Voennyi Sbornik

Number 3 (5) , 2014

144-158
From “Blau” to “Uranus”: Operations by the Red Workers' and Peasants' Army and the Wehrmacht at the Big Bend of the Don in July-October 1942

Authors: Vladimir I. Afanasenko

Abstract

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Number of views: 435

Between July and October 1942, the big bend of the Don was the venue for large-scale strategic operations. It was these operations which proved to be a game-changer in World War II. On June 28, the German High Command commenced its main advance in the summer campaign of 1942 at the southern wing of the Soviet-German front. The objective was not only the rout of Soviet troops in the south. The opponent planned on capturing the Caucasus, getting their ground troops to the Volga, and launching air strikes at the military-industrial complex in the Ural and Volga regions. As a matter of fact, Hitler sought to resolve the issues which had not been under the “Barbarossa” plan in summer and fall 1941. The German advance on the Stalingrad and Caucasus lines was stopped at the expense of great losses in men and materiel in late October-early November 1942.

159-166
Stalingrad and the North Caucasus: Two Counter-Offensives. The Experience of Interaction by Soviet Troops during an Operation on Encircling and Destroying the Stalingrad Enemy Forces. November-December 1942

Authors: Alexey Yu. Bezugolniy

Abstract

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Number of views: 354

This article provides an analysis of the efforts to arrange strategic interactions between the Stalingrad line fronts and the Transcaucasian front, which was defending the North Caucasus. Not long before the commencement of the counter-offensive under Stalingrad in mid-November 1942, the Transcaucasian front was assigned the task to encircle and destroy the main body of the German First Panzer Army, which was operating on the Grozny-Baku line. However, due to a number of objective and subjective reasons, the plan failed to be turned into reality.

167-174
The Notes of a Commandant’s Service Company Commander

Authors: Ilya P. Klyushnik

Abstract

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Number of views: 456

The “Notes” feature memoirs by the Commander of the Commandant’s Service Company of the 395th Miners’ Rifle Division in World War II. The author addresses battles at the approaches to the town of Tuapse and shares an insight into the everyday life of soldiers and officers in the Red Workers' and Peasants' Army. Of special significance in the memoirs are materials on the use of “stone-throwers” – a ruse of war employed by the Russian soldiers. The manuscript is being published for the first time.

175-186
Asia-Pacific Regional Security After the Cold War: Confrontation or the Movement Towards Consent?

Authors: Elena Yu. Litsareva

Abstract

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Number of views: 436

The article examines the security issues in the Asia-Pacific region after the cold war. At that time Asia-Pacific region was the only world region with the domination of the economic regional ties and not actually increasing the influence of the military factor. The security issues in the Asia-Pacific region have been limited to the maintenance of stability, at both the national and regional levels. Security, freedom and prosperity in the region were directly dependent on the “postmodern” principles of negotiations, compromises and economic cooperation. Most regional countries were turned into the “postmodernist” states, invested significant economic potential not into the militarization, but into the welfare strengthening at national and regional levels. However, there were unresolved regional conflicts and destabilizing factors. A struggle for the political leadership was one of the tension sources. At the beginning of the twenty-first century the "postmodern" principles in the region have been shattered, because of the threat of nuclear proliferation became especially acutely in the whole of the East Asia, in both the South and the North. In the spring of 2013, the Asia-Pacific region was the center of a military confrontation, and developments at the Korean peninsula - an indication that the East Asia countries have yet to develop the effective system of the security in the region.

187-192
The Use of Snipers in the Military World: Training, Qualifications and Technologies

Authors: Olga V. Natolochnaya 2 Aleksandr A. Cherkasov

Abstract

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Number of views: 675

Snipers are important instruments on the battlefield whose casualty-producing capability is an enormous force multiplier for companies and battalions. This article defines the role of the sniper on the modern battlefield and, also, the countersniper tactics, techniques, and procedures are regarded.