The ORBAT of the 2008 South Ossetia War

[Snipey]

But isn't it called the Russo-Georgian War? Nope. Wars are named either for location, or in agressor-defender format, and Russia didn't fire the first shot. 2008 South Ossetia War is what Wikipedia calls it, and I'm too lazy to look up other titles.

Now here 2 ORBATs exist. First off, over 70% of the fighting took place in South Ossetia. So here's the South Ossetian ORBAT:

Initially the Georgians assaulted with 16,000 men against 1,700 Russian Peacekeepers and 2,500 Ossetian Volunteers, thus outnumbering the Russo-Ossetian forces four to one. The Georgian forces consisted of 3 infantry brigades, (roughly 3,500 to 4,000 men each) an artillery brigade, a tank regiment, an engineer battalion and an air defense battalion. The Georgians had 82 T-72s, 65 of which were captured by the Russians. Over 100 BMPs and BTRs were used. In addtion 27 Grad Units shelled Tskhinvali mercylessly.

Against this force, the Russians had 1,700 Peacekeepers and 2,500 Ossetians, all were light infantry. Gradually the Russo-Ossetian number increased to 13,000. The Russians did not outnumber the Georgians in South Ossetia, until the Georgians were routed. Russians recieved 8,300 re-enforcements with heavy equiptment, and Ossetians recieved 500 re-eneforcements. The Russian reenforcements were:

Two battalions of the 135th Motorised Rifle Regiment.
503rd and 693rd Motorised Rifle Regiments of the 19th Motorised Rifle Division.
70th and 71st Motorised Rifle Regiments of the 42nd Motorised Rifle Division.
Units of Airborne Troops (VDV): 104th and 234th Paratroop Regiments of the 76th Airborne Division (Pskov).
Units of 98th Guards Airborne Division (Ivanovo)
Units of GRU: Spetsnaz of 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment of VDV (Moscow): 10th Spetsnaz Brigade 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade
One company of Special Battalion Vostok of 42nd Motor Rifle Division (Chechnya)and one company of Special Battalion Zapad of 42nd Motor Rifle Division (Chechnya)

Ossetians recieved 500 more men, all were light infantry.

The Russians also had over 100 tanks, that were mostly T-60s and T-72s, with a company of T-80s. They had multiple APCs, the BMP-1s, BMP-2s and BTR-80s. In additions some SS-21 and 2 SS-26 missiles were launched.

A key point here is that despite media idiocy, who of course reported this inaccurately, all of the Russian soldiers have been baptized by fire. There was no panic in the infantry. (Also, since I was asked this, the Russians had 8-12 T-90s in reserve, that were not used in the war.)

The overall ORBAT looks similar. The Russo-Ossetian and Russo-Abkhaz forces totaled no more than 27,000 men, against 37,000 Georgian forces, (35,000 until the 1st bridage was flown in from Iraq). The Russians didn't win this by numbers. Here is the structure of Georgia's military: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La...of_Georgia.png the bases were changed, and all brigades, except for the 1st brigade, lack men, due to the 2008 South Ossetia War.

An interesting "what if" theory exists. The Russians still have a force, over 25,000 strong, while the Georgian force was dwindled to 5,000 (including the first brigade). What if the Russians attacked Tbilisi? Medvedev ordered not to, because the Russians were trying to keep civilian casualties low, and attacking Tbilisi would have been counter-productive to that. Even counting the 1,000 to 2,000 strong American force in the city, the Russians still enjoyed the number advantage by a ratio of 25 to 7, or roughly 3.5 to 1. In addition the Georgians were demoralized, while the Russian morale exceptionally high.

Anyways guys, please comment away. Also, please no politics, I don't want to get this one locked too. *Looks suspiciously at C_of_Red*

[Koh]

For wargaming purposed I'd be interested in knowing which regiments employed which equipment. It would also be interesting to know what artillery systems the Russians eployed, and did they employ any towed artillery. And what's the deal with the independent 135th Motor Rifle Regiment? Is it some sort of special or elite formation, or just a leftover regiment from a disbanded larger entity?

I'd also be interested in knowing how much of the units were manned by conscripts. Some sources claimed that the Russian force was all professional, but I find that somewhat hard to believe. The VDV units as well as the special forces are fully manned by professionals I believe, but from what I've gathered most of the motor rifle regiments and brigades seem to employ a professional officer and NCO cadre with conscripted rank and file. But do correct me if I'm wrong.

If anyone has any of this information, it would be much appreciated.

- Koh

[Imp]

The VDV units as well as the special forces are fully manned by professionals I believe, but from what I've gathered most of the motor rifle regiments and brigades seem to employ a professional officer and NCO cadre with conscripted rank and file. But do correct me if I'm wrong

Do not take this as correct
That was always the way but think I read in recent times far more conscripts are kept on, by no means the complete force but more than just the officer core nowadays enter full military service. This is compensated by a reduction in time served as a conscript which is now about 1.5-2 years, enough time to find out if they are worth keeping. Afganistan may have been the catalyst for the change.

[Snipey]

Originally Posted by Koh

For wargaming purposed I'd be interested in knowing which regiments employed which equipment. It would also be interesting to know what artillery systems the Russians eployed, and did they employ any towed artillery. And what's the deal with the independent 135th Motor Rifle Regiment? Is it some sort of special or elite formation, or just a leftover regiment from a disbanded larger entity?

