The Engineer Troops have travelled a long and glorious way of serving the Fatherland. The first Engineer school, which trained military engineers for the Russian army, was established by the decree of Peter the Great on 21 January 1701. The most important step towards the revival of centuries-old traditions, recognition of military merits of all generations of military engineers from the times of Peter the Great to the present day was the establishment of the No 157 Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 26 March 1998 of the professional holiday – Engineer Troops Day.
There was not a single battle in which engineer troops did not take part. They faithfully served Russia in the Battle of Poltava and the capture of the impregnable fortress of Ishmael, on the Borodino field and in the defence of Sevastopol in the Crimean War of 1853 — 1856, at Port Arthur and on the fields of the First World War.
The Motherland has always highly appreciated the contribution of engineer troops to the glorious victories of Russian arms. Thus, in the XIX — early XX century, 125 soldiers of engineer troops became cavaliers of St George for their heroism in combat operations.
Outstanding combat leaders of that time such as Peter I, Aleksandr Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov played a prominent role in the development of engineer troops.
Peter I is credited with the creation of regular engineer troops in 1712, in the use of crossing means, field fortifications to ensure combat operations, in the further development of ways to strengthen the state borders.
The crowning achievement of the Russian military engineering art of the 18th century was the capture of the largest Turkish fortress Izmael by Russian troops under the leadership of A. Suvorov. There was a significant impact on the achievement of the objectives:
camouflage of troop concentration areas, misleading the enemy by demonstrating preparations for a long siege, construction of decoy batteries, as well as advance preparation of engineering means to support the assault (ladders, fascines), organisation of working (sapper) batteries, their training in crossing ditches and storming fortress walls. The engineering works equipped on the Danube River prevented the passage of Turkish fleet ships and deprived the besieged in the fortress of the possibility to receive help from their troops.
The increasing role of military engineering art and engineer troops was even more vividly manifested in the Patriotic War of 1812. The grand Russian general Field Marshal Michael Koutouzov in his letter to Emperor Alexander I noted that he intended to strengthen the position at Borodino with engineering art. This art found expression in the construction of the famous bastions of Russian glory on the Borodino field – Bagration Bonnets, Raevsky’s batteries and other fortifications, on which later the French army was battle-bled and was unable to continue the battle. Napoleon’s attempts to defeat Russia in one general battle failed.
During the Sevastopol Defence of 1854 – 1855, a new system of fortifications of army positions was born. Instead of a narrow line of bastions and their connecting curtain walls, a fortified line 1000 – 1500 m deep was used for the first time, hardened artillery sites were created, and for the first time an electric blasting method was used. At the end of XIX – beginning of XX century the theory of engineering preparation of the country’s territory for war was being developed, the works of military engineer Konstantin Velichko “Engineering defence of states and the construction of fortresses” are devoted to it.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the engineer troops were regarded as a technical branch of troops and, unlike combat troops (infantry, artillery and cavalry), had technical means used to ensure armed struggle. At different times, they included railway and electrical battalions, telegraph companies, aeronautical sections, automobile detachments and armoured force units, which later became independent troops.
During the First World War and the Great Patriotic War, the engineering forces gained experience and further development. The importance of the engineer troops grew as their capabilities increased and the range of tasks assigned to them expanded.
In the initial period of the Great Patriotic War military engineers assisted combat major tactical formations, forces and units in the preparation and conduct of defensive battles, arranged barriers and equipped numerous defensive lines on the enemy’s way. Together with the whole army they held back the advance of the German fascist hordes and wore down their forces. During the offensive actions of the Red Army, the engineering troops ensured the assault and breakthrough of heavily fortified enemy defensive lines.
In the summer battles of 1941, the remnants of engineer units of the Western Front also fought as infantry. Thus the 57th Independent Engineer Battalion of the 8th Rifle Division of the 10th Army held off German attacks on the fortification on 22 June until 23 hours.
Northern and North-Western Fronts
On the Northern and North-Western Fronts, engineer units were actively used as mobile barrier units. Covering the withdrawal of troops, they laid minefields, groups of mines, destroyed bridges, created zones of continuous destruction and obstacles. On the Kola Peninsula the actions of engineer troops managed to stop the German and Finnish offensive. The Red Army with an insignificant number of infantry and artillery, with almost no tanks, using natural obstacles in combination with explosive and non-explosive barriers, was able to create such an indestructible defence that Hitler came to the conclusion that offensive actions in the north were inexpedient.
The issues of engineer support of troops’ combat activities and ways of application of engineer means have always been in the centre of attention of the Armed Forces leadership. From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War they were in the field of vision of the Supreme Command, which by its Order No. 0450 of 28 November 1941 “On the underestimation of engineering service and improper use of engineer troops and means” defined the importance of engineering support of combat operations of troops as an important element that has a great influence on the course and outcome of military operations.
