Ministry of Defense of Somalia
Military establishment Somalia(Somali. Ciidanka Soomaaliya) - military organization Somalia, designed to protect the freedom, independence and territorial integrity of the state. Consist of ground forces, naval and air forces.
General information
| Armed Forces of Somalia | |
|---|---|
| Types of armed forces: | Ground troops Navy Air Force |
| Conscription age and recruitment order: | The armed forces of Somalia are recruited; in 2005, the UN placed the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia on a list of governments recruiting children to fight. |
| Human resources available for military service: | men aged 16-49: 2,260,175 women aged 16-49: 2,159,293 (2010 est.) |
| Human resources suitable for military service: | men aged 16-49: 1,331,894 women aged 16-49: 1,357,051 (2010 est.) |
| Human resources annually reaching military age: | men: 101,634 women: 101,072 (2010 est.) |
| Military spending - percentage of GDP: | 0.9% (for 2005) |
Composition of the armed forces
Ground troops
Naval Forces
Air Force
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An excerpt characterizing the Armed Forces of Somalia
And indeed, by the evening the carts had not been collected. There was again a meeting in the village near the tavern, and at the meeting it was supposed to drive the horses into the forest and not give out the wagon. Without saying anything about this princess, Alpatych ordered to lay down his own luggage from those who came from the Bald Mountains and prepare these horses for the princess's carriages, and he himself went to the authorities.X
After her father's funeral, Princess Marya locked herself in her room and did not let anyone in. A girl came up to the door to say that Alpatych had come to ask for orders to leave. (This was even before Alpatych's conversation with Dron.) Princess Marya got up from the sofa on which she was lying, and through the closed door she said that she would never go anywhere and asked to be left alone.
The windows of the room in which Princess Mary lay were to the west. She lay on the sofa facing the wall and, fingering the buttons on the leather pillow, saw only this pillow, and her vague thoughts were focused on one thing: she thought about the inevitability of death and about that spiritual abomination of hers, which she had not known until now and which came out during her father's illness. She wanted, but did not dare to pray, did not dare, in the state of mind in which she was, to turn to God. She lay in this position for a long time.
The sun had set on the other side of the house, and with slanting evening rays through the open windows illuminated the room and part of the morocco pillow, which Princess Marya was looking at. Her train of thought suddenly stopped. She unconsciously got up, straightened her hair, got up and went to the window, involuntarily breathing in the coolness of a clear but windy evening.
“Yes, now it’s convenient for you to admire in the evening! He is gone, and no one will bother you, ”she said to herself, and, sinking into a chair, she dropped her head on the windowsill.
Someone in a gentle and quiet voice called her from the side of the garden and kissed her on the head. She looked back. It was m lle Bourienne, in a black dress and pleats. She quietly approached Princess Marya, kissed her with a sigh, and immediately burst into tears. Princess Mary looked at her. All previous encounters with her, jealousy of her, were remembered by Princess Marya; I also remembered how he had recently changed to m lle Bourienne, could not see her, and, therefore, how unfair were the reproaches that Princess Mary made to her in her soul. “And whether I, whether I, who wanted him dead, should condemn anyone! she thought.
There are countries that need their own Armed Forces like an electric guitar to a goat. This is, for example, the Principality of Liechtenstein, where there is only a police force consisting of 120 people. These are Iceland, Costa Rica, Andorra, etc. But not everything is so simple, because if you bark very loudly at Moska, then the elephant can sneak up unnoticed. All these states have an impressive "roof" that they are guaranteed by the major world players in the military arena.
But there are also countries that, it seems, have Armed Forces, but looking at their state, you involuntarily think that it would be better for these states to completely abandon them. Why spend money on a worthless army when you can take care of the economy or grow garlic on your balcony?
In this article, you will find five of the most insignificant armies in the world, which would be better off not existing at all.
