Until the General Staff intervened. welcome to Hell

Part 1
Everything was going well, but then he intervened General base…

IN In the wardroom of the "Daring" the officers of the formation's headquarters were gathering for the morning report, taking their usual places and chatting merrily. Susanin, the navigator of one of the ships, temporarily replacing his now “sailing” flagship, posted a weather map, all in offensive arrows and lines of cyclones and mutilated ovals of anticyclones.

And - what? – Alexei Mikhailovich Gromyakovsky asked the navigator, deputy brigade commander, with hope.

Until that week - rain, north-west wind, gusting up to 17. Somewhere like this... and maybe more... a cyclone is rushing from the north-west! It will go to ours if they don’t have time to return!

Thank you, dear, I consoled you! - Mikhalych sourly “thanked” him

Will there be snow? – came from somewhere behind.

Yeah, mushroom... - the gloomy navigator lived up to expectations today.

He did not expect anything good from the coming day and close communication with the brigade commander, and internally prayed for the speedy return of his flagship. It was good for the cunning Pomorin - he knew in advance the stupidest questions that the brigade commander could ask, his natural curiosity created in him an extensive archive of various navigator's tales and toponymic legends. At the right moment, with all this - instead of noodles - he filled the ears of all sorts of bosses and other men and women, extracting suitable material. It worked - no comments! Ivanovich Susanin was far from this... however, he didn’t even think about it - how far! It’s enough that I was lucky with the last name - just for the navigator, thank God it’s not Ivan, but Ivanovich... and every time they sarcastically ask if he’s a relative of THAT ONE, also from Kostroma, by the way...

Yes,” Vadim Sudakov said skeptically, “the weekend was filled with a woman’s... hmm, copper basin!” It was a sad time... it was September, damn it, right outside... almost... yes, not the month of May!

In full accordance with his predatory fish name, Vadim was a passionate fisherman, and on the fast river not far from Obzornov the salmon was already in full swing and a decent pink salmon was caught on a cunning lure. Again, it’s time to catch a fly. “Nothing, we’ll wait until Saturday evening and we’ll see!” - thought the miner, and said out loud with a thoughtful look:

As the “elders” of our brigade, who have already drunk more than one tank of compote, say, “There are three types of weather - the one you get from the hydrometeor, the one your navigator promises you, and the one... which will actually happen!”

God will not give it away - he will send the southwest!

Yeah! Right now! Twice! Now, if it were the other way around—to ruin the weather—it would be so easy! – the flagship doctor objected skeptically.

Don't blaspheme, doctor! Otherwise they’ll send you out to sea... in the middle of a storm!

Pah-pah-pah at you! You'll end up croaking! – Team doctor Timofey Fisenko playfully waved his hands. The doctor didn’t like storms and the associated motions! But he endured heroically - the service is such, where can you go! And who would ask him about his desires? Again, the “marines” are coming, but the honest officer’s conscience did not allow him to receive them “just like that.” And to be honest, the brigade commander did not allow the staff to “dry out” for a long time on the shore. He himself often disappeared at sea, and, of course, always dragged the headquarters with him. The chief of staff did not lag behind him, and the flag specialists had better skills than some of the ship's officers.

Comrade officers! - Brigade commander Ognev came in, quickly reading some papers as he walked, which the communications forwarder on duty had just handed him. Having said hello, he immediately began with a sacramental quote:

Everything was going well - until the General Staff intervened! Just like Schweik! – he immediately commented on the documents he had read: “They recently took a tour of the Pacific Fleet and found so many miracles that you!” Continuous massacres, sadism and... abuse of power... even worse than in our brigade! – he joked: “Yeah!” And why the hell did they need all this? They said even under the Tsar-Father - there is no point in fooling around in a quiet pool, otherwise you will immediately find out who is there!

You might think that people in Moscow didn’t know about this before! - Gromyakovsky grumbled.

They knew, they knew! – Stas Neversky reassured everyone, “they just didn’t want to upset the Minister of Defense... what if he gets sick!”

As a result,” the brigade commander continued, “now more papers and space-fantasy recommendations have already been born, here!” And how many old ones have not yet been worked out! We wouldn’t know without them! Screwtape seers! They have already forgotten what he looks like, a sailor, and what he eats, dear! Speaking of birds - operational, how is that damn anti-ship base doing there? Padagra in all the joints of its commander, and the entire reference book on venereal diseases directly to the sluggish, impotent end of their vile food chief! – Vasily Nikolaevich turned predatorily. He thought a little and confidently added - out of an innate sense of justice: - and the chief of food for the fleet - all the same! So as not to be offensive... (The remaining expressions cannot be translated into a decent format).

Our brigade commander is kindness itself! I wish these guys... turned to us... with their real faces... - the commander of the "Cutting" grumbled out loud.

