Posted on 10/24/2022 8:36:46 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
KYIV, Ukraine—Winter is approaching on the Ukrainian steppe. As temperatures fall, waves of chilling rain follow, dissolving roads and fields, turning them to mud that mires men and equipment. Then comes the deep freeze and snow, hardening the ground but making it tougher to fight.
Armies on both sides of the war in Ukraine are girding for the unforgiving weather and shorter days of winter, which will affect the health and morale of troops, diminish the effectiveness of weapons and intelligence-gathering sensors and multiply the logistical difficulties of keeping soldiers in the field.
“Land warfare is generally very difficult. Winter warfare is doubly challenging,” said Mykola Bielieskov, a researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, a government-backed think tank in Kyiv. “To mount a major offensive, minus-15 degrees will be a challenge for both sides.”
Winter will hit the home front. Moscow has embarked on a series of attacks on Ukrainian electricity-generation and heating plants, in an effort aimed at sapping Ukrainians’ will to fight. Russia has also moved to choke off energy supplies to Europe, hoping that the cold and discomfort being suffered by voters there will persuade governments to reduce support for Ukraine.
Bad weather will affect both sides and is likely to slow the tempo of fighting, said Ben Barry, a land-warfare specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. “But if either side wants to fight, it can keep fighting.”
Ukraine has appealed to Western backers for winter supplies. The U.S. military has provided tens of thousands of pieces of cold-weather gear, the Pentagon said Friday, and thousands of items are being sent by Canada, Bulgaria and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members. Posters in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities urge residents to donate money to “keep the armed forces warm.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
That’s an old photo -
However footcloths “ portyanki” have been replaced with socks since 2013 in Russia. Prior to this they proved their worth as is writtn about them throughout wars and conflicts. Drier than socks and more veritile. Were standard issue for years.
Footwraps were a traditional footwear for soldiers in Europe. Finland gave theirs up in 1990. Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia dropped them later and as late as 2013. The Russians reintroduced them, as you note, for their mobilization. Keeping them is meant to bolster pride in their service and remind them of the centuries of Russian soldiers that wore them before.
Let’s not talk about your “common sense” shall we?
It’s nothing more than code language for ‘off the top of my head’......
Yes I watched a documentary of how Russians dressed their military for winter - these were standard issue. Was interesting to see how they were better than socks. ...annd they were trained how to properly wrap them.
Beat me by seconds! :-)
This is not a war ever seen before. In the history of mankind, never before have both sides had excellent satellite imagery.
What this means is large troop movements aren’t going to happen. There is little or no hand to hand stuff going on. There will be little or no guerilla urban warfare. There does not need to be.
The loss of electricity is powerful. From the Wiki . . . . wow, in May of this year I scoped out Ukraine’s locomotive inventory and found electric - 1,627, diesel - 301. Those numbers are nowhere to be found, now. The rail gauge does not match the EU norm so you can’t just send new locomotives because they won’t fit. Surprising data loss.
Regardless, this is a long range war. What people are wearing isn’t going to matter.
This is related to a white paper analysis I saw several years ago about military careers and the purpose of war. War is fought to impose will on the enemy. The military fights and glory equates to officer promotions. Imposing will on the enemy without manifestation of glory is a very new thing in warfare.
If you embargo oil from a country, food cannot move. People starve. The last thing you want to do as a commander is kill enemy troops. You want them consuming food so it runs out faster. Then you get surrender — without glory.
This will happen with loss of electricity. Water can’t pump. Sewage can’t exit.
“General Winter” has repelled many a would-be invader of Russia.
I’d like to see your feet if you’d use a regular stock with a jack boot.
nobody invaded Russia
You’re one of the few on FR who knows whats really going on. Ukraine’s military is finished. They should be asking for a negotiated settlement instead of more weapons. Sad sad situation since Brandon’s master wants the war to continue.
Ha! I saw that.
Interesting I watched a survivalist demonstrate these footwraps and why they are much better than socks.
Just fighting fire with fire, Nashcash.
Like Soviets in World War 2?
Yea. Problem Napoleon, and Hitler had is that they thought it would be over in a short time. Not prepared for the winter in both cases. Russians No problem.
Ukraine soldier writes....
“From my own experience, I will say that during a severe frost — about minus 20 Celsius to minus 30 Celsius — the optimal time for a serviceman to stay outside is no more than 90 minutes,” ....said Petro Oleksiuk, 27, who served in the Ukrainian army from 2014 to 2015.
However, at many locations there aren’t enough available soldiers to constantly rotate patrols.
“In reality, neither we nor the enemy have enough people for this, therefore the schedule remains the same even in the most severe frosts,”...Therefore, the warriors try to dress as warmly as possible, using the principle of layering of clothes, and eat as high calorie as possible”.
I lived and worked at -60.
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