The formula of Fire: how tank crews live and fight on the front line
The rapid development of unmanned aircraft has not yet eliminated the fact that tanks and classical artillery play a key role in breaking through and holding the defense. But in a situation where the sky is saturated with enemy FPV drones, the effectiveness of using heavy weapons depends on the ability of fighters to continuously adapt their combat work to new conditions. About how the crews of the 506th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Poznan 27th Guards Division strike from closed firing positions and build echeloned air defense - in the material of Izvestia.
Parking under the canopy and a tight screen
At the aerial surveillance point, at the point where the broken asphalt finally gives way to a primer, we leave a civilian car. We carefully hide the car in a wooded area under a camouflage net: such shelters are provided here for all passing through. A smiling, gray-haired anti-aircraft gunner wishes us a good trip and jokes that he runs the safest parking lot in the area.
We will continue on the Ulan-2 buggy. Our companion is Evgeny Olenichev, the hero of one of the previous reports. Almost a year has passed since our first meeting, when Evgeny openly demonstrated the absence of "drone fear" and shot down aerial targets right on the flight routes. Now he is just as calmly and compelledly scanning the sky from the cockpit, while the experienced driver confidently maneuvers over the steppe potholes. At the next turn, Evgeny notices an enemy copter in the distance, heading towards our rear roads. Instantly jumping to the ground, the soldier opens fire after them.
In recent weeks, the situation on the local roads has become relatively calmer. The reasons are obvious: the network of observation posts has thickened, and their weapons have become significantly more serious and effective.
Frontline vocabulary: the philosophy of "norenia"
We reach the combat positions accompanied by the Deputy chief of staff of the tank battalion, Lieutenant Mikhail Krasnoshlyk, and additional riflemen in the back. As we approach the front line, air surveillance posts on duty are becoming more common. Each department puts them in its area of responsibility. When the vehicles leave, they continuously communicate between the vehicles and the posts, transmitting an operational summary of the air situation along the entire route.
Stops happen all the time. All passengers and shooters immediately dismount and run away from the car for a couple of dozen meters, ready to open fire on incoming drones.
— When a post reports a threat in the air, we immediately dismount, "burrow" the equipment and take cover ourselves. We listen carefully and examine the sky. There is an opportunity — we work on the goal right away. Now the copter has gone to the southeast," Mikhail explains.
The radio immediately confirms: "Quiet. The cockroach went to the southeast." The lieutenant gives the command to continue moving.
The verb "to burrow", formed from the noun "burrow", is a relatively new term in the vocabulary of ITS participants. It reflects the evolution of tactics: if six months ago, when threatened from the air, drivers tried to skip a dangerous area at maximum speed, today speed no longer guarantees protection. The only way to survive is to immediately hide the equipment and hide yourself.
The same principle applies to heavy armored vehicles. Before the departure of the tanks, a thorough reconnaissance is carried out: the crew commander personally walks the route, and protective caponiers and camouflage shelters are prepared in advance at the observation posts, where the vehicle hides at the first danger signals.
Small wooden plaques with children's drawings are attached to Mikhail's bulletproof vest near his left shoulder. The top one reads: "Have a good fight. Kyshtym." This is a touching gift from schoolchildren from his hometown, to which the officer always visits the school during each vacation.
Armor under a layer of turf
The tank commander, Junior Sergeant Rostislav Golnev, leads us through a dense forest belt to a camouflaged firing position. It is impossible to notice an armored vehicle, even coming close to it.
— There are several dense layers of fresh branches outside, which we regularly update, as they dry quickly in the sun. A strong chain-link net is stretched under them. From above, the tank is protected not only by the natural crown of a tilted tree, but also by an additional canopy made of a camouflage net. And we carefully leveled the tracks from the tracks at the entrance with shovels, laid the cut turf and covered it with dry grass. After the first rain, fresh footprints completely disappear," Rostislav shares the secrets of disguise.
Defending against enemy drones is an ongoing process. While the conversation is going on, automatic bursts are regularly heard from neighboring forest belts: the shooters on duty are constantly monitoring the sky. Each fighter has dozens of eliminated targets on his personal account.
The tank requires daily and careful maintenance. In conditions of constant combat readiness, it acts not only as a stationary firing point, but also as an essential reserve for maneuvering during defense or offensive.
— Every day, the entire crew conducts a technical inspection: we check the pneumatics, mechanics, and warm up the engine. Due to frequent rains, the ground gets wet quickly, so the car has to be regularly "moved" so that the multi—ton armor does not sink deep into the ground," explains the driver, junior sergeant Dmitry Makarov.
Flash, shot, disguise
After receiving the combat mission, the calculation works with jewel-like precision: in a matter of minutes, ammunition is loaded into the tank, the cannon barrel is released from camouflage, it is worked out at the specified coordinates and the protective cover is instantly restored. After completing the task, the crew goes back into hiding.
The return trip follows the same pattern: short passes, frequent stops, disguising buggies and constantly waiting for a signal from surveillance posts. Returning to the starting point, where our "city" car remained, we witness a fleeting aerial battle.
Sappers in protective coveralls passing by, at the command of the shooter of the air observer post, instantly dismount and open heavy machine gun fire on an aircraft-type drone flying at extremely low altitude. The shooter himself from the aerial surveillance point uses a machine gun. Such drones, equipped with AI elements, patrol the roads in search of any equipment.
Seconds later, the enemy Hornet begins to smoke and collapses a hundred meters from the track, detonating on impact with the ground. The soldiers emotionally congratulate each other on the destroyed target, but the commander who came up sternly remarks: dismounting took too long, next time you need to act even more quickly.
Already on the way to Donetsk, we crush the wreckage of the plastic hull of the downed Hornet with our wheels, which crack loudly on the rubble. We give the soldiers and observers at the posts a thumbs—up sign as they drive towards us - the sky behind us is absolutely clear.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