The problem was painful - the commander is the last resort, who can see the hungry eyes of the sailor, and from whom he will always be held accountable for everything - regardless of any “lens”.

Just like that: “The rear is not the face of the fleet, it’s the opposite!”

They didn’t deliver any meat again, they’re offering to take fresh herring instead!” reported the commander of the “Bystry”.

Instead of butter - some kind of putty like margarine! – the first mate of “Daring” turned from behind the doctor.

What!? But let them shove this herring into themselves... tail first - the good brigade commander became furious: - Okay, that’s my question, today I’ll try to arouse against them all the unspent libido of the logistics chief of our glorious flotilla! - said the brigade commander, quickly writing something down in his weekly journal: - So I continue: in the Northern Fleet, from today a month of merciless fight against hazing has been announced. This barbaric phenomenon will be mercilessly suppressed... and the most affected will be - as always - the father-commanders of ships and coastal units, and the commanders of these formations, in which the hottest facts of these very... relations will be revealed - if they do not have time to re-punish their subordinate commanders on a smaller scale to the prosecutor's level interference! - he prophesied, and summed it up: - These are the tactics with the strategy! Study the document and sign! The teachers will draw up a plan - to have a similar one on ships! To the father-commanders - at least read it carefully and approve it! Yes, and one more thing - at least do something to implement it!

They’re in vain, it’s been a month. Now let’s all start talking and thinking about these same NUVs 2 – and we’ll get to the bottom of it, thought is material! – psychologist Berov said phlegmatically. - And what? How many times have I said - if a suicide has occurred somewhere - here the atheist Berov superstitiously knocked on the tabletop three times with all seriousness: - there is no need to bring this to the ears of the personnel. Look at your neighbors - in just three months - two completed suicides! Their big deputy almost hanged himself out of grief... They say the law of paired cases - maybe, but there is a certain psychological mechanism launching internal processes in a person’s consciousness - that’s more accurate, yes! These idiots thought of posting “information sheets” about this in every barracks, they are lousy craftsmen. You need to read “Primer” 3 so as not to become so grey... with flowers!

Berov, you are an optimist and always know how to maintain a cheerful attitude,” Gromyakovsky nodded approvingly.

That's it, I've been suffering all my life for the truth! - the psychologist retorted: - if something happens, they say that it’s exactly according to my plan - as a result! And - again - it’s my fault! A? And in general, the results of work to combat hazing are visible only if it fails! Moreover, if the big bosses took charge of it! It’s clear – you can’t crush bedbugs with tanks – but nothing good will happen either!

Wow! Figured it out myself? – the ingenuous Fisenko asked admiringly

No, what are you talking about! This is from Murphy's laws, but not about our mess, of course!

But, but, our mess! He’s yours too, by the way! – the brigade commander made a remark, calming down the amused officers. - And, in general, be quieter - after all, nothing human is alien to me, gentlemen! I not only bark, I can even bite sometimes! According to my position it is necessary!

Inspired by the brigade commander to perform feats in the light of new brilliant requirements... the officers dispersed to their ships. However, based on service experience, they were no longer particularly surprised by anything. Especially to the authorities...

1 Well, that’s blabbering - they just joked like that sometimes - it was correct: F -3 - PLO, i.e. Flagship Mine, Torpedo and Anti-Submarine Weapons Specialist is a significant and respected position in an anti-submarine force. But, actually, a fisherman is like a fisherman...
2 Hazing – either a term or a common naval slang
3 Directive and guidance documents, collection.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, UN military observers appeared in Palestine in 1948. For a number of reasons, over the next 25 years there were no military observers (VN) from the USSR at the UN. UN peacekeeping operations from outside Soviet Union were subjected to severe criticism. However, in October 1973, during the fourth Arab-Israeli war, a profound diplomatic breakthrough occurred.

"SEND!"

Our diplomacy actively supported UN peacekeeping operations in the Middle East. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF2) was created, and the number of UTNs in the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) increased to 300 officers representing 17 countries.

General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow at the Congress of Peace Forces on October 25, 1973, announced that we had already sent our people to the Middle East. As they say, everything was going well until the General Staff (GS) intervened in this matter. As a result, an entire month was lost. The first group consisted of officers who did not know the language. From this group only majors and captains who spoke English and one colonel remained - a total of 12 people, and five days after their enlistment (November 25, 1973) another 24 officers were urgently sent (November 30).

I had to train as a peacekeeper twice. A dozen cadet translators were selected from the Military Institute, and Alexei Minaev and I were appointed senior. The briefing lasts the whole day, it was conducted by the responsible employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the department of international organizations, Fulkin. After lunch and a long break we were informed that we were all going to our units until further notice. As it turned out later, this option did not work.

I went to the Military Institute to continue my service. Soon he passed the candidate exams in philosophy and Italian language. Peacekeeping was somehow forgotten, and then the prose of life set in. I receive an assignment to go to Bolshevo and find chipboards for the institute. However, on Sunday everything changed. The duty officer at the institute calls and offers to report to Arbat on Monday morning.

