Humanity has been evolving for many thousands of years. During this time, the development of military art takes place, with the help of which people kill each other on the battlefields. The biggest breakthrough in the field of military skill came in the 20th century. Two world wars significantly influenced the perception and type of conflicts between states. Humanity realized that it was simply impossible to survive the Third World War. To date, all international disagreements are decided to be negotiated, but local conflicts do happen. In such confrontations, the military “invention” of the past century, which has a name - sabotage and reconnaissance groups, plays a large role. Such units are the most maneuverable and deadly. They have a specific organization and functions, which will be discussed in the article below.
History of sabotage units
To answer the question of what the DRG is, you need to plunge into military history. Such units began to be actively used in the XVIII century by the Russian Empire. Of course, earlier examples were known, for example, reconnaissance units of the centurions in Rome or special units of hoplites in Greece, but they were all in their infancy. Purely sabotage functions began to carry out the Cossacks. In his memoirs, Prince Prozorovsky wrote that the consolidated detachments of the Cossacks without problems broke through the rear of the enemy and inflicted substantial damage on his most fortified points. At the same time, such detachments avoided open battle. The principle of the DRG has changed significantly in the XX century.
DRG - abbreviation
In the modern sense, the DRG or sabotage and reconnaissance group is a highly mobile special forces unit . As a rule, these groups are used for reconnaissance and sabotage in the rear of the enemy. In addition, the sabotage and reconnaissance group collects data on the enemy's fortified points, objects that have strategic value.
Any important information about the enemy that cannot be obtained by general reconnaissance methods is the purpose of a subversive reconnaissance group. To understand in more detail the question of what the DRG is, one should study the tasks posed to these units.
Tasks of sabotage and reconnaissance groups
It was previously indicated that the DRG is a maneuvering group designed to conduct sabotage and reconnaissance activities behind enemy lines, from which the following main tasks can be distinguished:
- complete disorganization of communications and transport, as well as other transportation systems;
- incapacitation of objects of strategic value;
- demoralization of enemy troops by spreading panic;
- collection of data that are of strategic value (the number of troops, their economic and combat indicators, the location of the main military facilities).
How is the preparation of sabotage and reconnaissance groups
Units of this type are almost always full-time in the army and in the navy.
In both branches of the armed forces, the principle of the DRG and the tasks are similar. The personnel are trained intensively in the field of subversive affairs, fire and physical training.
In addition, fighters of sabotage and reconnaissance groups are subjected to sufficiently strong psychological training. In addition, the personnel develop skills in mountaineering, scuba diving , etc. Great emphasis is placed on developing abilities that allow you to "survive" in any conditions on enemy territory.
Sabotage and reconnaissance group: number and methods of work
The number of personnel is usually formed on the basis of specific tasks assigned to the DRG. The weapon of such units is secrecy. They move around enemy territory in small numbers, which significantly increases their maneuverability and mobility. All of these signs also contribute to reducing the chances of finding DRG. General purpose weapons are used by sabotage groups in extreme cases. Basically, the unit remains in the shadows until the last. The damage from attacks by sabotage and reconnaissance groups can be no less than from attacks by military units of the army and navy. When such a group is revealed, often the command does not take any action to release or rescue it, due to the risk of recruiting such fighters by the enemy army. Thus, the activity of the DRG is quite risky.
Legal framework for the activities of sabotage and reconnaissance groups
Many people, when answering the question of what the DRG is, identify these units with terrorists or other illegal paramilitary groups. This approach is fundamentally wrong, since sabotage and intelligence groups operate in the strict framework of international law of warfare. The activities of these units are allowed exclusively in wartime. If you violate these rules, the activities of such groups will indeed be considered terrorism or war crime. According to the norms of International Humanitarian Law, the DRG is allowed to inflict damage on the following objects:
- personnel of the enemy army;
- strategic facilities;
- military equipment;
- Enemy DRG;
- objects of the military-industrial complex.
This list is exhaustive. Damage to any other objects will be considered a war crime in wartime and a terrorist act in peacetime.
Objects that cannot attack sabotage reconnaissance groups
There are a number of facilities that have a special regime of international legal protection. The most severe sanctions follow for harming them. It is forbidden to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage activities against:
- civilian, civilian population;
- medical facilities, such as the Red Cross;
- any other humanitarian objects.
In addition, there are requirements for members of the DRG to wear uniforms with distinctive signs of their state when performing combat missions. Otherwise, their activities will be illegal. It is thanks to the obligation to wear uniforms that sabotage and intelligence groups differ from terrorist and other illegal groups.
Thus, we answered the question what is DRG. The activities of such units evolve and acquire new aspects every year, which confirms the effectiveness of sabotage and reconnaissance groups.