Originally Posted by
MPN11
Montgomery and Zhukov were great believers in massed artillery barrages. UKR’s only chance in this scenario is to do the same to the RF, otherwise they will inevitably be ground to dust: their bravery and National pride won’t defeat massed artillery. How quickly and efficiently their supporters can achieve this is critical. Exciting dogfights or low level rotary isn’t going to be a game-changer: that’s Tactical noise for YouTube etc. Only the thunder of the guns from UKR can swing the Strategic balance.
Artillery, the King of Battle (well, that's how the US Army feels about it). (Of note, Infantry is the Queen of Battle in the same jargon). A few points from the article Nutty linked to at Rolling Stone. I was interested to read that one of the crusty old vets was concerned with how the Russians use drones in support of their artillery barrages.
Fighting here isn’t a new experience for many of the paratroopers, and they are quick to remind me that for them the war began in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and sent its soldiers into Donbas to support pro-Russian separatists. Most Ukrainians remain bitter about the relatively weak Western response to those actions, and it’s why they fear the West will once again buckle to Putin’s aggression.
Ukrainians from all walks of life have told me how concerned they are about a repeat of 2014, with the international community acceding to the Russian seizure of their land — despite the blood they are spilling to defend it.
The military here has more than doubled since Russia’s invasion in late February. More than 700,000 Ukrainians are now under arms, and perhaps only one-third of those have received anything resembling professional military training.