About three dozen new officers were assembled on Arbat. 24 people were selected. We are trained as peacekeepers within three days. I listen to the speech of Foreign Ministry member Fulkin again. In the evening we were taken to a clothing warehouse in the Moscow region and given uniforms, a sleeping bag, a knife, binoculars and a compass. They also invented a uniform for us with a solid sleeve insignia (the General Staff did not disappoint here).

What happened in the Middle East and at the UN? Officers who arrived in Egypt are considered guests of President Sadat for a month and do not participate in peacekeeping. When they appeared at the UN Control Center, they were told that colonels were not needed here, since the most senior here was a major, but they would be happy to take captains.

Our representative to the UN Security Council, Yakov Malik, urgently sends a letter to the Politburo and the Minister of Defense demanding that the group sent to Egypt be immediately replaced. The ambassador from Cairo also sent a similar letter.

The General Staff continues to insist on its position and sends a letter to the UN with a proposal to send battalion commanders and company commanders with translators. The answer comes from the UN that there are no interpreters in UNTSO in BV and there will not be any.

A paper with Brezhnev’s resolution arrives at the Main Personnel Directorate of the Moscow Region: “Send!” An order immediately appears to select and train officers from all branches of the military who speak English and have a driver's license. It was planned to conduct a lesson at the Ryazan Airborne School and take a driving test there. Due to lack of time, Ryazan was no longer needed, and we took the driving test in the Taman division. They prepared ordinary foreign passports for us, but they soon converted them into diplomatic ones. There was also a conversation about money, but the big boss abruptly interrupted us, saying that in such a important time the money issue fades into the background.

As a result of the persistent work of our diplomacy, for the first time, by decision of the UN Security Council 36 Soviet officers were included in the UN Body for Supervising the Implementation of the Truce Conditions in Palestine. The first group of 12 people began a peacekeeping mission in Egypt, in the Suez Canal zone, on November 25, 1973. This day is considered to be the beginning of active peacekeeping in the USSR and Russia. It is proposed to call this day Peacekeepers Day.

2003 marks the 30th anniversary of this event. The number 36 was not chosen by chance. There were 36 Swedes in UNTSO, and our diplomats demanded maximum amount- 36 seats, and since the Americans were already represented in this organization, their number was also increased to 36.

We take off on November 30, 1973 from the Chkalov airfield, the plane heads for Cairo. There are 24 people on board. There were many experienced officers among us, some of whom had visited many countries. My neighbor visited 18 countries, spoke English and French languages. Some officers had previously participated in hostilities and received awards.

We are in flight, Egypt is ahead, the unknown, blue helmets, the responsible task of the Motherland and the romance of the front. And our comrades, already in blue berets, are at the forefront between two lights on a peace watch under the UN flag in the Suez Canal zone. We have a great power behind us! The saying begins to come true: “Blessed are the peacemakers!..”

SAGA OF LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

The Suez Canal left a deep imprint on my life. Even as a child after Patriotic War We watched the English film "Suez Canal" with subtitles. Certain episodes of the film remain in my memory to this day.

Then there was the Suez crisis in 1956. I was in tenth grade at the time. I remember the message in the newspapers: “The Soviet government is determined to curb the aggressors by force and restore peace in the Middle East.” I have not seen such a strong statement since then. I read the same words again 12 years later at the Port Said Defense Museum. I also saw exhibits from Stalingrad there.

After the fourth Arab-Israeli war, I am back at the Suez Canal as a UN military observer. In 1974, we inspected troops on the eastern bank of the canal near Suez.

It is known that both the First and the Second World War touched the territory of Egypt. On the banks of the Suez Canal stands a monument in the shape of a tuning fork. The monument is dedicated to the defenders of the canal from the Turkish advance in the First World War.

We showed interest in military history. The question arose - what route did the English intelligence officer Thomas Edward Lawrence of Arabia (1888-1935) take on a camel from Aqaba to Suez during the First World War? It turned out that neither I nor my Western colleagues could boast of knowledge of those events, this really hurt me. At the legendary Sinai, I was sometimes visited by one of the nine muses - the patroness of the story, Clio (almost like Vysotsky: “...visited, sat and left”). And this is no coincidence; almost ten years of my life are connected with the Suez Canal or the events around it.

The UN military observer service did not give the opportunity to stay in one place. Therefore, I had the opportunity to visit many of the “Lawrence places” - Syria, Egypt and Palestine.

Soon I had the opportunity to watch the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" with the participation of the famous Egyptian actor Omar Sherif.

At the Beirut airport I bought a book about Thomas Lawrence on English language with diagrams and photographs. 20 years later I remembered this book under very interesting circumstances.

My service with the UN Truce Supervision Authority for Palestine lasted five years.

