| Summary, etc |
The sheer intensity, scale and duration of the Russia-Ukraine war marks a significant Paradigm shift in the very nature of war-fighting in the current era. Conflict now closely resembles the titanic battles and carnages of the First World War or even the grinding battles of attrition that marked the closing stages of the Second World War. In the dynamic between offense and defence; between tank and anti-tank Weapons; between Aircraft and Air Defence Systems, we are seeing a new equilibrium that clearly favoursdefence over offense. Singular Artillery has once again become the critical war winning factor, just as it was in the two world wars. Additionally, over 3,600 Tactical Ballistic, Cruise and Hypersonic missiles have been fired by Russia alone in this war. The resultant scale of casualties and carnage have been simply unprecedented in our times. Most military analysts feel that we are witnessing a pivotal moment in military history—the re-ascendence of defence as the decisive form of war. The levels of battlefield transparency today are simply unprecedented. This makes surprise impossible to achieve. Sans surprise and given the very high levels of lethality of Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs), most attacks result in very heavy casualties in men & material and result in carnage & stalemates with little to show for the effort and resources expended. Given the scale of casualties, we will have to focus hard on Force—preservation, reconstitution of badly battered units and quick replacement of casualties in future wars. Author Maj Gen (Dr) G D Bakshi is a combat veteran with considerable experience in Kargil, Kishtwar and Rajouri sectors of J&K. He is a renowned military historian and a prolific writer who has written over 41 books. He is India’s most popular commentator on TV on matters–military. |
