The Weakness of Russian VDV Airborne Force Structure

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Further Reading:
• Digitized VDV Manuals: russianairbornetroops.info/
• russianmilitaryanalysis.wordp...
• jamestown.org/wp-content/uplo...
• www.armyupress.army.mil/Porta...
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:50 - Overall Purpose
3:50 - Unit Locations
4:15 - Squad to Battalion
7:27 - Regiments/Divisions
8:46 - Brigades
9:39 - Battalion Tactical Groups
11:51 Limitations (Opinion)

[@MadMadCommando]

Their weaknesses are overstated. With the right jamming codes retrieved from a satellite, the VDV can easily take Washington DC. The only one who could stand a chance at stopping them is Ramirez.

[@BattleOrder]

lol

[@josevictorionunez9312]

@@BattleOrder Ramirez! Take this AK-12 and kill that VDV Battalion!

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

You had us in the first half.

[@thearthritisgamer946]

I read the first two sentences and was like, "who is this Russian troll?" Then saw the final part and laughed. Good comment.

[@nitesy381]

This is the troll i like

[@esbenm6544]

"Where is Ivan?" "He's sick today" "What? The whole operation depends on the 6 of us, and now we're just 5?" "Actually I'm sick too."

[@thebbqbandito2868]

* Ivan an Oleg where posted at the red forest *

[@RPMZ11]

Live from kabul, it''s Esben showing us how it's all done.

[@ter8]

"IVAN LOOK A CHILD!"*

[@joebenson528]

@N M "Slava Cocaini" - NATO Installed Actor in Chief

[@WalterTheWalrus]

And the pilot fell out a window, so your flying

[@ld871111]

Summary: - Russia doesn't have the strategic lift capability to make the Soviet VDV doctrine work, so they're used as light mechanized infantry in Ukraine. - As mechanized units, their light fighting vehicles can't hang with better armed and protected vehicles from other regular formations. - As infantry units, they have too few shooters in their platoons and companies causing units to become combat ineffective after suffering some casualties.

[@geodkyt]

The *Soviets* never had the aviation to support use of VDV in a truly strategic airborne role, when you take into account the need to secure air supremacy and rapid SEAD of the air route for an airborne strike *in addition to* all the other needs. They were intended for *operational* depth operations (one of the reasons they went mech rather than light infantry for the airborne) in about battalion sized elements. Quick, shallow strike (realistically 15-25km past the Soviet/Russian FEBA) with heavy firepower (compared to typical Western airborne/air assault forces), to sieze division/army ("corps" in Western terms) objectives with a rapid linkup with conventional heavy forces. As they say at Ranger School, "Well, that's a technique." Nor is it necessarily a *bad* technique... if your war planners understand their limits and capabilities. But if you want to use the 76th GAAD as if it's the US 101st ABN Div because your advisors don't dare tell you no, well, you're going to be disappointed. Same for confusing your "pure parachute" airborne divisions like the 98th GAD for the 82nd ABN Div. And who the Hell though an airfield seizure- with *no* SEAD prep, air superiority, fighter escorts, or CAS on station, 45km beyond a city you can't even *get* into with ground forces, was a good idea?!? I mean, airfield seizure is a basic *battalion* mission for Western airborne forces, and it's not like its a big secret how to do it properly.

[@monaliza3334]

Is that why in real life the Russians are winning In Ukrain? Is that why Ukrainians running from battlefields and Azove Nazi's are shooting them in the back so they stay to be killed from both sides? There is no more men in Ukrain to fight so they take 50.. 60 years old guys without training. This people getting killed instantly. Yuh continue to talk the cr@p ... because in the end it's just western propaganda on KZbin...

[@cooldudecs]

They are North Korea with a lot of reserve equipment

[@vesnapetrovic4401]

@@geodkyt So you think all the Russians are stupid and don't know all that. And if it is like to be why "supreme nation's" as Americans like to be seen Biden is commander? Man.. sorry they didn't have wage a wars for 224yrs in 250yrs of existence.. mostly striking some poorest country like Panama, Vietnam, Serbia and Afghanistan.. but we all see how it's worked out for America. 👍🤣🤣🤣🤣 So don't bs to others because you corrupted all of American integrity in past 30y of hegemony!

[@geodkyt]

@@monaliza3334 If the Russians are winning, why are their offensives stalling out, while Ukraine slowly keeps clearing out more and more Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia? Fact check - Azov, despite being called a "regiment", was a battalion sized element (about 800-900 or so troops, roughly equivalent in troop numbers to a Russian Battalion Tactical Group, albeit without the heavy mechanization of a Russian BTG) at the beginning of this conflict. They are present in *one* location in an area 100% surrounded by Russian forces since the initial surge of the Russian invaders. So even if they were doing what you claim (and thr constant claims of Azov being "Nazis" is based on a *four month period* when they existed as a *private* militia group spontaneously formed to fight the 2014 Russian invasions, before they were brought under government control and the neo-Nazis left because they didn't want to be subject to government control), it literally would cover an area of four square miles (10 sq. km) out of a total of about 49,000 square miles (127,000 sq. km, roughly) that represents the high water mark of the Russian aggression. Meanwhile, Russia is losing armored vehicles at a rate higher than they can replace (even from reserve stocks), while the Ukrainians are *capturing* Russian equipment and putting it back into service faster than they are losing vehicles (note, I'm not even talking about replacement vehicles being sent to Ukraine - just the fact that they are capturing more Russian equipment in serviceable condition and putting them back into service under Ukrainian command faster than the Russians are destroying or capturing Ukrainian equipment... even discounting imports of equipment, Ukraine has more armored fighting vehicles today than they had when the latest invasion started in February).

[@ryanmuro]

I encountered the VDV in bahkmut last year right before the city fell. The VDV was apparently very prevalent there after Wagner group was pulled out. They were very organized and relentless. They systematically hit every building in a bracketed attack using talking RPGs. Our position fell and we had to withdraw. I think the Russians are definitely not as capable as the world thought prior to the invasion but you will have to very quickly come to terms with your Hubris if you underestimate them.

[@RuzgarYldrm-zj9ec]

well its easy to hit bakhmut " relentlessly " its close to the russian border you can always pull a quick retreat and then get more supplys through convoys or that train they are using ..tbf though gotta give em credit i guees it does take more than your avarege dude to hit every building they wanted

[@Citizensofthe]

Well said

[@TheJianJian25]

Given the respective ranges of the PKP and the RPG-7, it's curious to see PKP deployed at the squad level but 2 dedicated RPG-7 teams in the Company Level. This is the exact opposite to what the soviet mechanized units did during the cold war, with PKM teams as a company asset and RPG-7 being standard in each squad. Does anyone know why the VDV choose to arrange their heavy weapons like this ?

[@BattleOrder]

They most likely couldn't afford to have the typical Russian/Soviet arrangement of an RPG and automatic weapon at the squad level due to the space restrictions of their vehicles. With the autocannon and gun/ATGMs on the BMDs, it was probably a better to lose 2/3 RPGs at platoon but only 1/3 of the dismounted machine guns. Should also be noted that the general Russian infantry (Motor Rifles) also now use the PKP as the standard squad automatic weapon.

[@TheJianJian25]

@@BattleOrder Simple yet convincing, I did not consider the space inside the BMDs as a factor, thank you for answering and this high quality video !

[@safeandsound7220]

@@BattleOrder i think they used RPG-7 same as US Army using AT4 not bc they couldnt afford better equipment.