No. 5: LIBYA
Prior to 2011, Libya had a very powerful army. And how could it be otherwise if the country was ruled by a talented military man, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi? The army consisted of ground troops, naval forces and the air force. The total number of military contingent reached 50,000 people. As for weapons and equipment, here Libya had a “full stuffing”: planes, helicopters, air defense systems, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, submarines, and so on. Most of this variety of Libya was supplied at one time by the USSR. After the collapse Soviet Union there was no one to supply the Libyans, and because of the imposed sanctions, the country could not modernize or simply repair equipment that was out of order. Sanctions were lifted only in 2004, but Gaddafi did not have long to rule the country.
In 2011, Libya was unleashed Civil War. Gaddafi was killed, and rebel forces came to power, who disbanded the old army, trying to create a new one. However, they did not succeed, because a bad manager is bad in everything. The main problem was the inability of the new government to put the country on the path of de-escalation of the conflict.
As a result, the modern army of Libya has almost 90,000 people, but there is no army. The Armed Forces, due to the chaos in the country, were divided into so-called brigades, some of which are subordinate to the authorities, and some are at war with them.
At the end of 2013, there were FOUR main armed formations in Libya:
- "Libyan Shield" (a coalition of factions controlled from Misurata);
- Forces of the Ministry of Defense, controlled from the city of Zintan;
- "Guard for the Protection of Oil Facilities";
- "Army of Barca", subordinate to the Council of Cyrenaica.
#4: ZAMBIA
If we evaluate the Zambian Army in a global context, then we can safely say that the army of this African country has a completely miserable military potential. However, everything is not so bad if we consider Zambia within the framework of Africa alone. Zambia is even trying to buy something from China if there is money.
Although if you look at the list of Zambian weapons, it becomes unclear how this country could get into such a rating. The country's tank fleet, for example, includes 5 Soviet T-54s, about 20 T-55s, and 30-50 light PT-76s.
There are also Soviet BRDM - 1 (Armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle) and BRDM-2, 44 of each. There are 28 British Ferret armored vehicles, as well as 52 armored personnel carriers with various registrations.
Artillery has 95 towed guns, 93 mortars and approximately 50 MLRS. Also in service are the Soviet ATGM "Malyutka" and MANPADS "Strela-2", plus more than 150 anti-aircraft guns, which in the old days Zambia acquired from Yugoslavia and the USSR.
The Zambian Air Force is armed with 5 old Soviet MiG-21 fighters and 5 very old Chinese J-6 fighters, which were a copy of the Soviet MiG-19. Zambia has 33 transport aircraft, including even the Soviet Yak-40. Most training aircraft - 83 pieces. Some of them, purely theoretically, can be used as light attack aircraft. Helicopters in the region of 30 pieces. There is an air defense system with Soviet S-125 air defense systems and the English Rapier.
Now the most important thing: why does such a potential not inspire fear? The fact is that there is no one to serve all this wealth. A lot of equipment has long been out of order, and there is no question of repair and modernization, since there is no money. In principle, the Zambian Army can ensure the security of the country, but only if some more powerful country does not decide to attack it. For example, South Africa.
No. 3: MALI
Once Mali had a relatively large army, thanks to the support of the same USSR. The help of the Soviet Union was very, very significant, and therefore in Mali you can still see Soviet equipment and weapons. Whether it's T-34 tanks or MiG-21 aircraft. However, after the collapse of the USSR, the rapid degradation of the defensive potential of Mali began, which reached its climax in 2012, when a civil war broke out in Mali.
As you know, many African countries today have armies not to attack their neighbors, but solely to restore order within the country. In 2012, what was left of the Malian army could not suppress unrest, armed clashes and riots. To date, there is practically nothing left of the army of Mali (the total number of armed forces is approximately 7500 people), and the country itself exists only thanks to the foreign military contingent located on its territory (the armies of France and Chad). However, according to many experts, the presence of foreign troops only increases the number of Islamists in the country. So, it is quite likely that this country will soon completely disappear from the pages of geographical atlases.
#2: MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique is today one of the poorest countries in the world, but in the 70-80s this country was the closest ally of the USSR in Africa. Therefore, the scenario was exactly the same as in the case of Mali, Zambia and Libya. The Soviet Union supplied Mozambique with weapons, thanks to which the country's government won a long-term civil war.
However, the USSR soon collapsed. The supply of weapons ceased, and the old equipment began to slowly fail. The Armed Forces of Mozambique have begun a process of degradation similar to the process in Mali. Mozambique has no money to buy new weapons, and therefore you have to use what still works.
