Tsar of Battle: Late WW2 Soviet Artillery Doctrine

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Music:
• Soviet March by Shane Ivers
• Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, Medal of Honor: European Assault, and Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45
Sources:
• "Artillery Offensive" [RUS] by Fedor Samsonov: rkka.ru/analys/art/title.htm
• "Combat Regulations of the Red Army Infantry (1942)" [RUS]: militera.lib.ru/regulations/ru...
• Data posted by Igor Kurtukov [RUS]: fat-yankey.livejournal.com/14...
• "Resolution of the State Defense Committee: On shortcomings in the work of the command and staff of the Western Front (April 1944)" [RUS]: naviny.by/rubrics/society/200...
• "The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944" by James F. Gebhardt
• "Red Army Handbook 1939-45" by Steven J. Zaloga & Leland S. Ness
• "Tactics & Fire Control of Russian Artillery in Attack and Defense during 1941, 1942, and 1944 and their Development in Recent Times" by Hans-Georg Richert
"A Study of Soviet Use of Field Artillery Weapons in a Direct Fire Role" by Larry W. Coker
• "Logistics of the Combined-Arms Army - Motor
Transport" by H. G. W. Davie

[@BattleOrder]

This was a basic by-the-books look at Soviet artillery practice during late WW2. This is a very complex topic with a lot of moving parts, so if you have some good sources (especially contradictory ones as long as they're credible) I'd be happy to see them.

[@HuLou]

You’re actually first.

[@genius1d2]

Great video. I would love to see more deep dives of WW2 artillery tactics and doctrine for all sides. Artillery doesn't get nearly enough attention for how important it was.

[@BeelzebulKlendathu]

drive.google.com/file/d/1mKs-_aRXlS23lng42Frcg_R4WaK40vp9/view?usp=sharing This covers ammunition and other materiel supply for the artillery in major operations of the war. Lots of data on ammunition delivery, consumption and so on (in Russian).

[@JeanLucCaptain]

CAN'T WAIT! A really interesting video on a criminally under covered topic. Could you do a detailed video on the various types of Soviet and Nazi Armored trains and how they were used? Because that's ANOTHER barely covered topic.

[@bwcmakro]

So... that never happened, huh?

[@xirensixseo]

the next time my oppnents complain about me using 152mm howitzer spam in company of heroes 2 i can just reply "doctrine requirements, from our comrade commander"

[@pavelslama5543]

when I spam multible B-4 howitzers in MoW AS2 :D

[@spinosaurusiii7027]

So true Though sadly the ML-20 is rather mediocre

[@xahmadx6442]

I'm not spamming I'm just following Doctrine

[@brettsteele6551]

My German grandfather, Karl Buehler, and Burgermeister of Brackenheim during the 1950s, finally shared with me in 1988 his experience of being on the receiving end of a Soviet artillery barrage on the opening day of Operation Bagration in a concrete communication/observation bunker. The intensity was so utterly shocking and debilitating that Opa and his unit never detected the Soviet infantry crossing the river they were observing. As a result, when the infantry attacked their bunker with grenades , they were taken completely by surprise and those who survived were in a helpless daze when captured. So yes, Opa really respected the Soviet infantry forces for their astonishing ability to attack without being detected until it was too late. He also sang praises for Soviet medical care, given how well a female surgeon treated his wounded leg courtesy of that grenade attack.

[@HaHaeTs]

Gott sei dank i studied German at the university so I know what Opa means, but for others - it's "grandpa" :) An interesting story though, thank you and Grüße aus Russland!

[@davideb.4290]

@@HaHaeTs it's easily understandable, I'm italian and never studied nor heard german but I could easily understand that Opa means grandpa

[@HaHaeTs]

@@davideb.4290 wow, well, maybe with other european languages it's more understandable, for me as a russian it's just... well, it's just Opa, "grandpa" is "Dedushka" in russian so no connection there, i wouldn't have any idea

[@IK-so2bm]

Kudos to your grandfather for being unbiased and informative. Soviet artillery might is simply brushed off by Western propaganda, but we now know the true story. Long live the Red Army and its brave soldiers.

