Thread by @MarkHertling

This is a spot-on thread by @LivFaustDieJung.

Those who have never done a combined arms breach - in training or combat - will read this thread and say “wow, that sounds near impossible.”

It is. To execute a successful breach a commander had all sorts of things…1/

https://twitter.com/livfaustdiejung/status/1661770945126707200

…happening at once.
-intelligence prep of the battlefield (with shaping operations, raids, deception, etc)
-a great plan with a solid synchronization matrix
-various means to suppress the enemy (artillery, direct fire, electronic jamming & other means)
-obscuring the breach 2/

-a well-rehearsed breach force with plows, mine clearing charges, “cutters,” etc
-marking of the breach lanes for a well-rehearsed follow-on force that will hold the shoulders of the breach
-a plan to the attack or bypass the defending force that is over watching the breach
…3/

--rapid aid/recovery for those wounded in the breach
-push of logistics and more follow-on forces through the breach to continue the attack.

And as @LivFaustDieJung said at his thread’s end, all the while the enemy is shooting at you, ‘cause the enemy always gets a vote. 4/

In Ukraine’s situation, this isn’t just happening in one place, it’s happening in many.

The Russians have been constructing complex obstacle belts (mines, wire, trenches, tank ditches, dragons’ teeth) all supported by manned stationary positions. 5/

A flash: combat is hard, and breaching (as I said in a previous thread) is one of the toughest missions there is!

My unit was part of a breach force in Desert Storm. We prepared, but luckily we were unopposed (no Iraqis defending the berm). 6/

As a Brigade Commander at the US National Training Center against a trained U.S. “opposing force,” we got our clocked cleaned due to poor planning, bad rehearsals, little synchronization of forces. 7/

Returning to the NTC as the “COG” (head trainer) and at Grafenwoehr as the CG, I observed dozens of US and multinational units attempt breaches against trained opposing forces.

None were pretty. 8/

What we may likely see in Ukraine is a well-prepared, newly-armed w/ advanced western weapons UA against complex Russian obstacle belts defended by poorly-trained, poorly-led, [mostly] newly-mobilized Russian soldiers.

The difference will be leadership, training, trust. 9/

The shaping fight & the prep of the battlefield - what we’re seeing now in multiple locations - will make a difference in depleting Russian capabilities & their view of what’s next.

This may be why the bigger offensive hasn’t started yet…but there are things happening. 10/10