However, unlike Libya and Mali, Mozambique was no longer rocked by civil wars. The situation in the country today is quite stable, therefore, although Mozambique cannot ensure the country's defense capability, it does not need it yet, because no one is going to attack a country that ekes out a miserable existence.
#1: SOMALI
The leader in our ranking of the most worthless armies in the world is Somalia. This country with a rich history has always attracted the eyes of the colonialists. It was conquered by one or the other. The European powers were torn apart and divided into zones of influence. Somalia gained independence only in 1960. The USSR immediately established diplomatic relations with the government of free Somalia, providing the country with the maximum possible support. It would seem that you can heal easily and freely, but there it was.
After gaining independence, Somalia presented territorial claims to Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The Somali government supported the rebels in these countries, playing a very trivial and unremarkable game. In the 70s, Somalia received significant military assistance from the USSR and decided to attack Ethiopia, which was also a Soviet ally. Moscow had to choose. The choice fell on a more reliable ally - Ethiopia. Somalia suffered a crushing defeat, never realizing the dream of creating a united Greater Somalia.
A political crisis began in the country, and in the 80s an insurgent war began in the north of the country. As a result, in 1991, the President of Somalia was overthrown, and the country plunged into the total chaos of the ongoing civil war to this day.
The country was torn into many pieces. Different groups at different times appropriated certain territories for themselves, declaring new states on them. What kind of a single army can we talk about here? Somalia is still in complete chaos, despite the fact that the country has an internationally recognized government based in the country's capital, Mogadishu. Of the armed forces, Somalia has only the police left, there is no trace of the former air force, and the Navy consists only of high-speed patrol boats that the government takes on lease. The number of the Somali Navy is 200 sailors.
Outcome
It turns out that all countries that today have the weakest armies in the world once received support from the USSR. It turns out that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, not only Russia and other countries suffered former USSR but also many African countries. In this regard, the question arises: in how many countries will a civil war and total degradation begin when the United States breaks up into 50 independent states?
From the first days of coming to power, the new leadership Federal Republic Somalia (FRS) has declared its top priority to ensure national security and law and order throughout the country. In this regard, in November of this year. Fed President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, together with the Prime Minister and members of the new Federal Government (FP), made a number of adjustments to the previously adopted National Security and Stabilization Plan (NSSP) aimed at the speedy recovery of the Somali National Army (SNA) and increase its combat power to the complete defeat of the armed detachments of the radical Islamist group "Al-Shabaab", the establishment of FP control over the central and southern provinces of the country and the maintenance of public order in the liberated territories. Currently, the armed forces of Somalia are in the process of reorganization. Structurally, they consist of the General Headquarters (Villa Baidoa, Mogadishu), the Ground Forces (SNA) and the Coast Guard Forces. The general leadership of the armed forces is carried out by the President of the country (as the Supreme Commander) through the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the SNA. Since November 4, 2012, the Minister of Defense of Somalia has been Abdihakim Haji Mahmoud Fiki, who has been reappointed to this post. The positions of commander of the SNA and chief of the General Staff are retained, respectively, by Divisional General Abdulkadir Sheikh Ali Dini and Brigadier General Abdikarim Yusuf Aden "Degabadan", appointed by the former President of Somalia Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The SNA has up to 10 infantry brigades and several training centers. Based on the first four brigades stationed in Mogadishu and the capital province of Benadir, the 1st infantry division ST. The rest of the SNA units and units are part of the Task Forces (OTG) operating in the provinces of Lower Shabelle, Hiran, Bai, Bakol, Gedo and Lower Juba (see Appendix 1). These UTGs participate in combat operations conducted by the African Peacekeeping Forces (AMISOM) and Ethiopian troops, together with detachments of the Somali military-political groups Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa and Ras Kamboni. The total strength of the SNA is approximately 17,000 troops. It is armed with obsolete wheeled armored vehicles, field artillery, Shilka-type anti-aircraft guns, mortars, grenade launchers, and various small arms. Since 1992, the international arms embargo on Somalia has prevented the government from purchasing necessary military equipment and weapons legally, but certain shipments of weapons and ammunition, as well as uniforms, are supplied to the SNA illegally from neighboring countries and through AMISOM. The training of SNA recruits is carried out both in Somalia - in training centers Jasira (Mogadishu), Baidoa, Dolo, Khudur, Beledveyne, and abroad - in Uganda (under the EUTM Somalia program), Kenya and Ethiopia. The training course lasts, as a rule, 6-7 months. In general, logistical and financial support, combat training and