[@BattleOrder]

@@safeandsound7220 We use the word "afford" not in terms of money but in terms of "there is not enough space in the platoon's vehicles to have 3 RPG teams and 3 PKP teams at the same time"

[@piotrstankiewicz9512]

Maybe I'm wrong, but there could be another explanation - there is more probability that VDV unit will fight unarmored infantry, headquarters or other personel outside tank, APC, etc. than to confront tank or mechanized brigade. In conventional infantry unit the opposite.

[@daryllyew62]

The basic paradox of Airborne Armor is that any AFV light enough to be air transportable will be too light to be effective against any well equipped opposition.

[@dave_sic1365]

They are effective against lightly armed enemy's. An air assault usually doesn't attack frontline troops but police forces or small local militia.

[@dave_sic1365]

For example the mk1 heavy tanks of ww1 could only resist small arms fire. The leopard 1 mbt was only able to withstand 23mm autocannons. But both tanks were able to fight infantry

[@ivanivanovitchivanovsky7123]

Now we wait for the Russians to try make flying tanks. “Ah but you see Ivan, if you put glider wing on T-90, it fly good enough!”

[@daryllyew62]

@@ivanivanovitchivanovsky7123 They already tried that. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_A-40

[@dave_sic1365]

@@ivanivanovitchivanovsky7123 antonov a 40

[@BlindMonk93]

Very much appreciate you looking first at the smallest unit size, and then working up to the bigger formations. Really helps with understanding the scale of these forces. Keep up the great work!

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks mate. I found that makes it somewhat easier to grasp

[@kettelbe]

@@BattleOrder that s the most logical, great video

[@sandman_-_]

Awesome video but i got seriously confused by the variations of colours in the graphs. However i understand it's easier to teach these by separating units with different colours

[@BattleOrder]

@@sandman_-_ Here is our icon set so you can see what the colors mean: www.battleorder.org/icons

[@Mygg_Jeager]

That's standard practice on this channel. ;)

[@curtisweller7556]

It seems that the Russian military's biggest issue in this conflict is the lack of infantry. The Russian battalions and BTG have a variety of support unit types, but seem to lack the infantry necessary to take and secure objectives. No wonder the Russian's couldn't secure their supply lines in the North, and are having difficulties advancing in the East.

[@XxTheGreatDestroyerx]

They entered this war with a drastic shortage of manpower for the scope of the conflict. I mean Kyiv is a city with a population over two million, even if 100% of the Russian troops in ukraine were dedicated towards *just* Kyiv, that would still be very light on troops. Horrible strategic planning.

[@user-qd5sz1bo1p]

When the US and Poland give Ukraine new toys it seems to come down to that

[@Kevin-xq2tv]

@@XxTheGreatDestroyerx 3,010,000 in early 2022 even to take and hold that city the would need a stupid amount of troops

[@Zetler]

The Americans invaded with Iraq with a force half of the Russian army and took Baghdad, a city of 6 millions in two weeks. Two. Weeks. Now compare that to this cluster fuck in Ukraine. The Russians don’t lack manpower, they lack competence. Everything the Americans did in Iraq, the Russians can not do. This super power is fraud.

[@braith117]

Problem was that around 280,000 was the absolute largest force their logistics could support. For reference, when the US rolled into Iraq, there were over 500,000 soldiers taking part, and Iraq was both smaller and less populous than Ukraine.

[@d0nutwaffle]

I see all those AKs with foregrips and scopes on the infographic squad, but I cant say thats what we've actually seen.

[@chinesesparrows]

Yep 😂

[@Ianmundo]

they sold them for a chocolate bar 🍫

[@renegadeone9479]

AK74M >>> AK12

[@sus5976]

They do have them, watch vdv videos in ukraine

[@512TheWolf512]

Ukrainians have plenty of those, but mostly that's because they buy them themselves, for their own guns.

[@arkad6329]

The failure of the VDV recently and the history of combat airdrops in the past; makes me want to know what the feasibility of a D-day style paradrop is in a modern battlefield.

[@BattleOrder]

Airborne operations were incredibly risky even back then. Both sides had their fair share of failures when it came to airborne operations, and as the war went on the western Allies' airborne objectives got less and less ambitious relatively speaking. Basically going from dropping in *before* ground forces started their move to link up (and at night) to dropping in after during the day. But that was the first conflict that large scale airborne ops were done so it was a learning process. Now, with modern air defense technology, mass airborne operations (not including smaller special operations) are basically a non-starter in a contested environment against a foe with a proper air defense network. This is why the US is adopting things like the Infantry Squad Vehicle and MPF, so they can theoretically land airborne forces a fair ways from the objective (and air defenses) and then drive there.

[@arkad6329]

@@BattleOrder I’m not going to say you should make a video on the subject. But I will say; I’d watch that video.

[@cracklingvoice]

@@BattleOrder I can see a limited drop on the order of a Brigade assault, immediately prior to a ground forces entry and with an extremely intense SEAD effort directly before the transports arrive. Hit one discrete area, clear all relevant ADA assets, drop troopers, and get out. Best case, bite off a few bits of key terrain and hold until the ground-pounder arrive. A less-stupid Market Garden, if you will. It would be extremely difficult to plan, and only a few militaries could even consider it as an idea (much less execute it).

[@zee7056]

@@BattleOrder risky for sure. See Crete airborne drops.

[@WellBattle6]

Don’t most ‘airborne’ units operate as air assault units today?

[@Fusilier7]

One thing you should know about VDV Battalion Tactical Groups, is that they are dependent on proxy troops and paramilitaries to make up their shortages in manpower, and this is where the problem lies, although these regional troops can provide manpower, they will be disorganised and lacking firepower, plus these local forces could strain logistics, not just food and ammunition, but equipping them with small arms, and radios so they can be coordinated, this is difficult to do in the middle of combat, effectively sapping the VDV of the initiative.

[@longnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame]

This is exactly what we are seeing, russian paramilitaries crowdfunding DJI, EOtech, Garmin GPS and radios.

[@joebenson528]

"they will be disorganized and lacking firepower" That's a contradiction. RU proper provides the firepower Pantsir, Tanks, Grad, Tornado etc, the proxies provide the men to man the firepower. Same thing the NATO is doing with UA banderites (where is "retired" General Roger Cloutier?), "Turkistan" Islamic Party, YPG, Al-Nusra, Grey Wolves, ISIS-K etc te****ists in Syria, Afghanistan 2021-present, Dagestan, Chechnya, Xinjiang etc. People often conflate DPR and LPR with actual RU forces. RU hasn't been on the front since March 20, 2022 when they encircled Kiev and passed responsibility of ground ops to the militias/proxies. This is effectively a civil war between two proxies serving their arms dealers NATO/Russia. Difference is NATO wants resources and -land- a new ally, and RU wants a buffer state. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnLVfKudd7ekg80

[@namesurname624]

Where did you get the info about proxies and paramilitaries? We were taught that we would be alone and surrounded and most likely die. One way death mission. So what we had on us is all we could rely upon.

[@urie6168]

Wagner isn’t vdv

[@MrBandholm]

This is arguably the goldstandard of information videos on military formations on KZbin. Superbe video, that really highlights some of the formational issues the VDV has suffered through.

[@JainZar1]

This makes me question the possible capabilities of the LuWa prototype of the Bundeswehr. Carrying one LuWa instead of two Wiesel 1 in a CH-53 seems like a bad trade-off.

[@para-tanker]

Well, the mobility of the BW is questionable in general....