In the library of the UN Emergency Force I found Lawrence's book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", and in the magazine "UNTSO News" there appeared an abstract on this book written by an Irish military observer with whom we had a long conversation.

In Syria, I visited the medieval castles explored by Lawrence in his dissertation "Crusader Castles in Syria and Palestine."

Then the events move to our country. In the State Historical Library I found a book in Russian, “Colonel Lawrence,” published by Military Publishing House in 1939. Even in those days, a meticulous bookworm covered it with a pencil and worked on it with tracing paper. I noticed that the author of the translation was not indicated, and the editor was the battalion commissar. Even earlier, in 1929, we published Lawrence’s book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” in an abridged version (both books have now been republished). Three editions of our great encyclopedia describe Lawrence's activities in a peculiar way.

A colleague of mine asked me to replace him at work in a foreign aviation company in the city of Guryev on the eve of New Year 1995. Flying out of Moscow, I took with me a “Beirut” book about Lawrence.

I worked for a week, and two days before the new year, 1995, a new air transportation manager arrived. I noticed that the name of the new intelligent English manager... Lawrence!!!

I involuntarily opened the book - intelligence officer Lawrence had two older brothers who died in the imperialist war in Europe. I carefully examined the photo of Lawrence’s younger brother; his facial features are surprisingly similar to the new manager. I ventured to ask - it turned out that in front of me... was the nephew of Lawrence of Arabia!!! We celebrated the new year, 1995, together, and I worked under his leadership for a whole month. Lawrence Jr. said he was told a lot about Uncle Thomas.

In 1995, it was 60 years since the death of the famous intelligence officer. I contacted one of the newspapers with a request to briefly remind about this. They politely told me that it was “so ancient.”

By the way, about antiquities and mythology. I recently bought Homer’s “Odyssey” in Russian in a prose retelling... by Lawrence of Arabia!

In addition, Lawrence's book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (memoirs of the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918) was published in full, and the translator's name is indicated.

The Greek muse, the patron saint of history, Clio, seems to continue to write down the pages of her diary.

The arriving equipment could not leave the platform under its own power. The tanks, despite the preventive repairs carried out in Sverdlovsk, showed no signs of life. Only two of this batch could roll to the ground. The rest were dragged off, swearing and sweating, by militia fighters.

The instructors who arrived from Moscow also cursed along with them. A couple of months later, unexpectedly for many, these guys found themselves at the controls of tanks. Leo Tolstoy warned in “Hadji Murat” - you can’t trust them! The tank column that rolled into Grozny found itself without cover. The horsemen, who had been showing off in brand new uniforms and with oiled machine guns for two months, fled after the first shots, leaving Russian tank crews without cover and without guides in an unfamiliar city. Only a group of Cossacks, who somehow found themselves among the landing force, tried to clear the way for heavy vehicles. The battle was bloody. The guys stayed in the bristling city for more than a day. They waited for more than a day for help. But there was no contact with them. Stepashin was informed that the city had been taken. This fit into the military strategy. (Pavel Grachev spoke about the capture of Grozny by two battalions of paratroopers not for the sake of a nice word. He was right. But for this little was needed. Those who developed the military phase of the operation should sit down and think. Think through everything to the last detail, to the smallest detail. But how wrote Jaroslav Hasek, “the war went on as usual until the General Staff intervened.”) On this day, the president delivered his annual message. The FSB director who contacted him reported on the capture of Grozny. However, upon returning from the Kremlin, Stepashin was forced to listen to a new report, which fundamentally contradicted the first: “A fierce battle is underway. There are losses among tankers. Help is needed". - Which tankers? - The director was almost speechless. - What kind are in tanks? -Where are they from? After all, we were only talking about instructors and repairmen. The head of department shrugged. - It happened. It was naive to believe that everything just happened that way. Giving instructions to select people to train CHECHEN tank crews, Stepashin warned that not a single Russian should be among the armed people. Moreover, the selection had to be carried out exclusively among reservists. However, the tankers were active. By nightfall the situation became even more complicated. “I’m ready to submit my resignation,” the general suggested, feeling guilty. “Who... needs your resignation,” Stepashin grabbed the Kremlin communications apparatus. Grachev almost cried. - The guys are dying! Help is needed. Stepashin knew that there was a reserve. The forces of the internal troops were concentrated in Mozdok to begin possible actions. Erin supported the idea. I asked for some time to contact Kulikov. To do this, it was necessary to enlist the support of the president. After listening to the report of the FSK director, he agreed with the opinion. “Send in the troops!” However, more information came from Kulikov. "Everything is over! It’s too late to send troops.” And in Grozny there was a battle.