discipline in most parts of the SNA remain at an extremely low level. Many units do not have their own barracks or equipped places of permanent deployment. So far, not a single military hospital has been restored. Monthly salaries of only $100 are paid with long delays (for half a year or more), as a result of which the practice of extortion from traders in the markets and drivers on the roads is common in the troops. In SNA units, cases of selling their weapons, desertion and participation in robberies are not uncommon. A significant part of the units is formed on a clan basis, and skirmishes with the use of weapons often break out between them. The work of military tribunals is still ineffective. The Coast Guard force is in its infancy, with up to 300 sailors and a few small patrol boats. Basically, they provide only the protection of the port of Mogadishu and the adjacent coastal zone. They are commanded by Admiral Farah Karre. In addition to the SNA, other large armed formations operate in Somalia, which are subordinate to the regional and autonomous governments that are members of the Federal Reserve, or the leaders of various military-political groups (see Appendix 2). In addition, each large tribal community has its own militias of up to several hundred people. As the Minister of Defense of Somalia stated, the OP intends within the next three months to significantly change the current security situation and significantly improve the state of the national army. To this end, it is planned: - to equip up to 9 areas of permanent deployment of troops outside the cities and to withdraw all parts of the SNA from Mogadishu and other major cities leaving the task of maintaining law and order there to the forces of the police and the National Security Service; - to introduce combat detachments of pro-government groups such as Ras Kamboni and Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamaa into the SNA (the leadership of the ASU supports this idea), and at the same time intensify the process of disarming all illegal armed groups; - to establish regular provision of troops with monetary and other types of allowances; restore their health care system and, first of all, open a military hospital in Mogadishu; - to strengthen military discipline, to increase the responsibility of commanders and chiefs for their subordinates; exclude the unauthorized creation of roadblocks by military personnel and the carrying of weapons in public places (measures to eliminate checkpoints in Mogadishu are already underway); - organize the planned training of the junior commanders SNA with a set of cadets mainly from among university graduates; — to improve the command and control system of troops; to complete the restoration and repair of buildings of the Ministry of Defense; - with the support of the United States, the countries of the European Union and the African Union, once again raise the issue of lifting the arms embargo against the government of Somalia before the UN Security Council. In the long term, the Fed government plans to begin the restoration of the national Navy. In particular, it intends to seek the return from Yemeni ports of ships that were once part of the Somali Navy. In the implementation of the plans to restore the national armed forces, the new Somali authorities are counting on financial and military-technical assistance from Western countries and a number of Islamic states. In questions vocational training SNA troops the new Somali government has already enlisted the support of Britain, Ethiopia and Djibouti. According to the Minister of Defense of Somalia, the implementation of the above measures will allow the SNA, in cooperation with the military contingents of AMISOM and Ethiopia, to finally crush the resistance of Al-Shabab militants in the coming months and establish their control over all the central and southern provinces of the country. In any case, at the end of November, the SNA command announced its readiness to conduct offensive operations in the provinces of Middle Shabelle, Lower Shabelle, Bai and Gedo. In the meantime, most of the rural areas in the central and southern provinces are still controlled by the Islamists, who, despite the weakening of their positions, continue to wage an active armed struggle with guerrilla methods against the Somali TF and AMISOM. /according to Somali media/
Somali army advances
According to the official documents of Ethiopia, the Somali army launched an offensive at 0300 hours on July 13, 1977, and not according to the generally accepted date - July 23 (166) . Using the factor of surprise, numerical and technical superiority, the Somalis quickly moved deep into Ethiopian territory. The greatest result was achieved in the central direction (up to 700 km by September). Mobile tank and mechanized units of the SNA easily bypassed enemy defense centers and strongholds, cut communications. The attacks were carried out in combination with massive artillery and air strikes. In the south, the smallest SNA grouping managed to advance 300 km, but it was stopped on the outskirts of the cities of Ginir and Nagel. In the north, the Somalis soon became bogged down in fighting on the outskirts of Harare and Dire Dawa. The first assault on Dire Dawa was undertaken by the Somalis already at the beginning of the campaign. Three motorized SNA battalions, having made a three-day forced march (the columns moved exclusively at night and went unnoticed), unexpectedly for the Ethiopians attacked the city on July 17 at 04.30, but stumbled upon the staunch defense of the elite 24th brigade Nebelbal ("Flame") with the support of 4- th artillery battalion and parts of the 75th militia brigade. The Ethiopians lost 79 people killed and eight wounded, the Somali losses were twice as large (167).
