SOVIET MOTOR
RIFLES OF THE
3RD SHOCK
ARMY 1980
The Russian 3rd Shock Army sacrificed training and
marksmanship for overwhelming numerical superiority.
Gareth Harvey takes a look at the Soviet war machine
W
ith the ability to put a staggering
four million men in
the field the Cold War Red Army
and its vast resource
of men and materials was the stuff
of nightmares for
allied planners.
Stalin once said that quantity had
a quality all of
its own, and this was typified in
Soviet milit ary formations of the
time.
In contrast to the small, professio
nal and motivated forces of NAT
O, the
Soviet Army was a blunt sledgeha
mmer – an unstoppable steamro
ller of
heavy armour and automatic fire.
Had a European land war began
the1980s NATO strategists pred
icted
the Russian 3rd Shock Army wou
ld thunder across the plains of the
West
German ‘Fulda Gap’. The shock armi
es were formations conceived durin
g
WWII that endowed armoured ‘mot
or rifle’ infantry and tank divisions
with
a greater than usual allocation of
supporting equipment and artillery.
This
allowed them to entirely annihilat
e key opposing formations.
Comprising three tank divisions
and one motor rifles division; the
3rd
Shock army (actually renamed in
Soviet parlance as the 3rd Assault
Arm
y
but still referred to by NATO by its
old title) could field an impressive
40,000 men at full ‘paper’ stren
gth. (Around 1,000 main battle tank
s,
10,000 men per tank division and
12,000 men in the motor rifles divis
ion.
In contrast a UK infantry division
numbered about 3,000 men.)
The Motor Rifles Soldier
Our soldier here wears the 1969
modernised hebe or Rubashka
combat
uniform which replaced the long
serving gymnastiorka tunic and
breeches
of WWII vintage. Membership of
the ‘motor rifles’ branch of serv
ice
(Soviet infantry formations were
in effect entirely armoured mot
or rifles
050
March 2012
boards
red shoulder
noted by the
de
is
s)
e red
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th
19
in the
t Army’ and
CA for ‘Sovie
rs
tte
le
seen
e
th
es
g
bearin
ere sometim
ough these w
th
al
s,
he
as
fl
collar
aki versions.
far from
in subdued kh
the 1980s was
ed forces of
m
ar
et
vi
come
So
be
The
ian Amy has
rce the Russ
fo
d
se
ni
as still
er
w
the mod
e infantryman
ot wear for th
fo
rd
ewed
da
ch
an
es
St
today.
soldiers still
ot, and many
bo
ck
the
ja
r
g
de
-le
un
the high
nd the feet
’ bound arou
ps
ra
w
ot
st
‘fo
po
r
socks fo
is the Soviet
chaic design
ar
r
ila
of
m
nt
si
ce
a
is
f
boots. O
80s. Remin
until the late
ed
us
rap
st
ar
Yge
d
an
eb
WWII w
mble of belt
bing this ense
eb
w
,
II
ic
W
br
W
ed fa
German
own rubberis
from a dark br
pouches
ry
lla
ci
is constructed
an
d
munition an
am
al
du
vi
di
in
l fittings.
with the
her and stee
nvas with leat
ca
m
fro
to his
ed
on
construct
ht in comparis
r travelled lig
ie
ld
so
squads’
et
e
vi
The so
rried upon th
ost kit was ca
M
t.
ar
rp
sacks
te
ck
ru
NATO coun
ms such as
carrier and ite
l
ne
on
ere
rs
w
pe
gs
armoured
sleeping ba
xuries such as
Lu
.
dard
on
m
an
m
st
were unco
r ranks. The
ide the office
ts
ou
an
nt
of
te
is
ly
near non-ex
consist pure
ldiers would
so
y
an
r
m
ei
th
of
r
combat load
magazines fo
three to four
r
fo
h
a
uc
d
po
an
versack
ammunition
respirator ha
soldier
e, a bayonet,
buckle). Our
of
ft
Kalashnikov rifl
(le
h
uc
po
n
io
cont aminat
medical or de