It was not without reason that Russian soldiers dubbed this branch of the military “the God of War.” It was artillery, like a celestial being, that repeatedly decided the fate of the largest and fiercest battles in Russian history. Russian artillerymen have always shown massive heroism, often preferring to die near their guns rather than retreat before the enemy. Artillery has always been famous for its technical excellence and the skill of the artillerymen themselves.
Over time, the power of artillery only increased, and after the advent of rocket weapons, truly divine power, which the religions of many nations attributed to their idols, became available to ordinary mortals. Congratulating all soldiers currently serving or serving in the past on Rocket Forces and Artillery Day, we thank them for always guarding our peaceful life and freedom.
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The Stalingrad victory, to which artillery made the main contribution, became the basis for the creation of this holiday. And it was then, in 1942, on November 19, that the general offensive of the Soviet troops began. USSR artillerymen began spontaneously celebrating this date during the Great Patriotic War itself. However, the professional artillery holiday was officially established only in 1988, according to the Decree of the USSR PVS.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the traditions of Russian artillery, including holiday ones, were not lost. The prestige of the Armed Forces in general and artillery in particular was constantly taken care of. And already in 2006, the President of Russia issued decree number 549, establishing the official status of “Artilleryman’s Day”. It is still in effect today. It should not be confused with “Strategic Missile Forces Day,” which is celebrated on December 17.
Traditions
The traditions of Artilleryman's Day are rich and varied. It is celebrated not only by military personnel, past and present, but also by members of their families. On this day, many guests visit artillery units and formations to:
- attend ceremonial formations;
- watch demonstration shooting;
- get acquainted with samples of gun systems in service with the troops.
On the same day, military personnel are traditionally assigned the next rank, state and memorial awards are presented, congratulations and thanks are announced. And at home, everyone involved in the holiday will have a set table and congratulations from family members and friends.
Rocket Forces and Artillery - RFA - a branch of the ground forces, is considered the main means of fire and nuclear destruction of the enemy during combat operations. The RMiA includes missile, rocket, artillery brigades, regiments and divisions, as well as individual and part of divisions, brigades and military bases of the Russian army.
Photo: Anti-tank gun MT-12 Rapier (RIA Novosti / Pavel Lisitsyn)
The Day of Missile Forces and Artillery - as an official holiday, the day when military personnel accept congratulations - appeared on October 21, 1994, after the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. But the defenders of the homeland were honored during the Great Patriotic War, after the large-scale and extremely important Operation Uranus, carried out on November 19, 1942.
"Uranus"
The results of Operation Uranus, one might say, changed the course of the Second World War and the success of the counteroffensive of Soviet troops during the Battle of Stalingrad. It was 80 minutes of powerful, pre-prepared and carefully planned artillery bombardment - as a result, our soldiers managed to break through the Nazi defenses, on which Germany had high hopes. The enemy's plans were destroyed, and at that moment the artillery of the Southwestern and Don Fronts launched another fire strike, reinforcing the success and eliminating enemy personnel and equipment. Afterwards, a 76-day offensive by Soviet troops began, which ended in the defeat of the German group.
Photo: Captured German at Stalingrad, globallookpress.com
In difficult times for Russia, when our army had to defend its territory from occupation, artillery was respectfully called the “god of war.” This nickname stuck and came into use after Stalin’s landmark speech in 1940. Then the Marshal of the Soviet Union said:
- In modern warfare, artillery is God... Anyone who wants to adapt to a new modern way must understand that artillery decides the fate of the war.
And in the Battle of Stalingrad, artillery clearly demonstrated that it really decides fate. It was after this attack, taking into account the role of guns and missiles, that Artillery Day was established - November 19.
In 1961, the name of the holiday was changed. Then this was associated with the reorganization in the army - on the basis of the artillery and missile formations of the Ground Forces, the Rocket Forces and Artillery branch was formed as a separate branch. Of course, due to confusion and all sorts of changes, the holiday lost touch with the historical event of the Great Patriotic War; from 1988 to 2006, Rocket Forces and Artillery Day was celebrated every third Sunday in November. But after that, everything returned to stock; now this day is celebrated, as at the very beginning, on November 19.
Photo: RIA Novosti / Pavel Lisitsyn
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Artillery is the oldest branch of the Russian army - it is almost 500 years old. And during this time, a lot has changed - it all began with homemade throwing devices, capable in some cases only of frightening the enemy, and continues with innovative, best missile systems in the world, which by their very appearance make it clear that Russia is reliably protected and will fight with us hopeless and extremely dangerous.
