Strategic counter-offensive operations in a war to defend the Fatherland are conducted when opportunities arise, aiming to turn the tide of the conflict, creating advantageous conditions and opportunities for subsequent strategic operations, ultimately defeating the enemy’ war of aggression. To achieve success in a strategic counter-offensive, it is essential to harness the combined strength of all forces, including artillery and missile units. Studying the art of employing artillery and missile forces is, therefore, a crucial aspect to consider.

In a (potential) war to defend the Fatherland, strategic counter-offensive operations may be widely conducted in the early stages of the conflict, particularly when strategic defensive operations prove effective. This effectiveness is evident when our defensive actions have successfully inflicted damage on the part of enemy forces, sapping their offensive capabilities. This type of combat involves a comprehensive combination of efforts across various fields, including military, political, economic, and diplomatic domains. Among these, military actions serve as the core and play a decisive role. Strategic counter-offensive operations are spearheaded by mobile strategic regular formations, supplemented by contingents from military regions, services, corps, and other support branches. These operations are carried out on the foundation of defensive operations of military regions and defence zone headquarters.

The primary target of these operations is the relatively strong and versatile enemy in an offensive posture in the dynamic and intense operational environment. Artillery and missile forces with the primary ground-based firepower play a pivotal role in these strategic counter-offensive operations. To maximise the combat performance of these forces, this article outlines several key aspects of the art of employing artillery and missile forces in strategic counter-offensive operations for further discussion and analysis.

Missile Brigade 490’s Command inspects the combat readiness capacity of Company 1, Battalion 1 (photo: qdnd.vn)

First, flexibly organising and centrally using artillery and missile forces in primary counter-offensive directions, at critical moments, and during key and decisive engagements. This is a fundamental aspect of the art of employing artillery and missile forces as strategic counter-offensives combine various types of operations and tactical forms to fight the enemy in their offensive posture. Thus, the flexible organisation of artillery and missile units is essential to provide effective fire support across diverse tactical forms and types of operations. Moreover, flexibility in force organisation serves as the foundation for concentrated use of artillery and missile firepower on primary counter-offensive directions, at critical moments, and during key and decisive engagements, while simultaneously ensuring extensive fire support against enemy forces in widespread combat areas. Based on the operational decisions of the commander of the combined force, the chief of artillery and missile forces must determine appropriate plans, scales, and organisation of firepower utilisation to meet operational requirements and conditions. At the strategic level (Ministry of National Defence or theatre-level commands), artillery and missile contingents should be organised into the following components: general support artillery and missile forces operate at the theatre level (strategic counter-offensive directions) with the strength ranging from one to several brigades. In modern combat conditions, battalion-level artillery and missile units should be the main organisational structure. However, under favourable conditions - such as large-scale counter-offensive operations with robust air defence - artillery and missile groups (understrength brigade level) can be established to ensure major firepower concentration at critical moments. Task-based artillery forces are typically organised into battalion-level or slightly larger formations; these forces may be further divided into smaller units, with each having approximately the size of a company. Alternatively, some units from the general support artillery and missile forces may also assigned task-based roles. The scale of reserve artillery and missile forces depends on our assessment of the enemy. A clearer understanding of the enemy allows for smaller reserves and larger general support forces, and vice versa. 

The concentrated use of artillery and missile forces in strategic counter-offensive operations must be implemented at multiple levels. At the theatre level, these forces should be concentrated on the primary counter-offensive directions and areas. Military regions and army corps must concentrate artillery on key and decisive operations and engagements. At the operational and tactical levels, artillery must be concentrated on critical engagements, tasks, and moments to generate superior firepower, enabling the destruction of significant enemy elements in each engagement of the combined force at key locations. To ensure the effectiveness of fire support, the concentration of artillery and missile forces must be comprehensive in terms of quantity, quality, command, and coordination in combat. Commanders and artillery-missile staff at all levels must pay special attention to improving mobility and effectively resolving the balance between concentrating and dispersing firepower to meet operational demands and minimise losses.