I'd also be interested in knowing how much of the units were manned by conscripts. Some sources claimed that the Russian force was all professional, but I find that somewhat hard to believe. The VDV units as well as the special forces are fully manned by professionals I believe, but from what I've gathered most of the motor rifle regiments and brigades seem to employ a professional officer and NCO cadre with conscripted rank and file. But do correct me if I'm wrong.

If anyone has any of this information, it would be much appreciated.

- Koh

The 135th Rifle Regiment is part of the 58th Army. I'm sorry, I should've mentioned that earlier. Here's the map of the 58th Army: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:58...y_(Russia).png I'll get back to you on the regimental stuff and artillery.

Originally Posted by Imp

Do not take this as correct
That was always the way but think I read in recent times far more conscripts are kept on, by no means the complete force but more than just the officer core nowadays enter full military service. This is compensated by a reduction in time served as a conscript which is now about 1.5-2 years, enough time to find out if they are worth keeping. Afganistan may have been the catalyst for the change.

The VDV units are part of Russia's special forces. Being in combat is a requirement to join Russia's special forces. In this war, conscripts never had any agressive duties. There were rumors of a conscripts protecting supply lines coming under artillery fire, but to my knowledge no conscripts were used.

Also, you are wrong about Russia's conscription: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Russia "Conscription in Russia is presently a 12 month draft, mandatory for all male citizens age 18-27, with a number of exceptions. The mandatory term of service was reduced from 18 months at the beginning of 2008." Afghanistan wasn't the catalyst so much, as it was Russia's military. The Army is powerful in politics of Russia, and can have lobbying power. After the disastrous First Chechen War, there has been a strong movement for a professional army.

[Snipey]

Originally Posted by Koh

For wargaming purposed I'd be interested in knowing which regiments employed which equipment. It would also be interesting to know what artillery systems the Russians eployed, and did they employ any towed artillery. And what's the deal with the independent 135th Motor Rifle Regiment? Is it some sort of special or elite formation, or just a leftover regiment from a disbanded larger entity?

I'd also be interested in knowing how much of the units were manned by conscripts. Some sources claimed that the Russian force was all professional, but I find that somewhat hard to believe. The VDV units as well as the special forces are fully manned by professionals I believe, but from what I've gathered most of the motor rifle regiments and brigades seem to employ a professional officer and NCO cadre with conscripted rank and file. But do correct me if I'm wrong.

If anyone has any of this information, it would be much appreciated.

- Koh

According to the Moscow Defense Brief, http://www.mdb.cast.ru/mdb/3-2008/item3/article1/ "The attack on South Ossetia was not spontaneous. Over the course of several days in early August, the Georgians appear to have secretly concentrated a significant number of troops and equipment (the full 2th, 3th and 4th Infantry Brigades, the Artillery Brigade, the elements of the 1th Infantry Brigade, the separate Gori Tank Batallion – total the nine light infantry and five tank battalions, up to eight artillery battalions – plus special forces and Ministry of the Internal Affairs troops – all in all, up to 16,000 men) in the Georgian enclaves in the South Ossetian conflict zone, under cover of providing support for the exchange of fire with Ossetian formations. On August 7, at about 22:00, the Georgians began a massive artillery bombardment of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, and by dawn the next day began an attack aimed at capturing Tskhinvali and the rest of the territory of South Ossetia. By 08:00 on August 8, Georgian infantry and tanks had entered Tskhinvali and engaged in a fierce battle with Ossetian forces and the Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in the city."

Later [on August 8] three tactical battalion groups from the 135th, 503rd and 693rd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division (based in Vladikavkaz) of the 58th Army of the North Caucasus Military District were deployed in battle formation to Java and Gufta, and by the end of the day had cleared the roads and heights around Kverneti, Tbeti, and Dzari districts, and as far as the western edge of Tskhinvali. Russian AF also took action.

Saturday, August 9, a fierce battle took place in the region of Tskhinvali, and the Georgians were able to mount several counterattacks, including some with tanks. They even resorted to ambush and partisan tactics...by the morning of August 10, the Georgians had captured almost the whole of Tskhinvali, forcing the Ossetian forces and Russian peacekeeping battalion to retreat to the northern reaches of the city...

By the evening of August 10, Russia had six regimental tactical groups (135th, 503rd and 693rd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division from North Ossetia, the 70th and 71th Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division from Chechnya, and mixed from the 104th and 234th Paratroop Regiments of the 76th Pskov Air Assault Division), units of the 45th Reconnaissance Paratroop Regiment and the 10th and 22nd Special Forces Brigades, as well as significant artillery and air-defense forces. Two Chechen companies from the Zapad and Vostok Battalions and regimental tactical groups of the 98th Ivanovo Airborne Division, deployed to the battle zone too. The total number of Russian forces in South Ossetia reached about 10,000 men and 120 tanks.

The 135th was primarily a Peackeeping force, divided into four battalions. They had 2111 personnel, (upto 1700 of which fought), and 147 BMP-2 (87 of which were the "K" variant). After the Georgian attack the 135th also got 11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2S19_Msta and 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/122_mm_howitzer_2A18_(D-30) from the 58th Army, and the D-30s had trucks.

The 19th Motorized Division was better armed, providing most of the tanks that fought, having over 70 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2S3_Akatsiya several companies of BM-21 Grads, 4 Uragans, 26 Msta and 4 Osa.

The 42nd had a similar deployment.

The paratroops (VDV) units also used Nona artillery and resembled the GRU Spetznatz units. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2S9_Nona.

The GRU had 3 Spetnatz Brigades and Battalions Vostok and Zapad. They have basic armament described above, but they are damn goog at fighting. The casualty rate was below 1%.

I'm sorry, but the data for this ORBAT is tough to find.