“When I got there, I went down the wet steps to the basement of the command post.
- And, comrade Momysh-Uly, please …
It was a familiar husky voice.
I saw General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov.
- You, comrade Momysh-Uly, heard how we are today? - Squinting, he asked with a smile.
It is difficult to convey how pleasant I was at that moment in his calm, affable voice, his sly squint. I suddenly felt not alone, not left alone with an enemy who knows something like that, some secret of war, unknown to me - a person who has never experienced a battle. I thought: our general, a soldier of the last world war, and then, after the revolution, the commander of a battalion, regiment, division, knows this secret.
Panfilov continued:
- They repulsed … Fu-oo-oo … - He jokingly caught his breath. - I was afraid. Just don't tell anyone, comrade Momysh-Uly. The tanks broke through … Here he is, - Panfilov pointed to the adjutant, - was with me there, he saw something. Well, tell me: how did you meet?
Jumping up, the adjutant joyfully said:
- We met with a chest, comrade general.
The strange, abrupt break, black Panfilov's eyebrows raised in displeasure.
- Breast? he asked. - No, sir, it is easy to pierce the chest with any sharp thing, and not just a bullet. Eka said: breastfeeding. Trust such a weirdo in a military uniform to a company, and he will lead her to the tanks with his chest. Not with your chest, but with fire! We met with cannons! Didn't you see?
The adjutant was quick to agree. But Panfilov once again caustically repeated:
- Breast … Go and see if the horses are being fed … And they led them to saddle in half an hour.
The adjutant saluted and went out in embarrassment.
- Young! - Panfilov said softly.
Looking at me, then at the unfamiliar captain, Panfilov drummed his fingers on the table.
“You can't fight with the breast of the infantry,” he said. - Especially, comrades, for us now. We don't have many troops here, near Moscow … We must take care of the soldier.
On reflection, he added:
- Protect not with words, but with action, with fire.
[Alexander Bek, "Volokolamskoe highway", §2, One hour with Panfilov].
Before the Russian-Turkish war, new rifles appeared in the armies of the world, which sharply increased the range and the likelihood of hitting a target. In addition, the new rifles were rapid-fire. But the Russian defense department could not appreciate these innovations, according to the combat regulations, the combat formations of our troops remained close, dense.
On October 12, 1877, our Life Guards attacked the Turkish redoubts near the villages of Gorniy Dubnyak and Telish. The infantry regiments, according to the regulations, went on the attack “in battalion columns, in perfect order, as in a parade … According to eyewitnesses, the commanders of the guards marched at the head of their regiments with their sabers bare. Another - an eyewitness to the offensive of the Izmailovsky regiment - wrote that "… the lead companies marched in a deployed front, the officers in their places were beating time:" In leg! Left! Left! "[1].
And the Turkish troops were already armed with Winchester's new rapid-fire infantry rifles and Peabody-Martini rifles. And their artillery learned how to effectively shoot buckshot.
Twice our Izmailovo, Finnish, Pavlovian, Muscovite and riflemen rose to the attack, but the strong return fire of the Turks did not make it possible to successfully complete it. The losses were heavy … So, the Pavlovsk regiment (which started the attack) lost 400 lower ranks, the Izmailovsky regiment - 228 … Count Shuvalov, the head of the 2nd Guards Division, was in the ranks of the attackers. By the end of the battle, only two of the ranks of his headquarters remained in the ranks … This is what an eyewitness from the Russian side recalled about this battle: "… they fell in heaps; without exaggeration, in two and a half - three arshins in height there were heaps of wounded and killed … [1]" …
From 9 o'clock in the morning to 5 o'clock in the evening, the guards followed the requirements of the outdated, not revised in time charter. The total losses in killed and wounded during the capture of the redoubt near the village of Gorniy Dubnyak amounted to 3 generals, 126 officers, 3410 lower ranks. Of these, 870 people were killed [1, 2].
