The Battle for Bakhmut has turned into the meat grinder battle of the war.  The Russian offensive began in earnest in May. Seven months later, thousa

The Battle for Bakhmut – Wagner Trench Warfare Tactics

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2023-01-24 23:00:07

The Battle for Bakhmut has turned into the meat grinder battle of the war.  The Russian offensive began in earnest in May. Seven months later, thousands of soldiers have been killed and wounded on a front where gains are measured in yards.  The Russian obsession with this deserted town defies military logic.  The surrounding area now resembles a World War I landscape.  In the last week alone, according to Ukrainian Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department, Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov, there have been 90 assaults against Ukrainian positions.

Censor.net staff writer Yuri Butusov has recently written an insightful analysis on Wagner trench warfare tactics on the Bakhmut front.   According to Butusov, Wagner is both more effective and more wasteful a force than the Russian Army.  The reader may judge whether ‘effectiveness’ is drained of meaning in actions little different to the many pointless attacks on the Western Front.  Nonetheless, there is some value in understanding tactics employed by Wagner.  This article summarises Butusov’s lengthy analysis.

Wagner uses convicts with minimal training or even military experience.  The volunteers receive as little as three weeks training.  In Butusov’s words: ‘It should be recognized as an advantage of “Wagner” that the PMK command plans combat operations taking into account the real capabilities of its personnel.  The tasks are set as primitive as possible.’  This is one of the main factors for ‘success’, albeit success is relative when the cost is hundreds of casualties.

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