As of: February 27, 2024, 2:57 p.m
By: Felix Durach
Comments
Press
Split
In trench warfare, Russia benefits from Ukraine's lack of ammunition and relies on ruthless attacks with waves of soldiers.
Munich – Russia could regain the upper hand in the Ukraine war.
After months of bitter trench warfare in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin's forces achieved another success on the battlefield with the capture of the city of Avdiivka.
On Monday (February 25), the Ukrainian General Staff also announced that it had withdrawn its troops from the town of Lastochkyne in order to better structure the defense.
Putin's forces are probably using tactics from the Second World War in their advances - with increasing success.
Russian armed forces are apparently increasingly relying on assault attacks in the Ukraine war.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Tactics from World War II – Russia relies on assault attacks in the Ukraine war
We are talking about assault attacks along the front line, in which the Russian commanders let large numbers of soldiers run towards the positions of the Ukrainian defenders without any consideration.
These should then ensure a breakthrough through their sheer mass and take the defenders by surprise.
The tactic is reminiscent of the Japanese army in World War II, reported the US magazine
Forbes
.
Japan's armed forces had repeatedly resorted to so-called "banzai attacks" in the war against the USA.
The soldiers were ordered to attack enemy machine-gun positions without protection in order to overrun them.
Because of the heavy casualties in the attacks, the tactic was also viewed as a form of mass suicide.
The attacks got their name because the Japanese soldiers often shouted “Tennō heika banzai!” (in German “long live the emperor”) or “Nippon banzai!” (“Long live Japan”) during the assault attacks.
Ukraine is suffering from a lack of ammunition - Putin's army is benefiting
One reason why Russia's army leadership is now relying on this tactic again is the growing lack of ammunition in the Ukrainian ranks.
Above all, Kiev forces lack artillery ammunition to defend themselves against Russian attacks along the front line.
“We are receiving more and more reports of Ukrainian soldiers running out of ammunition on the front lines or even rationing them,” US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in mid-February.
But while some Western states are still arguing about arms deliveries to Ukraine, Putin's army is capitalizing on the situation at the front.
The Ukrainian think tank Center for Defense Strategies (CDS) described the tactics used in an attack on the city of Ivanivske as follows: “An attack group consisting of 100-200 men on 8-12 armored personnel carriers quickly advances to the front line of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and leads an attack.
Due to a lack of ammunition, part of the attack group reaches the target and joins the fight.
At the same time, another attack group is moving quickly towards the combat area.” With this tactic, the Russian troops could continuously increase the pressure on the defenders.
In return, however, the attackers' losses were enormous.
My news
1 hour ago
This is how RAF terrorist Daniela Klette was able to go into hiding for 30 years: read “Grandmas and Grandpas who are adored”.
Putin’s decree is making waves – experts see preparation for “large-scale war against NATO” read
“Söder and Aiwanger keep adding fuel to the fire” – Where does the hatred of the Greens come from?
read
“The best armored personnel carriers of the war”: Ukraine gets a weapon with “high-tech features” read
Russia openly threatens to shoot down NATO jets – read “return of particularly aggressive attitude”.
1 hour ago
Hiding as a math tutor: Police stop RAF terrorist Daniela Klettelesen's escape
Despite extremely high losses – Russia relies on assault tactics
The CDS experts expect that the Russian army will lose around 60 percent of its armored vehicles and almost half of its personnel in such an attack.
The high figures for Russian losses that the Ukrainian General Staff regularly publishes would also fit into the picture.
According to them, Russia usually loses between 800 and 1,000 soldiers per day.
Added to this is the loss of armored vehicles and troop transports.
However, the numbers cannot be independently verified.
It's a costly tactic.
But in the short term, the storm attacks appear to be successful.
Putin's forces achieved success near the village of Robotyne and in the Ivanivske region.
The tactic is said to have been used in both areas.
Russia repeatedly uses “human waves” against Ukrainian positions
In principle, attacks with “human waves” are not new in the Ukraine war either.
Especially in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in the winter of 2022/2023, Russia sent wave after wave of troops against the Ukrainian defenders without regard to losses.
However, the personnel deployed were primarily Wagner mercenaries under the leadership of the now deceased Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The private army reportedly recruited its mercenaries directly from Russian prisons and promised them freedom if they survived the assault.
In Bakhmut, the Ukrainian defenders managed to defend the completely destroyed city against the Wagner mercenaries for months.
Russia's losses were presumably devastating.
But with an increasing shortage of ammunition, defending positions is likely to become much more difficult.
Military expert Gustav Gressel told IPPEN.MEDIA
last week
that Russian troops could move much more easily and less cautiously on the front due to Ukrainian ammunition shortages.
For example, Russian troops would no longer have to change their artillery positions as often because Ukraine lacks the ammunition to target them.
If ammunition deliveries to Ukraine do not increase in the future, Russia could continue to use these “banzai attacks” to achieve long-sought successes on the front.
(fd)