Sapper vs. Engineers

[Von Heydte]

Anyone know the difference between Soviet Separate Sapper versus Engineer Battalions? Organization? Purpose? The OOBs list these two specific unit types but they appear to both perform the same kinds of functions. Is there any difference? Thanks.

Trey

[Art]

I believe, for all intents and purposes sappers were a kind of engineer troops. Different kind of battalions were organized by different tables of organizations and equipment. For example, a divisional sapper battalion was different from a corps sapper battalion, and both from a separate engineer battalion. One should look for specific year and TO&E to get an acculturate information on organization. As far as I understand, many if not the most of separate sapper battalions in the list were former corps units that remained after the corps chain of command was disbanded in 1941.

[Stephan]

I agree. Although I think there may be a difference. When working with minefields, we never hear it was the engineer troops. but we do frequently hear it was sapper troops laying out minefields, or taking them away, during a battle or afterwards.

While at building field bridges, both could do them.

So my guess is, sappers were used while working with explosives and constructions near the front line, where they could actually be fired upon. While engineering troops could experience shelling, but usually they were not forced in situations where they were directly shot upon.

[shamirnewell]

The term Sapper is used to denote a combat engineer. These are troops that specialize in assault tasks, mine laying clearing, improvised explosives, booby traps etc. ALL Sappers are engineers. All engineers are not Sappers.

Sappers are Combat troops. Engineers run a huge gambit of tasks heavily geared toward infrastructure building. Sappers specialize in destroying infrastructure or rapidly building while in direct or indirect enemy contact.

[Art]

I believe that doesn't explain the existence of sapper armies and brigades, which were units specially created to construct fortification in the rear.
It might sound surprising but by Soviet definition sappers and engineers were not classified as combat troops, although they were regularly involved in combat.

[shamirnewell]

The Sapper armies brigades sound like the use of a morale lifting title to describe a mundane task. The article linked notes that these were short lived units that were disbanded.

The posters question about about Sapper versus engineer battalions I think goes to a completely unrelated topic and unit.

I would suspect that if the equipment were compared for a Sapper battalion versus an engineer battalion one would find the Sappers had things issued like:

Body armor
Camo clothing
Flamethrowers
More light automatic weapons
Mine detection
Explosives, Bangalore torpedoes, breaching charges, mines etc.
You might also find the members might be in overall better physical condition. Possibly through the provision of better rations.
Better communication equipmenT