The entire current week in the plans of the Ministry of Defense is set aside for the command-staff exercise "Kavkaz-2012". Servicemen of the Southern Military District, as well as representatives of the high command, are involved in the events continuing the series of major exercises. The aim of "Kavkaza-2012" is to work out the interaction of troops and improve the skills of combat work at all levels of the armed forces, from the infantry squad to the command of the military district. The training grounds were Raevskoye, Ashuluk, Kapustin Yar and Prudboy. Actions at different training grounds begin in accordance with the action plan and involve the participation of certain types of troops. In the same way, the combat training tasks assigned to the army units also differ.
One can get an idea of the course of the Caucasus-2012 exercise using the example of the events of the first day - September 17. The first episode of training battles took place at the Raevskoye training ground near Novorossiysk. The command post of the exercise was attended by the head of the exercise, Chief of General Staff N. Makarov, President V. Putin, Defense Minister A. Serdyukov, commanders of the military branches, as well as journalists and foreign observers.
Capture of the coastal foothold by the Marines
According to the scenario of the first day of the exercises, the conditional adversary - "Yuzhnye" - landed their troops in the area of Cape Maly Utrish. His two brigades must penetrate the defensive orders of the "Northern" (so to speak, ours), divide them and destroy them. The ultimate goal of this landing is to blockade the forces of the Black Sea Fleet. The coastal defense is carried out by the 58th ground army and the aviation of the 4th command of the Air Force and Air Defense. To contain the enemy, they were also assigned the 19th separate motorized rifle brigade. Immediately before the approach of the Yuzhny forces, the 19th Separate Brigade manages to create a forward position. Thanks to this step, the advancing enemy will not be able to immediately correctly determine the formation of the "Northern" defense and, as a result, maintain the further pace of the offensive. The main task of the 19th brigade is to bind the "Yuzhny" in action and then retreat in order to lure the enemy to the main defensive positions of the "Severny". Further, the defending side will be able to squeeze the enemy from the flanks and close the return path by landing an assault force in his rear.
Without waiting for the enemy to approach the forward group, the air forces of the "Northern" make the first strike with a mixed aviation group consisting of Su-24M bombers and Su-25 attack aircraft, including the latest modification of the Su-25SM. Aviation raids on the Yuzhny's mobile command posts, as well as on two mechanized columns moving towards the Severny's defensive positions. Thanks to the first air strike, the landing offensive slows down - the reconnaissance of the "Northern" reports on the destruction of at least a dozen units of military equipment. After the air attack, self-propelled artillery - the Msta-S installation - joined the "meeting" of the enemy. Soon after the artillery fire, the Yuzhnye came under fire from the motorized rifle subunits that had moved forward. This development of events forces the attacking landing force to urgently change the tactics of the offensive.
The air phase of the Caucasus-2012 exercise
The "Northern" ones, in turn, are also taking certain tactical measures. The advance group, under cover of artillery, begins to retreat inland. Soon after this, the Msta-S self-propelled guns also leave their positions in order to avoid the enemy's retaliation. This tactical decision has a positive result - the "Yuzhnye" are trying to catch up with the advance group, but are hit by helicopters from the flank. While the advancing forces are forced to disperse and withdraw from the attack, the advance group and artillery of the "Northern" manages to break away from the pursuit and return to the positions of the main line of defense. Having returned, the advance group joins the tank and motorized rifle companies, together with which it prepares for the enemy's imminent approach. At the same time, the Msta-S self-propelled gun unit is constantly moving from one position to another and firing at the advancing enemy. This technique allows you to simultaneously inflict damage on the columns of the "Yuzhny" and at the same time not risk getting under counter-battery fire.
At this moment, the Yuzhny aircraft enters the battle. Unfortunately for their ground units, most of the attack aircraft are shot down on the way to the positions of the "Severny". Anti-aircraft gunners working on the Tunguska and Pantsir-S1 complexes are protecting the ground forces from an air attack. Thanks to their actions, the aviation of the "Yuzhny" is unable to approach the defensive orders of the "Severny" at a sufficient distance. As for the advancing ground forces, in the course of the movement they fall on controlled explosive barriers, which also affects the quantitative and qualitative state of the formations. Realizing the difficult situation of their advancing units, which, moreover, is constantly deteriorating, the command of the "Yuzhny" sends reinforcements - an airborne company. Since its landing is carried out at a relatively small distance from the line of direct collision, the planes and the paratroopers themselves fall under the fire of anti-aircraft guns and machine guns of motorized rifle subunits. All reinforcements are destroyed in the air.
Live firing of the Kalibr-NK missile system from the Dagestan spacecraft
Around this time, the battle takes on a positional character. The forces of the "North" hold the defense and are trying to prevent the breakthrough of the "South" in the intervals between the positions of individual units. "Yuzhny", in turn, again call in aviation and deploy an artillery battery. The second attempt from the air ends with the destruction of several helicopters and aircraft, and the artillery of the "Severnyh" manages to destroy the enemy's guns before they have time to inflict tangible damage. At this stage, the command comes from the control room of the exercises: cease fire, discharge the weapon. The combat training program of the first day of the Kavkaz-2012 command-staff exercise has been completed. The end of Monday's events was the awarding by Russian President V. Putin of soldiers and officers who distinguished themselves during the maneuvers.
