hand-to-hand combat special forces of the Airborne Forces.
From an article by Sergei Nikolaevich Badyuk.
Hand-to-hand combat training.
A fighter is dressed in defense, placed against an order of magnitude stronger and more experienced fighter - and beaten. This is how a fighting character and determination to go to the end are formed. Not to be confused with hazing, a soldier is always given the opportunity to fight back. Even so: a soldier who does not fight back is sent “over the fence”. The peculiarity of special forces hand-to-hand combat is that any duel comes down to one thing - to destroy the enemy. Hence the motto of the commando: "Only idiots fight with their bare hands." First of all, soldiers are taught to use improvised means: a machine gun, a knife, sticks, stones, fragments of bottles, pieces of glass, tightly folded newspapers.
And only then, when they have mastered all the essentials, a very compact set of percussion equipment is trained.
Side left and side right from boxing technique.
It is very difficult to teach direct blows to hit hard; in my entire service, I have almost never seen fighters who hit straight straight well. Such a blow requires the highest level preparation. We proceed from the fact that it is necessary to quickly and well prepare a fighter. Since there are no restrictions, a bunch of varieties and options can be brought under this side kick. He fights from any positions and angles. Moreover, it is desirable to first strike the enemy in the throat.
In close combat, we beat with elbows. We train the knockout force of impact with exercises with a sledgehammer.
The whole technique of kicks in special forces comes down to one thing - swipe in the groin This is not a sports ground for you.
Knocked down - fight on your knees, you can't get up - attack lying down!
Margelov V.F.
As in general in special units Russian Federation, in the Airborne Forces (VDV) there is a complete lack of a single and stepwise training for hand-to-hand combat. (see article)
The official system of hand-to-hand combat in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation simply does not exist and never existed. (This may be due to one of the following two reasons:
2. A bet on the traditional “Russian chance” - we traditionally had young people who fought well, they will cope somehow, if anything, as they say, “We will shower anyone with hats again”
Meanwhile, in the armed forces of foreign states, such systems exist and are constantly developing, for example:
In special units ("Navy SEALs") of the US Army, a fairly developed system of hand-to-hand combat is used (see the heading -)
In the Israel Defense Forces - Krav Maga (more in the section -)
At the same time, for some reason, it is the fighters of the Airborne Forces that have traditionally been considered quite serious “hand-to-hand combat” since Soviet times. And it is possible that the army leadership believes that the paratroopers themselves already know everything, and therefore do not particularly interfere in the training for hand-to-hand combat, and the paratroopers - if this is not required by the charter, practice it - whoever is. (And apparently the main calculation in the Airborne Forces is ultimately placed on recruits who are selected from recruits who are fond of martial arts and martial arts.)
And there are quite a meager amount of training materials on the Airborne Forces hand-to-hand combat on the Web, of which only two films released in the Soviet Union can be recognized as “official”. The rest of the films were made simply by hand-to-hand combat enthusiasts who served or are serving in the Airborne Forces.
Soviet films about hand-to-hand combat in the Airborne Troops.
Hand-to-hand combat training in the Airborne Forces
(an excerpt from the film of the USSR Ministry of Defense " Physical training paratrooper"
As you can see, paratroopers use karate techniques and methods in training. But only the shown karate technique looks exceptionally “dirty”. It can be seen that people have seen something somewhere but do not understand at all why it is necessary to do it in this way, and not in some other way. All the more ridiculous is this "karate" looks in sports shorts - but at that time it apparently did not bother anyone - it is convenient for people and this is actually the most important thing. (At that time, apparently, they still didn’t know that at least a kimono was needed for classes.) And the teacher, too, to match - he shows such techniques as if he taught them from a book - it’s clear that these techniques are almost completely divorced from reality. This was, in fact, the beginning of karate in the Airborne Forces.
Although, as you can see, the gym for hand-to-hand combat is very well and diversely equipped, one might say - “with soul”. It can be seen that the coach is a very big fan of karate.
This video, by the way, is part of the following video:
Physical training of a paratrooper
The "oldest" film in which you can see hand-to-hand combat training in the Airborne Forces is 1973. The film studio of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR - such films were shot by educational ones at one time.
1:52 - pay attention, the paratroopers obviously perform some kind of complex based on karate techniques (also in an exceptionally "dirty style" - but these are clearly karate techniques, although very distorted. With some simply incredible swings and turns. With modern point vision, just something incredibly collective farm. Also, apparently, the study clearly proceeded from books, and books without translation, apparently from drawings - which, moreover, were studied inattentively. But it should be taken into account that this is 1973 and the paratroopers have already begun to study karate techniques from books.
(It’s also interesting, in the USSR there was a very powerful foreign intelligence service, well, they would have brought books on karate to the paratroopers, since they like doing karate so much, and the translators would have translated. At that time, in general, Bruce Lee was already shining - the best films with his participation, If they bought it or stole it, they would bring it and show it to the paratroopers en masse. .