[@Ekstrax]

@@para-tanker true, they don't rlly have expeditionary capabilities unlike France and England

[@para-tanker]

@@Ekstrax or the Logistics at all to move their units besides rail lines.... They have a row of fundemental problems.

[@icewallowcome8699]

@@Ekstrax cuz they dont need to as germany first of all does not have any overseas territories and the bundeswehr was created as a defensive force.

[@para-tanker]

@@icewallowcome8699 within Europe...we arent talking about expeditionairy operations lol

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

An important detail might be that VDV's continued existence and large budget/personnel is closely connected to political struggles inside Moscow. Since they are a separate arm from the army, they could possibly be depended upon in an event of an army coup.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Definitely before the invasion. Now would they be an effective counterforce against a military coup? Perhaps not so much. Politics has had a lot to do with Russia’s failure in Ukraine, both in the Kremlin and in the military. It’s one of the weak points of such a corrupt authoritarian government. The decision to invade was kept secret from brigade level officers until 24 hours before the kickoff. That’s not enough time to plan and prepare. The intelligence was bad and pre-shaped by Russia’s own propaganda, which also hindered planning. This secrecy is a symptom of the distrust and jealousy between individuals at all levels. The swallowing whole of one’s own propaganda (aka buying your own bullshit) is a symptom of valuing loyalty and punishing competence as disloyalty.

[@soldierbr8726]

i dont think so it think its more because it would be easier to conduct large scale operations with the VDV removing them from ground force military districts is probably better for organization of the brigades and divisions

[@monaliza3334]

Is that why in real life the Russians are winning In Ukrain? Is that why Ukrainians running from battlefields and Azove Nazi's are shooting them in the back so they stay to be killed from both sides? There is no more men in Ukrain to fight so they take 50.. 60 years old guys without training. This people getting killed instantly. Yuh continue to talk the cr@p ... because in the end it's just western propaganda on KZbin...

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

@@soldierbr8726 Exactly, they are just like the 82nd Airborne or the 101st AB and are a quick response rapid deployment force set up to be transported to any hot zone in 24 hours if needed. The FSB has enough manpower to protect the government leaders and being that it is made of of former security forces people they are the most loyal and reliable on this role. They have their own paramilitary and they may have a better budget too because the defense budget of Russia is obly 80 billion a year right now. Hardy a country bent on world domination and rebuilding the USSR when the US is well over 10 times that once non discretionary spending is included to the almost 1 trillion on the open books. That figure alone should be enough to make a thinking person ask themselves what's really going on.

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

@@theprinceofcrows8691 80 billion is piss poor spending yet that’s just about as much Russia can afford. ‘Swat happens when a country has a GDP the size of Texas.

[@SilvanaDil]

By contrast: The U.S. military maintains a huge fleet of transport planes, transport helos, aerial refueling tankers.... (Heck, it maintains huge amounts of everything.)

[@rowmagnvs]

Uncle Sam is unmatched in logistics

[@kevinverduci7600]

we spend over 12 times the annual budget the Russia does three times budget China does on military per year. That's not including research and development and a lot of stuff in the private sector. and by a lot of stuff I mean trillions of dollars in r&d and prototypes. our whole military theory is being able to defeat two large militaries at one time simultaneously. hence Russia and China .Nazi Germany and Japan

[@jamesgarner327]

It can afford it!

[@Kroq_Gar]

@@rowmagnvs up against a force that's had top of the range arms funnelled into it for 8 years, even the U.S would struggle.

[@nicholasbrown668]

@kira thats a lie lmao, over half the Javelins and stingers in service in the UMOD arrived during the Trump presidency, Trump also formed training deals for the Ukrainians that saw thousands of their troops trained in NATO countries on NATO equipment Biden didn't do anything until the invasion had already happened (and even kept information on the invasion from Ukraine even though we had intelligence stating it was going to happen about a year in advance)

[@Allofmynamestaken]

Who would have thought that light air assault troops without air or ground support in contested air space are vulnerable to armour counter attacks, presighted artillery and overlapping anti air defenses? - Some wood league Russian General probably

[@user-qb9ec2is9n]

Despite that, they hold Hostomel for 2 months in complete encirclement

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

@@user-qb9ec2is9n no they did not. They were rofl stomped by Ukrainian reservists within a few weeks

[@kyleknox4129]

@@user-qb9ec2is9n ya dude you got lied to. Clear footage of these clowns getting wiped to a man.

[@TheArklyte]

@@MaxwellAerialPhotography wait, they held for over a week? Which landing wave was that? 5th? 7th? Or was it when the ground forces arrived already that they "held"?:D

[@MrGhjkl63]

@@user-qb9ec2is9n they abandoned Hostomel after two days

[@Truthbomb918]

Russia used them as shock troops in the early stages of the war. They were up against much stronger forces and had no reinforcing from army tank and infantry units. They didn't have the strength and were used incorrectly and that's why they got mauled

[@discipleofdagon8195]

The Virgin Drop Vanguard vs the Chad Ukrainian Rapid Response Force

[@idk1111]

@@discipleofdagon8195 Rapid Response Force of Ukraine? My guy, in order to retrieve Antonov Airport Ukraine had to wait for a national guard, which is your QRF is part of. So we got about 250-300 paratroopers against special force regiment, and national guard brigade. So battle for Antonov made Ukrainian army regroup, thinking that the main assault was from Belarus, and that's why the Russian army took positions in Lugansk, Donetsk and Zaporozhye so quickly.

[@brokenpotato438]

@@idk1111 Imagine calling the RRF that Ukraine deployed special forces lmao

[@idk1111]

@@brokenpotato438 Are you trolling or you just can’t read? I didn’t say that QRF is part of special forces (but they are better equipped and well trained compared to regular army of Ukraine) QRF was part of a national guard which included tank battalion and artillery division. And ALSO there was a special forces which is 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment named after Prince Svyatoslav the Brave.

[@aaronpaul9188]

All of your critiques are very valid and correct. But I think what is badly missing from russian poor performance early in the war is they honestly didn't expect a fight. They had supply trucks with little supplies and parade uniforms. They weren't concerned with sending under manned lightly equipped vdv to hostimel because they didn't they they'd face resistance. That's a strategic miscalculation that few if any fighting formations can overcome.

[@rowmagnvs]

@@armacham take your meds, you traitor

[@mallardofmodernia8092]

@@armacham "russia stronger than ever"? Are you blind?

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@armacham The war is only a small player in inflation. That’s a very complex problem.

[@francoiscamy5066]

Russia struggled before the US began to send weapons to Ukraine. Tired of that lame explanation. Everyone want peace, tell your dictator to bring his soldiers home. Ukrainians just want to live free. I don't care what the US want.

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@armacham You’re reading into my comment too much. All I was saying is that US involvement is hardly making a dent on what’s causing inflation.

[@kdaltex]

Basically sending undermanned platoons with light armor vehicles into a complex urban environment with motivated defenders is an extremely poor idea. Modern weapons basically nullify the advantages of armored vehicles and you're better off having a light, highly mobile and dispersed infantry company with UAV reconnaissance assets and good coordination. Sitting in a metal coffin waiting for a javelin or rpg to kill everyone in it is terrible. Keep spread out to limit casualties and have a solid drone and manned reconnaissance element. Then coordinate an effective dismounted strike from there. If you have armor keep it in the rear for fire support. Good thermal sights, a drone and an arty team with a good assault element will do a world of good better.

[@scratchy996]

So the solution is to send more platoons with light armored vehicles ! Comrade, you are a genius ! For this, you will not get executed today.