The war was going well until the General Staff intervened.
To start with, here are two interesting statements:
1. “The Debaltsevo operation may be included in textbooks, but so far there is too little information for its full analysis ( wow!! But what about the requirements for continuous collection and analysis of information? ). The speaker stated this on air on the 112 Ukraine TV channel ( job title in the style of “gloomy Ukrainian genius” ") ATO Andrey Lysenko. According to him, first you need to work with each fighter ( I recommend collecting another Maidan ) in order to bring together as much information as possible and obtain as much information as possible full picture. As of today, only reports from the high command are available. “Before making all the information public, we need to work with every soldier, from the private to the sector commander, and only after all the information has been collected will it be possible to create a complete picture of what happened. Because today we have “only reports from senior management and command and individual commanders of individual units do not yet provide an overall picture so that this operation to withdraw the Debaltseve garrison can be deeply and completely analyzed,” Lysenko said. Lysenko also noted that there are a lot of questions related to the operation to withdraw the garrison, both to the command and to the organizers of the operation in the General Staff, and that is why President Petro Poroshenko gave the task to conduct a full analysis of the situation. "There are a lot of questions, a lot of questions for both the military and the command ( Are the military and command not the same thing? ) and to those who organized this operation at the General Staff, so the president really set the task of conducting a full analysis of this operation, drawing conclusions from the negative nuances that there are in this operation and making these conclusions for, so that in our military universities this operation is included in textbooks so that conclusions can be drawn ( well, yes, well, yes, conclusion for conclusion) both negative and positive,” Lysenko said.
2. Brigade commander of the 93rd brigade Oleg Mikats is confident that the supply of Western weapons will change the course of the war in Donbass in favor of Ukraine, this will help it win. He spoke about this in an interview with LIGABusinessInform. When asked about the supply of Western weapons, Mikats replied that these weapons will help us win (any weapon also requires brains, with which the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has problems). "These are more modern weapons that we do not have. If only this moment We had such weapons, then there would not have been a situation in Debaltsevo, there would have been no tank attacks, there would not have been very many moments, because there simply would have been no point in bringing so much equipment here. According to the same Dzhevelins, as far as I know, the most successful operation in history was using three crews, which knocked out 43 tanks in 2.5 hours,” he emphasized .
(Why does Mikatsu need subordinates, give him “Jevelin”, he alone will turn the tide of the war)
Mikac finished military school in 1996. In 2008 he continued his education at the National Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in various positions, including: commander of a tank platoon, tank company, training tank company; served for a year in Iraq as part of a Ukrainian unit as a translator for the operations department; was a shift supervisor at a tactical operations center; deputy battalion commander; served 3.5 years as a regiment commander; served as deputy division commander and was finally appointed commander of the 93rd Brigade. In the Donbass, units of the Mikats brigade had a chance to fight both near Ilovaisk and at the Donetsk airport (i.e. “professional” in getting into “cauldrons”) .
Now according to the Cossacks' letter to the Turkish Sultan appeal from the “initiative group of officers.”
To the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine P.A. Poroshenko
APPEAL
Dear Pyotr Alekseevich! In the interests of protecting the Motherland, we appeal to you with a request and categorical demand to take immediate measures to replace the entire leadership of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Circumstances battle for Debaltsevo have clearly (once again) revealed that the most dangerous enemy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is its own General Staff and its satellite headquarters, primarily the command and headquarters of the ATO (sectors) (The term “battle” is used several times in the text, since, guys, you demand that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine be “put against the wall,” call this action a military one correctly). Let us substantiate this statement using the example of the battle for Debaltsevo. For more than 6-month existence of Debaltsevsky ledge (remember this figure, it is indicative of the time allotted for preparing the defense) The leadership and headquarters of sector “C”, the ATO and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed total incompetence in matters of tactics, operational management and operational planning. Moreover, the change of personnel in these headquarters during their rotations did not bring qualitative changes. Decisions on the placement of strong points and reserves along the defense line were made solely on the basis of contemplating paper maps (placement of strong points (I decipher: strong points are the scale of a company and platoon), i.e. the prerogative of the brigade commander and the commander of a separate battalion within the specified front line and defense zone) . Without reconnaissance and reconnaissance of the area, not to mention reconnaissance of enemy positions (What, the brigade and battalion don’t conduct reconnaissance?) . Visits to forward positions were extremely sporadic and mostly “theatrical” in nature. Not a single representative of the command or sector headquarters (ATO) in the entire history of the Debaltsevo salient has appeared on any of the KNP-NP network along the salient line, although it is from the KNP(NP) that one can visually assess the advantages or disadvantages of both their battle formations and and the enemy (you had 6 months where you were before ?). Exclusively “inside the dugout” work was typical for all representatives of the sector headquarters and, naturally, the ATO command (headquarters). Any crises (periods or what?) on (so “on” or “in”))) strong points