The Spearhead of Russia's Military might

The Russian naval infantry, some of Russia's most elite men, a light infantry force made for amphibious warfare. The Russian naval infantry started out alongside the regular Russian navy in 1705 in order to board ships and protect Russian ships afloat, much like the US Marine corps. It's first battle happened in 1714 against Swedish forces at Gangut. In the battle Russian galleys surrounded their maneuvering enemies and launched a mass boarding, hundreds of enemies were killed and captured with only 100 dead Russians. Even though they outnumbered the enemy 15 to 1 and sailed on inferior ships, the Russian naval infantry were launched into history as an elite fighting force.

They participated in the wars against turkey, most notably in seizing the Turkish fortress of Ismail 1790, which was built by elite German engineers and though unconquerable. Despite being outnumbered 35,000 to 30,000, the Russian naval infantry, under the command of Alexander Suvorov, barraged their Turkish enemy for a day, then assaulted the fort in 9 columns. After a brawl on the walls, the Russians fired down on the hostile force trapped within the walls of their own fort. At the end of the day, Russia had lost 1,000 men while forcing catastrophe on the Turks, who lost over 28,000 troops as well as their most famous fort and the only thing holding Russia from the Balkans. Only 9 years later the Naval infantry once again distinguished itself in taking the French fort of Corfu in the Ionian sea as well as serving in the Russian defense at Borodino, in the Napoleonic wars. By then, Russia was thought to be an invincible military force.

In 1854 poor politics on the part of Czar Alexander the first, led Russian into a war with France, Britain, Sardinia as well as the Ottoman Empire. In the war, the Czar forced Russia to stand for Sevastopol till the last man, Sevastopol had little in fortifications so despite forcing massive casualties on the allies, the legendary city of the Russian fleet fell. The name of the Russian Naval infantry was also harmed at Port Arthur, 50 years later, when the technologically and tactically superior Japanese forced surrender on cowardly officers.

After several legendary victories and humiliating defeats, the Russian naval infantry ended in 1920, when the Russian empire collapsed to form the Soviet Union. Their proud name, however, was not revived until the next siege of Sevastopol in 1941. In the six seperate Nazi German sieges, the Russians faught for every room in every building of the great city, forcing a 6 month siege, in the forests, the cities, the mountains and the seas, which was only ended by German chemical weapons and in the end, inflicting mass German casualties and delaying over half a million German troops from reaching their designated fronts, which proved decisive in the Eastern Front.

The Soviet Naval Infantry were disbanded and merged with the Coastal defense force in 1947, despite their heroism in the defense of Sevastopol. In 1961, they were reformed and equipped with the latest in Soviet technology. By 1985, the Soviet Naval infantry numbered 18,000 men, employing Ivan Rogov, Alligator and Ropuchka class landing ships, T-80 MBTs, T-55 light tanks, PT-76 amphibious light tanks, ASK74M assault rifles, advanced explosives and light mortars. By the time of the fall of the Soviet union, much of this equipment was rendered obsolete, and the Soviet naval infantry, now the Russian naval infantry cut into a force of 15,000 with the same old Soviet equipment.

In the 90s, through mass crisis in Russia, the Naval infantry remained the most intact, their equipment though outclassed, were upgraded to meet modern standards, their training was eventually bolstered and they remain a active, ready force, unlike some parts of the Russian military. When Russia reached a certain level of stability, military spending was inceased and the Naval Infantry began phasing out old equipment and receiving new. Four new artillery ships are being built specifically for them as well as a new landing ship. In 2009, the Russian defense minister released a grand plan to equip the Naval infantry with all modern, sophisticated Russian equipment by 2015.
The T90 would replace the T-80 and PT-76, the AN-94 and AK-108 would replace the AKS74M, the BMP-3 would become it's new IFV, a new 120mm gun, the 2S31 would be introduced as well as modified BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers and Igla-2 hand held anti-aircraft batteries. With renewed, intense training exercises, large amounts of modern equipment and their legendary history, the Russian naval infantry are set to become the greatest amphibious force to ever walk the earth.

For more information visit Warfare.ru

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[budhiesantosh1]

Asean must beballance in bought materialassault

[30DOTCOM]

What?

[SovereignXI]

gotta love the hellmarch

[AvidAngels]

I miss Red Alert 2!.. :)

[30DOTCOM]

@EmperorofTerra My source: G. I. Krivosheev. Casualties and Combat Losses of Eastern Front, WW2.

[30DOTCOM]

@EmperorofTerra Are you stupid? Three million were deployed in operation Barbarosa, but then they were replenished with fresh divisions every time another one of them died, including 80 bonus divisions for Stalingrad, 120 bonus divisions for Kursk, 50 for defending Ukraine 40 bonus for defending the baltic states and Belarus. Of 8 million German soldiers that died 7500000 died in the Eastern front against Poland and Russia, and Poland was done for in two weeks. YOU KNOW NO FACTS, fucker.

[30DOTCOM]

@Anderas777 He can't. He's just a brainless mouth-piece for that same government.

[30DOTCOM]

@EmperorofTerra Eradicating an entire population? Nah, not true. The Chechen wars were brutal but they pale in comparison to American crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan: over 100,000 civilians brutally shot, and over 600,000 excess deaths from other purposes, May 2003-2010 October. During the whole period of 1994-2000, the Chechen committed ethnic cleansing against Russian civilians, much more brutal than any occurrences during the war. There's still ALOT of people living in Chechnya, 1.5 million.

[EmperorofTerra]

@30DOTCOM Yeah sure, with the friendly aid of Russia. Nobody needs your sarcasm allright ? I don't know if you understand, but erradicating an entire population like you did in Grozny or the Abkhaz and North Caucasians did in Sukhumi, is not okay. You may feel not responsible for the fact, that they massacred everyone right there were they stood, but your government was the one who negociated the Georgian Army out of Abkhazia and handed all people over to the bloodhirsty militants, who murdered.

[30DOTCOM]

@EmperorofTerra Georgians don't hate Russia, for the most part, they hate their government for the suppression of civil liberties not at all represented in the Western media's show of Georgia. In fact the Georgians hate their government so much, after it made their media fake a Russian invasion, that the Georgian military MUTINIED against the Georgian government. The Georgian people hate their country so much, that every little republic with the opportunity to secede has tried to.