As Ukraine's counteroffensive gets underway, look to the World War II-era Normandy fight for guidance on the battles ahead.
The forge of those two tough months in Normandy helped set the stage for the Allies’ successful liberation of France and subsequent sweep into Germany.Getty ImagesToday, the Ukraine battlefield has an eerie similarity to the Allies’ situation in mid-1944. Ukraine is facing a mass of Russian fortifications, staffed largely by poorly equipped, low-quality troops, and bolstered, in some places, by a Russian government promise to shoot anyone who retreats.
Ukraine’s green troops will make mistakes. After the D-Day landings, underprepared and green divisions were challenged by the complex tactics required to move beyond the beach zone. In early July, a month after the D-Day landings, one unready U.S. unit suffered 2,100 casualties to advance some 1,600 yards.
This array of experience levels can lead to complex motivational challenges. While most observers realize that inexperienced troops must learn how to survive through their own experiences or by observing the misfortunes of others, few realize that green, unbloodied troops don’t like to move under fire.
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