The designation of the bottom, the power of the river, the burden capacity of the ground and the protection of the bomb squads – this is simply a prelude to the military crossing operations by Bug. The soldiers practiced under the Iron Gate ‘25’, which is part of the Iron Defender ‘25’. “It was a test of the mobility of divisions and coordination of various types of troops,” said Colonel Paweł Zagajczyk of the 18th Mechanized Division.
The operation was carried out on 5 September in the village of Krzemień-Wieś, Mazowieckie Voivodeship. On Friday morning, subdivisions of the 3rd Zamosc Mechanized Battalion of the 19th Mechanized Brigade, which is part of the 18th Mechanized DivisionThey reached the bank of the Bug. Military equipped with self-propelled mortars Cancer, artillery command wagons, Roomak-S wheeled armored transporters (ppk Spike launchers), transport trucks were expected to cross the river into the beard. – specified operations are carried out on shallow sections of rivers – usually up to about 1–1.2 m deep for wheeled vehicles and up to 1.5 m for track vehicles – explains Colonel Paweł Zaganiaczyk, spokesperson for the 18th Mechanicalised Division.
The crossing was organized and secured soldiers of the 18th Bomb Squadron and the 4th Bomb Squad. Tactical reconnaissance, including site surveillance, threat assessment and anti-aircraft protection, was besides conducted to guarantee safe displacement of equipment and soldiers columns.
The goal was achieved efficiently – the subunits were safely located on the another side of the river and were ready for further tasks. As the spokesperson for the 18th Division points out, this was an crucial phase in training, which checked mobility, coordination and integration of actions of various types of troops.
Federated exercises ‘Iron Defender ‘25’ is the largest and most crucial training task of the Armed Forces of Poland this year. A full of 30,000 soldiers and 600 units of basic equipment Polish army and NATO alliance states. The key function of exercise plays 18th Mechanized Divisionwhich directed the top forces to action.