It turns out that this was the level of karate in the Airborne Forces - just enthusiasts apparently tried to introduce it, without any support from the army and the state.
Well, they would introduce boxing or sambo en masse, but for some reason they teach karate techniques that they themselves don’t know - it’s fashionable, because it’s probably. And this is the USSR Ministry of Defense filming, in 1973.
Interestingly, the first airborne unit was formed in 1930, the Airborne Forces were created in 1954, that is, 20 years have passed by the time the film was made, and now we see that the paratroopers are trying to learn some obvious crap for hand-to-hand combat. (It should be borne in mind that these are elite special units - and such crap is studied and shown in the film of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Is it really impossible to create something original in 20 years. Something one could really be proud of. But apparently in the USSR it was no one needs it. Some sort of Landing Hand-to-Hand Combat (RBD) - and they would assign ranks and organize competitions - people would like it. But no, and so far nothing serious has been done in the direction of the mass development of hand-to-hand combat in the Airborne Forces, And somehow the Airborne Forces have their own system, as they say somehow “didn’t go in”, from the word “completely”.)
That is, the level of training for hand-to-hand combat shown in the film "Physical Training" is obviously unsuitable for use in real conditions. (I note - obviously unsuitable, it can be seen simply with the naked eye.)
And accordingly, and 65 years after the official creation of the Airborne Forces and after 26 years of the existence of the Russian Federation, no own system of hand-to-hand combat in the airborne forces has appeared.
Apparently, all the same, this is dictated by some practical considerations - perhaps just real experience showed that for a paratrooper, hand-to-hand combat does not have any special or key significance, since in terms of efficiency it is significantly inferior in terms of the ability to defeat firearms.
It may be that all hand-to-hand combat in special units and special forces and special forces ultimately comes down to a situation from:
“Hand-to-hand combat instructor to cadets: — To engage in hand-to-hand combat, a fighter must squander on the battlefield: a machine gun, a pistol, a knife, a waist belt, a shovel, body armor, a helmet. Find a flat area on which not a single stone or stick is lying around. Find on it the same slob. And even then, engage in hand-to-hand combat with him! .. "
And for such a simple reason - the improbability of such a situation, hand-to-hand combat in special units is not particularly developed. Just out of necessity. And to develop the fighting spirit of the fighters special units The Russian army uses completely different methods and exercises.
Although, in fact, as a means of personal development of a fighter, hand-to-hand combat is still out of competition in this area, all the same, hand-to-hand combat is practiced on an ongoing basis in all special units. But a unified and structured system of hand-to-hand combat has not yet been created in any of the special units of Russia.
Russian hand-to-hand combat training videos for the Airborne Troops
Unfortunately, no "official" manuals on hand-to-hand combat from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation have yet been created - all training materials on hand-to-hand combat for the Airborne Forces have been released exclusively by airborne and hand-to-hand combat enthusiasts.
Film hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces (in two parts)
From the "Martial Arts of the World" series.
Hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces (Part One) - duration 1 hour 20 minutes.
The following melee technical arsenal is shown:
- Fall insurance and self-insurance
- Ways to unbalance
- Exemptions from grips
- Basic throws
- Combat use of basic throws
- Knife protection
- Defense against knife threats with a stick or baton
- Pistol protection
- Leaving the line of attack
- punches
- Protection against punches
- Stick protection
- Defense against threats with a knife
After the section "Combat use of the main throws", the technique is shown rather chaotically, and randomly - as if the authors got tired of making this film at some point, and they began to do it somehow - just to finish.
Hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces (Part Two)
Duration over 2 hours. The second part is completely devoted to physical training:
- Warm up
- Stretching
- Physical exercise
- Practicing technique (working out punches and kicks, practicing throws)
- And in conclusion, for some reason, protection from the Kalashnikov assault rifle is suddenly shown
Hand-to-Hand Combat Lessons - Airborne Troops Experience
A short TV report about Senior Lieutenant Maxim Rodionov serving in a separate 215th reconnaissance company of the Airborne Forces. And about his method of preparing for hand-to-hand combat. (That is, the senior lieutenant of the reconnaissance company of the Airborne Forces came up with his own method of preparing for hand-to-hand combat, that they even filmed a short report about him for a television program. This is actually the level of development of hand-to-hand combat in the Airborne Forces that an ordinary officer came up with his own methodology and teaches it to paratroopers, and they are so inexperienced in this matter that everyone likes it from the bosses to the privates. But at the same time, no one is in a hurry to somehow promote Maxim Rodionov - to develop a hand-to-hand combat system for the Airborne Forces. He teaches in a company and this is quite enough for him. And how many of these The Maksimov Rodionovs were in the same Airborne Forces, probably quite a significant number, they also probably showed the recruits hand-to-hand combat techniques on the ground, and then with all their experience they simply "sank into oblivion" and that's it. Apparently, after all, just no one tried to develop hand-to-hand combat, into some unified system of close combat of paratroopers. And most likely because of the official army approach to human creativity. He teaches, okay, but then it’s none of our business.)