The village of Telish was attacked in the same ceremonial manner by the life-rangers. Their attack was also repulsed, and the Jaeger regiment lost 27 officers and 1300 lower ranks [1] of which almost a thousand were killed [2]. Vasily Vereshchagin, an officer and artist who was part of the Russian army, showed the results of these attacks in the painting “The Defeated. Memorial service for the fallen soldiers."
Figure 1. Vasily Vereshchagin. “Defeated. Memorial service for the fallen soldiers"
It was still possible to take the redoubt near the village of Gorniy Dubnyak on October 12. But not because they "filled up the enemy with corpses." Losses generally not only do not bring victory, but postpone it: with our large losses, the enemy becomes stronger in his strength, becomes bolder and more stubborn. Redoubt Gorniy Dubnyak was taken because they changed tactics. And the first to do this were the guards sappers, as "they were poorly trained in infantry combat formation." An eyewitness to this battle wrote:
… Soon Captain Pavlovsky, a regimental adjutant of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, approached them and asked for help. The Guards Grenadiers suffered heavy losses and can no longer move to the large redoubt of the Turks.
When two companies of guards sappers reached the edge of the forest, they saw a large mass of soldiers of the guards infantry lying between two Turkish redoubts under fire.
Lieutenant Rengarten turned his sappers into a rare chain and with a throw reached a small redoubt, being out of the reach of artillery fire. The guards sappers quickly dug in as the Turks began to fire at them with rifle fire. At the same time, the company lost only two soldiers. It was around 1 pm on October 12 "[1].
By evening, the infantry threw aside the ceremonial training, which led to losses and setbacks. Contrary to the requirements of the charter, scattering on the ground in small groups, the infantry went on the attack, which was launched by the commander of the 2nd battalion of the Izmailovsky regiment, Colonel Krshivitsky with three companies. One by one, in groups, from shelter to shelter, the guards sappers, Izmailovtsy, Muscovites, Pavlovtsi and Finns seeped onto the rampart and already in the dark shouting "Hurray!" burst into enemy trenches, where they entered into a bayonet battle. The Turks could not stand the hand-to-hand combat and surrendered by the morning of October 13 [1].
“Gorny Dubnyak, in fact, was supposed to be the last attack in the" good old fashioned style ", when the best troops of the empire - the personal guard of the emperor - were thrown into a bayonet attack in close ranks on a fortified height defended by an enemy armed with modern rapid-fire weapons.
Thanks to the huge losses of the brilliant guard during the battle of local importance, a lot was written and talked about Gorny Dubnyak after the Russian-Turkish war, but, as usual with us, no lessons were learned in practice. In August 1914, near the village of Zarashov, in June 1916 on the Southwestern Front near the Stokhod River - the guards repeated everything from the beginning … For the last time … "[1].
Do not let it bother you that Viktor Nekrasov's book is about a company and a battalion, and the number of personnel is like in a squad and a platoon: it's just not their first battle.
“The major sniffs on his pipe. He clears his throat.
- Not a damn thing suppressed … Not a damn thing …
Abrosimov calls the second, third battalions. The same picture. We lay down. Machine guns and mortars prevent you from raising your head. The major moves away from the embrasure. His face is kind of swollen, tired.
- They rumbled for an hour and a half, and you can't take it … Hardy, devils. Kerzhentsev, - the major says very quietly. - You have nothing to do here. Go to your former battalion. To Shiryaev. Help … - And, having sniffed with a pipe: - There the Germans still dug communication tunnels. Shiryaev figured out how to capture them. Place machine guns and slash them in the flank. We won't take it head-on anyway.
- Let's take it! - somehow unnaturally squeals Abrosimov - And we'll take it head on if we don't hide in the holes. … The fire, you see, is strong and does not allow to rise.
His usually calm, cold eyes are now round and bloodshot. The lip is still trembling.
- Pick them up, pick them up! Stuck up!
“Don’t get excited, Abrosimov,” the major says calmly and waves his hand at me - go, they say.
In half an hour everything is ready at Shiryaev's. In three places our trenches are connected with the German ones - on a hill in two and in a ravine. Each of them has two mined heaps. At night Shiryaev with the sappers attached to them extended detonating cords to them. The trenches from us to the Germans have been checked, about a dozen mines have been removed.
