Col Parmjit Singh
Countries have / had fought wars . Some won and some lost. Some were victorious and some were not since time immemorial. As we all are fully aware that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have lot of implications and ramifications across international frontiers, which we all are conversant with. It is quite evident that any war , wherever whenever, however causes lot of devastation, destruction and damage to men , material and other infrastructure in addition to social and emotional losses.
The lessons learned from ongoing Russia Ukraine war are penned down as under:-
Use of PGM , precision guided munition with PEA ( probable error of accuracy 5-10 meters during the war is must . More sophisticated / modern weapons have been used . Use of such weapons of course is unavoidable , which one must plan in advance than to react and then act.
Fighting a war in other country where knowledge of ground to attacking troops is inadequate or scant is very difficult to save casualties .
Battle hardened soldiers are most preferred over chocolate cream soldiers. Those soldiers are required , who are ready to fight last 100 meters, even when are physically fully exhausted.
During modern warfare, weapons with long range are most preferred option to cause effective attrition at every stage on the advancing troops . The aim is to demonstrate effectiveness of fire power required to break the momentum of attack and finally break enemy’s will to fight. Also missiles or rocket launchers with a longer reach pay rich dividends to soften targets and break enemy’s will to fight.
Also modernized fighter aircrafts and guns with a longer reach are must . However infantry, the queen of battle is still an essential requirement to physically occupy the area on ground. King of war – the artillery, is essentially required to support ground forces.
Proper and timely intelligence and fault free planning required before launching operations , where Russia miserably failed in ensuring the above aspects. Russia thought war would finish in 2-3 days , imagine war is still going on without yielding any reckonable fruitful results for Russia . So bad planning came to the forefront.
If Long is the administrative tail as it was in case of Russia.
It is very difficult to manage or ensure non disrupted supply of food, clothing , ration, a basic human requirement.
Also it is extremely difficult over a long stretch of administrative tail to ensure regular supply of repairs and spares and to ensure faultlessly evacuation of casualties .
Actions and reactions of various countries must be well weighed before deciding to launch troops and start the war. This will give fair assessment as to should we go ahead or not or stop altogether. Correct assessment with regard to yes ( go ahead ) or no ( stop – not worth it) by hi- tech professionals or defense experts is must.
The supply of petrol , diesel or other oils and lubricants is difficult , though some supply at odd hours may have to go through to support ongoing operations .
Aim as one of the principles of war , as we all know should be simple and concise and achievable. But in case of Russia Ukraine war , most difficult aim was chosen by Russia.
A country before waging or declaring a war on another country must take time to plan( around 3-4 months) to conduct operations and carry out rehearsals, which in case of Russia didn’t happen.
Never consider your enemy weak. Russia thought, we will finish war in 2-3 days , but it didn’t happen. Also remember an army may loose.
During war or war like scenario Murphy law is most applicable. Things will not happen the way attacker thinks or plans . Planning goes for six and therefore one should be ready for negative outcomes, for which Russia probably was not prepared for , a big mistake.
Regular army troops are must to win war and the spirit required is must to fight last man last bullet, which didn’t happen in case of Russia. Conscription troops are undesirable. Volunteer army is the need of the hour.
National spirit to win a war and martial troops is a must pre requisite requirement and high degree of morale of troops requirement is no less of course.
Enthusiastic army and high quality of leadership , where leaders lead from the front is required to win a war. This coordination is required to be tested before launching troops into battle zone.
Hard training of troops both during day and night must before being launched into war. Rightly said , ” The more you sweat in peace , the less you bleed in battle”. Russia ignored this aspect.
As a country don’t be overconfident and overestimate that other countries will support your cause and actions and stand by you. Not entirely true. At international fora , there are personal interests , social, diplomatic and political pressures involved, both from home country and other countries forcing you to take a particular course of action.
Also troops must be put through training and rehearsal at home on ground or soil, which they are likely to encounter or face after being launched into battle zone. Russia took it lightly and ignored such aspects.
Many above mentioned remarks or points Russia ignored at leisure , without giving due consideration and without least realizing that the important aspects cannot be left at limbo. Just sheer display of overconfidence ( modern weapons and technology) and launching raw troops without adequate training ( both during day and night) and adequate rehearsals on a ground is likely to be encountered when launched will lead to disastrous results. Exactly Russia faced the music by ignoring such important aspects. It is rightly said that man behind the gun always matters. Our former CDS , General Bipin Rawat had said ” man behind the weapon that matters”.
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