Thread by @partizan_oleg

Thread. How can you take a settlement of 10k ppl with a rifle platoon? Normal commanders would say "no can do", crazy cmdrs may say "just charge them". Where Russian cmdrs will say: "if we strengthen our platoon with 30 tanks, 24 artillery pieces, it may perform better"...(1/n)

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency @DI_Ukraine is making progress in "doxxing" Russian military unit personnel participated in the invasion. By now three RU Ground Forces combat units are included: (2/n)

The 37th Motor Rifle Brigade (omsbr) and thr 5th Guards Tank Brigade from the Eastern MD (link), the 136th Motor Rifle Brigade from the Southern MD, and the 1st Guards Tank Regiment, 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Western MD. (3/n)
gur.gov.ua/content/voenno…

These sheets are revealing a disturbing similarity among RU units, that each of its motor rifle squads are composed of only 6 or 7 men, instead of the theoritical 9. Squads from the 5th gv.otbr have merely 5 men. Now you will find how does it hinder Russian operations. (4/n)

The first casualty of such a man shortage is squad tactics. Russian mrs should be divided into 3 parts: two men man the BMP, 4 men in a "support team", and 3 riflemen in a "maneuver team". BMP and spt team should pin down the enemy when mvr team moves to destroy them. (5/n)

Now that the whole maneuver team is gone. Then how to deploy this squad? How to perform "fire and menuver"? God knows maybe. And if you have one grunt WIA and another dispatched to escort him to the rear, the whole squad gets combat ineffective. (6/n)

In fact, Russian BTGs are already infamous for its lack of riflemen. Normal literature would argue it only has some "200 disembarked infantry" at disposal. But this estimation ignores not only the man shortage, but also another BTG structure: the "tank-heavy" BTGs. (7/n)

A "tank-heavy" BTG is organized by tank regiments/brigades basing on a tank battalion. Such BTGs are commonly seen from the 90th GTD in Brovary and the 4th GTD in Sumy. In theory there shall be 26-28 tank-heavy BTGs, some 1/4 of total RU BTGs committed. (8/n)

And we can see there is ONE motor rifle company, composing of NINE squads, each with 3-5 disembarked infantry, for a 600-men BTG. Such a BTG then has some 27-45 foot-mobiles, roughly a platoon worth. This is obviously way beyond simply "lack of infantry". (9/n)

Such a BTG obtains more combat vehicles than infantrymen. It is not suitable to either take a ground or to hold one. And when you order them to execute such a offensive or defensive action, you get either Brovary or Trostyanets. (10/n)

"Elite" Russian Formations i.e. the VDV and Naval Infantry can be somehow better, but they have their problems. The 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet have 7 men per squad. (11/n)

This VDV BTG from the 247th Guards Airborne Regiment, 7th Guards Airborne Division is in 135 men short. The battalion merely has 74.9% of its authorised strength even before the war. (12/n)

The mostly manned unit discovered so far is the (unexpected) 727nd Naval Infantry Battalion of the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment of the... Caspian Flotilla. 8-men squad. But soon you'll find this battalion is full of "old hags". Just look at these two 40-yo grunts. Man...(13/n)

So where are the Russian manpower locates. In fact we can find very healthy manpower structure in its artillery formation, e.g. this 856th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment of the 144th Guards MRD. Fully-manned with young contracted soldiers. (14/n)

On the other side, the Russians are taking measures to compensate its shortage of infantry...with D/LNR "mobilizists". Local residents with zero military experience are drove into the military and fight alongside with the Russians as cannon folder. (15/n)

In fact, this met an old practice by the Red Army in late-WW2, known as "booty troops" by Walter S. Dunn: when in shortage of manpower, save your skilled men in sophisticated branchs(i.e. armored, artillery, signal, etc), and "loot" your infantry from "newly-liberated areas".(16

But one can put serious doubt in the effectiveness of such "booty troops" since they can't cooperate with Ru armors and have even lower morale than the regular Russian Troops. The shortage of infantry will continue to haunt Russian Forces in the next phase of war. (17/End)

Update: 1st BTG, 70th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment has 6 men per their squad.

The 126th Coastal Defense Brigade is in a even worse shape. 5-man-squad are common. There is even a certain squad (1st Sqd/3rd Plt/1st MRCoy) was composed of merely TWO MEN: one squad leader + one driver.