don’t let this picture mislead you.
human-waves usually were armed , sometimes with tanks, and not led by Jude Law.
Do you think this often used and costly tactic necessary to repel the facist invaders?
wouldn’t it better to train personnel more so they could fight in a more western style-(IE fire and manuever)
There is no glory in unnecessary frontal assaults on well-armed and well-fortified positions.
One of the reasons for these assaults was to avoid low-ranking officers having to make any decisions - decisions were for the higher-ups to take (a feature of Soviet life in general). No choice of left-flanking or right-flanking - only straight up the middle
And there were plenty of unarmed or lightly-armed assaults, particularly with punishment battalions. There’s even a case of urban intellectuals being recruited (rather forcibly) en masse, having their revolutionary spirit appealed to and then being sent in against tanks with Berdan II rifles (obsolete single-shot black powder rifles). A good way to get rid of troublemakers and “class enemies” :shock:
The contempt for human life in the Red Army was astonishing - but with a population of 196,000,000 (IIRC) you can afford to do this if you have no respect for human life.
the question is, why did the russians resort to this unnecessary, wasteful tactic? it obviously won’t do much except use up a bit of ammo on the part of the germans.
besides getting rid of undesireables, even soviet guards units performed this kind of thing alot.
The Blitzkreig and a few phsycological operations prior to Op Barabrossa ensured that Stalin and co were complete unprepared for the attack.
The Russians lost all kinds of matierial, including planes, tanks and guns and the factories that made them.
Stalin also purged many of his better officers because he felt threatened by them.
Even in the first world war the Russians had used this tactic, and had a shortage of weapons.
It was at the time, the best (if not only) defence Russia could put up.
Even today the Russian vehicles and equipment is designed to be easily if somewhat crudely manufactured, even in a garden shed.
The Mig-29 Fulcrum is said to be largely repairable by a car mechanic!!!
They learnt from their mistakes, don’t think the same could be said of a F-16E!!!
well, when russia had its industry going again, which was in 1942, they still used wave assaults even until the battle of berlin.
Another important reason - ill-trained, or indeed untrained troops cannot carry out anything any more complicated. By mid-war, infantry training was only a few days long :shock:
If that!!!
So many people died without reason ,an armed mans attack germans soldiers in tranches and and bunkers with mg’s .
Well, the Germans started it!!!
Many fine people died during the war. But it also catapulted us forward.
The jet engine, the space race, nuclear power (the good sort), penicillin, the first programmable computer (colosus, ie British).
Having read some autobiographies of Russian WW2 soldiers, most soldiers were farm boys (and girls) with minimum schooling (7 years). If a youth had 10 years schooling, he went straight to NCO / officer’s school on recruitment. Those who had mechanical experience e.g. as tractor or truck drivers, or from working on machinery in factories, went straight to armoured units or the air force.
One guy, who was a lieutenent with a motorised rifle unit, described how they received reinforcements while having been pulled out of the line into a tented camp maybe 50 km behind the front line, after having suffered heavy losses during a preceeding battle. The blokes came out to the camp, right from the recruitment center, where they only received ill fitting uniforms and rifles, no training. All the training had to be done just in the rear of the frontline in about two weeks, before the unit had to go forward again.
This is not time to train a soldier (IIRC Tubbyboy wrote that it takes up to three years to train a soldier to really know his tasks).
The job for a junior officer in the Red Army was to LEAD, physically LEAD, his men. He had to run ahead in a charge, shouting “follow me” and to drive them, if necessary using a rifle butt, to face the enemy. Tactical decisions were not encouraged, though later in war, and in some situations (house fighting in Stalingrad), they actually adopted cover and move tactics, learned in the field by trial and error.
Jan
And if Jude Laws film is to be believed there were a few other methods of encouragment also!!!
Farm boys with minimal edication and minimal military training ,go in fight and they win they retake stalingrad :lol: :lol:
Possibly a little on the simplistic side there, me ole china.
Did the russians ever actually lose stalingrad? I mean actually quit all of it?
No they not germans in very places been very very close to Volga .
Didn’t think they got pushed out.
But then if you’re defending the city that bears the name of your illustrious leader, “the steal man”, you don’t jack it do you.
I believe alot of energy was expended keeping that place, when perhaps it may have been of more strategic sense to abandon it and fight else where.
Quite true 1000ydstare!
Off-topic:
We had MIG 29 and the avionics is very simple.
The only problem should be on pilots. Mig 29 are known to be very instable in flight.
Germans attack 3 times on day with all forces ,in that time no one want to be in stalingrad.
Regarding the mig 29s the main problem that i was told by several pilots was that if you were a above 6ft 2 it was a bit cramped!!! this came from the top hungarian MIG29 pilot and several german pilots whom i met in a bar at RAF fairford.
they also told me that sometimes bits fall off but they ask me not to tell anyone that so everyone ahs to forget now that i have told you!!
bits fall off? from where? the engine?
what is the point in a human wave assault sending one out of two men with a rifle and a clip of 5 bullets of ammunition.
It’s ridiculous, i know they expected the ones without rifles to pick up their fallen comrades ones but what would a soldier charging towards the germans withouta a Rifle accomplish ?
If anything it would raise the Germans morale then lower it , the germans would think that, Hey, these Russians are easy to kill.