were resolved exclusively by the forces of the battalion (brigade), behind whom was secured this area (strong point )("fixed" by plumbers, and the army defends) , by the battalion (brigade) commander’s own decision, using forces and means with own battle formations (up to certain moments on their own, and not otherwise!). If the unit did not have such an opportunity, one could only hope for the consciousness of the “neighbors” or a miracle. During the existence of the command and headquarters of sector "C", the commanders of combat battalions (brigades) and individual units developed a stable attitude towards these structures as useless and not solving anything in any issues (“a stable attitude” had to be shown before showing it, after a fight they don’t wave their fists) . Thus, the center for making all operational decisions and interaction between the combat formations of the entire Debaltsevo salient moved to the headquarters of the 128th brigade (Maidan decided?) . All artillery fire control was concentrated at the brigade artillery headquarters, including interaction with artillery reconnaissance of the 25th Separate Marine Brigade (this is not bad, let's see what happens) . Thus, the brigade artillery headquarters took over the unfulfilled responsibilities of the sector artillery headquarters, including interaction with senior commanders’ artillery on the basis of “horizontal” contacts (honor and praise!, after all, there was management) . In the process of combat work, stable direct interaction was established between the units of the Debaltsevo ledge without the slightest participation of the command and headquarters of the sector (thus, the command of the 128th brigade took over the leadership of the fighting, and, according to the signatories, it was successful) . So, on February 12, a group of fighters from the 40th Separate Marine Brigade of the 17th Specialized Brigade, led by the deputy battalion commander (battalion commander, you are still addressing the President) Colonel I.I. Shcherbina, call sign "Svat" (The Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot do without nicknames, the President will not understand otherwise) (died during a breakout attempt convoy (what is a convoy?, PQ17 I know) with the wounded on February 15), together with a group of soldiers of the 95th brigade in the area of ​​​​the village of 8th March, destroyed an enemy assault group of 15 people and defeated (How is that?) another of 22 people (a total of 37 people who stormed versus 40 with a support group, storytellers!) . They took one prisoner and took possession of the map of the commander of the enemy assault group with the situation and combat orders depicted. "Swat" on the air of the artillery channel (from KNP-1 25th Separate Marine Brigade) read out from the map and based on the results of the interrogation of the prisoner the enemy's tasks for the current combat day. After processing this data by artillery reconnaissance of the 25th Separate Marine Brigade through the channel, the battalion commander - the commander of the division subordinate to the ATO headquarters (created on the personal initiative of these officers) were ordered (order in the online store, by the way ), artillery strikes were adjusted and carried out on the enemy from the lines of transition to the attack and further inland to the areas of concentration of reserves and headquarters of this direction. As a result of these attacks, the attack that had begun in the center of Debaltsevo along the Chernukhino-Debaltsevo railway line fizzled out. The offensive in this direction continued only a day later, after the arrival of reserves and the replacement of battered enemy assault units . Remains of artillery (What, I just didn’t want to?) At this time, the 128th brigade repelled attacks on the Alexander stronghold (east of Chernukhino). Thus, especially since the beginning of the assault on Debaltsevo, the role of the headquarters and command structures of the sector (ATO) has degraded to zero (so the management of the 128th brigade “ruled” “successfully” before that , replacing the “failed” overlying control unit) . It is not surprising that on February 15, with the complete inaction of the sector leadership, two strongholds of the 40th Separate Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 17th Separate Brigade were cut off from the main forces of the group without any instructions (the mechanic receives instructions, but the army receives orders, etc.) and understanding of prospects. Until the afternoon of February 17, they never received any help in unblocking, or replenishment of ammunition, or an order to break through . They made their choice and laid down their arms. Throughout the existence of the Debaltsevo salient, neither the sector command nor the ATO command took any measures to timely replenish the diminishing human resources and weapons. Thus, the loss of cannon artillery in the 128th brigade was about 70% (The brigade commander spent 6 months preparing, in a few weeks he lost 70% of his artillery, it was not for nothing that he received the hero of Ukraine, hmm...). ... Multiple (how much is this? And what was the enemy supposed to do with equal numbers of “defense heroes” to attack?) the enemy's superiority in manpower in the conditions of the impossibility of supporting our battle formations with artillery fire and, on the contrary, heavy fire from enemy artillery, led to the inevitable and mediocre death of our units on (on or in) strong points. And after the loss of key positions it would lead to the inevitable defeat of the entire Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Debaltsevo. Those. the death or capture of more than 2,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel. Under these conditions, the command and headquarters of the sector and the ATO showed criminal inaction, remaining passive observers, recruiting the most combat-ready units for their protection (they said “A”, say “I”. Which specific units ?). Moreover, in the “narrowest” place between settlements. Kalinovka, occupied by the enemy, and an “empty” settlement. Logvinovo was “held in defense” by 4 soldiers of the 54th ORB on a faulty BRM!!! This led to the enemy leaving and consolidating on the “road of life” without a fight! (Where was the brigade commander looking, since he took over all leadership and knew everything?) The attempts of the sector command to “clean up” the area of ​​the settlement looked especially tragic. Logvinovo, in which two enemy BTGs were already holding the defense with the support