[Goose]

It seems there are US brass who are getting irritated with Ukraine's strategy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/us/po...a-war.html

Ukraine’s grinding counteroffensive is struggling to break through entrenched Russian defenses in large part because it has too many troops, including some of its best combat units, in the wrong places, American and other Western officials say

American planners have advised Ukraine to concentrate on the front driving toward Melitopol, Kyiv’s top priority, and on punching through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if the Ukrainians lose more soldiers and equipment in the process.

Under American war doctrine, there is always a main effort to ensure that maximum resources go to a single front, even if supporting forces are fighting in other areas to hedge against failure or spread-out enemy defenses.  But Ukraine and Russia fight under old Soviet Communist doctrine, which seeks to minimize rivalries among factions of the army by providing equal amounts of manpower and equipment across commands. Both armies have failed to prioritize their most important objectives, officials say

The US military wants Ukraine to fight as we fight. They are disciples of Clausewitz's schwerpunkt and concentration of force.  The problem is that the Russians are not. They have always spread out their forces and attempted to engage everywhere. The idea that this is driven by politics among factions  is only very slightly true. It is also a product of training and a basic lack of mobility. It is a very deeply ingrained process of thinking. Both Ukraine and Russia are organized and socialized to fight that way. 90 days of training at Grafenwöhr isn't going to change that. Many, including me, hoped it would, but that was just unrealistic.

The Russian method also works if you have a larger mass of troops and equipment than your opponent. Eventually, your opponent will run out of men in the battle of attrition. Ukraine fights like Russia because that is all they know. They don't have the ability to execute well coordinated combined arms operations. When they tried, something always went wrong. Not surprising. It takes lots of training and practice. They had neither.

Ukraine is trying to break through using their traditional tactics updated to the new threats and modified to minimize troop losses. Ukraine can't afford the losses Russia can because there are fewer Ukrainians. This is probably their only way ahead in the short term. Not flashy, but it can work. The US should look to our own history where the Union Army did basically that to the Army of Northern Virginia. After Cold Harbor, Grant knew he couldn't use the "breakthrough" approach at a single point. It was too costly. Just keep pressing until the other side caves in. The complaints we are seeing today from the US Military can be compared to the same complaints directed towards Eisenhower. His insistence on closing up to the German border everywhere was roundly criticized, particularly by some of the UK generals. A bit ironic because Eisenhower's caution was at least partly formed from fear of the UK running out of infantry. Market Garden was an attempt at a breakthrough at the most important point. It didn't work. Many things went wrong. Maybe the Ukrainians have something here.

[Goose]

It seems there are US brass who are getting irritated with Ukraine's strategy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/us/po...a-war.html

Ukraine’s grinding counteroffensive is struggling to break through entrenched Russian defenses in large part because it has too many troops, including some of its best combat units, in the wrong places, American and other Western officials say

American planners have advised Ukraine to concentrate on the front driving toward Melitopol, Kyiv’s top priority, and on punching through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if the Ukrainians lose more soldiers and equipment in the process.

Under American war doctrine, there is always a main effort to ensure that maximum resources go to a single front, even if supporting forces are fighting in other areas to hedge against failure or spread-out enemy defenses.  But Ukraine and Russia fight under old Soviet Communist doctrine, which seeks to minimize rivalries among factions of the army by providing equal amounts of manpower and equipment across commands. Both armies have failed to prioritize their most important objectives, officials say

The US military wants Ukraine to fight as we fight. They are disciples of Clausewitz's schwerpunkt and concentration of force.  The problem is that the Russians are not. They have always spread out their forces and attempted to engage everywhere. The idea that this is driven by politics among factions  is only very slightly true. It is also a product of training and a basic lack of mobility. It is a very deeply ingrained process of thinking. Both Ukraine and Russia are organized and socialized to fight that way. 90 days of training at Grafenwöhr isn't going to change that. Many, including me, hoped it would, but that was just unrealistic.

The Russian method also works if you have a larger mass of troops and equipment than your opponent. Eventually, your opponent will run out of men in the battle of attrition. Ukraine fights like Russia because that is all they know. They don't have the ability to execute well coordinated combined arms operations. When they tried, something always went wrong. Not surprising. It takes lots of training and practice. They had neither.

Ukraine is trying to break through using their traditional tactics updated to the new threats and modified to minimize troop losses. Ukraine can't afford the losses Russia can because there are fewer Ukrainians. This is probably their only way ahead in the short term. Not flashy, but it can work. The US should look to our own history where the Union Army did basically that to the Army of Northern Virginia. After Cold Harbor, Grant knew he couldn't use the "breakthrough" approach at a single point. It was too costly. Just keep pressing until the other side caves in. The complaints we are seeing today from the US Military can be compared to the same complaints directed towards Eisenhower. His insistence on closing up to the German border everywhere was roundly criticized, particularly by some of the UK generals. A bit ironic because Eisenhower's caution was at least partly formed from fear of the UK running out of infantry. Market Garden was an attempt at a breakthrough at the most important point. It didn't work. Many things went wrong. Maybe the Ukrainians have something here.