[@VK-sz4it]

I think what everyone is not seing here is the fact that Ukraine gets tons of intel from USA/NATO. I am an armchair warrior, but my guess is that without it troops can do nothing against BMPs. Assuming equal forces on both sides. Even thing about ligsitics wouldn't bad if not for that intel.

[@scratchy996]

@@natebox4550 then you need more tanks !

[@Goomba_N64]

Shhhh you might give the Russians actual tactics that work.

[@monaliza3334]

@@Goomba_N64 They have. That's why they are winning in Ukrain. And you get to listen to BS...

[@owllegostopmotion7633]

this was nice. I wish to ask if you could perhaps do a video on Air defence units, from any military really. It would be really intresting to see.

[@discipleofdagon8195]

Seeing an AK-12 with actual optics on it for once is a sight to see

[@pvt.potato1943]

I see what you did there

[@SurplusTrader]

oh you,get outta here

[@Loli4lyf]

literally

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

I can’t help but feel that the VDV would be better served trading in some of their BMD for Tigr-M IMV. Similar protection, lighter, better range and on ground mobility, outside of difficult or boggy terrain, easier maintained and logistics, but admittedly less firepower.

[@tommymaddox6785]

Not sure if the height will fit.

[@kylint7683]

but the real reason is that they are lost because of the strategic misjudgement from Putin

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I can't help but feel flying dozens of troops around in big dumb flying SAM magnets is an issue.

[@alifio2183]

BMD got 100mm cannon and 30mm autocannon. You cant fit the 100 cannon on Tigr let alone the 30mm. Its a massive downgrade to use Tigr.

[@MatoVuc]

Certain units within the VDV structure as a whole that need that do in fact operate on 4x4 vehicles, like the tigr, but i don't think for their purpose they would be well served being converted to a light motorized infantry force. When you are behind enemy lines, waiting for your forces to reach your position, you need as much firepower as possible. Also, the BMDs and BTR-MDs are amphibious. Tigrs a aren't.

[@rockfella1377]

This never gets old...just like most VDV troopers.

[@lucanoquelfarabuttomane4013]

You're referring to the ones in hostomel or the ones under the black Sea?

[@dankengine5304]

@@lucanoquelfarabuttomane4013 - Yes

[@vacample3892]

@@lucanoquelfarabuttomane4013 обе ситуации фейк и это никого не смущает, забавно

[@lucanoquelfarabuttomane4013]

@@vacample3892 translate I English.

[@jesusizquierdo3831]

@@vacample3892 there's pictures of Gostomel, cope harder vatnik, shouldn't you be fighting (fertilising Ukrainian soil) by the way?

[@bombingburrito]

It would be worth looking into the VDV POW interview made by Volodymyr Zolkin for additianal insight into the failures of the VDV. I can't imagine any military force would be effective if they weren't even made aware they were going to war until after already in-flight. There's little surprise the units showed so little initiative when going through those kind of shocks, plus being consistently misinformed / uninformed about goals and strategies.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

And the battalion level commanders didn’t get briefed until 24 hours before the invasion. Not just the VDV, but across the entire invasion force. Even with so little time, they were also given faulty intelligence about the resistance they faced. It would be exceedingly difficult to plan and prepare on such short notice AND with faulty intelligence. These are symptoms of the structural problems that undermine authoritarian regimes.

[@alexanderfenn4457]

Never thought I'd see the Russian Airborne make Germany's Crete Jump look like a tactical masterstroke

[@TrangleC]

So that one has been given a bad reputation by the Anti-Wehraboo community too now? Despite, you know, them actually getting the job done against terrible odds.

[@mr.monhon5179]

@@TrangleC The terrible odds are make severely worsen because of insufficiencies in doctrines, planning and deployments. That's why it's an example of what not to do when you go for airborne ops.

[@TrangleC]

@@mr.monhon5179 Seems like a pretty extreme case of Monday Morning Quarterbacking. It was pretty much the first large scale air assault operation ever and it was conducted against a 2 to 1 numerically advantaged, entrenched defender and still the Germans only lost 3000 men and took the island. How much more do you demand before you call something a military success?

[@512TheWolf512]

even operation market garden was more sound.

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

@@TrangleC a military operation doesn't have to fail in its objective for it to be looked as a tactical shitshow. Germans suffered so much casualties at Crete that it deterred German leadership from ever doing an airborne essentially for the rest of the war (they did rescue Mussolini later, but that's about it).

[@therover65]

All airborne forces are inherently weak. It's not how they are equipped or organized, but how they are used, and supported. In WW2, the airborne forces of the US, UK and Germany all got badly-mauled at one time or another. That's their lot, unfortunately.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Battle of Crete showed their flaws and benefits. Germans saw how costly airborne invasion was and Allies saw how much they could achieve.

[@tricky1992000]

One of those support companies needs swapping out for a drone strike/information capability. The vdv were getting wacked because they were driving into atgm ambushes blind, localised knowledge of where your enemy is, is vital.

[@GloriG_C17]

True, But dont Blame the VDV. Blame the Commander or Highranks that Set up the Tactics. They (VDV) Think that The Entire Support Division is Ready and Their Command Already Reconing the Surrounding Areas. Also They Deploy them in middle of Heavily Guarded Lands.

[@nicholasbrown668]

@@GloriG_C17 bro you dont have to capitalize every word

[@GloriG_C17]

@@nicholasbrown668 Sorry, I like it This way.

[@HighwayMule]

I've read opinions that Russian paratroopers were a 'shock & awe' kind of force, meant more to intimidate the oponent into submission rather than the heavy frontline work. Their combat record is Budapest '56 and Chechoslovakia '68

[@NeuroScientician]

Most of the units that invaded Czechoslovakia were just random conscripts from far east that didnt even spoke russian. VDV is just a propaganda tool, just gibberish for parades. The russians effectively called their own bluff.

[@konstantinshev1320]

missing Afghanistan, Syria, Balkans, Kazakhstan. But they are conscripts too and their experience fades away

[@ZhovtoBlakytniy]

They're kinda known within russia as puffed up arrogant jerks, to anyone who will be honest with you. They think they're really special, especially the newbies.

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

you mean a sort of bloody sunday force?

[@anon-iraq2655]

Its sort of adorable how Americans use the baby talk their politicians feed them "Shock and awe"

[@importantname]

If you get an e-mail from Russia, they will probably ask you to re-organise their forces, as you seem to know more about them than most their generals.

[@mallus1313]

16:00 BMD has light aluminum armor (and not very comfortable inside). All this was done so that the BMD could be parachuted with the crew inside, and immediately go into battle (and so that the planes could carry more of them).

[@steellegion7054]

The aluminum also does not do a thing for bullets.

[@luka2298]

@@steellegion7054 just as that of a Bradley IFV...

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@luka2298 Bradley does fine against small arms

[@mallus1313]

@@tomhenry897 I'm not sure, but as far as I know, this landing option is possible, although rarely used.

[@TRPilot06YT]

@@mallus1313 Because of the chance for failure on tank sized chutes, Russia isnt dropping their airborne AFVs with crews inside. *If* i remember correctly there was an accident in 2012 where crews and the BMD was dropped seperately and the chute on the BMD didnt open and just slammed to the ground. And yes, crew was totally fine

[@Phoenixmaster131]

Yes thank you mate! I always wondered what they are structured! Thanks a lot !

[@n1cekita]

As one who currently serves in 76th air assault division, I would say that this video has great sources and this information is very accurate. 10/10, enjoyed this

[@joshjwillway1545]

What are your feelings on the SMO?

