Top American generals on three key lessons learned from Ukraine

[Nevilledog]

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Franz-Stefan Gady
@HoansSolo
"The computer models would have said Russia wins in 72 to 96 hours," said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. They "cannot explain why Ukraine is still hanging on. Why is that?"

breakingdefense.com
Top American generals on three key lessons learned from Ukraine
"The computer models would have said Russia wins in 72 to 96 hours," said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. They "cannot explain why Ukraine is still hanging on. Why is that?"
11:12 AM · Mar 11, 2022

https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/top-american-generals-on-three-key-lessons-learned-from-ukraine/

WASHINGTON: It’s been two weeks since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, and a conflict that some expected to be over in days appears to be stretching into a bloody and protracted war.

While President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that the US military will not get involved, senior US defense officials and military leaders have been closely watching the conflict to better comprehend the risk to NATO allies — and to understand how the nature of warfare may be changing. And thanks to a series of public hearings and events, some of those assessments have entered the public sphere.

Here, then, are the lessons learned from the first two weeks of conflict in Ukraine, as identified by three key American officers.

Logistics Are Not Optional

It took months for Russian President Vladimir Putin to amass more than 175,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. But since those forces mobilized on Feb. 23, the Russian military has been embarrassed by one logistical failure after another.

Videos posted on social media showed lines of tanks and military vehicles stalled on Ukrainian roads, with no spare parts available to fix broken vehicles and no fuel to get them running again. Other viral videos showed hungry Russian soldiers who had apparently run out of rations accepting food from Ukrainians.

*snip*

[llashram]

1. ++

[keithbvadu2]

2. Brute force of massive firepower and massive manpower.

Brute force of massive firepower and massive manpower.

[EX500rider]

3. Not enough troops

The military rule of thumb is you need a 3 to 1 numbers advantage attacking dug in troops...

The Ukrainian's have
Active personnel 245,000
Reserve personnel 220,000
plus
Available for
military service 11,149,646, age 16–49

The Russians needed a force over a million troops to guarantee any quick success.

[Best_man23]

4. The Ukrainians are fighting a total war

Russia, so far has not.

And that 11 million available for military service might be on the low side, as I'm assuming that number is military age men. We know there are more than a few Ukrainian women who have donned battle dress and picked up arms.