What we're seeing is 100 times smaller in scale than the WWII battle of Kursk. The strategic significance is not in any way material, but rather that it is another crossing of a line, which kills off what shaky chance there was for renewed negotiations.
On the ground level, it lined up with a conclusion that both NATO military planners and Kiev must've made. That they can't accomplish anything playing defense in Donetsk. So far reasonable.
They managed to round up a couple brigades whose leading elements were still believers, and for them perhaps there was more enthusiasm to go out in an adventurous charge, vs waiting for a FAB or TOS in a trench. Behind those are going to be Kiev's usual filler troops, who just have to dig in, draw fire, and change the batteries in whatever remote controlled equipment they're given. The bulk of all these men, destined to be abandoned face down in the bushes, are in the second category.
For whatever reason, probably including mistakes by Russian military leadership assigned to that segment of border, the leading elements did achieve some success in the first days, and so the Ukrainians behind them were able to dig in. The overall casualty rate, which will still determine the length of the war, seems largely unchanged.
Yeah, I don't know if we will ever see a battle on the scale of Kursk again frankly. Not even Russia could field 5000 tanks at once anymore, let alone the west.
You're right, though, this is not Zitadelle, neither strategically nor in scale. Like everything the Ukrainians do, it's a poor imitation.
Damn, I love your writing. I used to praise the writing in the Wash Post back when they were still a news paper. But yours puts them to shame, especially in these days. God have mercy.
What we're seeing is 100 times smaller in scale than the WWII battle of Kursk. The strategic significance is not in any way material, but rather that it is another crossing of a line, which kills off what shaky chance there was for renewed negotiations.
On the ground level, it lined up with a conclusion that both NATO military planners and Kiev must've made. That they can't accomplish anything playing defense in Donetsk. So far reasonable.
They managed to round up a couple brigades whose leading elements were still believers, and for them perhaps there was more enthusiasm to go out in an adventurous charge, vs waiting for a FAB or TOS in a trench. Behind those are going to be Kiev's usual filler troops, who just have to dig in, draw fire, and change the batteries in whatever remote controlled equipment they're given. The bulk of all these men, destined to be abandoned face down in the bushes, are in the second category.
For whatever reason, probably including mistakes by Russian military leadership assigned to that segment of border, the leading elements did achieve some success in the first days, and so the Ukrainians behind them were able to dig in. The overall casualty rate, which will still determine the length of the war, seems largely unchanged.
Yeah, I don't know if we will ever see a battle on the scale of Kursk again frankly. Not even Russia could field 5000 tanks at once anymore, let alone the west.
You're right, though, this is not Zitadelle, neither strategically nor in scale. Like everything the Ukrainians do, it's a poor imitation.
Damn, I love your writing. I used to praise the writing in the Wash Post back when they were still a news paper. But yours puts them to shame, especially in these days. God have mercy.