Russian Tactics

As the shadow of the Russian bear looms menacingly over Ukraine, the world readies itself against an foreboding foreign adversary. No stranger to warfare, Russia stands at the ready for large-scale mobilization at a moments notice. The Russian military presents many unique threats: Firepower over precision, ever asymmetrical, the red bear aims to disrupt and demoralize as a means of warfare in itself. If the United States and its allies plan to defend against such a force, it must first understand it. Russian Tactics serves as a foundation for understanding how Russian ground forces think and act in tactical operations. This publication presents multiple examples of functional tactics in dynamic operational environment conditions. The tactics in this guide are descriptive and provide an orientation to tactics gathered from Russian doctrine, translated literature, and observations from recent historical events. Includes the following topics: Overview of the Russian military including its role and the development of the modern Russian military. Strategic objectives and operational environment. Doctrine and thought of Russian military forces. Ground forces organization, battle management and the organization into districts. Doctrinal concept of fires, and the Russian strike complex which includes indirect fires, antitank, radio electromagnetic battle, aerospace, missiles, and rockets. Defensive tactics including the purpose, goals, and requirements with an in-depth breakdown of the types of defenses. Offense tactics including the principles, planning organization and execution Tactical offensive actions for battalions, detachments, and subunits.