Everything is fine. Shiryaev slaps himself on the knee.
- Thirteen gavrikov crawled back. We live! Let them rest while they guard. We'll let the rest of the ten people into the aisle. Not so bad. A?
His eyes shine. Hat, shaggy, white, on one ear, hair stuck to the forehead.
We are standing in a trench at the entrance to the dugout. Shiryaev's eyes suddenly narrow, his nose wrinkles. Grabs my hand.
- Fir-trees, sticks … Climbing already.
- Who?
Abrosimov climbs along the slope of the ravine, clutching at the bushes. The liaison is behind him.
Abrosimov is still shouting from a distance:
- What the hell did I send you here? To sharpen the lyas, or what?
Out of breath, unbuttoned, foam in the corners of the mouth, eyes round, ready to jump out.
- I'm asking you - do you fucking think to fight or not …
- We think, - Shiryaev answers calmly.
- Then go to war, devil take you …
- Let me explain, - everything is just as calm, restrained, only the nostrils are trembling, says Shiryaev. Abrosimov turns purple:
- I'll explain to those … - Grabs the holster. - Step march to the attack!
I can feel something boiling in me. Shiryaev is breathing heavily, bowing his head. Fists are clenched.
- Step march to the attack! Have you heard? I will not repeat it again!
He has a pistol in his hands. The fingers are completely white. Not a blood stain.
“I’m not going into any attack until you listen to me,” Shiryaev says, gritting his teeth and uttering every word terribly slowly.
For a few seconds they look into each other's eyes. Now they will grapple. Never before have I seen Abrosimov like this.
“The Major ordered me to take possession of those trenches. I agreed with him …
“They don’t negotiate in the army, they follow orders,” interrupts Abrosimov. - What did I order you in the morning?
- Kerzhentsev has just confirmed to me …
- What did I order you in the morning?
- Attack.
- Where is your attack?
- Choked, because …
“I don’t ask why…” And, suddenly again, enraged, he waves his pistol in the air. - Step march to the attack! I'll shoot you like cowards! The order not to carry out!..
It seems to me that he is about to tumble down and be hammered in convulsions.
- All commanders ahead! And go ahead! I'll show you how to save your own skin … Some kind of trenches invented for themselves. Three hours as the order has been given …
The machine guns laid us down almost immediately. The fighter running next to me falls somehow immediately, flat, with his arms outstretched wide in front of him. With acceleration, I jump into the fresh, still smelling of a burst funnel. Someone jumps over me. Sprinkles with earth. Also falls. Quickly, quickly moving his legs, crawling somewhere to the side. Bullets whistle over the ground, hit the sand, screech. Mines are bursting somewhere very close.
I’m lying on my side, curled up in a ball, my legs tucked close to my chin.
Nobody is shouting "hurray" anymore.
German machine guns do not stop for a second. It is quite clearly possible to make out how the machine gunner turns the machine gun - like a fan - from right to left, from left to right.
I press with all my strength to the ground. The funnel is quite large, but the left shoulder, in my opinion, still looks out. I dig the ground with my hands. It is soft from the rupture, it gives in quite easily. But this is only the top layer, the clay will go further. Feverishly, like a dog, I scrape the ground.
Tr-rah! Mine. It sprinkles me all over with earth.
Tr-rah! Second. Then the third, fourth. I close my eyes and stop digging. They probably noticed how I was throwing out the ground.
I lie there holding my breath … Nearby someone groans: "A-a-a-a-a …" Nothing more, just "a-a-a-a …". Evenly, without any intonation, on one note. …
The machine gun starts firing intermittently, but still low, above the ground. I absolutely cannot understand why I am whole - not wounded, not killed. Climbing a machine gun fifty meters away is certain death. …
The wounded man is still moaning. Without interruption, but quieter.
The Germans are transferring fire to the depths of the defense. The tears are already heard far behind. Bullets fly much higher. They decided to leave us alone. …
I make a small roller out of the ground towards the Germans. Now you can look around and back, they won't see me.
