Ukraine War. 2022-

I wonder how much of these "new" tactics for urban warfare are derived from lessons learnt the hard way in Stalingrad 80 years ago (or in Berlin a tad later), and apparently forgotten since...

 

Michel,

It was widely reported when the Soviet Union invaded Chechnya in 1994-1996, with large losses of tanks when attacking Grozny (the capital), partly due to the large of infantry fighting with them, the Red Army discovered only the Naval Infantry (or Marines) had retained urban / street fighting skills and called them in. The Naval Infantry had formed a good part of the Sevastopol garrison in the first siege in 1941-1942.

My less certain recollection is that the initial intervention in Hungary, in 1956, was all armour in Budapest and the Red Army lost in the first few days. When combined operations were launched resistance was overcome.

 

The video is going viral in the (a)social media right now....
And surely soon in the trenches as well

I will not recount the murder in detail here
But if something like this is now made public by the perpetrators, we should be prepared
for the term "brutal slaughter" to be taken to the next level in the near future....

So much for the rules of contained war.
>sigh<

 

An commentary from the USA, which is optimistic at the end: Why the Russian Army Isn’t Learning From Its Mistakes: Though that doesn’t necessarily mean Ukraine is winning. See: Why the Russian Army Isn’t Learning From Its Mistakes

 

The latest commentary from ret'd Australian general Mick Ryan:

Link: Thread by @WarintheFuture on Thread Reader App

 

A CNN report on a Chinese-made drone, the manufacturer does not export to a war zone, being shot down by the Ukrainian Army and a UK expert's comments:

From: Exclusive: Chinese-made drone, retrofitted and weaponized, downed in eastern Ukraine | CNN

 

Wind of change ?
The BBC News on line has it appears, recently been allowed access to the front lines.
"Two Ukrainian army brigades defending the city's southern flank gave the BBC access to their positions last week as fierce fighting continued in and around Bakhmut".

Interesting photo of a Maxim Machinegun on a trolley (WW1 or WW2) shown in a defensive strongpoint, perhaps some of our members might comment on its vintage if they can view it.

One would hope that the UA has left the area by now.

 

Maxim M1910/30. Ukraine had thousands of them in stock.
And make no mistake: this ancient system is still excellent for long-lasting defensive fire - because that is exactly what it was once designed for.
Also the even older 7.62 x 54R cartridge is still just as deadly as it was 130 years ago.
(Anyone who has ever fired a Dragunov knows the power of the charge).

 

Business as usual…

 

I hope that he remains a prisoner in the country that he has dragged back into the third world.

Putin arrest warrant issued over war crime allegations

 

Worth a read:

Link: Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war

 

A commentary by Glen Grant, an ex-British Army officer, with long experience of military assistance, including the Ukraine, which appeared via a Twitter by ret'd Australian general Mick Ryan (whose commentaries I often post here). He is critical that the Ukrainian military are still following a Soviet model of leadership.

It is a long article, so you can chose which sections to read. See: Glen Grant. 2023 – a time and chance for military change in Ukraine

His bio is on, scroll down: Team and Experts

Yes, another commentary though not written a year ago by the US Modern War Institute at West Point. One key passage explains:

Link: Don’t Underestimate the Bear—Russia Is One of the World’s Most Effective Modern Counterinsurgents - Modern War Institute

Today the commentary is off target, the war is not a counterinsurgency. We know the Russian Army is brutal, as it was in COIN.

 

A commentary by Mick Ryan on the claimed Ukrainian strike in the Crimea on a railway line and a load of missiles. See: Thread by @WarintheFuture on Thread Reader App

 

Seems like Russia is reactivating T-54/T-55

https://twitter.com/oryxspioenkop/status/1638472120534458368

 

Oops, he did it again....
Kostyantynivka (15 Miles W of Bakhmut) today:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/world/europe/volunteers-us-ukraine-lies.html

 

A long commentary by Professor Lawrence Freedman, which looks at several factors, notably any Chinese role and ends with:

Link: Still Bakhmut

 

Ret'd Australian general Mick Ryan, after a visit to the Ukraine, has a commentary: Thread by @WarintheFuture on Thread Reader App