In the month of June Some images They highlighted a dangerous evolution of assault tactics, one where the Russian army began to Use motorcycles as a main tool to move towards the Ukrainian lines, in an attempt to avoid the destruction of their armored Modern to the power of drones. Now, the electronic war in Ukraine has turned each technological innovation into a weapon with the days counted. Solution? The return of the cavalry.
A symbolic return. Yes, the war in Ukraine, characterized by a massive deployment of drones, precision artillery and electronic war, has led the Russian army to explore solutions of archaic appearance: the Reintroduction of horses On the battlefield. What began as improvisations With donkeys and horses To transport supplies in the front, it has evolved towards formal training units mounted, according to The Kommersant newspaper.
The idea greatly reflects the point of the dead to which modern technologies have reached a saturated front of electronic interference, where even the most sophisticated systems have been limited, forcing resort to basic methods that evoke the wars of the past.
Training and tactics. In the Donetsk region, the commander of the “Storm” unit of the 9th Brigade has organized Horse training for assault troops. Exercises, video recorded and released in pro -government channels Like “Wargonzo”show soldiers galloping through open fields, some sharing a mount: one controls the animal and the other prepares to open fire.
The approach is that, once the objective is achieved, both combatants dismantle and advance on foot against the enemy position. The tests also seek that horses get used to noise of shooting and explosions, minimizing the risk of being scared in combat. Its alleged advantages include the ability to move at night, accelerate without roads and, according to Russian controls, guide themselves by instinct to avoid mines.
Limitations and symbolism. Despite these virtues, the use of horses raises important inconveniences: their weight can detonate antipersonnel mines, require constant food and care, and have a load capacity much lower than that of armored vehicles.
Therefore, even Kommersant emphasizes that the cavalry will hardly be deployed on a large scale and that the measure is, above all, a symbolic gesture in a conflict that, despite being the scene of leading technologies, has forced the parties to also resort to rudimentary solutionsfrom analog telephone lines to cargo animals. The stamp of Russian soldiers on horseback contrasts with the official story of technological innovation and highlights the material and tactical wear of the campaign.
Cavalry Brigade of the SS in Russia, 1941
The vintage resource. The resource for horses is not the first Russian attempt to use unconventional alternatives in the front. It We have counted before: units have been documented in motorcycles, quads, and even E-SCOOTERS AND MONOCICLOS electric, with unequal results.
In particular, motorcyclist brigades destined to evade Ukrainian drones have suffered Massive casualties: The open field exposure and the absence of coverage made them easy blank, with most bikers eliminated before achieving their goals. The commitment to cavalry reflects the same logic: Quick and low -cost solutions to an enemy with technological advantage, although without guarantees of real effectiveness in combat.
Military stagnation The context of this equine return is the stagnation of the Russian offensive. Between September 20 and 30, Moscow only achieved advance 29 square kmand although in the whole of the month he added 447, most of the profits occurred in little disputed rural areas.
In Donetsk, where the “Storm” unit is concentrated, Russia barely He won 181 square kilometersone of its lowest records in a year. The front has been practically frozen for weeks, which has forced the Kremlin to resort to propaganda measures To show dynamism, while Ukraine recognizes difficulties, but maintains resistance in key nuclei such as Pokrovsk and Dobropillia.
Echoes of the twentieth century. The return of horses to the battlefield is not an exclusive phenomenon of war in Ukraine. During World War II, both Germany and the Soviet Union They used cavalry In patrol operations and logistics support, while Poland was hard stigmatized by the famous riders of riders against tanks in 1939a partially exaggerated myth but showed the obsolescence of classical cavalry against mechanization.
In the Soviet Union, however, mounted units are They used effectively In wooded environments and in the antipartisan struggle, where their mobility offered advantages that vehicles could not match. In subsequent conflicts, horses They reappeared in low intensity wars or in difficult access scenarios. Afghan resistance against Soviet invasion in the 1980s depended largely of horses and mules to transport weapons in mountainous terrain. Paradoxically, after 11-S, the US special forces deployed in Afghanistan They turned to horses To move with its local allies, an image that became a symbol of the clash between the technological war of the 21st century and the indomitable geography of the Hindu Kush.
The paradox. The image of Russian soldiers galloping Between drones and artillery summarizes the paradox of the war in Ukraine: in a conflict turned into a showcase of military innovations (Drones swarms, artificial intelligence applied to combat, Hypersonic weapons and Electronic War), the fatigue of materials and the tactical blockade have returned to the battlefield tools typical of another era.
While it is unlikely that modern cavalry changes the course of the contest, His mere reappearance It is a powerful symbol of to what extent the war in Ukraine has stressed the limits of technology and has forced to reimagine, even with primitive means, the way of fighting.
Image | Wargonzo
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