939.
The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus amounted to about 1,500 people. There are no data on losses in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
9. Second World (Great Patriotic) War.Territorial gains in East Prussia (Kaliningrad region) and the Far East as a result of the war with the Japanese Empire (part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands), total irretrievable losses in the army and among the civilian population from 20 million to 26 million people. Material losses of the USSR amounted, according to various estimates, from 2 to 3 trillion US dollars in 1945 prices.
10. Civil war in China 1946-1945.
About 1,000 people from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates died from wounds and illnesses.
11. Korean Civil War 1950-1953.
About 300 military personnel, mostly officer-pilots, were killed or died from wounds and illnesses.
12. During the participation of the USSR in the Vietnam War of 1962-1974, in military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century in Africa and the countries of Central and South America, in the Arab-Israeli wars from 1967 to 1974, in the suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia, as well as in border conflicts with the PRC, about 3,000 people died. from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates.
13. War in Afghanistan 1979-1989.
About 15,000 people died, died from wounds and illnesses, or went missing. from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates. The total costs of the USSR for the war in Afghanistan are estimated at approximately 70-100 billion US dollars in 1990 prices. Main result: Change of political system and collapse of the USSR with the secession of 14 union republics.
Results:
During the 20th century, the Russian Empire and the USSR took part in 5 major wars on their territory, of which the First World War, the Civil War and the Second World War can easily be classified as mega-large.
The total number of losses of the Russian Empire and the USSR in wars and armed conflicts over the 20th century is estimated at approximately 30 to 35 million people, taking into account losses among the civilian population from hunger and epidemics caused by the war.
The total cost of material losses of the Russian Empire and the USSR is estimated at approximately 8 to 10 trillion US dollars in 2000 prices.
14. War in Chechnya 1994-2000.
There are no official exact figures for combat and civilian casualties, deaths from wounds and illnesses, and missing persons on both sides. The total combat losses on the Russian side are estimated at approximate figures of 10 thousand people. According to experts, up to 20-25 thousand. According to estimates of the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers. The total combat irretrievable losses of the Chechen rebels are estimated at figures ranging from 10 to 15 thousand people. Irreversible losses of the civilian population of the Chechen and Russian-speaking population, including ethnic cleansing among the Russian-speaking population, are estimated at approximate figures from 1000 according to official Russian data to 50 thousand people according to unofficial data from human rights organizations. The exact material losses are unknown, but rough estimates suggest total losses of at least $20 billion in 2000 prices.
After World War II, the USSR participated in many local military conflicts. This participation was unofficial and even secret. The exploits of Soviet soldiers in these wars will forever remain unknown.
Chinese Civil War 1946-1950
By the end of World War II, two governments had emerged in China, and the country's territory was divided into two parts. One of them was controlled by the Kuomintang party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, the second by the communist government headed by Mao Zedong. The USA supported the Kuomintang, and the USSR supported the Chinese Communist Party.
The trigger for war was pulled in March 1946, when a 310,000-strong group of Kuomintang troops, with direct support from the United States, launched an offensive against the positions of the CPC. They captured almost all of Southern Manchuria, pushing the communists beyond the Songhua River. At the same time, relations with the USSR begin to deteriorate - the Kuomintang, under various pretexts, does not fulfill the terms of the Soviet-Chinese treaty “on friendship and alliance”: the property of the Chinese Eastern Railway is stolen, Soviet media are closed, anti-Soviet organizations are created.
In 1947, Soviet pilots, tank crews, and artillerymen arrived in the United Democratic Army (later the People's Liberation Army of China). The weapons supplied to the Chinese communists from the USSR also played a decisive role in the subsequent victory of the CCP. According to some reports, in the fall of 1945 alone, the PLA received from the USSR 327,877 rifles and carbines, 5,207 machine guns, 5,219 artillery pieces, 743 tanks and armored vehicles, 612 aircraft, as well as ships of the Sungari flotilla.