The first mentions of artillery are found already in the 14th century - then, during the defense of Moscow from the troops of the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh in 1382, the city guards used primitive artillery pieces - “great cannons”, as well as short-barreled cannons that showered enemy troops with iron loaded into a bowl elements and stones. These shells were called “mattresses.” And there were also “launchers” - another type of projectile that was used to attack the enemy from a distance.
The first cast cannons appeared in Russia only under Ivan III. Before him, weapons were cast abroad and brought to us, but after that, the craftsmen gained experience and mastered production, which was later put into production. At that time, artillery deservedly became an integral part of the Russian army on campaigns - guns were equipped with wheels and tied to carts and carts - and delivered to the front line. At the same time, the Cannon Order was established - this is a sectoral ministry, which was entrusted with monitoring the process of casting guns, supplying them to the army and manufacturing ammunition in sufficient quantities.
In 1586, the legendary Moscow foundry worker Andrei Chokhov made a cannon with an equestrian image of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich. Later it would be called the Tsar Cannon. Then, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, artillery became an independent branch of the military.
Photo: Tsar Cannon, RIA Novosti / Valery Shustov
Artilleryman's Day is now
The Day of Rocket Forces and Artillery is not celebrated on a large scale in Russia - rocket men are modest, responsible and a little stern people. Perhaps the main tradition of this day is laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow. Also on November 19, local military parades and reviews are held throughout Russia, accompanied by artillery salutes.
According to tradition, on November 19, military personnel congratulate each other and thank relatives, friends and colleagues from related units for their kind words and wishes. If among your acquaintances there are officers and warrant officers, cadets, defense industry workers, military contractors and conscripts, veterans of war, labor and the Armed Forces associated with missiles, be sure to congratulate them on this day.
FavOne of the greatest battles in history - the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad - destroyed the Sixth Army of Field Marshal Paulus and turned the Reich's last hopes for victory into dust. Among other things, this operation demonstrated for the first time the growing capabilities of Soviet artillery, which deservedly earned the nickname “God of War.”
Two years later, on October 21, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR will issue a decree establishing “Artillery Day” on November 19 in honor of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. Another 20 years later, due to the increasing role of missile weapons in the Cold War, the holiday will be renamed “Rocket Forces and Artillery Day” - which it remains to this day.
This holiday is appreciated not only by gunners and operators of Grads, Smerchs and Iskanders. The servants of the new chthonic God of War - the Strategic Missile Forces - also consider him partly theirs; and air defense fighters who “don’t fly themselves and don’t let others fly.”
The funny thing is that the Russian military for the most part is not very aware: the most terrible manifestation of Russian military power for possible foreign “partners” is not the stamina and ferocity of the infantry, not the power of tanks and not the swiftness of aviation - but rather the merciless severity of artillery strikes.
It all started in the distant and terrible era of the Mongol invasion of Rus'. To stop the elusive boyar Evpatiy Kolovrat and his rebels, who were taking revenge on the troops of Khan Batu for the death of his native Ryazan, the army of the Mongol Empire “inflicted many vices on him, and began to beat him with countless vices, and barely killed him.” It is unlikely that siege stone throwers were useful to the Mongols in the field battle against Kolovrat’s army... but Chinese guns could have played a critical role in the death of the brave rebels.
The presence of artillery among the Mongols during Batu’s campaign against Rus' is still not confirmed by sources, although in time it was already possible. Therefore, what the chronicler meant by “vices” - siege weapons (catapults, ballistas) common for those times, machines for throwing arrows, or, indeed, fire bombards of the early period - is no longer clear.
In 1382, Muscovites, defending the city walls from the armies of Khan Tokhtamysh, for the first time in Russian history, massively used cannons that fired at the khan’s troops from the city walls. The capital was eventually taken by deception, but the Russian princes and governors appreciated the power of artillery fire. Another hundred years later, the Cannon Yard was founded in Moscow, where the centralized production of cannons of various types and calibers began.
During the famous stand on the Ugra River, the presence of artillery in the army of Ivan III significantly cooled the ardor of the Horde of Khan Akhmat, who ultimately chose to retreat. The sovereign's son, Vasily III, brought 300 guns, including heavy siege guns, to the walls of Smolensk, and recaptured the city from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Having defeated the Russian army near Orsha, the great Lithuanian hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky, who did not have even a shadow of the artillery power of Moscow with his advanced army of the Renaissance, only looked at the walls of Smolensk from afar and was forced to leave.