[@calebr908]

@@HaHaeTs in Canada we have all kinds of people so I recognized it just from my countrymens culture.

[@billyponsonby]

Perspective: 8 out of 10 German combatants killed in WWII died on the Eastern front. Soviet artillery had a lot to do with this.

[@lebien4554]

Alle 7 Sekunden stirbt ein deutscher Soldat. Stalingrad, Massengrab! Every seven seconds a German soldier dies. Stalingrad - mass grave

[@taxidermypolarbear1724]

Wow that’s a crazy number

[@Blueboy0316]

Who gave the soviets ammo for their rifles, boots for their feet, fuel for their tanks and radios for communication...

[@barbarapitenthusiast7103]

​@@Blueboy0316 leand lease came in 1943 after stalingrad. The West didnt provide any weapons or ammunition. The soviets had more than enough fuel, and thats why the West didnt provide aot of it. The only thing the leand lease actualy provided were boots and canned food

[@f-35enjoyer59]

@@barbarapitenthusiast7103 You neglected to mention that the US gave the Soviets 1/3 of the USSR’s trucks and 99% of trains and rolling stock.

[@LeeRenthlei]

"God fights on the side with the best artillery" -Napoleon

[@sulc4092]

If I am not mistaken he also coined the term "cannon fodder" as he witnesed infantry columns getting shreded by artillery

[@dimitrypetrenko3470]

"The Artillery is the King of the battlefield while the Infantry is the Queen and we knew damn well what the king does to a queen"

[@user-co3uc8vt7e]

@@sulc4092 "Cannon fodder" is at least as old as Shakespeare.

[@sulc4092]

@@user-co3uc8vt7e Okay I was wrong

[@2ndcomingofFritz]

@@dimitrypetrenko3470so the cavalry (modern equivalent of course being armoured vehicles) is the servant or what? Doesn’t seem right…

[@borisxanovavich4466]

This video was great! People often forget that artillery was the most important ground support arm, and it isn't often that Soviet doctrine is covered. Nice to see both happen

[@johnd2058]

11:40 -- the application against the prescribed German hasty counterattack is especially brilliant, I must say.

[@MrSnoopy100]

Usually soviet doctrine is considered "just throw your men at enemy with machine guns, you have more people than they have bullets"

[@johnd2058]

@@MrSnoopy100 ...when ackchulee, on the strategic level, it's more like, "Prove the superiority of Socialist Industry by manufacturing enough weaponry to equip every man, woman, and child who has ever lived with enough raw firepower to conceivably kill every other man, woman, and child who has ever lived. Full auto machine-gun moad is default." www.pinterest.com/pin/699324648373200378/

[@VersusARCH]

Yup. Tanks may have proved to be the deciding factor on the tactical level, airpower on the operational level and logistics on the strategic level but it was still the old school artillery that caused the most battlefield casualties.

[@wtfbros5110]

@@MrSnoopy100 we have Enemy at the Gates to thank for that

[@wahlex841]

Actually, the saying goes something like "infantry is the tsar(itsa) of battle and artillery is a god of war".

[@user-tc9sk4ei9y]

*tsar(itsa) of battlefield

[@kaletovhangar]

Recently I was reading Fall of Third Reich by Vasiliy Chuikov (commander of 62nd, later renamed 8th guards army)in which he describes events from operation Bagration up to fall of Berlin and I remember his mentioning of dilemmas about length of time of artillery preparatory fire and how,when and where to advance his units and problems like difficulty in detecting when Germans will stay to take fight or flee to second line of defense, and this video expanded on this tremendously,thank you.

[@user-lf6qm8yn1k]

Chuikov was also winner of Stalingrad - just an addition to your great comment;)

[@kaletovhangar]

@@user-lf6qm8yn1k Yes,I know that, and also read his memoirs about it.