[@arushreddi5419]

@@joshjwillway1545 we need to know this

[@n1cekita]

@@joshjwillway1545it's just another war for resources, neither Russians nor Ukrainian s want this war, but that's just how world works now it seems.

[@RCmaniac667]

@@joshjwillway1545 as he currently in service he has no say besides the obvious

[@akiralangley4411]

@@joshjwillway1545 He will have to glue his friends back together. That is If there is anything left of them. Soooo... feelings of regret and impotent rage?

[@captainbroady]

Nice to see proper captions, it's a feature I've been hoping to see for a long time since it makes the experience much better :D

[@Whatisthisstupidfinghandle]

I saw a video of a captured Russian vdv helicopter air assault soldier. He was captured at Hostomel. He said their training wasn’t all that great. Sounded like they quick roped in from helicopters and waited for other equipment to arrive. He said it took 3 days for their heavy equipment to arrive. Once it did the Ukrainians shelled the crap out of it. 9:10 I wonder if he was in the Recon Unit? I think he said they had about 300 soldiers.

[@BattleOrder]

I don't know what specific video you are referring to but I believe the 45th Spetsnaz Brigade (a special recon unit) did most of heavy lifting in the helicopter assault on Hostomel, at least on day one. The 31st Air Assault Brigade was also involved, but I'm unsure about the extent of their involvement. Whether they were just a link-up ground force (because there's photos of identifiably 31st Brigade BMDs destroyed in the area) or if they also had a helicopter assault component.

[@Whatisthisstupidfinghandle]

@@BattleOrder kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioTXp6eFnNVnpdk on channel Conflict Camera - Survivor: Russian VDV Airborne Soldier Talks About Their Initial invasion of Hostomel Airport He says he was in the 31st Airborne Brigade. You will find it very interesting interview. Your video was super interesting and very well done !

[@fjLKA]

@@BattleOrder Pretty sure its this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/naathZ18hp6BgM0

[@BattleOrder]

@@fjLKA Yeah based on the interview it seems the 31st Brigade deployed a BTG in two parts. An air assault element and then their armored vehicles drove down from Chernobyl in a bronegruppa and linked up 3 days later

[@ChaplainDMK]

@@BattleOrder So in essence Russia tried to pull off Market Garden, including having a single useable road with multiple important bridges to move supplies and troops by, and surrounding areas flooded or mud, with even more absurdly ambitious goals and even less airdrop capability, to leapfrog... Into the potentially the largest urban battle since WWII? This was asking a lot of their troops, organizational deficits aside.

[@oooopu4600]

Your channel is amazing, I’ve been watching it since your first videos on ww2 squads and saw it grow from a modest 1k sub count to now. Good job, keep it up. Could you do an analysis on conscription vs volunteer?

[@Relyt345]

It seems like the VDV wasn’t played with its capabilities in mind. Mobile light units are for attacking vulnerabilities and exploiting heavy forces’ lack of mobility. I think their biggest issue is a lack of competent command and control.

[@sirborkington1052]

For sure they could have been successful. It's up to the commanders to know what their men can and can't do with a good chance for success. Seemingly they didn't or underestimated the enemy.

[@schnelma605]

"Over the past few months any positive reputation Russia's airborne had has basically gone"

[@miketaylor5212]

any positive reputation the russian army has is gone.

[@luminaaeterna1259]

Any positive reputation Russia had is gone

[@iainbaker6916]

Great video as always. Airborne mechanised infantry has its uses, but they are very niche - such as taking an airfield. The problems happen they are used as conventional mech infantry. Also, sometimes you just need lots and lots of foot soldiers which these VDV formations lack.

[@thewhite8uard]

Problem is they have no own air support. They have no own attack aircraft, nor own utility helicopters. They are deployed and supported by Air Force aircraft. In Hostomel Air Force helicopters leave them behind without support as soon as helicopters began to suffer losses.

[@saudakar9004]

Another huge point to make, is the fact that equipment was extremely badly kept. Most vehicles were in really bad shape, individual supplies were far below the standard issue. Allot less ammo, less medical supplies, less heavy weapons like mortars/rpgs/grenades etc. These are small things that are absolutely essential for any military operation, yet usually overlooked by military command. They see expensive tanks and don‘t think of the importance that inexpensive ammo, food etc. has.

[@woodland5325]

Definitely if you are the best infantryman on the planet but your vehicle breaks down you're not any good to the war effort.

[@grandayatollah5655]

This is false, VDV vehicles were most definitely not "poorly kept". VDVs failure had nothing to do with equipment, it was completely tactical. If anything, I think VDV's equipment was perfect for them. They would've been successful if Russia didn't send them on a suicide mission

[@bobron7688]

@@grandayatollah5655 Huge facts

[@XxTheGreatDestroyerx]

@@grandayatollah5655 can’t speak specifically on the state of the VDV’s equipment and arms but I think OP was referencing the overall poor state of readiness of the Russian military. I would be surprised if some of this didn’t impact the VDV too, but it makes sense that they might be in a better shape than regular Russian ground forces.

[@Cartho8236]

Wow the details on the video were outstanding and the comparison in force from a Russian Airborne unit and a US Airborne unit, really catches the eye.

[@condotiero860]

from an outsider point of view, i see nothing wrong with the tactical formation. in another time, i might have made the same call. Ukraine just has a more efficient chain of command, and were able to take advantage of the hubris at the top of the russian chain. 'everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face' 'plan A never works, but how you transition to plan B'

[@andrerothweiler9191]

I am Ukrainian but I watched a video and one of the main US military aid was radio and communication. Americans were right. However, it's easier to steal money from Tzar, if it's about some wunderwaffe and not really what army needs, Russia has talented people, but they aren't able to show it off

[@lucasjleandro]

How effective is Drop an Elite Force from the sky, when you have Helicopters?

[@fieldmarshalbaltimore1329]

Well, planes do have more defense given their higher height ceiling and faster speed.

[@RainKing048]

@@fieldmarshalbaltimore1329 but they are as vulnerable as helicopters when doing paradrops. A transport plane is only safer when doing HALO/HAHO drops though that is only limited to spec ops

[@BattleOrder]

Generally speaking, except with the very large transport helicopters like the Mi-26, heavier equipment can be airlifted by larger fixed wing aircraft.

[@fieldmarshalbaltimore1329]

@@RainKing048 planes can haul vehicles too. Transport planes are still faster and fly higher than helicopters as well. Not to mention planes typically have longer range. Longer range, flying higher, more cargo capacity, faster than helicopters. I wouldn't even agree planes are as vulnerable as helicopters. Sure an AA missile will kill both but planes have more countermeasures typically than helicopters. Planes can have entire electronic warfare suites. Helicopters have their advantages too. That's why most major countries operate an airborne and air assault wing. This video talks about the transport planes and what they can move. Helicopters can't carry those big armored vehicles or nearly as many men and supplies. Flying in low and inserting special forces are good for helicopters but a massive front operation moving an entire BTG? Nah definitely planes are the way to go.

[@fieldmarshalbaltimore1329]

@@BattleOrder exactly. Helicopters can't move large units, no vehicles, and not nearly the amount of cargo.

[@harbomarbo4695]

one of the best analysis about the ongoing war so far.. I apreciate your work a lot...

[@jamesross8410]

Excellent video. Concise, informative and easily understood by laymen. Perfect video for flag officers.