In other areas, the Ethiopians suffered defeat after defeat. They could not hold their positions due to the lack of serious artillery support and the lack of anti-tank weapons. On July 25, the 5th infantry brigade regular Ethiopian army and the 79th militia brigade was actually destroyed (out of 2350 fighters, only 489 made it to Harer alive) (168). But in some areas, the Ethiopians held on very staunchly. The 12th Infantry Brigade, in the defense of Degekhabur, withstood all attacks for two weeks and retreated in good order. After the fall of Gode, Kebridehar, Degekhabur, Delo, Filtu, Elker, 90% of the Ogaden territory was under the control of the Somalis by mid-August.
On August 9, 1977, the People's Revolutionary Operational Command was formed in Ethiopia. On August 27, 1977, the Eastern Operational Command (Eastern Front) was formed as part of the 3rd Infantry, 2nd and 5th Militia Divisions.
In mid-August, the Somalis made a second attempt to storm Dire Dawa. The Ethiopians were again taken by surprise, as they expected the assault on Jijiga and did not reinforce the garrison, it consisted of only two tanks (169). The assault began again at 4.30 am on 17 August.
The Somali grouping, consisting of two motorized brigades and a tank battalion, two artillery battalions, supported by an air defense battery and a BM-13 MLRS battery, managed to break through in the vicinity of the city and take control of the airfield. However, the Somalis were unable to take advantage of the tactical mistakes of the enemy. Tank units quickly transferred from Harer helped the Ethiopians to rectify the situation. The decisive moment was the air battle between Ethiopian F-5 fighters and Somali MiG-21s, in which the Ethiopians won. Then the Ethiopian aviation began to hunt for enemy tanks, destroying 16 vehicles. By the end of the day, a disorderly retreat of the Somalis began, leaving a large number of armored vehicles and weapons on the battlefield. The failure at Dire Dawa called into question the success of the entire campaign. Indeed, in the event of the capture of the city, the Somalis could disrupt the supply of the Ethiopian troops located in Harare and Jijiga. The airfield of the city made it possible to directly threaten the capital of Ethiopia.
The next target of the SNA was Jijiga. For inexplicable reasons, the Somalis did not attack the city at the very beginning of the campaign, giving the Ethiopians time to strengthen their defenses. The city was covered by two Ethiopian mechanized brigades - the 10th and 92nd. An attempt by the Somalis to break through the fortified defensive line of the 10th Brigade in the Aroresa area on August 21 failed. After two weeks of trench warfare, the Somalis launched an assault, using up to 250 armored vehicles. This was preceded by several days of shelling and bombing, which affected the morale of the Ethiopian soldiers. In some parts, a rebellion began. As a result, the Ethiopians left the city. Mengistu Haile Mariam himself arrived at the front to organize a counterattack. Those suspected of organizing the rebellion were shot. On September 5, as a result of two massive frontal counterattacks from the west and north, the city again passed into the hands of the Ethiopians. However, in the early morning of the next day, the Somalis again launched an assault. The positions of the Ethiopians, who did not have time to strengthen themselves, were broken through. More than a hundred Ethiopian tanks and armored vehicles (170) were destroyed and captured. On September 12, Jijiga fell. Pursuing the retreating enemy, the Somali units developed a strategic success. The most important mountain pass Kara Marda was taken without a fight. Then, having captured the city of Aisha, the Somalis cut the strategic railway Addis Ababa is the port of Djibouti. Mengistu blamed the defeat on the existence of a "fifth column". More than ten army commanders of various levels were executed. Unit commanders were ordered to shoot anyone who retreated without an order. Ethiopia has announced general mobilization under the slogan "Revolutionary fatherland or death!", and called up reserve servicemen under the age of 60 years.