A very original master and teacher of applied hand-to-hand combat Valery Kryuchkov (see article -) - teaches hand-to-hand combat to military personnel of the 331st Airborne Reconnaissance. And in this case, Valery Kryuchkov still managed to create his own hand-to-hand combat system (or, as he calls it, the Active Defense System), and popularize it very well. But again, in the Airborne Forces, where Valery Kryuchkov taught her, she did not take root, as you can see. He taught - people liked it, he stopped teaching, and God bless him. Couldn't get her anywhere. sports hall a separate reconnaissance company of the Airborne Forces. This is also a characteristic for the leadership of the Airborne Forces, for combat talents. Nobody needs to just. The man has been engaged for many years, apparently on sheer enthusiasm, simply - to protect the Motherland, so to speak.)
And a short video about the report of the Zvezda correspondent in which he took a lesson in hand-to-hand combat from an airborne fighter. Unfortunately it's only 2 minutes long. And about hand-to-hand combat - very little. It is simply told that the paratroopers are great masters of hand-to-hand combat. But as it turns out, these are enthusiastic people who serve in the Airborne Forces, who really like martial arts, and which these same martial arts are constantly trying to promote to the Airborne Forces - but so far these people are simply praised for what great fellow paratroopers they are, that they are trying to master martial arts on their own.
That is, such a paradox turns out to be some kind of unified system of hand-to-hand combat in the Airborne Forces for many years of their existence has not been created. But the paratroopers from somewhere master the techniques of hand-to-hand combat, for which their superiors praise and are proud of them. But it does not develop this idea in any way due to bureaucracy, although it is obvious that the paratroopers would like such an idea - to create their own "landing" hand-to-hand combat system, and somehow develop and develop it. And so it seems that the paratroopers know hand-to-hand combat, but it’s as if in the Airborne Forces it doesn’t exist at all.
For comparison, the article - people who design clothes for the military for promotional purposes shoot videos on hand-to-hand combat - and compared to all these videos "for paratroopers", these techniques look pretty cool.
articles:
Army hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces
In modern society, every person, young and old, needs to be able to at least to some extent protect himself from outside influences. After all, it is not known who you will have to face, for example, walking in the park. The guy is obliged to stand up for his lady and protect her at a difficult moment that can arise in any situation. Yes, of course, the internal troops and the police guard our peace with you, but they will not always be able to come to the rescue promptly.
There are many different sections in which you will be taught the basics of hand-to-hand combat. You will be able to fight off the attacks of criminal elements with ease. But of course, nothing compares to the training of airborne troops. Hand-to-hand combat of the special forces of the Airborne Forces is a completely different level, which you will never be able to reach on your own. In order to comprehend this art, you will have to go into the ranks of the airborne troops, because in battle not only strength qualities are important, but also moral endurance, which you can easily get in the process of service.
Meanwhile, hand-to-hand combat was studied at the end of the 19th century, it was mandatory for low military ranks. In the future, its importance increased and each soldier was required to have a certain set of skills that would help him cope with the enemy when meeting face to face. At present, this aspect of the training of soldiers is just as important.
Paratrooper hand-to-hand combat
On the Internet, you can now easily find a lot of videos that show the lessons of hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces. Learn a lot of techniques and try to do them yourself is not difficult. Here on this video are some notable moments from the hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces.
Hand-to-hand combat techniques of the Airborne Forces are perfectly demonstrated in this video, but this is just one of many house-to-house shootings. You can always find many more diverse complexes. If you set a goal, then learning simple techniques of hand-to-hand combat will not be difficult for you.
You can watch hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces on many portals. Especially a lot of this video you can find on specialized sites dedicated to the airborne troops. In addition to short videos, you can also find entire films teaching hand-to-hand combat.
Without a doubt, even if you did not serve in the Airborne Forces and do not plan to go there to serve, then you can study the army hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces in specialized sports sections. Now many proposals on this topic are easy to find in any newspaper with ads. Often, these lessons are taught by former paratroopers who have completed a full course of training in their units, and some have been in a combat situation. So feel free to go to this section and we are sure. That you will acquire skills that will no doubt help you in the harsh modern life.
Hand-to-hand combat complexes of the Airborne Forces: video footage
For a true paratrooper, being able to fight the enemy in close combat is a priority. When the outcome of the battle is decided by a split second, it is necessary to make complex and important decisions with lightning speed. All this is undoubtedly taught in military units Airborne. Worthy to endure all the victories and defeats is not given to everyone. But, no doubt, a strong-willed paratrooper can do it. From any defeat, he will undoubtedly learn a lesson and work on the mistakes in order to prevent these oversights in the future.
Hand-to-hand combat techniques of the Airborne Forces, such a soldier, will constantly study, because there is no limit to perfection. This phrase should long remind a real paratrooper that he should never forget about training. self-study video recordings will help him to constantly be in shape. Watching hand-to-hand combat and absorbing the knowledge gained in the video is the lot of real men who strive for improvement.