[@fatfingergaming5246]

Wasn't till towards the end of the video when you said the doctrine was "left over by the soviets" did I finally realize why they were set up like that. Soviet European battle plan was to nuke Nato bases, then swoop in and mop up, this Airborne set up makes sense in respect to that plan. The plan was flawed as hell because it was contingent on Nato saying "They're only tactical nukes, so we shouldn't retaliate with nuking Moscow".

[@Ragnaroz6000]

CCCP: nono its not war-time nukes, just special operation nukes )))

[@ivanivanovitchivanovsky7123]

@@Ragnaroz6000 is not real nuke, you see? It’s just baby, few months old! He good boy, just want to be a bomb like his brothers, so please, no nuke backsies :)

[@TheMax0005]

The VDV on paper is inspiring. Mechanized airborne that can drop light amphibious infantry fighting vehicles and variants (IFV, Anti-Air, Mortar, APC that can carry 12 troops, 125mm anti-tank)....and allegedly with the crews and troops inside. A wet dream for maneuver warfare. In reality they don't have the lift capability to support this. And on the ground those undermanned and underarmored units have little chance versus full strength mechanized units. A recipe for high casualty rate and it's why the west never copied that

[@akiralangley4411]

Russian logistical capabilities pretended to be something they never were. Russian officers pretended to be actually competent. Russian MOD pretended to upgrade the military while syphoning the money with the silent approval of everyone else. AK-12 pretended to be able to hold zero. Soldiers pretended to fight for a good cause. Russian politicians pretended their own propaganda was true. Russian population pretended to be citizens. Russia pretended to be a functioning country. This isn't just the military. The entire country is like that. I speak from experience.

[@MrAwsomenoob]

@@akiralangley4411 this whole "special military operation." Is pretty much a shitty fanfic of the Gulf war/2003 invasion of Iraq. Russia bungled it's day 1 shock and awe and preceded to get bogged down in exactly the type of fight the us/coalition did everything to avoid.

[@SovietUnion100]

@@akiralangley4411 Sounds like the U.S.

[@barbarapitenthusiast7103]

The thing is the VDV would have worked during the cold war. The soviets had more than enough lifting capacity and could achieve small corridors of full air superiority and do their job

[@AP-qs2zf]

@@SovietUnion100 What happened to the soviet union? refresh my memory

[@CBRN-Fan-Boy]

I was laughing at all the optics you showed on the AK-12s during the infographic. Good stuff man, really enjoyed the video.

[@user-dv4bu6jq4n]

I'm honestly surprised the VDV has any units left

[@jaroslavdudas7227]

There are thousands of them

[@Usual_User]

@@jaroslavdudas7227 proof?

[@bigmanrobert3610]

they lost a few hundred at most at hostomel there are 40000 of them

[@AP-qs2zf]

@@jaroslavdudas7227 they lost their best

[@AP-qs2zf]

@@bigmanrobert3610 they lost their best

[@huntclanhunt9697]

I think rather than it being a fault of the VDV, it was more of a market garden situation of the main army not reaching them fast enough.

Very intersting Video. Particularly the discussion of the pros and cons of their IFVs. Which reminds me of the part of "Red storm rising" in which the commander of the VDV unit embaqurd in a transport ship is told by the captain of said ship that his vehicles are not at all heavy and just take up some space. Which from an air transport point of view is strange for the vdv officer. Always intersting to be reminded of these differences in possible view points

[@theskilllessgamer5795]

Exactly. Airborne troops are considered "elite" and usually think of themselves very highly, but in reality they have very limited supplies and only light equipment. Especially what they can carry with with them to counter tanks is very limited. Once they used up their few AT Missiles and rockets, a single MBT can wipe out all their vehicles without breaking a sweat and supposedly around Hostomel one did just that. Airborne troops imho are just very expensive, highly trained canon fodder troops on a suicide clock. ;)

[@Gurfi28]

@@theskilllessgamer5795 Let‘s just imagine Russian SEAD would have worked and they would have been able to establish air superiority within the first few hours or days of the invasion. Using airborne and air mobile troops to capture air fields around Kiev, then continuously flying in heavier equipment could have been great to quickly surround Kiev and force negotiations. But seeing as SEAD failed miserably and Russia doesn‘t have air superiority even months after the invasion, the VDV was just cannon fodder.

[@theskilllessgamer5795]

@@Gurfi28 Could have would have should have... you are describing the aforementioned suicide clock that all airborne toops live on. Either the main forces (that the ones with the real combat gear) catch up to them in time or they are dead or captured.

[@Rampant16]

@@Gurfi28 The thing about Russia's SEAD attempt is that is was so laughable, it never had any chance of working. They fired in some cruise missiles for a few hours and then basically tried flying transports right into Kyiv. In the Gulf War 1 the US and coalition spent weeks bombing Iraq to soften it up for the invasion, including enormous operations in the first few days/hours to gain air superiority. But Russia lacks the resources and the time so they tried (if you can even consider it really trying) to do half-assed and it literally blew up in their faces.

[@ssgus3682]

@@theskilllessgamer5795 that is true but it also might be when I was in the 82nd every 11B from PFC on up knew how to call for fire effectively far beyond an EIB standard and NCO's worked with JTAC's from Pope AFB on how to do CAS. By comparison when I joined the NG other prior service guys from some other units had no clue how to call for fire as it was only an EIB task. Not saying even the lowest ranking private having some idea on how to call for fire or possibly CAS makes Airborne forces elite it was just something that was expected that was not an SOP in some other units.

[@touho1003]

With Finland joining NATO and Sweden most likely following suite, it would be really cool go see a video on the Finnish Defence Forces, something similar to your Sweden video. Maybe a breakdown of Jaeger infantry unit composition and tactics? Most of the manuals are readily available on the internet👍

[@malenlhewig]

🎶VDV, how many casualties?🎶

[@acer9405]

burning alive in aluminum BMPs!

[@JustChill-zd4ib]

@@acer9405 Another idiot saying nonsense.

[@yuyuyu25]

75% manning is pretty normal for a peacetime unit right? That's a pretty big problem when the unit's small to begin with and they're going into combat though.

[@BattleOrder]

Being undermanned is certainly common. I'm not privvy on the typical readiness level for a US Army unit (which is probably good, that's sensitive information) but I'm sure a veteran will comment what they saw. But it is often part of a force structure to have a certain amount of "float" personnel in the unit that can be used to fill gaps in critical areas if the unit is undermanned for whatever reason, takes casualties, or just loses someone for another reason (like an emergency leave). Larger units in terms of personnel can continue functioning longer as a unit when attrited than a smaller unit all else equal. But then theres other tradeoffs, like being able to have less of those units and potentially span of control issues.

[@cracklingvoice]

75% is certainly less than any commander likes, especially if a deployment is upcoming. I'm American, so how we operate is not at all indicative of how everyone else does.

[@tankeroftheeast105]

For context, I had a roommate that deployed to Iraq as part of a MP company (can't remember year, but I wanna say 2014ish), and his company was slightly over strength with about ~130 guys. Forgive me if I messed the numbers up, but it was 3 years ago I heard this.

[@Jon651]

The purpose of the VDV? Well, they used to look good in parades...

[@Rooboy-619]

Very educational. Thank you.

[@jehugo66]

Really well done and impressive 👍🏻

[@danieljohnson1053]

Friendship ended with Pandas Now VDV is my favorite endangered animal

[@JustChill-zd4ib]

You should reserve n. 1 spot for your brain cells. Oh wait you did not have any to begin with my bad.

