Russian Tactics in War

The Russian tactics, and for that matter strategy, used for ground combat against German forces in World War II are being used again in Ukraine.

These tactics include:

• Massive use of artillery against enemy positions. Note that the majority of combat casualties come from what is called “indirect fire,” meaning artillery, rockets and mortars.
• The use of poorly trained soldiers and throwing them into combat before they are adequately trained. This is happening especially now with former prisoners — whose value to the Russians is little — going straight to the front.
• Life in Russia is, for lack of a better word, “cheap.” The loss of hundreds of soldiers might be regrettable, due to the loss of combat capability, but they can be replaced.
• The Germans killed tens, even hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers in combat, but their sheer number overwhelmed German army capabilities and manpower.

It appears the Russians are looking for a war of attrition where they keep wearing down the Ukrainian forces by killing and wounding them to the maximum degree.

I would agree with the Ukrainian assessment that the Russians are gearing up for a major offensive to provide some “good news” for Putin to tell the Russian people. No matter what the cost, the goal is to seize territory, which is evidence of progress and not a stalemate.