The soldier who was running next to me lies there, arms outstretched. His face is turned to me. Eyes open. It seems that he has put his ear to the ground and is listening to something. A few steps from him - another. Only legs in thick cloth windings and yellow boots are visible.
I count fourteen corpses in total. Some were probably left over from the morning attack. …
The wounded man groans. He lies a few steps from my funnel, prone, head to me. The hat is nearby. Black hair, curly, terribly familiar. The arms are bent, pressed to the body. He crawls. Slowly, slowly crawling without raising his head. Crawling on one elbow. Legs dragging helplessly. And moans all the time. It's already quite quiet.
I keep my eyes on him. I don’t know how to help him. I don't even have an individual package with me.
He is very close. You can reach out with your hand.
- Come on, come here, - I whisper and hold out my hand.
The head rises. Black, large, already dying eyes. Kharlamov … My former chief of staff … Looks and does not recognize. No suffering on the face. Some kind of dullness. Forehead, cheeks, teeth in the ground. The mouth is open. The lips are white.
- Come on, come here …
Resting his elbows on the ground, he crawls up to the funnel itself. Buries his face in the ground. Putting my hands under his armpits, I drag him into the funnel. He's all kind of soft, boneless. Falls headfirst. The legs are completely lifeless.
I can hardly put it down. Two are cramped in the funnel. You have to put his feet on yours. He lies with his head thrown back, looking at the sky. He breathes heavily and rarely. The shirt and the top of the trousers are covered in blood. I unbuckle his belt. I raise my shirt. Two small neat holes in the right side of the abdomen. I understand that he will die. …
So we lie - me and Kharlamov, cold, stretched out, with snowflakes not floating on our hands. Clock stopped. I cannot determine how long we lie. Legs and arms are numb. Again the convulsion seizes. How long can you lie like that? Maybe just jump up and run? Thirty meters - five seconds, at most, until the machine gunner wakes up. Thirteen people ran out in the morning.
Someone is tossing and turning in the next funnel. Against the background of the white snow, which is already beginning to melt, a gray spot with earflaps is stirring. A head appears for a second. Hiding. Shows again. Then suddenly a person immediately jumps out of the funnel and runs. Quickly, quickly, pressing your arms to your sides, bent over, throwing your legs high.
He runs three quarters of the way. There are only eight to ten meters to the trenches. It is mowed down by a machine gun. He takes a few more steps and falls straight with his head forward. So it remains to lie three steps from our trenches. For some time, the overcoat darkens in the snow, then it also turns white. It keeps snowing and falling …
Then three more run. Almost all three at once. One in a short jersey. He must have thrown off his overcoat to make it easier to run. He is killed almost on the parapet itself. The second is a few steps away from him. The third manages to jump into the trench. On the German side, the machine gun still puts bullet after bullet in the place where the fighter disappeared for a long time. …
A small lump of clay hits my ear. I shudder. The second falls nearby, near the knee. Someone throws at me. I raise my head. A broad-cheeked, unshaven face peeps out of the neighboring funnel. …
- Let's run. - I couldn’t stand it either.
“Come on,” I say.
We're going for a little trick. The previous three were killed almost at the breastwork itself. It is necessary, without reaching our trenches, to fall. By the time of the turn we will be lying. Then in one dash straight into the trenches. Maybe get lucky.
- Come on!
- Come on.
Snow … Funnel … Killed … Snow again … Fall to the ground. And almost immediately: "Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta …"
- Alive?
- Alive.
Lying face down in the snow. He spread his arms. The left leg is under the belly. It will be easier to jump up. Five or six steps to the trenches. Out of the corner of my eye I devour this piece of land.
We must wait two or three minutes for the machine gunner to calm down. Now he will not hit us, we are too low.
You can hear someone walking through the trenches, talking. No words are heard.
- Well - it's time.
“Get ready,” I say without raising my head, into the snow.
- Yes, - answers on the left.
I'm all tense. He knocks at his temples.
- Let's!
