SOVIET MARINES AND GERMAN INFANTRY, HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, 1941-1942. EASTERN FRONT BATTLE SERIES, KIT NO. 2

The roots of the Russian, and later the Soviet, marines go back to the reign of Tsar Peter the Great, who established this type of formation in 1705. The soldiers included in the group fought not only in the Great Northern War (1700-1721), but also in many other conflicts with the participation of the Russian state, such as the Crimean War (1853-1856), the war with Japan (1904-1905) or World War I ( 1914-1918). After the October Revolution, this formation was not disbanded, but like many other units of the Red Army, it underwent profound changes. In the course of the next world war (1939-1945), approx. 350 thousand people took part in the fighting on land. sailors and soldiers of the Soviet Navy. At the beginning, the Soviet marines consisted of only one brigade of marines serving as part of the Baltic Fleet, but during the war (especially in the course of the conflict with Germany), six regiments of marines, about 40 brigades, and one full division were formed. ! The situation with the fonts, especially in the years 1941-1943, meant that these often well-trained units fought primarily in classically land operations, including defending Sevastopol, Moscow, Kerch and Stalingrad. It is worth adding that in the years 1941-1945 the Soviet marines carried out about 120 landings from the sea, but most often the landings concerned platoons or at most companies. It is worth adding that 122 soldiers serving in this formation were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.The decisive influence on the shaping of the organization and tactics of the German infantry before the outbreak of World War II was, on the one hand, the experience of the previous World War, but also theoretical works created in the 1920s and 1930s, which often emphasized the need to perceive the German infantry as a tool waging an offensive war. This affected both the equipment and the organization of the German infantry division, which during the September campaign of 1939 consisted of 3 infantry regiments, each of which was divided into 3 infantry battalions, an artillery company and an anti-tank company. In addition, there were numerous support units, including: an artillery regiment with 4 artillery squadrons (including one heavy), an anti-tank battalion, a sapper battalion and a communications battalion. In total, the so-called infantry division In the first mobilization wave, there were approximately 17,700 people and had a significant artillery component, but also was abundantly equipped with machine guns. It also had modern and efficient - for those times - means of communication and command. In the course of the war, infantry divisions underwent transformation - in 1943 some of them were transformed into armored grenadier divisions. However, from 1943, the standard division of the "traditional" infantry consisted of approx. 12,500 men (and not approx. 17,700 as in 1939), and its artillery component - especially heavy artillery - was also reduced in it, while its anti-tank defense was significantly improved. It is assumed that during the entire Second World War, about 350 infantry divisions served in the Wehrmacht.