It is probably very difficult to choose a hand-to-hand combat complex suitable for an ordinary person, because a lot of different activities offer us to explore the world wide web. In order to select exercises and techniques for you, we advise you to contact competent specialists who will select a training schedule for you. Do not be afraid, you will succeed, the main thing in any business is to start practicing, and then you will get involved and will not notice how you master a lot of interesting tricks hand-to-hand combat.
We hope that after everything you read above, you will contact any section for hand-to-hand combat, or you yourself will study various technologies of army hand-to-hand combat of the Airborne Forces. Believe me, these skills will definitely come in handy sooner or later. Of course, we hope that in peacetime, and not during hostilities. The main thing is to remain calm and not provoke violence yourself, but only use the acquired skills for self-defense.
This article is for informational purposes, and provides an opportunity to get acquainted with two points of view (of the Chechen and Russian sides) on the battle of paratroopers of the 6th company of the 104th regiment of the 76th Airborne Forces and Chechen fighters under the command of and.
Version of the battle near Ulus-Kert from the Chechen side:
At the end of February, beginning of March, another anniversary famous fight near Ulus-Kert, during which the Mujahideen destroyed the Russian infidel paratroopers from Pskov.
Despite the fact that the inventions of the Kremlin propaganda about this battle have been repeatedly refuted by the Chechen side, Moscow is still trying to push lies into the public consciousness of the layman and impose its own interpretation of that unprecedented battle in which the Mujahideen, exhausted by a 2-week winter transition, utterly defeated an elite unit of Russian troops .
10 years ago, on February 29, 2000, a fierce battle took place near Ulus-Kert between a select detachment of invaders and a unit of Chechen Mujahideen. 70 volunteer fighters stormed the height, on which there was a company of those very Pskov paratroopers, who, as Russian propaganda lies, supposedly "restrained the onslaught of 2,000 militants."
1300 Mujahideen marched from Shatoi towards Dargo-Vedeno. Exhausted by the long march, frozen, wounded, sick, the Mujahideen came to the gorge of the Vashtar (Abazulgol) river. Intelligence reported that at the height between Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt there was a detachment of invaders, who had mortars at their disposal.
Eyewitnesses and participants in that battle say that after a short meeting, the wounded Shamil Basayev (he was carried on a stretcher with his leg cut off) ordered Khattab to select the assault group and attack the paratroopers. Khattab initially refused, stating that the convoy (albeit under fire) would be able to pass the paratroopers without coming into fire contact. However, Shamil pointed out that in the event of passing under enemy fire, the losses would be disproportionately greater, and that the rearguard of the column would be under the threat of a mortar attack.
Then Shamil Basayev turned to Khattab and said - "If you do not follow my order now, then on Judgment Day I will testify before Allah that you did not follow the order of your amir." Hearing these words, Khattab immediately apologized and set about forming an assault group, which he himself led. As Khattab himself later said, he was afraid of those words of Shamil and the fact that on the Day of Judgment he would have nothing to justify himself before the Almighty.
Khattab selected a group of Mujahideen in 70 volunteer fighters. Before the battle, Shamil addressed the Mujahideen with a speech. Then the assault began.
As the participants in the battle say, they climbed to the high-rise under the enemy's hurricane fire at an incredibly slow speed. There was practically no strength to move up. The Mujahideen helped themselves to rearrange their legs with their hands. There was no question of aimed shooting at the paratroopers. When the advance party climbed to the heights, an impressive and at the same time strange picture appeared before them.
About 100 corpses were dumped into one pile, as if someone had specially dragged them to one place. Horror froze on the faces of all the paratroopers. Their faces were greyish-ashy. Almost all had bullet wounds to the head and chest almost under the throat.
The Mujahideen lost 25 fighters (according to other sources 21). Almost all those who died near Ulus-Kert were buried in the settlements of the Vedeno region: Tevzana, Makhkety, Khattuni.
As Khattab and the fighters of the assault group later stated, all participants in that battle had a clear feeling that the cause of the death of the paratroopers was not so much their shooting, but the action of another force - Allah and his Angels.
Khattab, who loved to tell episodes of various battles, almost never spoke much about the battle near Ulus-Kert. Not much about this fight.
other participants said as well. When the Mujahideen tried to question Khattab about that battle, he usually answered briefly - "It was not our job ...".
Meanwhile, Russian propaganda, trying to distort real events of that battle, continues to tell fables "about hordes of militants and a handful of Russian heroes." Articles and books are written, films and performances are made, generals and politicians appear on TV. At the same time, every year Russian state propaganda calls different figures for the losses of the Mujahideen, then 500, then 1500, then 700 (this is latest version). To a simple question - "Where is the mass grave of militants?" - Moscow propagandists prefer not to answer.
