Mick Ryan
Assault river crossings have featured in military operations since antiquity. During the Persian invasion of Greece in 480BC, Xerxes constructed a pontoon bridge across the Hellespont. The Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade (1097–1098), and the Siege of Damascus during the Second Crusade (1148) both featured military river crossing operations. The more modern wars of the 20th century have also seen many assault river crossings as part of land campaigns in Europe and elsewhere.
River crossing operations are an important element of combined arms maneuver that modern armies have retained in their arsenals because of their enduring relevance. The current situation in Ukraine highlights again while modern armies prepare for such operations. In at least two parts of the front line in Ukraine, there is potential for river crossings in the short term.
There have been recent reports about the Russian Army planning to conduct an operation to cross the Dnipro River, with the possible aim of advancing on Kherson. On 2 December, the Institute for the Study of War reported that a Russian milblogger had amplified claims that Russian forces will renew offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast some time after December 5 and that the Russians might also attempt a crossing of the Dnipro River somewhere in Kherson Oblast.
No comments:
Post a Comment