RUSSIA DEFENSE REPORT – FEB. 27, 2016:
RUSSIAN MILITARY ADVISERS IN SYRIA
Russian Military Advisers in Syria
Written and produced by SF Team: J.Hawk, Daniel
Deiss, Edwin Watson
When asked about Russian operations in
Syria, most people would immediately mention the Russian fighter-bombers,
attack aircraft, combat helicopters, and cruise missile volleys. Few would
mention the quiet work behind the scenes that was performed by a large group of
highly dedicated professionals who helped transform the Syrian military that
was on the brink of defeat, into a force that could once again begin
liberating Syria’s territory. Without denying the importance of the air
campaign, the air strikes alone would not have turned the tide of the war.
When the Russian military began its
intervention in Syria, the situation at the front demanded a rapid provision of
specialized military support in order to offset the jihadist numerical
superiority by superior firepower. That was quickly provided by supplying the
Syrian Arab Army with T-90 tanks and TOS-1A self-propelled thermobaric rocket
launchers which are highly effective at reducing fortifications.
However, in order to allow the Syrian army
to resume the offensive, both its equipment and personnel would have to be
replenished and retrained. Unfortunately, the Syrian military was in a state of
serious neglect when the rebellion broke out, and large-scale combat operations
quickly revealed this sad state of affairs. Much of its equipment was sidelined
for lack of maintenance, units were understrengthed and short of specialist
personnel. At the time, the Syrian soldiers were poorly trained, even ones
assigned to crew sophisticated weapon systems like tanks and self-propelled
artillery weapons. Equipment maintenance systems were sufficient to cope with
peacetime demands, but quickly broke down as soon as the Syrian military
attempted large-scale operations. Syrian military’s large pool of equipment
also created an attitude of neglect toward maintenance and evacuation of
damaged machines.
To help, the Russian Ministry of Defense
utilized the Syrian Express supply route to send a large number of T-72B tanks,
BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, and rocket artillery weapons to Syria.
Russian advisers then got to work training Syrian troops both on the use of the
new vehicles and operating them as part of tactical combat teams. Even more
equipment found its way into the Syrian units thanks to Russian specialists
restoring Syria’s armored vehicle repair workshops, which quickly returned
hundreds of broken-down or long-term storage armored vehicles to service.
Syria’s air force returned to the skies thanks to Russian specialists and
timely deliveries of spare parts.
The Russian advisers also established
training courses for the specialist personnel without which no military can
effectively conduct large-scale operations, such as logisticians,
communications experts and, equally important, operational planners. This work is,
of course, not without danger, given the terrorists’ ability to strike in
almost any part of Syria. One Russian adviser was killed in Latakia province in
unknown circumstances.
The Russian advisers also serve as de-facto
diplomats, whose presence is necessary to ensure the capability of
pro-government forces which include recently recruited tribal and regional
militias and even former opposition forces working smoothly together. For
example, it is difficult to imagine the Kurds and the Syrian military cooperating
effectively without Russian intermediation.
For all these efforts, the situation in
Syria still remains critical. Syrian forces’ problems have not been fully
resolved, and ISIS and other jihadist forces are capable of launching local
counter-attacks, as they recently did at Khanasser, because government forces
are not large enough to properly defend the lengthy front lines against all the
rebel factions. However, the trend is in a positive direction. The January
fighting in Salma was a demonstration of the Russian efforts to train complete
battalion task forces of the Syrian army to conduct offensive operations. It
was the first operation carried out by one of the new Russian-trained
battalions. Since the training program was launched in October, it would appear
that the training cycle lasts 3 months before the unit is sent into the front
lines, and more such units have been joining the fray recently and turning the
tide of the war. The opposition’s newly discovered willingness to negotiate is
entirely due to their belated recognition that the balance of forces has been
shifting against them.
No comments:
Post a Comment