[@defective6811]

Having been in the 82nd for many years and seen what all goes into it several different times, there is ZERO chance I'd exit an aircraft on a Russian MassTac lmao. Probably end up with a late heavy drop or two

[@jakatom]

stolen valor

[@defective6811]

@@jakatom dumb comment

[@Joe-lq6xy]

Every informative video, love it.

[@andremesot5144]

Wonderful video ! Thank you very much !

[@davidgoodenough6450]

*VDV* !!! A video about French combat engineering regiments would be greatly appreciated sir

[@forekin836]

My roommate that I work with currently is actually former Russian volunteer military, and I'm former US military. We get along great, told me a lot about life in the RUAF. I was surprised to hear that enlisted in the USA make more than some Doctors in Russia and most/all Officers in the RU military. Also that most volunteers volunteer because they are either A) Poor and there are no/limited opportunities or B) Teenagers that are lured by recruiters and want to become "Men"

[@user-vp7ri7yl6y]

There is also a third type of "volunteers". Soldiers doing mandatory 1-year services who were lured or even forced by their officers to sign a contract.

[@lunarblackknight]

First off amazing video guys as always. Got great detail and very easy to understand. I do believe that everything from strength to doctrine use all combine together to make VDV a badly armored infantry unit. You should use your forces one way and give them proper gear with the limitations known. Again, great video guys!

[@NB-lw4sm]

Coming back to this, the reason for small number of dismounts in the companies would come from many factors, such as need of motivated and capable volunteers who would need better training compared to their ground-based counterparts. also, the air lift capability would make it to where they would need to paradrop in during an active combat area, then secure it before losing any ILs with 3 vehicles inside to AA. Material is always in short supply, but men are always in surplus.

[@jagermeister3757]

They basicaly sent them to hold and attack key places close to the enemy capital without any kind of support and against overwhelming numbers, threw them away

[@resevoirdog]

15:12 15:13 "Our lord and savior Michael Kaufman" hahah

[@jamesscalzo3033]

Loved the video @BattleOrder! Can't wait for the next video man! I started thinking about Building some of the Aircraft and Vehicles used by the VDV in Minecraft after grabbing some Screenshots of the Models for Flames of War Team Yankee by Battlefront Miniatures, as well as the Ilyushin Il-76 "Candid" and Antonov An-124 Ruslan "Condor" Heavy Lift Cargo Aircraft. I've got some Interesting News that might Corroborate the Limited Carrying Capacity of the Il-76 and the Usefulness of the An-124 for you. The Il-76's Cargo Compartment has enough Space for 2 BMD-2 Airborne Infantry Fighting Vehicles or 3 BTR-D Airborne Armored Personnel Carriers while the An-124 can Carry either 8 BMD-2's or 10 BTR-D's, but in Theory the An-124 can Carry 20 BTR-D's as they're half the Height of the An-124's Cargo Compartment. As per the MC Military Force Channel though, I am going to have to build these Vehicles and Aircraft in 1.5:1 Scale along with using several Mods to be able to use them, Most Notably The Create Mods and the Valkyrien Skies Mods. I'm still looking for a Mod like Flans Mod for the Equipment like AK-74 and AKM Assault Rifles, SVD-63 Dragunov Sniper Rifles, RPK-74 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAWs) and RPG-7's. This amount of Firepower should be able to hold down an Area from various Mobs including those from various Horror Mods in Minecraft for a While. Back to the Il-76 "Candid" and the An-124 Ruslan "Condor" Heavy Lift Cargo Aircraft. The Russian Federal Air Force has 120 Il-76's alone out of the Nearly 960 Il-76's and Related Aircraft built and of the 279 Il-76 and Related Aircraft Designs currently in Military Service while of the 55 An-124 Ruslan "Condor" Heavy Lift Cargo Aircraft built, 26 are in Civilian/Commercial Service (which is just under Half) while 12 are in Service with another 14 in Reserve in the Russian Air Force. Let me know what you think about this and I'll catch you in your next video man! Would you like to see some VDV Equipment and Vehicles being used in Minecraft or even some VDV Equipped Villagers from Talhanation's Recruit Villagers Mod in Leather Armor Dyed to look like the VDV Uniforms holding down a Village from a Zombie Siege or an attack by the Man From the Fog or the Midnight Lurker?

[@rougenarwhal8378]

honestly, I've never been particularly interested in combat unit org charts, but your passion is admirable, carry on good chartman

[@deanfirnatine7814]

I watched one of their units film itself when they first attempted to take the airport North of Kiev, they looked like a bunch of guys who had not even finished Basic. Later I watched a bunch of Russian soldiers who were filming themselves that had many VDV mixed in under attack while in a column of light armor, again they acted like guys who had not finished Basic, they were clueless what to do while under fire.

[@gingerlicious3500]

"Hurry dudes if we lie in the ditch and don't return fire they'll think we're dead and will just go away!"

[@hirameberhardt8643]

Our US Marines or Army recruits can fight better then these Russians, a bunch of amateurs and we can thank our NCO'S who knows how to get these troops motivayed to do their job.

[@kebabremover970]

To better understand who actually serves in the VDV google the images " 2е августа вдв позор".

[@viconichol]

I heard the Israeli military who voluntarily trained Ukrainians in 2014-15. He said that the level of training of the VDV troops is no higher than that of ordinary Israeli infantrymen.

[@kebabremover970]

@@hirameberhardt8643 There are no feedback mechanisms in the Russian army, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers - an organization literally consisting of mothers, defended the rights of conscript soldiers and not only. Cases of hazing, arbitrariness of officers, robberies, etc. So, in 2021, the organization was de facto banned by the FSB. After the collapse of the USSR, the military machine slowly rotted. Our colonel used engineering vehicles to make himself a cottage. All officers, starting with the lieutenant, were engaged in paperwork like office plankton, all the exercises were purely for beautiful reports to the authorities. No one even read Soviet textbooks on warfare. Half of the officers are stupid like ... (I don’t know the English expression for comparison). And monstrous corruption that cannot be verified: all contracts are classified.

[@mr_beezlebub3985]

Sad that their lives are being thrown away in a pointless war.

[@sdghtjsdcgs]

Playing the world's smallest violin for russian casualties. How anyone can say this while their comrades are laying waste to Ukraine is beyond me.

[@rightsideup6304]

@@sdghtjsdcgs Because at the end of the day, they too are human just like everyone else, and even their loss is a tragedy. Failing to even see that and blindly saying they’re all evil is no different than calling every Muslim a terrorist, all Christians are members of the KKK, and all Germans are Nazis.

[@Cx10110100]

You wouldn't be sad if you'd seen the VDV in peacetime, say early August

[@terpin86]

Excellent analysis!!!

[@killer3000ad]

Battle of Crete: Thousands of fallschirmjäger airdropped on Crete with the belief that paratroopers alone could take the island. Ends up needing the Wehrmacht to bail them out. Although the island is taken by the Germans, heavy casualties amongst airborne troops causes Hitler to forbid such massive airborne operations for the rest of the war. Operation Market Garden: 90% successful. Allies advance 60 miles into German-held Netherlands, many Dutch towns liberated but failure to secure bridges over the Rhine marks this operation as a defeat for the Allies. VDV at Hostomel: Hold my vodka, blyat. Weez gonna make the Crete and Market Garden look like professional hour, comrade.

[@Kek.B.I]

12:46 Well, technically the BMD platform does allow for air dropping with troops inside the vehicles.