[@tzeentchnianexaltedsorcero2041]

They creep their barrage to the second line, so it's all good.

[@JNF590]

I know I'm 2years late but where can I find the memoirs, I would love a read

[@vicentlazar8816]

How many guns do you want, comrade? Da!

[@comNartheus]

It was a phrase in a very popular war-time novel by Sergey Simonov. "Having 200 barrels per kilometre of frontline you do not report enemy forces. You report victory."

[@SrdjaZlopogledja]

*Да!* *

[@zahfa7608]

The best part about Soviet artillery is the direct fire method. Yes, other armies during the war used this method, but for Soviet its becoming a common practice. The cooperation with foot soldiers and artillery is very important to make direct fire successful. Can't wait for your explaination on this in your future videos. Their favourite gun? The ZIS-3 76.2 mm. It is best use with indirect and direct fire. It's highly favourable amongs infantrymen. Certain individuals always use the phrase "Quantity over Quality" when describing Soviet equipment. But unfortunately the phrase doesn't apply to ZIS-3. the ZIS-3 are reliable and easy to produce. Wherever Soviet infantrymen went, they always "drag" this gun with them.

[@VT-mw2zb]

Direct fire over open sights is more effective but it also makes eneny counter-battery fire easier, so you may do more damage in a unit of time but your artillery got destroyed more easily. It's "easier" for the gun crews and fire direction since you basically shoot at what you see; like you are a tank crew. And like tanks, you are also in great danger of return fire but with no armour See, closely coordinated indirect artillery fire is not an easy thing to do. You need well-trained and experienced observers, officers, as well as a well-thought-out to pass the fire request up the chain to a Fire Direction Center then down to the artillery batteries and guns. It's not an easy thinng to do and requires tremendous practice, as well as equipments (radios and so on) and experience. The Red Army had an experience and officer shortage because so many were lost in the Great Purge and 1941-1942. They had to in a great hurry, train up LTs and promote them up to Maj.s and Col.s. Someone commanding a Tank corp in 1942 may end up with a Front command in 1944-45.

[@petloh1882]

The Americans had better indirect fire artillery systems, all you need to be shown this is Elsenborne Ridge, when outnumbered American forces used direct fire support to split German forces in half, then use a various system of anti tank guns, bazookas, rifle fire, and they even used the Quad .50 cal weapons system, the “Kraut Mower”

[@petloh1882]

Dwarov 1 I could list more but I used Elsenborne ridge as a specific battle. Battle of the Bulge, Operation Grenade, Normandy landings, Hurtgen Forest, etc.

[@VT-mw2zb]

@@petloh1882 well, US artillery fire direction, control, and integration basically has no match in WWII. Its procedure allowed one observer to control and direct fire of hundreds of guns. The best observers were airborne in light observation aircraft; probably half of fire missions were called by them. These observers and counter-battery fires silenced enemy guns when weather permits.

[@petloh1882]

V T yeah I agree with you. I think the Soviets come close, I would use them if I was breaking through small areas, but I would rather use American style forward observers and communications on everything else.

[@ancientfungi7818]

This was incredible. I have studied Artillery Doctrines of both World Wars extensively and I'm happy that somebody posted a video on soviet artillery. I'll be watching this a couple of times to learn the things that I didn't know yet.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Any good sources to understanding artillery tactics?

[@ancientfungi7818]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Field Artillery and Firepower by J.B.A Bailey is a true treasure, a true bible for all artillerymen, it shares concepts, ideas, tactics, systems and development history of these on an unprecendented scale. As most artillery tactics originate in WWI you can start there with something like: World War I Battlefield Artillery Tactics by Dale Clark is great for beginners Or Gunfire! British Artillery in World War II by Stig H. Moberg is extremely detailed on Artillery (including tactics) by making an example on the Royal Artillery.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

@@ancientfungi7818 Thank you for the references...

