The Ukrainians did not stop. “They avoided the strongest resistance points”

After ten days of fighting, the Russians finally sent their reserve forces to the Kursk breakthrough. Not all of them were first-rate. Most of them were training units or units being restored to combat readiness. However, it was enough to reinforce the line in the main direction and build the field fortifications they now defended.

This is still not enough to stop the Ukrainians. They bypass the strongest points of resistance, leaving the destruction to special forces, drones, and especially artillery. You don’t need the latest smart weapons to eliminate such fortifications. Classic artillery can be used, and the 2S7 Pion, with a caliber of 203 mm, is the strongest weapon in the frontal double-barreled artillery arsenal.

Both Ukrainians and Russians used the Piony at Bakhmut, Soledar, Vukhledar and Avdiyevka – all places where strong fortifications needed to be breached. The bullet, weighing more than a hundred kilograms, was powerful enough to penetrate deep into the ground, and the Piony was designed for such missions.

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Since the 1950s, the Soviets have been looking for an artillery system that can use tactical nuclear charges to cut off access to armored positions and destroy fortifications and key targets behind the front line. In 1970, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided that the Leningrad Factory would be named “Leningrad”. The Kirov family will develop an artillery system for independent artillery regiments for use by front-line commanders as reserve forces.

After five years of work, the Soviet Army adopted the Pion system, and two years later, the Chelyabinsk All-Union Institute of Technical Physics developed a 203 mm missile with a nuclear charge. In the modernized version, the howitzer had a rate of fire of up to 2.5 rounds per minute.

In fact, during combat operations, the rate of fire rarely exceeded two rounds per minute. The 2A44 gun could fire a 110 kg Soviet high-explosive fragmentation shell to a distance of 37 kilometers, and a lighter 102 kg fragmentation shell to a distance of 47.5 kilometers.

The chassis was developed on the basis of the T-80 tank and could carry a crew of 7 and an iron supply of 8 missiles. The latter were inviolable and used only as a last resort. When carrying out the mission, the missiles were delivered by a transporter.

On the Ukrainian front there were about 20 units, which were the stocks of the 43rd separate artillery brigade. Chieftain Taras Triasier. The brigade took part in the defense of Kiev, and then in the counteroffensive near Kharkov and helped to break through the Russian defenses on the Donets River. Then single guns were used in places where artillery superiority was crucial.

Today, no one thinks that ponies will create nuclear corridors. Currently, they are used to destroy fortifications – combat bunkers, trenches, warehouses and command posts behind the front line. In combination with modern reconnaissance means, efficient communication systems and modern ammunition, they prove to be an effective combat weapon.

The combat capabilities of the Pion were significantly enhanced when the United States began to deliver 203 mm M106 missiles for the American M110 howitzers in the spring of 2023. These missiles were adapted for Soviet systems, which meant that the slightly outdated 2S7 Pion howitzers remained effective on the battlefield.

The American missile weighs less than 100 kg, including a warhead load of up to 15 kg. The disadvantage of these missiles is the short range, which is only 25 km when fired from an M110 howitzer. However, the barrel of the American system is much shorter – 37 calibers, while the barrel of the Soviet 2A44 gun in the 2S7 is 56 calibers. Thanks to this, the range exceeds 35 km, which is more than enough.

Thirty years ago, the M110 howitzers were retired from the US army, but a large number of missiles remain in US warehouses. Instead of expensive disposal, the Americans decided to give them to the Ukrainians. They are currently using them against the Russians.

Recently, photos of Ukrainian Pionov entering Russia’s Kursk Oblast appeared. This means that the Ukrainians not only have no intention of stopping, but intend to continue to advance. However, they are not trying to break through every defense point. The tactics they use are similar to the tactics used by the US military in the Pacific theater during World War II – the “frog jump” tactics. Small groups of resistance will simply be bypassed and let them be eliminated by rangers, drones and artillery units.

These divisions were tasked with helping to destroy encircled forces and concentrations of Russian reserves. This meant that the Ukrainians did not intend to stop. They worked methodically and methodically. Having broken through the Russian defenses, they expanded their bridgeheads, bringing more troops into the breach and securing the captured areas. The introduction of long-range barreled artillery into the Kursk region meant that the Ukrainians were confident that they had adequately secured and isolated military operations in the region. This was bad news for the Kremlin.

Sławek Zagórski for Wirtualna Polska