However, the Somali offensive impulse faded somewhat. During the three months of the continuous offensive, the troops were very tired, they had gone far from their repair and rear bases. In the second half of September the weather deteriorated, it started to rain. The Somali offensive stopped, the war of attrition began. From October 1977 to January 1978 the front stabilized. The parties sought to strengthen the groupings of their troops and create conditions for delivering a decisive blow to the enemy.
At the same time, the Somalis did not abandon their attempts to take Harer and Dire Dawa. They tried to cut off the ledge in the Harer region, which was formed in the Ethiopian defense in the direction of the city of Kore. On the ledge, the Ethiopians concentrated parts of the 3rd division, the 74th mechanized brigade, the 2nd tank battalion, the 219th Nebelbal battalion, the 4th air defense battery, the 21st and 23rd battalions of veterans and several "proletarian" battalions (171) . To encircle and destroy this grouping, the Somali command concentrated five motorized, tank, artillery, airborne and two partisan brigades. From September 18 to October 19, a series of unsuccessful battles for the "ledge" for the Somali army followed.
The beginning of the rainy season and the mountainous terrain limited its tank maneuver, all Somali attacks were frontal, they were easily beaten off by anti-tank and heavy artillery. The flank bypass to cut off the Ethiopian 92nd mechanized brigade in the Gurzum region also failed. Heavy fighting unfolded over Mount Dalcha south of Kore. She changed hands several times, but remained with the Ethiopians. The losses of the SNA amounted to 2000 fighters, the Ethiopian army - 3000 (172). After this failure, the SNA command in November carried out a series of unsuccessful strikes in the areas settlements Kombolcha, Babil and Fedis in an attempt to break through to Harer.
The Ethiopian command almost did not undertake offensive operations, with the exception of a single strike on November 18 from the Dire Dawa region along the Harev-Jeldes line. Retreating, the Somalis counterattacked five days later, but could only partially restore the situation.
During his visit to Moscow in September 1977, the Somali leader Siad Barre was unable to win the support of the Kremlin. Soviet military aid Somalia was frozen, but 1678 Soviet (173) and 750 Cuban (174) specialists were in Somalia until November 13, 1977, when Siad Barre finally broke with the USSR. Soviet military experts expelled from Somalia were sent to Addis Ababa.
There was already a group of the Soviet Chief Military Adviser, Colonel-General V.P. Chaplygin. The direct command of the allied forces was taken over by the operational group of the USSR Ministry of Defense, headed by the first deputy commander in chief ground forces Army General V.I. Petrov. In total, from December 1976 until the end of hostilities in the Ogaden, 1,500 Soviet military advisers and specialists officially visited Ethiopia. However, the real figure is higher, since this number included only military personnel sent to Ethiopia through the main directorate of international military cooperation of the USSR Ministry of Defense (with the issuance of passports), while many were sent on this business trip by direct orders of the Minister of Defense and the commanders-in-chief of the troops (175) . In 1977-1978. more than $ 1 billion worth of Soviet weapons were delivered to Ethiopia, including over 700 tanks (T-34-85, T-55, T-62), more than 700 armored combat vehicles (BMP-1, BTR-60PB , BTR-152), at least 120 combat aircraft (MiG-17, MiG-21, MiG-23), 22 Mi-24A combat helicopters, several hundred cannon artillery systems, up to 50 BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems (176) .