Second, secretly, surprisingly deploying artillery and missile forces, establishing a robust, inter-connected, adaptable fire support network. Strategic counter-offensive operations are highly dynamic, with both the enemy and friendly forces in a state of constant movement, making artillery and missile units vulnerable to detection and counter-strikes. Recent military conflicts and wars worldwide demonstrate that parties involved place great importance on locating and neutralising artillery and missile positions, particularly using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance and kamikaze attacks.  Thus, the deployment of artillery and missile forces must be meticulously planned to create a robust, inter-connected, and strategically advantageous network that ensures OPSEC and adaptability to operational objectives and the evolving nature of strategic counter-offensive operations. To that end, artillery and missile forces must proactively establish their posture during peacetime, based on anticipated operational plans and force utilisation strategies from the Ministry of National Defence or theatre commands. This includes selecting and preparing positions for observation posts, command centres, battery emplacement, logistics-technical bases, and mobility routes. Furthermore, these elements must be inter-connected, with certain combat structures being pre-built during peacetime. For each engagement or operation, artillery and missile units must prepare both primary and multiple secondary positions to facilitate relocation and redeployment during combat. The ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted the importance of artillery and missile units preparing multiple positions and being ready to “shoot and scoot” as the average reaction time for enemy counterbattery is about 3 to 5 minutes.

To establish an artillery and missile battle array for strategic counter-offensive operations that meets the required criteria, while making adjustments to the positioning of reserve artillery and missile units, the Artillery Corps Command should advise the Ministry of National Defence to direct changes in the deployment and utilisation plans of ground-based artillery and missile forces across military regions, army corps, and the Navy. At the same time, implementing battlefield preparation for artillery and missile contingents is equally critical, particularly the enhancement of surveying and measurement for firing markers, the consolidation of combat formation, and the identification of potential target areas within combat zones to ensure readiness for counter-offensive operations. During combat, artillery and missile forces must make full use of on-site firepower and closely coordinate with other combat units, including air defence, air force, naval forces, tanks, and armoured units. This integrated approach allows our forces to achieve a tactical and operational advantage over the enemy in all scenarios.

Third, exercising decisive, comprehensive, responsive combat leadership. This is a crucial element in the art of employing artillery and missile forces, particularly under the new conditions of modern warfare in the defence of the Fatherland. Artillery units, organised across multiple levels and integrated into all three types of combat troops, must operate in vast operational areas and provide fire support for diverse tasks. These tasks include supporting defensive operations, assisting mobile offensive and counter-offensive forces, and targeting enemy airborne or amphibious landings, all while facing the enemy’s intensive electronic warfare capabilities. To enhance the effectiveness of artillery and missile fire command during strategic counter-offensive operations, it is necessary to establish provisional artillery and missile command centres along key operational directions and in key and decisive engagements. These centres ensure timely and precise fire coordination in alignment with the intentions of combined arms commanders. Simultaneously, modern command-and-control technologies must be fully utilised, and automated fire-control systems must be further integrated into weapon platforms of artillery units. This allows commanders to promptly, appropriately assign units for fire support tasks with sufficient volumes of ordnance and correct firing methods. To that end, the Artillery Corps must collaborate closely with the General Department of Defence Industry, the Military Industry and Telecoms Group, and other relevant units to integrate automated fire-control systems and develop advanced command equipment in line with the evolving capabilities of artillery and missile forces.

Artillery and missile forces, as both combat and technical units, operate over vast spaces with long-range and precision armaments. Their missions demand a high degree of coordination, and the enemy often identifies these units as high-value targets. The outlined criteria for strategic counter-offensive fire support require commanders and units to ensure comprehensive, timely logistics, technical, and operational support. This includes reconnaissance and target designation, fire coordinate element calculations, communication, camouflage, mobility, and supply chain management. Effective planning and preparation must begin in peacetime, with efforts focused on reconnaissance, target designation, and ordnance supply. Enhanced reconnaissance capabilities can be achieved by fully utilising organic equipment, collaborating with friendly units and higher commands for technical support, and developing modern technologies like UAVs and reconnaissance satellites and integrating them into artillery and missile forces. At the same time, efforts should focus on ammunition production, together with inter-connected storage and maintenance facilities across strategic theatres to ensure readiness in wartime. 

The rapid advancement of military science and technology has continuously reshaped war-fighting methods and environments, making combat operations increasingly challenging and complex. As such, studying the use of artillery and missile forces in strategic counter-offensive operations in the defence of the Fatherland is an urgent task. It is essential to further adopt and uphold lessons from past wars of national liberation while advancing new theoretical approaches. Regular training and exercises in using artillery and missiles for strategic counter-offensive operations across different theatres must be actively conducted to meet the demands of national defence under modern conditions.

Sr. Col., Dr KIEU HUU KIEN

Rector of Artillery Officer College