Stalin’s Elite Breakout Troops – The Soviet Assault Engineers
By Ben Moorhouse & Perry Bishop
This free document provides background and guidance for fielding a Soviet Assault Engineers Division in Bolt Action, as well as a bespoke theatre selector. Also included is a scenario: Strongpoint Assault, designed specifically for the Strongpoint Assault Engineer Reinforced Platoon List.
Soviet Assault Engineers
Shortages meant that Soviet formations were sparsely served when it came to transport and rear-echelon support. Pioneer detachments were a notable exception. Their expertise was too essential to do without: bridge-building, demolitions, fortification construction and minefield placement and clearance. These all required skills the conscripted masses did not have. Assault engineers were specialists tasked with liquidating enemy strongpoints during an advance and clearing obstacles to allow tank units to breakthrough. This was extremely dangerous work with a high casualty rate (even by Red Army standards) and assault engineer units were sometimes equipped with SN-42 body armour to give them a fighting chance.
Back on sale by popular demand are Soviet Assault Engineer Flamethrower teams. The Soviets made great use of flamethrowers including FOG-1 static types dug in to cover bunkers and trenches. Due to shortcomings in developing other credible anti-tank weapons, Red Army doctrine placed strong emphasis on using flamethrowers as anti-tank as well as anti-infantry weapons. They even formed separate motorised anti-tank flamethrower battalions in 1943. By far the most common Russian flamethrowers were the man-packed ROKS types. The ROKS-2 was designed with a fuel tank that looked like an ordinary backpack and a nozzle resembling a rifle, so as not to attract unwelcome attention on the battlefield.