By the way, in those days, up to 200 special forces of the Russian army were destroyed by the Mujahideen in the Ulus-Kert area. However, only the losses among the Pskov paratroopers were officially publicized, which could not be kept silent, since they were all from the same part and the same city, and all the inhabitants of Pskov were aware of these losses.
Approximately a week after the battle near Ulus-Kert, in the town of Duts-Khoti of the Selmentauzen rural administration, the Russian invaders, with the help of local apostates, betrayed, and then vilely shot 42 wounded and unarmed Mujahideen, who, by decision of the command of the Mujahideen, were temporarily left in one from buildings on the outskirts of the village.
Subsequently, the traitors were found and destroyed.
Version of the battle near Ulus-Kert from the Russian side:
On the afternoon of February 29, 2000, the federal command hurried to interpret the capture of Shatoi as a signal that the "Chechen resistance" had finally been broken. Vladimir Putin was reported "on the fulfillment of the tasks of the third stage" of the operation in the North Caucasus, and. O. Gennady Troshev, Commander of the United Forces, noted that for another two to three weeks, operations would be carried out to destroy the "escaped bandits", but the full-scale military operation was completed.
Colonel of the reserve Vladimir Vorobyov, a former paratrooper who went through Afghanistan (at one time he commanded the 104th “Cherekhinsk” regiment), will help us in the investigation. Father of Senior Lieutenant Alexei Vorobyov, who died near Ulus-Kert. Two years after the tragedy, he compiled a complete picture of what happened, which is somewhat at odds with the official version.
Gangs of Chechen warlords found themselves in a strategic bag. This happened after the landing of a tactical landing force, which, as if with a sharp knife, cut the Itum-Kale-Shatili mountain road, built by the slaves of "free Ichkeria". The operational group "Center" began to methodically shoot down the enemy, forcing him to retreat down the Argun Gorge: from the Russian-Georgian border to the north.
Intelligence reported: Khattab moved to the northeast, to the Vedeno region, where he had an extensive network of mountain bases, warehouses and shelters. He intended to capture Vedeno, the villages of Mekhkety, Elistanzhi and Kirov-Yurt and secure a springboard for a breakthrough into Dagestan. In the neighboring republic, the "mujahideen" planned to take a large number of civilians hostage and thereby force the federal authorities to negotiate.
Restoring the chronicle of those days, one must clearly understand: talking about “securely blocked gangs” is a bluff, an attempt to wishful thinking. The strategically important Argun Gorge is over 30 kilometers long. The units not trained in mountain warfare were unable to establish control over the branched and perfect mountain system unfamiliar to them. Even on the old map, you can count more than two dozen trails in this area. And how many of those that are not marked on any maps at all? To block each such path, you need to use the company. It turns out an impressive number. With the forces that were at hand, the federal command could not only destroy, but reliably block the gangs going to break through only on paper.
On the most dangerous, as it turned out later, direction, the command of the United Forces deployed fighters of the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division. Meanwhile, Khattab chose a simple but effective tactic: after reconnaissance of the battles, he intended to find the weakest points, and then, leaning on his whole mass, escape from the gorge.
February 28 "mujahideen" went ahead. The paratroopers of the 3rd company, led by senior lieutenant Vasilyev, were the first to take the blow. They occupied the dominant heights five kilometers east of Ulus-Kert. Khattab's detachments unsuccessfully tried to break through a well-organized fire system and retreated, suffering significant losses.
The divisions of the 2nd battalion kept the dominant heights over the Sharoargun gorge under control. There was a passage between the channels of the Sharoargun and Abazulgol rivers. To rule out the possibility of militants "leaking" here, the commander of the 104th regiment ordered the commander of the 6th company, Major Sergei Molodov, to occupy another dominant height 4-5 kilometers from Ulus-Kert. And since the company commander was transferred to the unit literally the day before and did not have time to thoroughly understand the operational situation, get acquainted with the personnel, the commander of the 2nd battalion Mark Evtyukhin secured him.
The paratroopers set off on their way still dark. They had to make a fifteen-kilometer forced march in a few hours to a given square, where they would set up a new base camp. We went with a full combat gear. They were armed only with small arms and grenade launchers. The prefix for the radio station, which provides covert radio exchange, was left at the base. They carried water, food, tents and potbelly stoves, without which it is simply impossible to survive in the mountains in winter. According to the calculations of Vladimir Vorobyov, the unit stretched for 5-6 kilometers, no more than a kilometer passed per hour. We also note that the paratroopers went to the heights immediately after a difficult throw along the Dombay-Arzy route, that is, without proper rest.
Helicopter assault was ruled out, since aerial reconnaissance did not find a single suitable site in the mountain forest.
The paratroopers went to the limit of their physical strength This is a fact that no one can dispute. From the analysis of the situation, the following conclusion suggests itself: the command was belated with the decision to transfer the 6th company to Ista-Kord, and the latter, having realized it, set obviously impossible deadlines.
Even before sunrise, the 6th company of the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment, reinforced by a platoon and two reconnaissance groups, was at the target - the interfluve of the Argun tributaries south of Ulus-Kert. The battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Evtyukhin, led the actions of the paratroopers.
