Glubokii Boy Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 The ruskies sure are poorly equiped when it comes to radios. No wounder they had trouble reacting quickly to changing battle situation. I have had a look at the different formations in the editor... Not even Company HQs are equiped with radios...The first radio to be found is at battalion level. A few exceptions...Battery HQs, FOs, dedicated recon platoon HQs and Cavalry squadron HQs... so... Recon and artillerysupport have some radios...but thats about it... I thought that at this date in the war they would be a little better equiped with radios but apperently not... Why did they not get any/more radios though lend-lease if they had trouble producing them by them self...? They sure got a whole bunch of other stuff... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I thought that at this date in the war they would be a little better equiped with radios but apperently not... Oh, but they are! Relative to previous years of Red Army forces Especially for tanks. They all have radios at this point in the war, vs. almost none having radios at the start. Why did they not get any/more radios though lend-lease if they had trouble producing them by them self...? They sure got a whole bunch of other stuff... They did get quite a lot of radio related stuff through Lend Lease, but IIRC it was parts and not complete sets. I could be mistaken about that. As to why they didn't prioritize radios for foot sloggers... I don't know, but throughout the Cold War Soviet low level units lacked radios compared to NATO forces. In fact, this trend still exists with modern Russian forces. Only in recent years have radios started to be seen below Platoon level whereas radios have been a part of NATO teams for a long time. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotte Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/documents/files/Part_5_pages_26-38.pdf http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/documents/files/Part_5_pages_39-51.pdf http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/documents/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Placebo Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 But have you seen how big they are, they are not exactly portable!! I pity the radio operators carrying that about. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glubokii Boy Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 But have you seen how big they are, they are not exactly portable!! I pity the radio operators carrying that about. Yes. Thats no small thing, uuh... Jotte, thanks for the links...They did not get that very many if i read that correct...a few thousand... "They all have radios at this point in the war, vs. almost none having radios at the start." Yes, IIRC playing with early war russian tanks in CMBB was a bit tricky 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 A Russian battalion should be used like a German company, a company like a platoon and platoons like squads. Hence the radios at higher formations, decisions are made at army and regimental levels, with battalions carrying out their allotted missions and reporting back how well they have succeeded, reporting anything else is not advisable! Learn to think like a Russian commander, mass at critical points allows operational exploitation and nothing is penny-packeted. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Very good reminder, Vark. Production is based on priority need. Issuing equipment is based on doctrine. If there is no need for a radio at the platoon level, then there's no need to prioritize it at a national level. The simple fact of the matter is the Soviets had doctrine that deliberately worked around command and control problems. Not just because they didn't have radios, but because they didn't have the sort of training to operate independently of each other. Which is what radios allow. Think of it in this crude way. If you are in charge of a dozen adults and you split them into 4 teams over a large area, it makes sense to have each team have a radio. If you are in charge of a dozen children you aren't going to let them out of your sight so why bother giving them all radios? They'll probably just break them anyway As I said, it is a crude (and disrespectful!) analogy, but hopefully one that gets the basic point across. And that is Soviet Platoons operated like German Squads, and German Squads don't have radios either. The exceptions on the Soviet side are things like recon and artillery. By this point in the war they were pretty well outfitted with radios since they had them AND doctrine was compatible. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallout Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Very good reminder, Vark. .... snip Think of it in this crude way. If you are in charge of a dozen children and you split them into 4 teams over a large area, it makes sense to have each team have a radio. If you are in charge of a dozen adults you aren't going to let them out of your sight so why bother giving them all radios? They'll probably just break them anyway Steve Fixed that for ya..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I like your analogy Steve, and it also highlights a truth. The top down command was also a product of a Communist system retaining the WWI style controls that other nations were already shedding, even by then, due to developments in technology and society. Officers without maps, political minders as well as drill by rote are other symptoms of a lack of trust and fear of individuality that pervaded not just their martial society. In fact the history of Russian society is top down control, by a self-appointed elite, which is reflected in their approach to so many things. You cannot separate a society from the way it fights, which is probably the reason why the Germans are so bad at winning wars they start. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 BFC might actually be a bit generous with their Soviet radios. Oftentimes in a tank unit only the commander would have a transmitter, the rest of the platoons would just have receivers. Think of German command tanks. They'd have to reduce stowage, block off machine gun ports, jump through all sorts of hoops to fit in enough radio equipment to cover all the necessary frequencies. Universal radio coverage is a difficult proposal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Also is their a reliability check for radios? The ones in vehicles were notoriously unreliable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadekster Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 A Russian battalion should be used like a German company, a company like a platoon and platoons like squads. Hence the radios at higher formations, decisions are made at army and regimental levels, with battalions carrying out their allotted missions and reporting back how well they have succeeded, reporting anything else is not advisable! Learn to think like a Russian commander, mass at critical points allows operational exploitation and nothing is penny-packeted. Looks like at least one other person read the manual. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Actually, I'm waiting for the demo, so don't have the manual, my knowledge comes from the illicit visits to my universities, world-renowned, war studies library, when I should have been focusing on my real degree! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethaface Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 But have you seen how big they are, they are not exactly portable!! I pity the radio operators carrying that about. I chuckled when I saw the first poor Russian radio operator lying down, looking like he had been crushed by a falling crate filled with radio. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFF Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Also is their a reliability check for radios? The ones in vehicles were notoriously unreliable. Yes, there is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I don't know, but throughout the Cold War Soviet low level units lacked radios compared to NATO forces. In fact, this trend still exists with modern Russian forces. But I remember reading some 30 years back that at least their (present day) higher formations were lavishly equipped with radio jamming equipment. Apparently their theory was that once the balloon went up radios were going to be pretty useless anyway. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Also is their a reliability check for radios? The ones in vehicles were notoriously unreliable. Shock mounting for tube radios in vehicles was extremely hard to get completely right. Tube radios were lots more fragile than the transistor radios we are used to today. Which is why any user of same was well advised to carry spares if possible and replacing damage or burnt out tubes could be a nearly full time job in itself. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glubokii Boy Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Also is their a reliability check for radios? The ones in vehicles were notoriously unreliable. Yes, there is. In the game...Is there any random chans that the radios in the tanks will malfunction ? Shock mounting for tube radios in vehicles was extremely hard to get completely right. Tube radios were lots more fragile than the transistor radios we are used to today. Which is why any user of same was well advised to carry spares if possible and replacing damage or burnt out tubes could be a nearly full time job in itself. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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