DOT is a capital structure

After the Great Patriotic War for three or four decades, the people's memory of the past war was fresh. The veterans seemed to the elderly to be boys, but they were only forty-fifty years old, and they could tell about the experience of those severe years in a simple and understandable language. Every schoolboy knew about the exploit of Alexander Matrosov, who closed the embrasure of his machine gun with his body, thereby enabling his combat comrades to defeat the positions of the enemy that covered the DOT. This reinforcement was a serious obstacle to the advancing troops.

Types of field fortifications

Field fortifications are capital and temporary. For example, trenches or bunkers are built quickly, from improvised materials or with the addition of a certain number of logs brought. Their dignity lies in the fact that the appearance of these points is often a complete surprise for the advancing enemy, in the event, of course, that the work was conducted with a sufficient degree of secrecy. The second type of fortifications are powerful reinforced concrete and armored objects capable of withstanding a siege (in some cases circular) for a long time, binding the enemy's forces. In order for them to be difficult to circumvent, the firing points are combined into a defensive system - fortification. The unit of this line is DOT. This abbreviation stands for "long-term fire point". The mentioned MPT differs from it in that in the abbreviation, in addition to the letters "O" (fire) and "T" (dot), there are also "D" (wooden) and "Z" (earth), meaning the materials of manufacture. Buildings were built of armor and concrete.

Strategic Defense Concept

Long-term fortifications after the war of 1914-1918 were perceived by the generals of many countries as a guaranteed means of repelling aggression. The positional character of hostilities characteristic of the Western Front gave grounds to believe that the main strategy of the coming conflicts would be the economic exhaustion of the enemy. An exception was the Brusilov breakthrough, when the Russian army managed to break through a deep and wide gap in the Austrian echeloned defense (1915). But this case was considered unique and it was not taken into account, but in vain. The view was erroneous.

Already in 1939 the Red Army accomplished what seemed impossible - took Mannerheim Line. At the same time, our commanders and soldiers learned what DOT is. In war, everything is used for defense, for which the infantry can "catch on" - a ravine, a stream, a house or its ruins. In Finland, the equipment of fortified areas has been approached capitally.

Lines and defensive areas

The Mannerheim Line was considered impregnable. It could not be avoided, and it is almost impossible to take it. Even now, no peace army (without the use of nuclear weapons) could cope with this task. The Germans simply bypassed the Maginot Line in 1940, they would hardly have defeated it in the forehead. Each of these super-powerful fortified areas could theoretically be defended for a very long time. Any DOT is not just a fire point, but a complex underground facility with all the infrastructure, including places for rest, personal hygiene, eating and cooking, and, of course, large arsenals with ammunition depots. Such were built by the Japanese in Southern Sakhalin, and the USSR all along the Chinese border. The very meaning of the word DOT implies its long-term, and therefore stable, defense.

Modern bunkers

In conditions of a maneuverable war like modern local conflicts, it may seem that long-term firing points as defensive structures are outdated. Indeed, with the advent of the possibility of disembarking amphibious assault forces, powerful and compact means of fire support for infantry, neutralizing the classic DOT is not such a difficult task. However, defense is also being improved. As early as the early 1960s, typical Gorchak type structures were created, and later - VZU-100, capable of maintaining combat capability even in the event of striking tactical nuclear charges around the area. This is facilitated by effective depth in the ground, ventilation "with propulsion" and remote fire control equipment. DOTs are still in the ranks, and their resignation is not foreseen.