Ships of the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla took part in further training battles within the framework of the Kavkaz-2012 maneuvers. In addition, on September 18 and 19, three large landing ships from the Northern Fleet took part in the landing operation of infantry on an unprepared coast. On September 20, at the Kapustin Yar training ground, another stage of the exercises took place, during which ground units practiced blocking and destroying illegal armed formations in a settlement.
Combat swimmers work
Exercises of this scale are not held very often in our country, therefore they always attract special attention. The latter, it should be admitted, does not always give rise to objective statements. For some incomprehensible reason, the majority of opinions about the exercises are "polar" judgments: some shout about the omnipotent and invincible army that Russia possesses, while others emphasize the futility of all such events,because everything has disappeared long ago and the teachings are nothing more than throwing dust in the eyes. In addition, when discussing the Kavkaz-2012 event, the topic of politics and potential goals for the trained forces often comes up. Similar statements, questions and opinions are heard both abroad and domestically. Consider a few examples, shall we say, of a specific reaction to the maneuvers of the troops of the Southern Military District.
Let's start with "internal" opinions. On September 20, the newspaper "Argumenty Nedeli" published an article with the bold title "Potemkin Exercises for the Commander-in-Chief." From the title it is clear what this post is about. The author believes that training battles, aircraft flights and missile launches, as well as amphibious assault and cunning plans to lure a conditional enemy into a future cauldron are a real window dressing (this is the term that appears in the article), designed only for the supreme commander in chief. As evidence of this, the discrepancy between the strategic status of the exercises and the real state of affairs is given. According to the author of the publication, as many people and equipment are involved in the Kavkaz-2012 maneuvers as should be employed in divisional level exercises. Accordingly, the general of the army, and not the chief of the General Staff, can also command the events. The article also contains the words of the former chief of intelligence of the Siberian Military District, Major General S. Kanchukov. He believes that the Kavkaz-2012 exercises are conducted in a highly simplified form and are more like demonstration performances. In addition, he criticizes the lack of any involvement of the command of other military districts and logistics services. The latter, it should be noted, trained a little earlier.
From the Dagestan spacecraft, the Kalibr-NK missile system launches for the specified targets
As you can see, there are those who are dissatisfied with the course of the exercises and even with the peculiarities of their conduct. However, the reaction of foreign politicians is of much greater interest. Their work makes them think wider, which sometimes leads to the most interesting thoughts. Georgia was the first to be noted. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country G. Vashadze accused the Caucasus-2012 exercise of creating a threat both for Georgia and for peace in the entire Caucasian region. In support of his words, he recalled similar events that took place in the summer of 2008. According to the official position of Tbilisi, it was the exercises of the Russian army that became one of the reasons for the war in South Ossetia. Such statements look at least strange. However, the Georgian Foreign Minister is not alone in this opinion. The head of the Estonian military department U. Reinsalu fully agrees with the potential danger of Russian maneuvers for the Caucasian country and even considers them an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia. Regarding attempts to interfere in Tbilisi's internal politics, there is a rather interesting and relatively popular opinion in certain circles related to the upcoming parliamentary elections. Allegedly, the exercises are designed primarily to demonstrate to the Georgian population the strength of Russia and thus hint at the need to select candidates loyal to Moscow. Perhaps, these theses can not even be commented on.
The topic of relations between Russia and Georgia is raised in yet more statements, this time by K. Neretnieks, an analyst at the Royal Swedish Academy of Military Sciences. From his interview with the Latvian newspaper Latvijas Avize, it follows that the Baltics should not be worried and nervous about the exercises in southern Russia. At least for now. The analyst believes that in the near future Moscow's opinion on the Baltic countries may change and then the Russian army will begin to train at the borders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. T. N. The war of the three eights in this context appears as an example of Russian "aggression" against independent countries. In general, some politicians in countries bordering on Russia are at least afraid of the Caucasus-2012 exercises, if not afraid of them.
Amphibious assault landing
More distant countries, as well as the leadership of international organizations, look at Russian maneuvers much more calmly. For example, NATO Secretary General A. F. Rasmussen says openly that the Alliance is not against the teachings. The only complaint is the openness of information. Since Russia has suspended its participation in the CFE Treaty, data on the quantitative and qualitative composition of the troops taking part in the exercises is limited only to official press releases. For example, in the training battles of the first day of the "Caucasus-2012", according to official information, about two thousand personnel, two hundred units of various equipment and about a hundred artillery pieces took part. More specific figures have not yet been announced. In addition, as is clear from the statements of Georgian and Baltic politicians, the official information regarding the objectives of the exercises does not suit some of Russia's neighbors. As a matter of fact, the reaction of the NATO secretary general not only looks normal and balanced, but also quite reasonable. The North Atlantic Alliance regularly conducts international exercises at a short distance from the Russian borders. In this case, indignation at the Kavkaz-2012 maneuvers would have looked like another example of double standards.
Regardless of the reaction of foreign officials, experts or journalists, the exercise continues. The last training fights will take place this Sunday. The next few weeks will be spent on analyzing the information collected and developing various recommendations, the purpose of which is to increase the defense capability of individual units and the entire military district as a whole.
Preparation for shooting at aerial targets
In the cockpit of the rocket ship "Tatarstan"
Member of the crew of the rocket ship "Tatarstan"
Missile cruiser "Moskva"