As it later became known, 90 paratroopers, on an isthmus of 200 meters, blocked the path of the 2,000-strong Khattab group. As far as one can judge, the bandits were the first to discover the enemy. This is evidenced by radio intercepts.
At that moment, the Mujahideen were moving in two detachments along the Sharoargun and Abazulgol rivers. Height 776.0, where our paratroopers took a breath after the hardest forced march, they decided to bypass from two sides.
Two reconnaissance groups, 30 people each, were moving ahead of both gangs, followed by two combat security detachments of 50 militants each. One of the head patrols was discovered by Senior Lieutenant Alexei Vorobyov with his scouts, which saved the 6th company from a surprise attack.
It was noon. The scouts found the militants at the foot of the height 776.0. Opponents were separated by tens of meters. In a matter of seconds, with the help of grenades, the vanguard of the bandits was destroyed. But dozens of Mujahideen poured in after him.
The scouts with the wounded on their shoulders retreated to the main forces, and the company had to take on the oncoming battle. While the scouts could hold back the onslaught of the bandits, the battalion commander decided to gain a foothold on this forested height of 776.0 and not give the bandits the opportunity to get out and the blocked gorge.
Before the start of the assault, the Khattab field commanders Idris and Abu Walid went on the radio to the battalion commander and suggested that Yevtukhin let the “mujahideen” through:
There are ten times more of us here. Think, commander, is it worth risking people? Night, fog - no one will notice ...
What the battalion commander answered is not difficult to imagine. After these "negotiations", the bandits unleashed a flurry of fire from mortars and grenade launchers on the positions of the paratroopers. By midnight, the battle reached its highest intensity. The guards did not flinch, although the enemy outnumbered them by more than 20 times. The bandits advanced to positions to throw grenades. In some areas, the paratroopers met in hand-to-hand combat. One of the first in the 6th company was killed by its commander Sergei Molodov - a sniper's bullet hit him in the neck.
The command could only support the company with artillery fire. The fire of the regimental gunners was corrected by the commander of the self-propelled battery, Captain Viktor Romanov. According to General Troshev, from noon on February 29 until the early morning of March 1, regimental gunners poured 1,200 shells into the Ista-Korda area.
They did not use aviation, being afraid to hit their own. The bandits covered their flanks with water streams, which were on the right and left, which made it impossible to freely maneuver and provide effective assistance. The enemy set up ambushes and took up defense on the coast, preventing them from approaching the tributaries of the Argun. Several crossing attempts ended in failure. The 1st company of paratroopers, thrown to the rescue of dying comrades, was able to break through to a height of 776.0 only on the morning of March 2.
From three to five in the morning on March 1, there was a "respite" - there were no attacks, but mortars and snipers did not stop shelling. Battalion commander Mark Evtyukhin reported the situation to the regiment commander, Colonel Sergei Melentiev. He ordered to hold on, wait for help.
After a few hours of battle, it became obvious that the 6th company simply did not have enough ammunition to hold back the continuous attacks of the militants. The battalion commander on the radio asked for help from his deputy major Alexander Dostovalov, who was one and a half kilometers from the dying company. He had fifteen men with him.
We like to say various beautiful phrases on any occasion, without particularly thinking about their meaning. The expression "heavy fire" also fell in love. So. Despite the heavy, without quotes, enemy fire, Alexander Dostovalov and a platoon of paratroopers by some miracle managed to get through to their comrades, who for the second hour held back the furious onslaught of the Khattab bandits. For the 6th company, this was a powerful emotional charge. The guys believed that they had not been abandoned, that they were remembered, that they would be helped.
... The platoon was enough for two hours of battle. At 5 o'clock Khattab launched two battalions of suicide bombers - "white angels" into the attack. They completely surrounded the height, cutting off part of the last platoon, which did not have time to rise to the height: it was shot practically in the back. In the company itself, ammunition was already collected from the dead and wounded.
The forces were unequal. Soldiers and officers perished one after another. Alexei Vorobyov's legs were broken by fragments of mines, one bullet hit his stomach, the other pierced his chest. But the officer did not leave the battle. It was he who destroyed Idris, a friend of Khattab, the "chief of intelligence."
On the night of March 1, at an altitude of 705.6, hand-to-hand combat took place, which took on a focal character. The snow at the top was mixed with blood. The paratroopers fought off the last attack with several machine guns. Battalion commander Mark Yevtukhin realized that the life of the company went to the minute. A little more, and the bandits on the corpses of the paratroopers will break out of the gorge. And then he turned to Captain Viktor Romanov. That one, bleeding, with the stumps of legs tied with tourniquets, lay nearby - on the company command post.
- Come on, let's call fire on ourselves!
Already losing consciousness, Romanov handed over the coordinates to the battery. At 6:10 a.m., communication with Lieutenant Colonel Yevtukhin was cut off. The battalion commander fired back to the last bullet and was hit by a sniper's bullet in the head.