[@thijshagenbeek8853]

I spoke to a Soviet Artillerist quite some years ago at a convention at our local library. A few snippets from this old man. They where called "Hammerhands" due to their immense strength from lugging the large shells and their unquestioned abillity to, like God, reshape the land at will. He looked quite fervently as hé explained to me that no Mountain was to high for the Red Army as they would move the Mountain if needed. They where also intensly jelous with the Artillerists of the 203mm howitsers, the infamous BL-10 Guns of the Stavka high command becouse they got far more rest and due to the BL-10's immense range and elite nature of its personnel. Katushya's where liked but where not considered valuable but not as beloved as the heavy units. There was a good love between infantry and artillery due to their close distance to the front as they shared sometimes in the infantry's hardships and ofthen would be used as ad hoc rear guard infantry detachements. And they would ofthen trade prized American tabacco for the also highly prized intact German watches usually looted by the Infantrists. Hé also noted that after the war you'd be able to tell a Artillerists in anny village. Hé would be the strongest man, and hé would more likely then not. Deaf.

[@Brslld]

Your loss of hearing is not service related

[@up_dogF1]

Hell yeah! Just in time for lunch.

[@nasalimbu3078]

MBT anti tank missile can chage it nozzal abs

[@derpycyclistjr.1943]

Hey, just a small correction - artillery was called 'God of war'. Tsar title was given to infantry (though since 'infantry' (pehota) is feminine in Russian it was called 'infantry - tsarina of fields' (pehota - tsaritsa poley).

[@r0mi44]

Так точно !

[@REgamesplayer]

It is interesting to see organization of artillery. However, as someone not from a military, I do struggle quickly figuring out how many men are in what kind of formation. Consider adding numerical values to icons and types of artillery, names of guns, amounts of shells, etc. Those little details would greatly improve visual quality of your videos.

[@VT-mw2zb]

Don't worry. Numerical strength in artillery units are quite pointless as are for most units. What matters is how many weapons that unit has that are not rifles. For example, a squad may have 6, 9 or 13 men, but really what matters are how many machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank rockets the squad actually has. The reason is actually pretty simple: units are never at 100% strength. You'll be lucky to have 80%. When the strength is less than 100%, you focus on keeping the big guns manned. A squad with half its authorised strength can still keep all of the heavy weapons manned. Similar thing with artillery, actually. You basically need around 4-6 guys to operate a howitzer, sometimes even fewer. Most of the rest are spares and ammunition bunnies and runners. The next tricky thing is to figure out the infantry, artilley, and cavalry equivalent unit sizes. For example, an infantry company is about the same hierarchy as an artillery battery while a cavalry/tank/air squardon is about the size of a battalion.

[@benjamindover2601]

Imagine being hammered by 48 Katusha rocket trucks, terrifying.

[@holgernarrog962]

The precision was very low....The range did vary by more than 1000m depending on the weather....Thus it was only suitable for large targets. That means with a bit luck the 48 x 32 rockets might explode comfortable away from you.

[@MrPhantomEd]

@@holgernarrog962 Imagine sitting there thinking, if it is your lucky day or not...

[@holgernarrog962]

@@MrPhantomEd as a soldier you are sitting where you are ordered to sit...hope to survive...getting food...and perhaps you will prefer to be under a low precision Katjuscha bombardment rather than a more precise attack.