[@milleniumsword1558]

The VDV cannot capture your Airports if you disable their BMDs

[@user-iq3cr3wj4i]

Well, they actually did captured

[@AP-qs2zf]

@@user-iq3cr3wj4i Nope they ran away and died

[@JustChill-zd4ib]

@@AP-qs2zf No who ran away and died was your last brain cell when you typed that bs.

[@owenevans83]

Good stuff thanks for sharing

[@seanmccann8368]

Excellent as ever, thank you.

[@eduarddv00]

*Russian MOD taking notes furiously*

[@truckerallikatuk]

Also note the crazily small logistics unit in a regiment or battallion. A platoon at a regimental level? A unit with that little support is just not designed for long term deployments.

[@SovietReunionYT]

This being a general problem of the Russian army was pointed out in Wendover's video "The failed logistics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine". Basically, the Russian army relies heavily on the Russian railway system, and has so few trucks that it cant operate at full efficiency more than 150km away from the nearest railway connection, optimistically. 1 supply brigade (400 trucks) per Combined Arms Army.

[@thearthritisgamer946]

I learned a lot today thanks to your video, you have my like good sir.

[@rgriffinRETIRED_SHEEPDOG]

Excellent video!

[@Crimerenegade]

5:38 Funny to see the graphics for AK-12's with optics on this chart, as pictures and videos from Ukraine show most of them were used only with iron sights...

[@13Sol46]

VDV used optics. Infantry used mostly iron sights.

[@Just_A_Random_Desk]

@@13Sol46 imagine not being able to equip your infantry with optics

[@user-njyzcip]

@@Just_A_Random_Desk chinese type 95-1: what's an optic?

[@OtakuGekko]

Mauled is a bit of a understatement, its closer to decimated Edit: did I say Decimated? I meant demolished

[@EggwardEgghands]

Decimation is -10%, but VDV has lost at least -30% of its strength or more. That's not decimation, that's a slaughter.

[@Ponen77]

@Free Speech historically it did mean a tenth but over the centuries the meaning of the word shifted to mean to kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of something. So its ok to use it in its modern sense. A lot of words have seen their meanings change over time for example the word Nice originally used to mean foolish, ignorant, frivolous, senseless etc. We use awful to describe something bad but originally it meant awe-inspiring, awe+ful, something like full of awe hence you may have come across archaic phrases like "O awful Majesty" or "God Of Awful Majesty". Wench originally referred to little children, then became used to describe young girls or servants and later on came to refer to prostitutes. Anyhoo you get the idea, words and their associated meanings change over time.

[@marcelosoaresdasilva2691]

Mauled because they lose probably 2 companies or 1 battalion, you people need to knmow the difference between regiments and divisions too.

[@armandvanniekerk6379]

Loving your vids bro , was shocked to see you only had 176k subs , You need 2 mil atleast🤣

[@airborneranger-ret]

Overall nicely done :)

[@scratchy996]

"reputation of Russian airborne has gone out the window" - well duh, they are Airborne.

[@CallsignYukiMizuki]

The thumbnail is 100% credible

[@GroundGame.]

Very satisfying breakdown.

[@tonyc.4392]

great video!

[@Khanclansith]

Join the Patreon for early access and Discord

[@BattleOrder]

[@rodiculous9464]

Did you see the interview with the one VDV guy that survived? The idea they're "elite" is laughable. He said they barely get to train, and got basic commands like "get to the airfield and dig trenches and hold". Those dudes got sent to die like cannon fodder.

[@Buconoir]

Wow, great breakdown!

[@BattleOrder]

Appreciate it!

[@ironstarofmordian7098]

Awesome video.

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks mate

[@AdamSchadow]

Parachute dropped armored vehicles are something truly terrifying just imagine instead of some dudes with rifles all the sudden you get shot at from kilometers away by autocannons and atgms.

[@CharlieNasty-cd5hu]

Not really that terrifying when you look how bad they perform in Ukraine

[@joshuamueller3206]

Any idea why the VDV is part of the Aerospace Forces? It might be my American perspective, but it seems strange that Russia's airborne and helicopter units are in the Air Force. Would they not be better funded, equipped, and coordinated if they were in the Army with other ground and ground support units?

[@BattleOrder]

It's not part of the Aerospace Forces, it's its own separate branch (like their land based nuclear capability is). It's essentially because they're strategic (political) assets that are basically under national control. At various points in history the Ground Forces have had their own dedicated air assault units, but in 2013 these were transferred to the VDV. Until then, the 11th and 83rd Brigades referenced here used to be part of Ground Force (Army) military districts and employed by theatre-level commanders for heliborne operations. The 56th Brigade as well, but that was folded into one of the air assault divisions as a regiment. The ground forces do want to establish air assault detachments themselves but I'm not sure how far that's progressed if at all. Basically you can't really think of the VDV's monopoly on these sorts of forces and their segregation as a tactically-motivated move with joint force integration in mind. It is more strategic, whether that's maintaining a strategic reserve that can be employed anywhere without going through military district commanders, or having a strategic force that can reliably go on politically-charged missions to establish Russia's presence abroad (e.g. Crimea, Kazakhstan). It essentially reads as more valuable to the government for the VDV to be separate and have a disjointed effort in a conflict like this than it is to lose the VDV as a strategic asset and maybe have a more coordinated operation without the inter-branch rivalry.

[@gabagool2055]

Sounds like the VDV is something like a quasi Praetorian guard (or for something more modern, Saddam’s Republican Guard or Iran’s IRGC).

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@gabagool2055 But without the results those elite formations provide.

[@Argentvs]

@@gabagool2055 more like the US Marines. A separated force that depends on other for mobility.

[@juch3]

@@gabagool2055 I think the rosgvardia better fits that description

[@mamawiachinzah8361]

Very good explanation, subs instantly

[@andreferreira5789]

Might be your best work so far congrats, tho I think its a bit optimistic assuming the VDV would get optics for their rifles hahaha

[@PalleRasmussen]

The videos I have seen of them fighting, they have shown lower soldierly and tactical ability than I expected by my Danish Home Guard Squad in the late eighties...

[@edwardjoe8448]

Russia isn't soviet anymore... that's the reason.

[@peterpaas1269]

@@edwardjoe8448 this assumes that the Soviet army was more competent. I would argue that the red/Russian army was always overhyped.

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

I think the other thing that the war has proven is that the notion of dropping/seizing defended airfields is a non-starter in the modern day. That is why the Infantry Squad Vehicle came into being. Deploy away from the airfield, organize, and then seize and get follow-on forces there quick. This is an equivalent of the Marine Corps talking about not being able to assault defended beaches in its Force 2030 paper and the changes associated with it. Area Denial with MANPADs and Portable ATGMs has just gotten too strong to land on top of.

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

@@danielkol477 You mean the VDV force that as was said here got mauled?

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

@@danielkol477 So, the Russians succeeded and were unable to land any follow up forces. Just saying that this means that they didn't actually really control things.

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

@@danielkol477 So the operation was a failure....right?

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

And let me add. All these MANPADs were shipped in later. The ones that everybody had. Or at least the vast majority of them. So, yep a surprise attack got troops on the ground who got pushed off the field because it is an unsustainable form of attack. Thank you for proving my point!

[@j.e1334]

I would much appreciate either a video covering the DShV or if you'd link some sources.

[@frikkiedelange7785]

I would appreciate some confirmation on whether the air assault units actually deploy BMDs via MI-26 helicopters. I have seen very few images and no footage of this. I would also like to know where the 2S25s are in all of this (mess).