In addition, Soviet military experts developed a plan for managing strategic defense and counteroffensive. All this contributed to the success of the NAO and the establishment of the communist regime of Mao Zedong. During the war, about a thousand Soviet soldiers died in China.
Korean War (1950-1953).
Information about the participation of the armed forces of the USSR in the Korean War was classified for a long time. At the beginning of the conflict, the Kremlin did not plan for the participation of Soviet troops in it, but the large-scale involvement of the United States in the confrontation between the two Koreas changed the position of the Soviet Union. In addition, the Kremlin’s decision to enter into the conflict was influenced by American provocations: for example, on October 8, 1950, two American attack aircraft even bombed the Pacific Fleet Air Force base in the Sukhaya Rechka area.
Military support for the DPRK by the Soviet Union was aimed mainly at repelling US aggression and was carried out through gratuitous supplies of weapons. Specialists from the USSR trained command, staff and engineering personnel.
The main military assistance was provided by aviation: Soviet pilots made combat missions in MiG-15s, repainted in the colors of the Chinese Air Force. At the same time, pilots were prohibited from operating over the Yellow Sea and pursuing enemy aircraft south of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line.
Military advisers from the USSR were present at the front headquarters only in civilian clothes, under the guise of correspondents for the newspaper Pravda. This special “camouflage” is mentioned in Stalin’s telegram to General Shtykov, an employee of the Far Eastern department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
It still remains unclear how many Soviet soldiers actually were in Korea. According to official data, during the conflict the USSR lost 315 people and 335 MiG-15 fighters. By comparison, the Korean War claimed 54,246 thousand American lives and over 103 thousand were wounded.
Vietnam War (1965-1975)
In 1945, the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed, and power in the country passed to the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. But the West was in no hurry to abandon its former colonial possessions. Soon, French troops landed on Vietnamese territory in order to restore their influence in the region. In 1954, a document was signed in Geneva, according to which the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia was recognized, and the country was divided into two parts: North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The latter quickly lost popularity among the people, and guerrilla warfare broke out in South Vietnam, especially since the impenetrable jungle ensured its high efficiency.
On March 2, 1965, the United States began regular bombing of North Vietnam, accusing the country of expanding the guerrilla movement in the south. The USSR's reaction was immediate. Since 1965, large-scale supplies of military equipment, specialists and soldiers to Vietnam began. Everything happened in the strictest secrecy.
According to the recollections of veterans, before departure the soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes, their letters home were subject to such strict censorship that if they fell into the hands of a stranger, the latter would be able to understand only one thing: the authors were relaxing somewhere in the south and enjoying their serene vacation.
The USSR's participation in the Vietnam War was so secret that it is still unclear what role Soviet military personnel played in this conflict. There are numerous legends about Soviet ace pilots fighting “phantoms,” whose collective image is embodied in the pilot Li-Si-Tsin from the famous folk song. However, according to the recollections of participants in the events, our pilots were strictly forbidden to engage in combat with American aircraft. The exact number and names of Soviet soldiers who participated in the conflict are still unknown.
Algerian War (1954-1964)
The national liberation movement in Algeria, which gained momentum after World War II, escalated into a real war against French colonial rule in 1954. The USSR took the side of the rebels in the conflict. Khrushchev noted that the Algerians’ struggle against the French organizers was in the nature of a liberation war, and therefore it should be supported by the UN.
However, the Soviet Union provided the Algerians with more than just diplomatic support: the Kremlin supplied the Algerian army with weapons and military personnel.
The Soviet military contributed to the organizational strengthening of the Algerian army and participated in planning operations against French troops, as a result of which the latter had to negotiate.
The parties entered into an agreement according to which hostilities ceased and Algeria was granted independence.
After the signing of the agreement, Soviet sappers carried out the largest mine clearance operation in the country. During the war, French sapper battalions on the border of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia mined a strip from 3 to 15 km, where there were up to 20 thousand “surprises” for every kilometer. Soviet sappers cleared 1,350 square meters of mines. km of territory, destroying 2 million anti-personnel mines.
