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Western-trained Ukrainian troops learn the hard way that US warfare doctrine doesn't work very well (web.archive.org)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/ukraine_war_news@lemmygrad.ml
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[–] 18 points 3 years ago (6 children)

Some units failed to follow cleared paths and ran into mines. When a unit delayed a nighttime attack, an accompanying artillery bombardment to cover its advance went ahead as scheduled, tipping off the Russians.

Isn't this literally a WW1 strat? Probably even older. Is this the cutting edge doctrine that US teaches and UA fails to implement?

Anyway, hindsight is 20/20, but why did the Americans bother to teach their way of fighting? Ukraine has different constraints and if I had to guess, slightly different army composition. I've heard that the US relies heavily on having complete air superiority, which UA doesn't have. I suppose they know other ways of fighting too, but unless I'm missing something, this seems like a massive oversight from NATO, to the point of hubris.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    US relies heavily on having complete air superiority

    And also buying or otherwise recruiting massive amounts of locals to be used as cannon fodder. Which is what these ukranian soldiers are. Then USMC swoops in and claims victory.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Where can I read more about this?

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  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    This is what I get for not keeping my sources on hand. Apologies for the delay.

    Here is one option. I understand if you would be sceptical about some rando blog, especially with that kind of profile picture (I know I was), but the fellow cites his sources, so you can check them yourself, if needed.

    On topic of other conflicts, I sadly have nothing on hand, except to note that everywhere - from Vietnam to Libya to Afghanistan, there was always a "local" military doing the dirty work and usually composed of colourful characters.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Thanks for the reply; no need to apologize for the delay.

    My only gripe with it, albeit a small one, is that it disregarded NATO casualty numbers and used media numbers for the bombing of Serbia, but used Russian MoD numbers for the current war. There's the issue that the mainstream media are biased towards Ukraine, but I feel that a presentation of their numbers as well would paint a fuller picture.

    But I have to say, it's really an eye-opener on the incompetency of the US military. I still believe they're a major power, but not the flawless one, or supply gods that I previously thought them to be.

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I think hubris is exactly right, they massively underestimated Russian capabilities and thought that they could easily break through the defences because Russian army would collapse and run at the first sign of NATO gear. My favorite was a clip that was floating around where Ukrainians ask how to deal with mine fields and a German trainer tells them to just go around them. 😂

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