I will introduce the US Military Principles of War to those who are not acquainted with them in order to gain a new perspective on warfare. Carl Von Clausewitz, an 1800s Austrian military theorist, enumerated these principles. They are broad guidelines for commanders to follow. I think the list of principles makes a lot of sense.
Perhaps we can use the principles to determine the challenges of the Ukraine War to make sense of it. I see a few reasons why the Ukrainian military has issues.
There are nine Principles of War. They are objective, offensive, mass, economy of force, maneuver, unity of command, security, surprise, and simplicity.
US ARMY PRINCIPLES OF WAR (youtube.com)
Objective - Ukraine wants to counterattack in major operations but can't achieve that.
Offensive - Ukraine does not possess the suite of weapons and weapons systems to go on the offensive with efficacy. It has HIMARS and drones for long-range fires, but it needs weapons systems like helicopters, bombers, fighters, and CAS to maneuver possibly great distances to engage the Russians. The close contact is where the battles are won.
Maneuver - Refer to the explanation above.
Mass - Because Ukraine can't maneuver and go on the offensive, it is incapable of massing forces at critical places and time.
Surprise - Refer to the explanation above. Achieving tactical surprise is most often a good thing if your name is not Custer. He failed to follow orders and wait for the main body to arrive. His assessment of the situation was completely off because he made a lot of bad assumptions and acted on them like they were facts. Commanders must identify facts, strong assumptions (facts that will be proven during operations), and pure assumptions. Commanders will not plan operations based on many pure assumptions, unless they have no choice. Custer had the option to assess the situation better for planning purposes.
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An excellent example of Unity of Command occurred in the Civil War. Prior to General Grant, Union Division and Corps Commanders indulged in independent campaigns. Grant stopped that. He told the generals that he was the boss, and they would follow his campaign plans and orders.
Perhaps we can use the principles to determine the challenges of the Ukraine War to make sense of it. I see a few reasons why the Ukrainian military has issues.
There are nine Principles of War. They are objective, offensive, mass, economy of force, maneuver, unity of command, security, surprise, and simplicity.
US ARMY PRINCIPLES OF WAR (youtube.com)
Objective - Ukraine wants to counterattack in major operations but can't achieve that.
Offensive - Ukraine does not possess the suite of weapons and weapons systems to go on the offensive with efficacy. It has HIMARS and drones for long-range fires, but it needs weapons systems like helicopters, bombers, fighters, and CAS to maneuver possibly great distances to engage the Russians. The close contact is where the battles are won.
Maneuver - Refer to the explanation above.
Mass - Because Ukraine can't maneuver and go on the offensive, it is incapable of massing forces at critical places and time.
Surprise - Refer to the explanation above. Achieving tactical surprise is most often a good thing if your name is not Custer. He failed to follow orders and wait for the main body to arrive. His assessment of the situation was completely off because he made a lot of bad assumptions and acted on them like they were facts. Commanders must identify facts, strong assumptions (facts that will be proven during operations), and pure assumptions. Commanders will not plan operations based on many pure assumptions, unless they have no choice. Custer had the option to assess the situation better for planning purposes.
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An excellent example of Unity of Command occurred in the Civil War. Prior to General Grant, Union Division and Corps Commanders indulged in independent campaigns. Grant stopped that. He told the generals that he was the boss, and they would follow his campaign plans and orders.