[@thegunner7942]

@@holgernarrog962 nah! They did just fine, every men at the front, russians, germans etc knew that, and saying theyre purpose was to overwelm and rain hell to the enemy defensive positions same as the normal artillery and shatter the enemy to pieces then push the tanks and infantry in, and no rocketry technology at the time has the most effective shooting at all thats why they were deployed in group to increase the possibility of hitting even the smallest target, you scatter you're rockets within the area where the target is

[@holgernarrog962]

@@thegunner7942 the fire of Katjusha or Nebelwerfer was indeed impressive but as mentioned inacurate (1000m variation in length) and thus not always useful. I saw an artillery barrage in 1988 in Bergen Hohne 155mm M109 howitzer , LARS from an observation post. It was impressive. loud. I might have felt frightened being less than perhaps 300 -400m away. The Soviet and German combat lines were usually 100 - 500m apart it was not applicable against a main combat line in many cases without a high risk of friendly fire. It used a lot of ammunition powder, steel and explosives. As a consequence the Soviet Union, Germany had some rocket artillery while the mass of the artillery was conventional artillery. The technical reason was that the powders used caused cracks while filling and later due to temperature changes, transport. Cracks caused an unequal burning of the powder and thus a wide range variation. After ww2 powders with some bitumen or polybutylen were developed that provided much better performance.

[@broomhandle3700]

I'm in the middle of assembling a force for the tabletop game Bolt Action. Looks like I've got a good excuse to get some artillery on the table now.

[@BattleOrder]

Nice, my fiancee has been talking about that game recently lol

[@hothoploink1509]

@@BattleOrder Wait, have you actually found one of those hypothetical females interested in ww2 tabletop games? I mean they should obviously exist from a statistical point of view, but to actually find one... Or you're gay ^^ - either way, congratulations on your engagement (a bit late probably, but I only became aware of this channel and subscriber a few days ago). Edit: Or you're a female with an unusual voice. So many possibilities ;)

[@cabbagecabbage5047]

I am absolutely amazed at how fast this channel grew, both in quality and quantity.

[@brandoncornwell52]

I just landed on your channel and I am immediately impressed. I really love randomly discovering intelligent, cogent and compelling commentary on history (military history in this case). There’s a lot of content out there, but only a fraction goes beyond the superficial. Thank you for the work that you are doing.

[@DWatchRazgriz]

An interesting look into the King of the Battlefield's usage by the USSR. Thank you very much.

[@BattleOrder]

My pleasure!

[@user-wi6wg2kg4v]

Artillery is called the GOD of the battlefield in Russia.

[@BattleOrder]

@@user-wi6wg2kg4v I am aware of that. "Tsar of Battle" is a play on the American expression "King of Battle". It's just a fun title for the American audience, nothing serious lol

[@DWatchRazgriz]

@@user-wi6wg2kg4v Thank you for the correction on Russian terminology. Have a great day :)

[@user-wi6wg2kg4v]

I didn't want to look like I was serious. I'm just bad in english. Sry)))

[@MilesStratton]

This was fascinating to listen to and REALLY well edited. Good job, you've earned my sub

[@Tergara1]

I'm really happy to see this. I've always loved artillery and this video is great for talking about the basis of doctrine. Can't wait till next one!

[@CashSache]

Good stuff, I can't wait for part 2

[@McClane4Ever.]

This channel is incredible! Thanks for producing these.

[@robinkristiansen6578]

the quality of your content is absolutely astonishing!

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks we appreciate it!

[@mensch1066]

A great video. Really well done! I'm loving your recent Soviet content!

[@user-tc9sk4ei9y]

Great video. Seems like you didn't fully understand of why mortars played so dominant role (especially at the beginning of the war), why soviets prefer to conserve ammo even putting themselves at the harm's way and why germans send more shells then they took back. Soviets lost at least three major artillery ammunition arsenals early in the war (one in Lugansk, modern Ukraine, or, to be precise, self-proclaimed People's republic of Luganks), one in Leningrad (modern day St. Petertsburg, it was besiege and starved for raw materials) amd the third one which I've forget right now) That loss made soviet high-caliber shell production quite limited. By 'high caliber' I mean 122+ mm howitzer rounds, 76,2 mm gun rounds of all types and all the mortar rounds were good to go as they are easier to produce due to technological reasons. That was partially the reason to employ large-caliber mortars btw.

[@localbod]

Thankyou for posting this. Yet another thorough and informative presentation.

