Mobilised at short notice, to penetrate a defence base, troops are
parachuted at night into a desolate region – such as Siberia – and are pursued
by motorised infantry over vast distances. But the target is prepared for an
attack and, during the raid, it is not unknown for young conscripts to be
killed. The government of the Soviet Union was not answerable for deaths in
realistic exercises, even in peacetime. This was the experience of troops on
exercise as members of the Spetsnaz, the world’s largest special forces
organisation.
Special forces are by no means exclusive to the western
powers. The Soviet Union had a number of elite units in the army, navy and
marine branches of the military. These certainly survive in some form within the
forces of the former Soviet countries, very possibly in virtually the same
form. The account given below refers to the elite of the old Soviet elite, the
Spetsalnaya Naznacheniya – the Spetsnaz.
Spetsnaz, the Soviets’ special purpose troops came under the
direction of the GRU and consisted of 16 Spetsnaz brigades, four Spetsnaz naval
brigades, 41 independent Spetsnaz companies and the Spetsnaz regiments – the
latter being available for senior commanders to use as the situation demanded.
In peacetime, Spetsnaz numbered some 30,000 men; in the event of war or crisis
those ranks could be expanded to 150,000.
The conscript collecting centres took in newcomers twice a
year – in the winter period or the summer period. Your birthday dictated which
one you attended as you were liable for service immediately after your 18th
birthday. Women were not subject to compulsory military service, but were
selected through KOMSOMOL and DOSAAF if they were interested in joining the
Armed Forces.
At the centre, the conscript was interviewed and his
documents scrutinised. Everything about a person was recorded. How did he do at
school? Was he loyal to the communist system? Was he a party member? The
all-important KOMSOMOL and DOSAAF reports gave details of his fitness, military
skills and determination.
At the top, the best were selected for the KGB, airborne,
missile and intelligence units. A small number were selected for a unit they
had never heard of – the Spetsnaz.
For the conscripts there were no weekends, and their day
began at 06.00 hours with reveille, followed by strenuous exercises and an
inspection before breakfast. Fit, strong, elite soldiers need food and they
were well fed. Training then began in earnest, with the teaching and honing of
military skills, including assault courses where the Soviet obsession with live
firing tested the new soldier’s mettle. From the very beginning live ammunition
was used and accidents, even fatal ones were considered acceptable.
Those who fail to pass Spetsnaz training are sent to other
units to complete their military service, knowing nothing of the elite unit
they almost joined. At the end of the basic selection training course about 20
recruits were left from the original hundred in each group. The conscript was
now a Spetsnaz soldier – but still with much to learn. He was constantly
scrutinised by officers and senior NCOs.
The very best were selected for officer training, at a
special Spetsnaz faculty at the higher airborne command school at Ryazan. They
began four years gruelling training, which continuously tested them. Those who
did not make the grade were re-assigned to airborne VDV units or the air
assault troops.
Naval Spetsnaz consisted mostly of combat swimmers,
supported by mini-submarines and specialist parachute troops. Based among
Soviet naval infantry, each brigade had approximately 1,300 men (and an unknown
number of women), which made the Soviet navy’s Spetsnaz by far the largest
amphibious special force in the world. Within the overall Spetsnaz organisation
the naval brigades were far more active than their army counterparts.
The Spetsnaz were well blooded in Afghanistan. From the
numbers of them reported in action, it seems that they were often rotated to
ensure that most special forces soldiers will have seen active service at some
stage. It was difficult to distinguish Spetsnaz from Airborne troops in
Afghanistan, but Mujahideen reports did identify Spetsnaz from their numbers
and from the fact that they operate by local command decisions rather than
waiting for higher authority to give orders.
In action, Spetsnaz proved themselves to be hard and
well-trained troops, and were the only ones that the Mujahideen encountered who
thought for themselves. They were even known to kill their own wounded rather
than let them fall into the hands of the enemy. But this has been a common
practice among opponents of the Pathans for many years – the fate of captured
wounded was usually beyond description.
In both Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan the first Spetsnaz
units on the ground were from the “anti-VIP” companies, whose ruthless,
systematic murder showed them to be a formidable force. Follow up units were
from army Spetsnaz who took the war to the Mujahideen in the mountains.
Entry to the “anti-VIP” companies was for those soldiers who
decided to remain in the Spetsnaz after their two years of conscription. They
underwent additional training, with languages a priority. These units could be
expected to make use of enemy uniforms and weapons and in many cases,
especially in the preparatory phase before a formal declaration of war, they
were intended to operate wearing civilian clothes.
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