of 2 tank companies (this information was reported to the sector headquarters), first by a platoon, then by a combined company assembled from several units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard, then by an attempt to gather cooks at the headquarters of the units and signalmen to break through the encirclement!!! On the 5th day after the loss of control over supply routes, it became clear to all unit commanders that such command was leading the entire garrison of the Debaltsevo enclave to captivity and/or death. In these conditions, proactive officers (Why, the general meeting decided!!!) raised the question of making an urgent decision on the organized withdrawal of troops from the encirclement, regardless of the availability of a decision from the “authorized headquarters”. A plan for artillery preparation and support for the withdrawal of troops was developed, ZKP (camouflaged command posts) (ZKP-reserve command post, new in the art of war, in gold letters on a board at the Academy of Ukraine) outside the boiler (and who was in charge there, history is silent) for fire control and communications. Remote combat formations were promptly informed about moving to the concentration point for a breakthrough. At the same time, reliable means of communication were used, and the sector headquarters was excluded from this chain. All units expected this, the only thing the right decision, therefore, there were no problems with interaction between units and battle formations. By 2-00 on February 18, the formed columns began to break through. The units of the 128th brigade were followed by the remaining separate units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the police. Sector headquarters, along with support and security units, were notified of the withdrawal along with others (noble) in separate units and without being “clever”, he joined the breaking through columns. By fire and maneuver, the shock units of the columns connected enemy strongholds along the route, allowing wheeled vehicles to pass through , loaded with personnel (!!!) and the most necessary supplies ())) ). The remaining serviceable artillery of the 128th brigade, jumping out (Whoever doesn’t jump is a Muscovite) in the first echelon to the “mainland”, immediately turned around and began fire support for the retreating troops. In the rearguard, the combat formations of the 25th Separate Marine Brigade retreated with separate groups of other units retreating to them, arriving from strongholds in the south-eastern direction. The 25th Separate Marine Brigade provided the tank-dangerous Uglegorsk direction from which the pursuit of the retreating troops could be organized. Since during the fighting all the military equipment and vehicles of the 25th Separate Motorized Infantry Division were destroyed by enemy fire or were out of action for other reasons, the withdrawal was carried out on foot along a route of about 25 km in the rearguard of the mechanized columns of the 128th Brigade and lasted until 13-00 (the main forces fled on vehicles, the rearguard on foot, GLORY to the commanders!) . During the retreat of the rearguard, the enemy tried to cut off the route of its withdrawal with a flank attack from the side of the settlement. Sanzharovka. Enemy attacks were restrained and repelled by the stronghold of the 128th brigade "VALERA". Control of artillery fire on the attacking enemy BTG (the remnants of the "Sanzharov" group after our artillery preparation), despite the shrapnel wound and concussion, was carried out by the artillery spotter of the 25th separate infantry battalion "Kremen" (You can’t call the hero’s own president by his last name...). Fire control was carried out through the ZKP 25 OMPB and the ZKP 128 brigade, battalion commander 25 and deputy brigade commander 128, directly to the commanders of senior fire divisions (ATO), bypassing headquarters (via horizontal communication). Only after fully completing the combat mission of covering the flank of the retreating troops, in order to avoid encirclement, "VALERA" was withdrawn to the Luganka River. From the side with. In Novogrigorievka, the group’s retreat was covered by strong point 40 of the separate detachment of infantry fighting forces “Zozo” under the command of an officer with the call sign “Kremen”. This strong point was abandoned after the combat mission was fully completed at 5 o'clock. 40 min. 02/18/2015 Thus, having exhausted all possible resources to hold the Debaltsevo ledge, choosing the optimal moment (on the night after repelling an intense assault), with minimal possible losses (who will praise if not themselves) The completely encircled (at the time of the withdrawal) Debaltseve grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with its units was withdrawn National Guard and the police. The gap of mistrust between combat units (units) and orbital headquarters GS (ATO, sector) is typical for all sectors of the front (sectors). Today, some “amazing” appointment mechanism is pushing people who are completely worthless professionally and morally into senior command positions. The level of mistrust of these “managers” has nowhere to grow! Current state The General Staff and satellite headquarters entail mediocre losses of personnel and equipment, as well as further enemy occupation of Ukrainian territory. In addition, distrust of one's own command significantly reduces the morale and resilience of units. The problem cannot be solved by changing one person. It is necessary to replace all leaders authorized to make decisions with proactive ones who have positive experience in managing brigade-battalions in real combat conditions, who enjoy trust and respect in their formations, units and subunits (They forgot to mention Poroshenko). We need people who will not shirk responsibility, and who, in matters of the exclusive competence of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, will be able to propose and justify the right decisions.
GLORY TO UKRAINE! (Well, there’s no way without this, glory to the heroes...)
Approved by: Commander of the 128th State Brigade, Colonel S.A. Shaptala. officers' meeting of the 128th State Brigade, officers' meeting of the 25th Separate Marine Brigade, chairman Major Volik D.V. officers' meeting of the 40th MPB, secretary of Art. Lt. Lomaka V.A. General meeting of the 54th ORB (1st, 2nd companies and deep reconnaissance company), secretary Sergeant Major Shovkun V.A.
What did other unit commanders, except the commander of the 128th brigade, not approve of?
Ignorants teach ignoramuses.

