13 October 2024

After the Kursk Incursion: A Turning Point for Russian Mobilisation?

Aleksandr Golts

Is Russia losing its war of attrition?

It is too early to draw conclusions about the military consequences of the Ukrainian breakthrough in the Kursk region. Fighting there is continuing, and the battlefield is largely hidden by the fog of war. However, the fact that the Ukrainian troops that broke through have been in the Kursk region for more than a month and are still conducting offensive operations, albeit limited, leads to an obvious conclusion. Contrary to previously prevailing theoretical assumptions, based on objective data on population size, size of industrial production, and so on, Russia is beginning to lose in the war of attrition. The fighting in the Kursk region demonstrates Moscow's lack of strategic reserves, forcing serious reconsideration of previous assessments of the combat capabilities of Russian forces and the prospects for future combat operations.

The theory of military art unequivocally states that the key to victory on the battlefield is not a general superiority over the enemy in manpower and military equipment, but the ability to concentrate combat-ready troops in a particular direction, thereby ensuring superiority on that section of the front. Similarly, the experience of combat operations in the Kursk region shows that the most important condition for victory is not a general superiority in mobilisation resources, but the ability to covertly carry out a rapid mobilisation for use in a specific military operation.

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