On the morning of March 2, the 1st company entered Ista-Kord. When the paratroopers pushed back the militants from a height of 705.6, a terrible picture opened up before them: perennial beeches, "trimmed" by shells and mines, and everywhere - corpses, corpses of "mujahideen". Four hundred people. In the company stronghold - the bodies of 13 Russian officers and 73 sergeants and privates.
Following the “bloody trails”, Udugov posted eight photos of the killed paratroopers on the Kavkaz-Center website. The photographs do not show that many of the bodies were cut into pieces. "Fighters for the Faith" cracked down on any paratroopers in whom life was still glimmering. This was told by those who miraculously managed to survive.
Senior Sergeant Alexander Suponinsky, on the orders of the commander, jumped into a deep ravine. Private Andrei Porshnev jumped next. About 50 militants fired at them from machine guns for half an hour. After waiting, the wounded paratroopers first crawled, and then in full height began to leave. The boys miraculously survived.
“There were five of us, the last ones,” Andrei Porshnev later recalled, “battalion commander Yevtyukhin, deputy battalion commander Dostavalov and senior lieutenant Kozhemyakin. Officers. Well, Sasha and I. Evtyukhin and Dostavalov were killed, while Kozhemyakin's both legs were broken, and he tossed cartridges at us with his hands. The militants came close to us, there were about three meters left, and Kozhemyakin ordered us: leave, jump down ...
For that fight, Alexander Suponinsky received the star of the Hero of Russia.
On the table of the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Gennady Shpak, a list of the dead paratroopers lay down. All the circumstances of this fierce battle were reported in the smallest details. Shpak made a report to the Minister of Defense, Marshal Igor Sergeev, but in response he received an instruction: data on events near Ulus-Kert should be banned until a separate order for disclosure.
It just so happened that it was on February 29 that Marshal Sergeev reported to Vladimir Putin about the successful completion of the tasks of the “third stage”. Only a few hours passed and - a powerful group of militants hit the positions of the federal troops. What happened near Ulus-Kert did not correlate in any way with the victorious reports about the imminent and final defeat of the militants. And the comrade marshal, probably, felt embarrassed for his last report. In order to somehow smooth out the embarrassment, the military was ordered to keep quiet. Only Gennady Troshev on March 5 dared to tell part of the truth: "The 6th parachute company, which was at the forefront of the attack of the bandits, lost 31 people killed, there are wounded."
In the same days, the country was experiencing another tragedy, which was reported by all television channels of the country - 17 people died in Chechnya. The military command was afraid to announce the riot police and the paratroopers at the same time. Losses were too great...
On August 2, 2000, Russia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Airborne Forces. On this day, Vladimir Putin arrived at the 76th Airborne Division, stationed in Pskov, to pay tribute to the memory of the heroic paratroopers of the 6th company, who died in the Argun Gorge in Chechnya.
Having met with the soldiers and families of the dead, the president for the first time in ten years of unprincipled and stupid Russian policy in the North Caucasus publicly repented before the people, openly admitting the Kremlin's guilt "for gross miscalculations that have to be paid for with the lives of Russian soldiers."
Ulus-Kert has become one of the symbols of the newest Russian history. How many years have they tried to eradicate the Russian military spirit from us - it did not work out. For years the army has been portrayed as a bunch of drunkards, degenerates and sadists, and the paratroopers, living and dead, have silenced the critics.
"Remember, the main method of hand-to-hand combat: First, throw a grenade at the enemy ..." Hand-to-hand instructor, head of physical training of the RAP
Perhaps the main secret of the hand-to-hand combat style of the Airborne Forces is that ... there were no "secrets"! There have never been any terrible special strikes at super-secret points, no "Delayed Death Touches" and other super-exotics ... So, paratroopers and special forces are lying, claiming that "Beret" will cope with several opponents in a fight? -No! Don't lie! Works and is very EFFECTIVE! But if you film this fight and show it later at normal speed, then 9/10 of the audience will simply not understand anything about what is happening, and half will be disappointed and wonder: why do they fall so easily? What's the matter?
I want to clarify right away that I'm not talking about the melee of the "Spetsura", especially officer units such as "Vympel", Alpha "and" Cascade ", especially imprisoned for the forcible detention of living languages or criminals! - they have their own specifics and without knowing I will not even speak! And about the hand-to-hand combat training of ordinary airborne forces (Uncle Vasya's troops).Somehow in one book I came across the following reasoning, I quote in a free paraphrase: "No matter how cynical it sounds, everything has its price and a soldier's life, even more so. This price - price training a new soldier to replace a retired one. After all, no matter how skilled a fighter is, this will not save him from either a crossbow bolt or, what is more offensive, from bloody diarrhea "... Roughly, but fair...