[@j.a.emmanueltemplemann5627]

You really know your stuff. Im Humbled. Very very impressive ✅

[@1TruNub]

Just subscribed really love your content. That I have seen so far is that the Medal of honor soundtrack I hear in the background. You are a man of culture

[@justing.3541]

Thank you so much for citing your sources!

[@user-lf6qm8yn1k]

High quality making of interesting subject - great video! Благодарю Also, just an idea for future videos: combat usage of Soviet plate infantry - assault engineer brigades, appeared in mid'43 to the end of war, to make the difficult job of break through most fortified Nazi positions.

[@Giloup92]

Thank you for this video. There are so many videos about tanks in WW2 ans so few about artillery.

[@cattledog901]

Was part 2 deleted? Can't find the video anymore.

[@eragongun3491]

Very good video. Waiting for part 2 like its Christmas

[@EthanDyTioco]

Found you in my recommended - I'm liking the content. Huzzah!

[@dataman6744]

"Artillery is the god of war" - Joseph Stalin

[@footballbasketball182hi5]

He’s right

[@antonmescheryakov9567]

I have some doubts about the translation of Samsonov's passage at 8:25 : "хотя бы" should *not* be translated as "at least". I believe it translates to "even though". This meaning is a bit old and bookish so it is understandable the translator slipped somehow. The phrase makes a lot more sense this way.

[@kino_enjoyer]

Actually it's still often used

[@alexeybelinsky8767]

In this context end of phrase (about timeliness of artillery fire) should be translated as: "even if by limited number of batteries or (single) guns."

[@masonke1]

Excellent video, well researched. Was part 2 ever released?

[@simonfejta3434]

Really informative video, Thanks for sharing :)

[@BattleOrder]

Glad you like it!

[@vectorvitale]

I can't get enough of these damn videos.

[@tungsten_core]

11:30 BASED RO OSTFRONT MUSIC MY FAV GAME SOUNDTRACK

[@phil6715]

Extremely well made video!

[@gwin2719]

Great video! Keep it up

[@lalamimix]

Glee. After seeing the same topics repeated. This is most enjoyable.

[@optionsss]

nice video, definitely would like to know more about the operational detail and organization

[@234jari234]

10:09 Red Orchestra Ostfront 41-45 theme, nice! The first World War 2 game that got me interested in wartime history like this video.

[@drinkyourwater1039]

Imagine you're a german tankman, during an operation breakthrough, you get pretty deep, but suddenly you see by far an 203 mm slowly turning towards you and your spearhead comrades

[@kiennguyenanh8498]

The first thing they did would be try to destroyed it

[@CallsignYukiMizuki]

I was looking forward to Part 2 but I just realize I have to wait for it since this vid just dropped Tragedy tbh

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic5895]

I DO fell your pain, comrade.

[@unowackelin.5152]

Would love to get inn to the nitygritty. Love this channel

[@DrLoverLover]

Great video

[@commando4481]

Good video mate

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks mate

[@glenmartin2437]

It is nice to see more and more information from the Soviets. Growing up, most of the books and articles I read were by Americans or Brits. Thank you for this info from the Soviets. One of my nicknames is "Rusky." Again, thank you.

[@diestormlie]

This is an excellent channel. Have a like, a comment and a sub! Looking forward to more!

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks mate 👍

[@Wicked-hx7yg]

👍🏼 great video

[@BattleOrder]

Thanks!

[@dewananda_dn]

You deserve 1M Subs

[@2boredfortv]

Ok the red orchestra music caught me off guard, too perfect for the video!

[@TheStugbit]

Great video! There's not that many videos covering artillery on KZbin, specially on the Soviet side which made use of artillery ostensibly. The Soviet had this doctrine of using artillery in the direct fire even before the war, isn’t it? Because many of their guns like the 76mm F22 seems to be able to fire at both infantry, soft targets and tanks. Hence the Germans using captured ones in the AT role, the "Matilda Killer". I didn't know the Soviet actually made use of those guns like this as well. By the way, would it be possible for you to make a video covering how the artillery observation units work? People often doesn't explain that in details. It seems to me to be a very interesting subject how it works. Best regards.

