On May 29, Russia annually celebrates the Day of the Military Motorist. This is a professional holiday for all servicemen and civilian personnel of the automobile troops of the Russian Federation, as well as all servicemen and conscripts who, due to their duty, have to drive various vehicles. Although automobile troops have existed in our country since 1910, the holiday itself was approved relatively recently: the date of May 29 was approved by order of the country's Minister of Defense of February 24, 2000.
The Automobile Troops of the Russian Armed Forces (AV Armed Forces of Russia) are an association (special forces) within the Armed Forces of Russia, which is designed to transport personnel, fuel, ammunition, food and other materiel that are necessary for the conduct of hostilities, as well as for evacuation of the wounded, sick and damaged equipment in combat conditions. Among other things, road troops can transport troops that do not have their own road transport.
The AB of the Armed Forces of Russia organizationally consist of automobile (motor transport) subunits, formations and units, institutions and management and can be organizationally part of combined-arms units and formations, as well as units and formations of the branches of the armed forces and combat arms, or make up separate automobile formations and units … In Russia, automobile troops have existed since 1910. Thus, the Russian automobile troops took part in all major wars and conflicts of the 20th century.
The date of May 29 for the holiday was not chosen by chance. It was on this day in 1910 that the first Training Automobile Company was formed in St. Petersburg, which laid the foundations of the automotive business in the Russian army and became the prototype for the future organization of the automotive service and the entire system of automotive support of the Russian Armed Forces. The creator of the automobile troops of Russia is considered to be Peter Sekretov, who, in the rank of captain, headed the first training author in May 1910, then the military automobile school. Having risen to the rank of major general, in 1917 he headed all the automotive units of the Russian army.
It should be noted that Russia entered the First World War with only 5 separate automobile companies. Despite its small number, automotive technology was already recognized as an effective, maneuverable and very promising means of transporting troops and goods during the First World War. In the course of further hostilities, the automobile units of the regular army had to solve numerous tasks of transporting personnel and cargo, as well as mobilization and supply tasks. Russia ended the First World War with 22 automobile divisions, the total fleet of which was about 10 thousand vehicles of various carrying capacities.
During the Civil War in Russia, both Reds and Whites used road transport, and both sides of the conflict experienced significant difficulties in providing their automobile units with fuel and lubricants and spare parts. In 1920, the fleet of the young Red Army consisted of about 7, 5 thousand cars (mainly of foreign production).
At the end of the 1920s, the formation of separate automobile battalions of district subordination began in the country, which were equipped with new domestic vehicles. By the mid-1930s, there were already 40 thousand cars in the Red Army. At the same time, Soviet military theorists began to view the car as the main means of motorizing the infantry, which was supposed to follow the armored fist during a deep offensive operation.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army already had more than 272 thousand cars of all types, the basis of the vehicle fleet was then the famous "one and a half" GAZ-AA, "three-ton" ZIS-5 and passenger cars "emki" GAZ-M1. In the first months of the war, the motor transport units of the Red Army suffered catastrophic losses in equipment, which were partially covered by the mobilization of motor vehicles from the national economy and the release of new cars. At the same time, the production of cars in the USSR during the war significantly decreased, averaging 51, 2 thousand cars per year. The decrease in production volumes was mainly due to the switching of a part of automobile shops and factories to the production of military equipment, especially tanks and self-propelled guns. Difficulties in providing factories with metal and other scarce materials also affected.
Until the end of World War II, the Soviet automobile industry did not reach the figures of 1941. An important role during the war years in the formation of motor transport units and subdivisions of the Red Army was played by the supply of foreign-made motor vehicles under the Lend-Lease program. During the war years, 375,883 trucks and 51,503 all-terrain vehicles and jeeps, as well as 3,786,000 car tires were sent to the Soviet Union. Another rather important source of replenishment of the Red Army's motor transport fleet was captured vehicles. In the period from November 1942 to March 1943 alone, Soviet troops captured 123,000 German vehicles of various types. All this made it possible to significantly increase the volume of military road transport. In 1943, they managed to double as compared with 1941, and in 1944 - to triple.
In total, over the war years, road transport units and units of the Red Army transported more than 145 million tons of various goods. By the middle of 1945, Soviet troops had 664, 5 thousand vehicles of various types, 32, 8% of them accounted for equipment supplied under the Lend-Lease program, 9, 1% - for captured cars. For exemplary performance of the tasks of the command, 14 automobile units and formations received honorary titles, 94 were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, Red Star, Alexander Nevsky and Kutuzov. For selfless labor and deeds during the war, 21 thousand military motorists were awarded various orders and medals, and 11 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The experience of the Great Patriotic War pushed the military to equip road transport parts with trucks with all-wheel drive. Already at the end of the 1940s, the production of the army ZIS-151 was launched in the country, later the ZIL-164 and GAZ-53 appeared. In the 1970s, they were replaced by GAZ-66, Ural-375 and ZIL-131, the production of diesel KamAZ trucks, as well as all-terrain vehicles UAZ-469, which for many years turned into the main domestic SUV, began.
Also in the 1950s, Soviet car builders faced a new task - to ensure the mobility of the nuclear missile weapons being created in the country. This task was successfully solved, in the USSR special wheeled chassis were created, designed to accommodate missile systems, many of them still have no analogues. With the development of automotive technology and weapons, the level of motorization of troops also grew continuously, military automotive technology (BAT) became the material basis of the mobility of troops. At the same time, the car from a simple means of transporting people and goods has become a carrier of various weapons, including the most destructive ones.
So in Afghanistan, it was military motorists who were assigned a decisive role in providing a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan (OKSVA) with all types of materiel: from cartridges to food. At the same time, Soviet automobile units carried out the transportation of various goods not only in the interests of the military, but also in the interests of the civilian population of Afghanistan. A great contribution to the supply of the Soviet contingent with everything necessary was made by the 58th separate automobile brigade (58th regiment) and the 59th army brigade of material support (59th brigade).
Structurally, the Automobile Forces today include automobile brigades, regiments, battalions and material support companies that are part of military formations and formations, as well as rear structures. Currently, the Main Armored Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is responsible for tank and technical support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The Department of Transport Support of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is in charge of the construction and development of the military communications service, motor transport services of the branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, military districts and fleets, combat arms and large formations.
Today, the total fleet of military vehicles in the Russian Armed Forces is more than 410 thousand vehicles for various purposes. At the same time, new models of automotive technology are tested annually in the country. For example, in 2014 alone, 37 samples of military vehicles created in the interests of the Russian army were tested on the basis of the Scientific Research Testing Center of Automotive Equipment of the 3rd Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
On the Day of the military motorist, "Voennoye Obozreniye" congratulates all active soldiers and officers of the automobile troops, veterans, as well as all those who previously had the opportunity to drive various automobile equipment on their professional holiday.