I push off. Three jumps and - in the trench.
For a long time afterwards we sit right in the mud at the bottom of the trench and laugh. Someone gives a cigarette butt. …
In total, the battalion lost twenty-six people, almost half, not counting the wounded. …
I'm late for the trial. I come when the major is already speaking. In the chimney of the second battalion - this is the most spacious room in our sector - it is so smoky that people are almost invisible. Abrosimov is sitting by the wall. The lips are compressed, white, dry. Eyes to the wall. …
Turning his head, the major looks at Abrosimov with a long, heavy look.
- I know that it is my own fault. I am responsible for the people, not the chief of staff. And I am responsible for this operation. And when the divisional commander shouted at Abrosimov today, I knew that he was shouting at me too. And he's right. - The major runs his hand through his hair, looks around all of us with a tired look. - There is no war without victims. That's what the war is for. But what happened in the second battalion yesterday is no longer a war. This is extermination. Abrosimov has exceeded his power. He canceled my order. And canceled twice. In the morning - on the phone, and then himself, driving people into the attack.
- It was ordered to attack the tanks … - Abrosimov interrupts in a dry, wooden voice, not taking his eyes off the wall. - And the people did not go on the attack …
- You're lying! - The major bangs his fist on the table so that the spoon in the glass rattles. But then he restrains himself. Sips tea from a glass. - People went to the attack. But not the way you wanted it to. People walked headlong, thinking it over. What have you done? Did you see what the first attack led to? But there it was impossible otherwise. We counted on artillery barrage. It was necessary to hit him immediately, not allowing the enemy to come to his senses. And it didn't work out … The enemy turned out to be stronger and more cunning than we thought. We were unable to suppress his firing points. I sent an engineer to the second battalion. There was Shiryaev - a guy with a head. From the night before, he had prepared everything to capture the German trenches. And cleverly prepared it. And you … And what did Abrosimov do? …
A few more people speak. Then I. Abrosimov is behind me. It is brief. He believes that the tanks could only be taken by a massive attack. That's all. And he demanded that this attack be carried out. Combats take care of people, so they don't like attacks. Bucky could only be taken by attack. And he is not to blame for the fact that people treated this in bad faith, they were cowardly.
- Have you chickened out?.. - is heard from somewhere from the depths of the pipe.
Everyone turns around. Awkward, head and shoulders above all those around him, in his short, ridiculous overcoat, he squeezes to the table Farber.
- Were you afraid, you say? Shiryaev chickened out? Karnaukhov chickened out? Are you talking about them?
Farber gasps, blinks myopic eyes - he broke his glasses yesterday, squints.
- I saw everything … I saw with my own eyes … How Shiryaev walked … And Karnaukhov, and … everything went as they walked … I don't know how to speak … I recently know them … Karnaukhov and others … How can you just turn your tongue. Courage is not about climbing a machine gun with a bare chest. Abrosimov … Captain Abrosimov said that it was ordered to attack the tanks. Not to attack, but to master. The trenches invented by Shiryaev are not cowardice. This is a trick. Correct reception. He would save people. I saved it so they could fight. Now they are gone. And I think … - His voice breaks, he looks for a glass, does not find it, waves his hand. - I think it is impossible for such people, you cannot command them …
Farber can't find words, he gets confused, blushes, looks for a glass again and suddenly blurts out at once:
- You yourself are a coward! You didn't go on the attack! And they kept me with them. I saw everything … - And, jerking his shoulder, clinging to the hooks of his overcoat for the neighbors, he squeezes back. …
In the evening, Lisagor comes. Slams the door. Looks into the frying pan. Stops beside me.
- Well? I ask.
- Demoted and - into the penalty area.
We do not talk more about Abrosimov. The next day he leaves, without saying goodbye to anyone, with a sack over his shoulders.
I never saw him again and never heard of him."
[Viktor Nekrasov, "In the trenches of Stalingrad"].
“The so-called tactics of actions used by the Iraqis, as if“taken from Soviet textbooks of the Second World War era,”aroused surprise. The Iraqi generals, in the event, in their opinion, favorable conditions were formed, threw their infantry into a frontal offensive under the powerful fire of American weapons, destroying all living things”[3].