I don’t want to say anything bad about oriental martial arts schools, but ... Prepare in six months or a year real person using the training methods of Karate, Taekwondo, Taijiquan and so on is impossible! In six months, he, at best, will learn two or three basic stances, and the ability to breathe more or less correctly in a stance, and not in battle! In real hand-to-hand combat, such a fighter is a danger to only one person - to himself! Only after five or seven years of daily painstaking many hours of training, he will begin to understand that he has only come close to mastering the basics! You understand, preparing SOLDIERS in this way is pointless! There are simply no these five to seven years for the preparation of not even a semi-finished fighter!
On the rights of a person who participated (and SURVIVED!) after three real hand-to-hand fighting, let me tell you! that the Airborne Forces handpash school, there is still a training system! And she is EFFICIENT! What are the basic principles of training a fighter? It should also be taken into account that in addition to FIZukha, there is also a daily service! Shooting training, training in a combat specialty, Drill (to her), outfits and guards, and so on and so forth! But the system has proven its effectiveness, so what does it consist of, this paratrooper hand-to-hand training system? I'll try to answer...
The entire system of hand-to-hand combat training of the Airborne Forces is based on three pillars, each component is important; and it makes no sense the question is which! This Psychological preparation, Physical training and a set of basic hand-to-hand combat techniques. Let's take them in turn. So, mental preparation. It includes bringing to the subconscious level, to a conditioned reflex: a fight is NOT a competition! It is impossible to WIN OR LOSE! In battle, you can either WIN or die! the third, as they say, is not given ... No one will shake your hand before a fight or make a ritual bow. They will immediately try to kill you, and by all means available in this moment! The preparation was carried out quite simply, but effectively, no one conducted conversations and psychological tests with us - we were simply beaten! Not to defeat, but in such a way that it didn’t seem enough! I emphasize! Not beaten, but beaten! Feel the difference! You could get slapped or be caught in a choke hold at any moment: at the moment of a conversation with an officer, standing on the nightstand as an orderly, just walking through the unit. Avoiding a blow or a grab was poked around! The answer is even more so! Although this, in fairness it is worth saying, rarely anyone succeeded! They say that such a system was introduced into the practice of the Airborne Forces by their commander, the legendary V.F. Margelov, I don’t know, but if this is so, then I bow to him for it! SUCH a training system saved many lives in real wars, and me too ... I still, although more than thirty years have passed, I simply physically cannot go around the corner of the building close to it, I go around in three or four steps ... Constant pressure , in which, by the way, there was nothing personal, because the grandfather received the same as the young one, he developed the habit of constant vigilance, the ability not to relax even in a dream, some kind of sixth sense of danger ...
Physical training in the Airborne Forces does not require special comments. Training endurance - running V different conditions, goose step movement, alternation of accelerations, ragged rhythm ... strength training - pull-ups, push-ups of various types, squats, jumps ... rocking the press again different ways. All this - “through I can’t” until complete darkness in my eyes ... I still have enough, although dmb-77 ... As for the basic melee techniques, you need to decipher ... Not for landing and special forces - they are all they know it too! For fans of films like Rimbaud... This is exactly the training BASIC techniques, and not "HOLDS", and quite individual ... Someone is more comfortable throwing, someone prefers shock, someone choking holds or tricks to break ligaments and fractures of joints are closer. The basics were given to everyone, then the development of stereotypes, bringing the movement to the level of a knee-jerk reflex - there is no time to think in battle, the body reacts by itself, the thought does not have time! The blows were practiced on various kinds of simulators such as makiwara and a punching bag, throws - with each other, VERY CAREFULLY AND NOT IN FULL power, also applies to various kinds of pain and suffocation. And after mastering basic movements everyone trained on their own! No combat sparring in real life, with one exception, about which below ... After all, an attempt to carry out, for example, in sparring conditions, an elbow in the Adam's apple for one of the fighters may well be the last ... And I also note, no BALLET in the spirit of Van - Lady and Chuck Norris! Legs work up to the knee, not higher! The anterior part of the lower leg and ankle, the inner surface of the lower leg. Knee - a blow to the crotch and inside hips. The elbow is mainly for finishing off an enemy who has already lost his bearings. Everything is simple and ineffectual, ugly ... BUT- EFFECTIVELY!
Now about the exception: Approximately once every two weeks they put on a boxing helmet on you, and let four or five people, old-timers or officers, be spoiled. Not right away, one by one. I had to hold out for five minutes... The first time, as far as I remember, no one succeeded... The first time I went to rest at the tenth second, missing a powerful straight to the head... In a real fight, the result would have been my death, because I got up I was only ten minutes later ... On the third attempt, I received gratitude in the order for the part, because I managed to "put into the ring" the regiment's deputy technical officer. The captain, by the way, was not offended by me, and the first one, having come to his senses, shook my hand. At the same time, he said: “I started classes ... we need to work” ... We didn’t kill rats with our bare hands ... but everything is one, ready to fight, at any second of the day or night, and not for life, but for death, was absorbed into flesh and blood, into the bone marrow ... That, in general, is all the "Terrible military secrets" that I was going to tell you ...