(becoming a corrupt official)

I served myself quietly as a lieutenant until, like Hasek, the General Staff intervened. This same General lost the battle with the control body and, masking his loss, sent out a directive “On a common understanding of security issues.” Simply put, before we only had to put bars on the windows if someone could actually get into the window, but now - in any case. And the doors are still iron.
The chief of staff read this circular from Rostov and said: “You’re an honors graduate, I won’t teach you, you’ll figure it out yourself.” And an almost august resolution to me: “For execution.”
Where can I get them, iron bars and doors? I forgot to say - the mid-90s, salaries were not paid for six months, the command unofficially allows officers and warrant officers to sometimes go fishing instead of serving, they need to feed their families with something. Not everyone at once, but on a staggered schedule, of course - someone must be in the barracks with the soldiers and take guard duty. There is no money for anything, except for transfers for the Rostov and Moscow headquarters - hunger is generally rampant there, but more on that another time.
The issue with the iron door was resolved quickly - one evening a fellow student and I warmed up a liter bottle - not for courage, but to pass the time, wait for the right moment, and “go to work.”
The soil in those places is too acidic, the pipeline corrodes quickly, so there is no escape - cold water is run underground, and hot water and heating are on top, wrapped in glass wool and wrapped in thick tin. This tin was ideal for beating the doors in Sashka’s office, in another part, and turning mine in the same way into iron ones. So we pioneered this very tin with him. I dragged the stolen goods to the unit and thought that the officer tsarist army, but what is it - I would never imagine Lieutenant Rzhevsky doing such an activity, but I myself had a chance.
It was easier for Sashka - he had an office on the first floor and didn’t have to look for bars on the windows - they were there originally. It was more difficult and longer for me with them, but the matter was finally resolved in exactly the same way - by theft.
For three weeks, the head of the apartment maintenance service, Galina Ivanovna, fed me “breakfast”, until one day I was unlucky three times.
A soldier ran away from the first-aid post, from the hospital, at night. Unauthorized abandonment of a unit, abbreviated as SOCH, in common parlance, respectively, in Sochi. At that time, the doctors were subordinate to the rear officers and the commander, having received a stick from the brigade commander, instructed the medical director to put bars on the windows in order to avoid further “self-propelled guns.”
Supply structures - what are they? Relatives wash their hands. The apartment maintenance service, even if it is subordinate to the commander, is still the same with the rear staff. One day Galina Ivanovna found bars for the medical director. Fortune smiled on me once. The chief medical officer turned out to be slow and decided to start installing them the next morning - I was lucky.
I didn’t know the background, but I guessed that it was unlikely that the two bars standing near the headquarters were intended specifically for my windows, however, since the deadline for the report to the district headquarters was expiring, I decided that grief comes not only from the mind, but also from insight. In short, my ensign and I made two walkways and ownerless bars into our office and brought them. The duty officer, who saw everything, was on leave from the next day - this was the third smile of fate.
No one, except the commander and the chief of staff, came into my office, so we calmly listened to the screams of Galina Ivanovna, who was looking for the loss. I remembered less about Lieutenant Rzhevsky.
Saturday was chosen as the day for hanging the bars, because Galina Ivanovna has a day off on Saturdays. On Saturday, right on time, a report was sent to Rostov on the implementation of the wise instructions of the General Staff.
On Monday afternoon, the rear brethren started a war. First, the head of the fuel and lubricants service came and demanded reporting on the regulated alcohol. Then the head of the clothing service caught our only fighter and “established” the fact that socks were used instead of foot wraps. The doctor dragged our fighter from lunch to weigh-in and tried to establish that he was underweight.
I had to go off-schedule on Tuesday to check how correctly these guys secret documents are contacted. I completely forgot about Lieutenant Rzhevsky, so first the deputy came running, whom I also managed to convince that I was still thicker, and instead of technical alcohol for routine maintenance, they began to give us medical alcohol, they again began to supply canned food, so that we wouldn’t get burnt while wiping equipment, and other bonuses have also been added... In general, life has become better, life has become more fun!
At least two Russian bombs have already been dropped on the head of every militant in Syria, and they are still running. I think that the reason is in the 90s: corruption - it’s not just me, and it’s only in the official interests at first...