Note that Iraq lost the wars with an incredible loss ratio - according to various estimates, from 75: 1 (lost 150 thousand killed) to 300: 1 (lost more than 600 thousand killed) against about 2 thousand losses of the Americans and their allies.
"The modern dynamics of close combat requires a high combat rate of fire against massed, high-speed targets, so modern assault rifles such as AK-74 (AKM) are fired from a constant" P "sight …"
[Conclusion of the Federal State Institution "3 TsNII" of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, ref. No. 3/3/432 dated 2013-08-02].
125 years have passed since the fighting near the villages of Gorniy Dubnyak and Telish; In foreign armies, such tactics have long caused only amazement, they are considered "complete insanity and self-destructive fanaticism that does not bring any benefit in battle" [3] and their combat regulations are not provided for. But, as we can see, our Ministry of Defense has come up with a convenient adversary, which is still attacking with a "massive, high-speed" crowd under our automatic fire.
And if this invented enemy still has to lie down, then he does not hide behind any parapet, but lies down in an open place so that he will be killed faster. In this, our Ministry of Defense is so confident that the sights of Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns of all models, as well as instructions (manuals) on them, were optimized for a direct shot at targets with a height of 0.5 m. The target with a height of 0.5 m (chest target) just imitates an arrow lying on level ground and shooting from the elbows, set shoulder-width apart. The position "P" of the sight of our assault rifles is equal to the range of a direct shot at the chest target.
The Russian Ministry of Defense assigned a chest target to the assault rifle, and does not want to know anything else:
"The main targets hit by a machine gun are targets similar in overall dimensions to the height and chest (and not the head) figure of a soldier."
[Conclusion of the Federal State Institution "3 TsNII" of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, ref. No. 3/3/432 dated 2013-08-02].
But common sense, stories of veterans, photographic documents suggest the opposite: every fighter seeks to hide behind the parapet. Whether created or natural, just to hide. Therefore, in battle, there are mainly head targets.
Figure 2.
And the shooter behind the parapet is not a chest target, but a head target (the height is only 0.3 m)
Figure 3. [3, Supported fighting position], “Manual for planning and executing training on the 5.56-mm M16A1 and M16A2 rifles”.
And when our submachine gunners shoot at a lower head from a sight for a chest figure, then at ranges from 150 m to 300 m the average trajectory of bullets goes above the target. Because of this, the probability of hitting the head - the most common and most dangerous (it fires) - the target is extremely small: it drops to 0, 19 [4].
Figure 4.
Since our submachine gunners practically cannot hit the main target, only a sniper learns to hit these targets according to our "Course of Shooting" - one barrel from the entire squad. But SVD alone cannot win the battle. The submachine gunners also must and, most importantly, can hit head targets with a high probability, if the AK-74 is fired with a direct shot not with the "P" or "4" sight, but with the "3" sight. Then the probability of each submachine gunner hitting the most common target in battle - the main target - will increase on average 2 times, and at a distance of 250 m - 4 times! If we take into account the number of assault rifles in the armed forces, then the significance of such a change in the firing of an assault rifle can be compared with the significance of tactical nuclear weapons.
All of the above, I proved in the work "The submachine gunner must and can hit the head figure."The work was published by the Academy of Military Sciences in its edition "Vestnik AVN" No. 2 for 2013, the supplemented version of the work is posted on the scientific forum of the Academy's website: www.avnrf.ru (https://www.avnrf.ru/index.php/forum / 5-nauchnye-voprosy / 746-avtomatchik-dolzhen-i-mozhet-porazhat-golovnuyu-tsel # 746).
And I re-sent my proposals, already backed up by this work, to the Ministry of Defense. The answer came from the commander of military unit 64176 (Main Missile and Artillery Directorate):
“The analysis of the materials submitted by you with the involvement of specialists from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise“3 Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation”showed the following:
1. The proposals set forth in the materials "The submachine gunner must and can hit the head figure" is of no interest to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. … I recommend that you contact FSUE TsNIITOCHMASH, Klimovsk to obtain an independent opinion.