This order introduced the post of the Chief of Engineer Troops of the Red Army with the right to report directly to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The chiefs of engineer troops of fronts and armies were given the status of deputy commanders with promotion to the rank of colonel-general and major-general respectively. The structure of engineer bodies of the central department, front and army directorates was changed with the establishment of engineer headquarters as their basis. The set of the above-mentioned measures significantly improved the efficiency of control, the authority of engineer chiefs and the engineer troops as a whole.
The Supreme High Command’s concern for the appropriate use of engineer means contributed to the rapid improvement of engineering training of troops, increased efficiency of engineer support of combat operations.
In preparation for the defence of Moscow, ten mobile barrier units of 50 men each were formed from attendees of the Military Engineering Academy and the Moscow Military Engineering School. In the course of battles, suffering heavy losses, they put out groups of mines directly in front of the advancing tanks and undermined road constructions. About 200 tanks and 120-150 enemy vehicles were blown up on these mines.
The tasks of the engineer troops changed somewhat with shifting of our troops to the offensive. Along with the task of making passages in enemy minefields, restoring bridges and crossings, in the winter of 1941/1942 engineer troops laid convoy routes in deep snow cover. This task was successfully accomplished. The German command’s underestimation of the natural conditions (the result of neglecting to study the theatre of war in engineer terms) led to huge German losses in equipment stuck in the snow.
During the winter counter-offensive of 1941/1942, the engineer troops regularly sent teams of reconnaissance demolitionists behind enemy lines. Only in February 1942, demolition engineers of one battalion blew up 7 bridges and planted 721 mines. In January-March 1942 the engineer troops of the Western Front equipped 58 ice crossings, laid 5387 kilometres of convoy routes, built 118 low-water bridges, removed 21,644 enemy mines.
In April 1942, several special purpose engineer brigades were formed. These brigades were intended to deploy mine warfare. Each brigade consisted of five to seven engineer barrier battalions, one or two electrical battalions (creating electrified wire barriers), and a special mines battalion (radio-controlled mines and landmines).
When the Germans approached Stalingrad in the summer of 1942, the engineer troops erected 1200 kilometres of defensive lines. Of particular importance in steppe conditions was the task of water supply, which was solved by the field water supply company and three hydraulic engineer companies. During the defence of Stalingrad in the defence line of the 64th Army sappers laid 140 thousand mines, 80 landmines, blew up 19 bridges. In the minefields of the 64th Army the enemy lost 65 tanks during the month.
In June 1943, the formation of engineer-tank regiments began, which were armed with T-34 tanks equipped with PT-3 trawls. This was a novelty that shocked the German troops. After the first use of these trawls, it was reported to Berlin that the Russians were using new tanks that were insensitive to mines.
Engineer troops played a special role in the preparation of the Kursk salient defence. The plan of the battle was to wear down the German troops by persistent strategic defence, inflict heavy losses on them and move to a counter-offensive. Engineer troops had to play an important role in the preparation of defensive lines.
From April to July, eight defensive zones were prepared to a depth of 250-300 kilometres. The length of dug trenches and communication lines reached 8 kilometres per kilometre of front. 250 bridges with a total length of 6.5 kilometres and 3000 kilometres of roads were built and repaired. Only in the defence line of the Central Front (300 km) 237 thousand anti-tank mines, 162 thousand anti-personnel mines, 146 object mines, 63 radio fuses, 305 kilometres of wire barriers were installed.
Engineer troops did a tremendous job of camouflaging positions and facilities, only on false airfields in the band of the Voronezh Front the enemy dropped 140 tonnes of bombs.
Engineer Troops
On the positions of the 81st Guards Rifle Division the 19th Panzer Division of the Germans was advancing. From 5 to 18 July the division lost 100 tanks and 1000 soldiers on mines alone. The successful combination of minefields with the fire of fighter-anti-tank artillery led to the fact that up to 80 per cent of the undermined tanks were irrecoverable losses. The Supreme Command ordered that from now on it was mandatory to combine artillery fire and minefields.
Skillful combination of fortification defences, mine and explosive barrages and fire of all types of weapons allowed our troops to resist in defence for the first time during the war.
With the beginning of the counter-offensive at Kursk, the tasks of the engineer troops changed. Now it was not only to set mines, but also to remove them, not to destroy bridges, but to restore them. Thus, with the beginning of the counter-offensive only in the offensive zone of the 11th Guards Army on the night before the attack our engineers removed 30 thousand anti-tank and 12 thousand anti-personnel mines.