[@JamesPolymer]

I know this has been echoed by others, but what happened to Part 2 of this video? Was it deleted or marked "unlisted," or was it just never finished?

[@johngalt5912]

Excellent video. Are you going to cover the Soviet anti-tank artillery formations, such as IPTABs, i.e. [separate] destroyer-antitank artillery brigades? Also, when counting the Soviet tanks corps, I think you only counted separate tanks corps and missed the tank corps organic to tank armies (I could be mistaken though).

[@eugeneoliveros5814]

I like that picture of Stalin’s Sledgehammer for the thumbnail

[@ancientfungi7818]

It's actually not the 203mm howitzer M1931 (B-4), the thumbnail shows the 152mm gun M1935 (Br-2), which is the retarded twin sister of the B-4.

[@abrahamespejo4585]

Excellent

[@robbypolter6689]

Russian Word: Artillerie, the God of War. In important Operation, 1000 Meter Frontline, 300 guns.

[@legatvsdecimvs3406]

Soviet Artillery of WW2 was hampered by a lack of mobility after its factories of prime movers were captured, destroyed, displaced(evacuated) in 1941(Kharkov area and Leningrad) and 1942(Stalingrad). Production equipment and factories that were not captured or were evacuated were used to make armored vehicles(tanks - T-34/KV-1/IS-2 or self-propelled guns - SU-76/ISU-122/ISU-152) for the rest of the war. For much of the war after the end of 1941 remaining prime movers became a strategic reserve not deployed to frontline units, to prevent their loss or destruction. Slow moving farm and industrial tractors were repurposed for most new towed large caliber guns being deployed. As a result most of the Artillery in 122mm caliber and greater was only deployed in set piece offensives and counter-offensives for short term concentrated bombardments because the weight of the artillery pieces did not allow for towing by regular trucks or horses. It was withdrawn away from the frontline soon after the bombardment was over. Horses became the main source of mobility of Soviet Artillery during much of WW2. And they were also relatively slow moving in most conditions. Guns like 76mm ZiS-3 and 57mm ZiS-2 Field Guns, 45mm Infantry Guns, 120mm and 82mm Mortars were all towed into battle by horses. This was the primary Artillery available to most Soviet frontline units - they were not long range weapons like those of larger calibers.

[@ibad8504]

This video is amazing but i do have request. WW1 Ranks of all major sides that partook such as British, American, German, Austrian, and etc ( I may or may not be making a ww1 gmod rp)

[@aps125]

US Army never organized artillery division although there was an internal debate for considering one toward the end of the Cold War. The largest US artillery formation ever created was the 56th Field Artillery Command stationed in West Germany. In fact it was an enlarged artillery brigade under the command of a brigadier general instead of a colonel. More precisely it was an echelon above brigade/theater level command. All forward based Pershing missiles were under its control.

[@BattleOrder]

Yeah, although during World War II Army-level field artillery brigade headquarters could get to division size. But they were just a headquarters and flexible, so field artillery groups would be swapped in and out as needed. For example Army Artillery with its brigade HQ (separate from corps and division artillery) could have 3 Field Artillery Groups each with 3-4 Field Artillery Battalions, which basically creates a division-sized Army Artillery component

[@Szycha8412]

Good clip :)

[@Paciat]

Subscribed.

[@grantlee5737]

Yes I would like a nitty gritty video

[@rugger1009]

Guy Sajers descriptions of being under Soviet artillery fire in The Forgotten Soldier are an excellent demonstration of its effectiveness on the Landser of the Wehrmacht.