[Ref. No. 561/7467 dated 16.10.2013].
The media is discussing a competition for a new machine. AEK-971 is being tested, its dispersion of shots is 1.5 times less than that of the AK-74. The developers of another assault rifle under test - AK-12 - also claim that their brainchild is not very scattered. It is understood that low dispersion of shots (bullets) is good.
However, low dispersion is good only when the average trajectory of the shots does not go beyond the contours of the target. Then, narrowing the sheaf of trajectories, more bullets are directed at the target and fewer bullets go beyond the dimensions of the target. The probability of hitting is increasing.
If the average trajectory of the shots went beyond the contours of the target, then a decrease in dispersion (narrowing of the sheaf of dispersion) leads to the fact that more bullets go past the target, and fewer bullets hit the target. The probability of hitting is reduced.
As shown in Figure 4, with a direct shot with sights "4" or "P" at ranges from 150 m to 300 m, the average trajectory is above the head target. This means that if the new machine gun retains its "P" sight at the chest target, then the combat (at the head target) firing efficiency of the new machine gun will be significantly worse than that of the AK-74.
If we adopt a new machine gun with a "P" sight at the chest target, we will get an even lower probability of hitting the most common and most dangerous target in battle - the head one
The way out is elementary: on the new machine gun, the “P” sight must be made corresponding to the range of a direct shot at the head target - about 350 m. Then the average trajectory of shots will not rise above the upper edge of the head target, it will remain in the target contours. And therefore, the smaller dispersion of the new machine gun will indeed significantly increase its combat effectiveness.
I indicated all this in an appeal to FSUE TsNIITOCHMASH, and, as recommended by GRAU, sent an appeal to the city of Klimovsk.
The conclusion of TSNIITOCHMASH reads (out. No. 597/24 dated 2014-05-02):
Why, this is what I have been proposing for over a year! So what? Now scientists from TSNIITOCHMASH will propose to change the method of firing in the AK-74, and in the developed machine gun they recommend immediately installing the "P" sight corresponding to the range of a direct shot at the head target? No, the scientists from TsNIITOCHMASH are not like that:
This means that the new machine gun is not being developed for combat, but for the shooting range, where the target situation does not correspond to the battle.
So, 125 years have passed since the fighting near the villages of Gorniy Dubnyak and Telish, and the destructiveness of the "massive attack" has more than once been proven in blood. All our probable opponents have been fighting for a long time in dispersed formations, always hiding behind the parapet.
But the people who now occupy responsible posts in our Ministry of Defense are still preparing to fight only with a "massive, high-speed target" and do not want to hear anything about the need for a submachine gunner (by the way, and a machine gunner too) to hit a low target. And scientists from the "3 Central Research Institute" of the Ministry of Defense and from "TSNIITOCHMASH" are concerned not with what a soldier needs in battle, but with how not to disturb the officials from the Ministry of Defense. Otherwise, you will have to redo the regulatory documents!
For some reason, I am sure that General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov would call such officials of the Ministry of Defense and such military scientists "eccentrics in military uniform"!
Literature:
[1] "Assault on Gorny Dubnyak on October 12-13, 1877". Ladygin IV, site "Anatomy of the Army", [2] “Gambit on the Sofia Highway (October 12, 1877). Part II. Shikanov V. N., site of the Military-Historical Club "Fatherland", Life Grenadier Regiment, [3] "Pyrrhic victory for American troops." Pechurov S., website https://nvo.ng.ru/, 09.11.2013.
[4] "The submachine gunner must and can hit the head piece." Svateev V. A., "Bulletin of the Academy of Military Sciences" No. 2 for 2013, the updated version is posted on the website of the Academy of Military Sciences at: https://www.avnrf.ru/index.php/forum/5-nauchnye- voprosy / 746-avtomatchik-dolzhen-i-mozhet-porazhat-golovnuyu-tsel # 746.