During the offensive, for the first time, mines were successfully used to cover the bare flanks of the advancing formations. These mines were placed by mobile barrier units in the paths of flank counterattacks of the Germans. These actions of sappers allowed not to divert the advancing units to defend the flanks, not to be afraid of being cut off and encircled. After a number of unsuccessful attempts to reach the rear of the advancing Soviet tanks and infantry, the Germans had to abandon this tactical technique, which they used very successfully in 1941 - 1942.
The experience accumulated during 1941 – 1943 years of application of engineer troops allowed to use them successfully in all subsequent battles for the liberation of the country and European countries in 1944 – 1945.
One of the most difficult and important tasks assigned to the engineer troops in the offensive operations of the Great Patriotic War was engineering support for operations across water. When forcing the Dnieper, Southern Bug, Oder and many other rivers, combat engineers showed courage, bravery and mass heroism.
In the autumn of 1943, when forcing the Dnieper, the engineer troops used a novelty – underwater bridges. The bridge was built in such a way that its roadway was 30-40 cm below the water surface. The bridge was not observed from the air. In spite of the difficulty of such type of crossings, the novelty justified itself. None of such bridges was destroyed either by enemy aircraft or artillery.
The importance of the engineer troops in achieving victory over the enemy was emphasised by Stalin with the introduction of the titles “Marshal of the Engineer Troops” and “Chief Marshal of the Engineer Troops” in the autumn of 1943. This act emphasised that engineering troops played the same role in defeating the enemy as aviation, artillery and tankers.
Special operations detachments were active ahead of the advancing units. They carried out engineering reconnaissance of the terrain of the upcoming combat operations, blowing up bridges and railway structures. The main headquarters of the guerrilla movement aimed guerrilla detachments at close cooperation with special engineering forces. In cooperation with the engineer department, it developed and implemented in the summer and autumn of 1943, the plan of the “rail war”.
Having concentrated their forces on the most probable directions of Soviet troops, the Germans did not anticipate the advance of tanks and heavy artillery through the swamps. But the Soviet engineer troops coped with the most difficult task of building roads through the swamps and managed to bring tanks and infantry to the lines of the defending Germans.
In a number of cases, in addition to the tasks of engineering support of the assault and breakthrough of fortified enemy positions, the assault engineer brigades also performed army-wide tasks. Thus, in the battles for Vilna in June 1944, the 4th Assault Engineer Brigade broke through to the city centre, destroying 2092 enemy soldiers, capturing 3116 soldiers and liberating a concentration camp with 2800 prisoners.
During the Great Patriotic War 100 thousand soldiers of the engineer troops were awarded orders and medals for their heroic deeds and military labour for the glory of the Motherland, 655 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 294 became full cavaliers of the Order of Glory. During the war 196 engineering formations, units and subdivisions were honoured with the title of Guards. Many of them were given honorary names reflecting the glorious combat path of the Soviet Armed Forces. The feat of engineering troops during the Great Patriotic War will live on for centuries.
After the end of the war, engineer troops were widely involved in demining the terrain, defusing huge amounts of unexploded shells and bombs, restoring bridges, roads, railway transport, clearing the navigable riverbeds, supplying locations and industrial enterprises with electricity and water. Many engineering units were transferred to the system of military construction detachments. This gave rise to the erroneous opinion that engineer troops and constructionmen were one and the same.
The Afghan war was a special page in the history of the Soviet Army’s Engineer Troops. The enemy very quickly realised that under the conditions of overwhelming Russian superiority in aviation, artillery and armoured vehicles, mine warfare was almost the only means of depriving Soviet troops of the opportunity to use their advantages.
Permitting troops to use mines to protect roadblocks, block the paths of Dushman caravans, and remotely set minefields along the routes of bandits quickly led to a significant reduction in their activity.
During the war the engineer troops, in addition to mine and mine warfare, solved the tasks of road and bridge mending, water extraction and purification, operational and tactical camouflage.
The last engineering task that the sappers had to solve in Afghanistan was to ensure the withdrawal of troops from their positions and to ensure the march through the Salang Pass to the territory of the USSR. Despite the promises of the Dushmans to “give the Russians a bloodbath”, they never dared to approach the Soviet columns, as all the approaches to the main routes of the Soviet troops were so tightly covered with mine barriers.
For courage and heroism shown during international assistance in the Republic of Afghanistan, the engineer sergeants N.P. Chepik, V.P. Sinitsky, N.I. Kremenish and A.I. Israfilov were awarded the high rank of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Colonel G.K. Loshkarev became the first in the Ground Forces full cavalier of the Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”.
Famous scientists, inventors and composers, outstanding commanders and military leaders served in the engineer troops. Among them are Field Marshal M. Kutuzov, Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union N. Ogarkov, Deputy Minister of Defence for construction and housing of troops Marshal of Engineers N. Shestopalov, as well as Marshals of Engineers M. Vorobyev, A. Proshlyakov, V. Kharchenko, S. Aganov and many others.