Let us clarify that the city fell on the third attempt, and the siege of one of the most important Lithuanian fortresses at that time was not an easy task. But the artillery, which was established in the Russian troops by a German specialist - Master Stefan - really played a key role in this campaign.
The gunners brought many victories to Ivan IV “the Terrible”, collapsing the walls of Kazan, as well as the cities of Livonia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, rescuing the sovereign’s soldiers on the fields of Molodi and on the walls of Pskov. During the Time of Troubles, they forced King Sigismund III, instead of a victorious march to Moscow, to spend his entire military budget under the walls of Smolensk. The Russian state of the 16th–17th centuries possessed a huge fleet of artillery of all calibers, and Russian engineers enthusiastically experimented with long-barreled, breech-loading and even rifled artillery.
Pavel Sokolov-Skalia, “The capture of the Livonian fortress Kokkenhausen by Ivan the Terrible”
Alas, all the wealth of the old Russian artillery was lost in the fields of Narva, where the Swedes taught the young sovereign Peter Alekseevich an object lesson in modern European warfare. This lesson has been learned. The new artillery of the nascent Russian Empire was created by Yakov Vilimovich Bruce, a descendant of Scottish kings, a great Russian alchemist and naturalist. Cast from requisitioned monastery bells, the guns of the “sorcerer from the Sukharev Tower” Bruce destroyed the Swedish army of Charles XII near Poltava and ushered in a new era of Russian artillery power - which would say many loud words on the fields of Kunersdorf, Borodin, Crimea and Manchuria.
I note that the bells, of course, were not removed from the bell towers - stored and unused samples were requisitioned. It soon became clear that bell alloy was not very suitable for artillery, and monasteries and temples were abandoned.
In the USSR, artillery was given no less attention, having created a number of advanced models even before the Great Patriotic War, many of which are still fighting today. “Karelian sculptors” B-4 will break through the Mannerheim line, “Katyusha” BM-13 will strike terror into the best divisions of the Third Reich, and the artillery of the reserve of the Supreme High Command will become the very crowbar against which the best strategists of Germany, the heirs of von Clausewitz and von Schlieffen, will not find a way.
Now the missile forces and artillery of the Russian Federation constitute one of the most important branches of the ground forces. Their regiments and brigades are armed with thousands of various artillery pieces and missile systems, which are constantly being replenished with the latest models. From the first “mattresses” and arquebuses to tactical missile systems and heavy MLRS, a long and glorious path has been passed, and the modern descendants of the gunners Voivode Shein, Field Marshal Bruce and Marshal Nedelin are unlikely to disgrace the artillery glory of their ancestors.
Although decades have already passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War, the events of those heroic years are carefully preserved in the memorable dates of our country. One of these dates is the Day of Missile Forces and Artillery. This professional holiday is celebrated on November 19 and was established in honor of the defeat of the Nazi occupiers at Stalingrad in 1942.
The Battle of Stalingrad is the largest land military operation in which missile forces and artillery played a decisive and key role. The date November 19, 1942 became a turning point not only in the Battle of Stalingrad, but throughout the Great Patriotic War. It was on this day that Soviet troops completely seized the initiative, which marked the beginning of the mass expulsion of fascist invaders from the territory of the USSR and the triumphant victory of the Soviet Union over the Third Reich.
In honor of this memorable date, on October 21, 1944, a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued on the establishment of a memorable Artillery Day on November 17. Later, in 1964, the holiday received a slightly different name - Rocket Forces and Artillery Day. Nowadays, Artilleryman's Day is celebrated on the basis of the decree of the USSR PVS, which was issued in 1988. It must be said that in Russia’s calendar of memorable dates there is another day dedicated to the people of this courageous military profession, the Day of Strategic Missile Forces, which is celebrated on December 17. These are different holidays that should not be confused.
Artilleryman's Day traditions
Nowadays, missile forces and artillery do not lose their important strategic importance. Russian units The missile and artillery forces are among the most powerful in the world. This is the Russian military elite, which carefully preserves the heroic traditions and increases the experience of the Soviet armed forces. The missile forces and artillery guard the security of our country and are ready at any moment to fulfill their military duty, protecting its interests in combat conditions.
Every year on Artilleryman’s Day, parades are held where the latest achievements in the development of military equipment are demonstrated, demonstration shooting is held, ceremonial events and receptions are held at the highest government level, and festive concerts are organized with the participation of Russian pop stars.