The operational manoeuvre group (OMG) was a
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
organisational
manoeuvre warfare concept created during the early 1950s to replace the
cavalry mechanized group which performed the
deep operations
Deep operation (, ''glubokaya operatsiya''), also known as Soviet Deep Battle, was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorga ...
on the
Eastern Front during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
The deep operations theory developed in cooperation between the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
and
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
theorists in the 1930s later influenced the
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air ...
operations and echelon-based doctrine.
In the Soviet Army doctrine the Operational Manoeuvre Groups would be inserted to exploit a breakthrough by a
Front during a potential war against
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
in Europe. In the Soviet doctrine, after the
motor-rifle units, heavily supported by artillery, helicopters and
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
aircraft would have broken NATO front, the operational manoeuvre groups would be inserted to exploit the breakthrough using elements of, or whole
tank armies.
[Simpkin pp.139–186]
At the Front level an Operational Manoeuvre Group could include two
tank divisions and three to five motor-rifle divisions.
Notes
References
*
Simpkin, Richard E.
Race to the Swift: Thoughts on Twenty-First Century Warfare. Brassey's, 2000.
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Military doctrines
Soviet Army