[@eshdizzle]

Great video! The Soviet of doctrine of WW2 matches up well with the current doctrine of Russia. In the Russian (and Soviet) army, artillery is known as the "God of War." Mass is a cornerstone of their fires mentality. Quick question. Towards the beginning of the video you state SIGINT was used in the targeting of enemy assests. What source was used for this claim, and what assets were used to collect this intelligence? I have long known about observers, aircraft, and sound direction but have never seen anything on SIGINT. Again, great job!

[@BattleOrder]

Hans-Georg Richert (a German artillery officer) references that in 1944 the Soviets they were facing had radio direction finding equipment. They knew this because shortly after radio transmissions, there would be sudden concentrations of fire on the source. This could also entail listening in on German radio transmissions to deduce the locations of targets.

[@eshdizzle]

@@BattleOrder Cool! Thank you very much!

[@yoyomodiji]

Excellent analysis , one of the finest channels regarding war knowledge, love from India...

[@yoyomodiji]

@Dire DreadLord indian?

[@CarlGGHamilton]

Very good selection of sources, I actually read several of them when doing my masters in history on the eastern front, H.G.W. Davie is undervalued compared to the insights he provides. Excellent video.

[@Loup-mx7yt]

You should do ground attack plane/close air support doctrine of the red army.

[@lionofjudah61967]

Where is part 2?

[@clusterstudio18]

Where to find part 2?

[@firefox3187]

More in-depth vid please 😁😉😷

[@cassiecraft3938]

MORE IN DEPTH, PLEASE!!! 🙂

[@BarendJanvanNifterik]

Very interesting and educational video. Also artillery is a great and refreshing topic! Looking forward to more vids, any chance of in depth a analysis of US combined arms Combat Commands in the end of WOII? Any video on combined arms would be cool though!

[@BattleOrder]

Combat Commands is a good video idea!

[@patrickmcshane7658]

More artillery please.

[@Zain-fi]

I wonder if you will go into Cold War doctrine I’d been extremely interested in that

[@mathewkelly9968]

Cover Australian/New Zealand artillery doctrine developed in WW2 vs the Japanese and used to great effect at the battle of Long Tan

[@The_Observant_Eye]

Where's the part 2? 🤔🤔

[@300guy]

has part 2 ever been made?

[@StarJackal]

Was there ever a part 2?

[@andrewbritch5821]

I'd like to see a vedio of how artillery units we're organized

[@Setofan1]

When are we getting part 2?

[@jussi8111]

damm all the moh themes hit me hard

[@AA-mf3om]

Two questions: 1. The tactical artillery did nt have any antitank? 2. The antiair didnt included in artillery organization?

[@jameslafrite]

Still waiting for part 2

[@dun0790]

Id hate to be the guy in charge or ammunition and logistics thats a lot pf different guns and there massive the amout of fuel amd trucks needed impressive thanks for this video sometimes i find it hard to understand when people say a 1 day in war can cost millions with no fighting taking place it makes sense with all this

[@casparcoaster1936]

God I love this stuff!!!!!!!!!

[@battleborg6662]

The inclusion of Medal of Honor Allied Assault's main theme makes this even more interesting.

[@burnellzimmerman7484]

As well as the European Assault main theme!

[@sauronmordor7494]

top!

[@ScarecrowZP]

14:25 aren't those doctrine pics from HoI4?

[@0giwan]

Did the critique video ever come out?

[@gareththompson2708]

I can't find the part two of this video. Was it taken down?

[@jona.scholt4362]

Man, I would kill for a breakdown of units from the Napoleonic Wars; how Napoleon implemented the corps system and how the coalitions against him changed over the 20-odd years eventually copying the corps system themselves.

[@apersondoingthings5689]

I think the reason why the U.S. fired so many shells was because the USA when it found like just a squad of infantry and if able to call artillery support did so, a lot.

[@13oz.M0u53]

Gods of war - that’s what we call artillery in Russia. My grandfather fought against the Nazis in anti-tank artillery.