The first group of Cuban advisers arrived in Ethiopia in May 1977, by October their number reached 1,500 people, by the end of the war the total number of the Cuban contingent was 18 thousand people (177). commander Cuban forces was General of Division Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez. By the end of the war, they included two tank brigades (3rd and 10th), the 9th mechanized and 4th artillery brigades, two aviation squadrons (on MiG-17F and MiG-21MF aircraft), several small separate aviation parts (178) . In addition to purely Cuban, there were also mixed units: the officers and sergeants were Cubans, the soldiers were Ethiopians (179). The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen sent a 2,000-strong contingent to Ethiopia (infantry battalions, a squadron of MiG-17 aircraft, crews of Mi-8 helicopters, Grad MLRS crews). Armaments and various equipment were also supplied by the GDR, the DPRK, and Czechoslovakia.
Experience in the Somali army greatly helped Soviet military advisers in planning operations against their former wards. Moreover, the Ethiopian troops, who had previously been trained by US military instructors, were tactically poorly trained, even the top commanders were practically unfamiliar with the basics of operational art (180) . They always tried to cover the entire line of defense, dispersing forces and means. At the same time, the Somalis skillfully concentrated their forces on the directions of the main attack and easily broke through enemy positions, used a flank maneuver, took the defenders in pincers, surrounded, creating "bags" and "boilers" (181) . Also, Ethiopian tank and infantry units usually advanced to the front line of defense after, and not during, artillery preparation. Naturally, the undestroyed firing points of the Somalis met them with heavy fire. The interaction of tank, infantry and artillery units even at the battalion level, the Ethiopians were absent. Combat training was not carried out, combat guards were not exhibited. The construction of fortifications, even the digging of trenches and trenches, began only at the insistence of Soviet advisers. (182)
A feature of the tactics of the SNA was the creation of a neutral zone (5-15 km) along the entire line of confrontation, which made it possible not only to protect the troops from enemy fire, but also to mislead him about the real location of the units. This, in turn, gave the Somalis the opportunity to use maneuver by forces and means along the front and in depth, covertly creating superiority in the right directions (183) . In no man's land, temporary firing positions for artillery and mortars were often set up for firing at night. Nomadic mortar and artillery batteries were used (184).
The Ethiopians had military intelligence units only at the time of the counteroffensive, before that it was carried out by observers directly in the units. From the very beginning, the Somalis made extensive use of not only military intelligence units of the SNA, but also sabotage and reconnaissance groups, FOZS and FOSA detachments, as well as local agents. Moreover, the Allied headquarters noted the amazing awareness of the Somali command about their plans. If the meetings were attended by representatives of the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense or Eastern Front, then the plans for the announced operation usually became known to the enemy, who immediately took countermeasures. Therefore, Army General Petrov, General Ochoa and their advisers began to plan operations on their own, notifying their Ethiopian colleagues only on the eve of their implementation. (185)
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From the book The Tragedy of Kursk: Versions and Opinions author Cherkashin Nikolai Andreevich40th Army Now the preparations went faster. On December 14, the Operational Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense was created under the leadership of Marshal Sergei Sokolov - the first deputy minister, a man already over seventy, tall, with a deep bass and calm,
From the book of Tsushima - a sign of the end of Russian history. Hidden causes of well-known events. Military-historical investigation. Volume I author Galenin Boris GlebovichIs the last parade coming? Instead of an afterword, Everything has already happened ... In October 1916 Black Sea Fleet suffered a loss comparable to that suffered by the Northern Fleet in August 2000. For reasons still unknown, exploded, capsized and sank flagship battleship
From the book Liberation. The turning point battles of 1943 author Isaev Alexey Valerievich5.1. Russian army The number of Russian troops on the Kwantung Peninsula, including the garrison of Port Arthur, was up to 40 thousand people. These included 30 infantry battalions, 1 Cossack hundred, 56 field guns, 3 fortress artillery battalions and other small
From the book 1812. Generals Patriotic War author Boyarintsev Vladimir IvanovichThe “genius of defense” is coming If at first a long pause was perceived as a gift of fate, allowing you to better prepare for the upcoming battles, then by the end of the first month of summer, the expectation became more and more alarming. Not so much fear as eager anticipation of the fight
From the author's bookA.P. Tormasov and the 3rd Army The beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812 was met by the 3rd Reserve Observational Army under the command of General A.P. Tormasov, numbering about 45 thousand people, in Lutsk, its task was to cover the Kyiv direction. Alexander Petrovich