Battle strategy
Going from being an anonymous village in the Ukrainian countryside to being, day and night, in the headlines does not happen to everyone. This time, it was the turn of the Bakhmut mining center (formerly known as Artemivs'k), a settlement in Donetsk Oblast that once had a population of about 75,000. Already hit by the violence of war during 2014, Bakhmut has been back in the news since the summer of last year.
Since the very first days of August, in fact, the township has once again found itself on the front line. Following the capture of the settlement of Popasna - located about 20 kilometers from the important mining center - offensive action by Donbass paramilitary militias and the armed forces-regular as well as irregular-of the Russian Federation immediately shifted on this settlement as an important urban center of the Oblast. Oblast which, it must always be remembered, has always been claimed by the Russians as a strategic objective to be conquered in its geographical entirety.
However, the summer offensive did not lead to excessive territorial changes around Bakhmut, The situation has come to change rapidly since the fall. Following the abandonment, voluntary or otherwise, of much of Kharkiv and Kherson Oblasts by numerous Russian combat units, there was a precise focus work on the Donbass front., complicit in the difficult winter weather conditions ahead.
After intense weeks of artillery shelling. continuous on the city, the first offensive maneuvers were conducted by Wagner Group paramilitaries - the feared but fierce PMC of Russian businessman and oligarch Prigozin - in the first half of October. The first territorial changes coincided with the seizure of the villages of Opytne and Zaitseve, both located south of the PMC, followed by further conquests to the north. These were, in each case, conquests achieved at great cost, since Ukrainian defenders consistently put up strong armed resistance.
Mud mincer
With the arrival of autumn rains, the situation is only getting worse in this area. The Russian offensive action, in early November, comes to be completely interrupted by mud, which blocks most of the armored vehicles and greatly complicates the task of constantly resupplying the troops at the front. In short, the bucolic scenery of the Ukrainian countryside is transformed, bringing to the eyes of the rest of the world the complicated situations of life at the front. Now, in fact, Ukrainians and Russians face each other in a devastating, yet hardly bearable, trench warfare.
The men, used to operating with the support of MBTs and armored vehicles find themselves unable to rely on armored support and, just as was the case on the fronts of the Great War a hundred years ago, they are forced to rely almost exclusively on their own strength and the artillery support. For entire weeks, the front line remains immobile in Bakhmut, where hundreds of men continue to die daily from the fighting.
Also countless are the wounded and frozen, forced to leave the front lines to receive medical care, as well as extremely high consumption of ammunition and resources.
The situation in Bakhmut remains unchanged almost for the entire months of November and December where, in each case, slow progress is being made by Russian units. During the month of January, however, the scenario on the field began to see Ukrainian defenders in trouble. With the fall of Soledar (located to the north), pincer maneuver begins to emerge directed to encircle-at least in intent-the city, primarily through the capture of the three main Ukrainian supply routes.
The Wagner Group, now invigorated by the presence of several thousand new fighters, and all the other units present, in fact, are beginning to gain ground day by day, increasing the pressure on the city itself, but Devoting most of its efforts to the northern and southern fronts. The fighting thereafter continued according to that plan until early March, when the city came under dangerous encirclement by Russian forces.
Chronology of the war
The harsh winter
The trench warfare, the taking of Soledar and the bombing.
The Taking of Bakhmut
Wagner's pressure increases and the city falls
The importance of drones
Once again, the big players in the battle have been the drones. In this case, however, we are not talking about Turkey's famous Bayraktars or other military-designed products, but the already tried-and-true free-sale commercial drones. These particular systems of civilian conception, in fact, affected the outcome of the battle more than any other means. In fact, in the devastating trench warfare witnessed, they caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides of no man's land. For one thing, these small drones helped monitor every corner of the front line around the clock, directing and adjusting artillery and mortar fire, which, in short order, made individual trenches and emplacements into traps.
Then, performed an important task of reconnaissance and disturbance even within the enemy's lines, often locating and monitoring supply routes and collection points located several kilometers from the front line. Last, comes the most innovative and deadly function.
Hundreds of drones, repurposed and equipped with different types of explosive devices, have been constantly flying over the frontline, bringing death and destruction where needed. Based on videos available on the web, it was possible to assess the devastating effects of this homemade system, which is capable of hitting even small individual targets with extreme precision.
Given the ease of deployment of such weapon systems, coupled with the accuracy amply demonstrated by what can be viewed, it is logical to consider that drones will be called upon to play a pivotal role on every front and in the course of every battle, Representing a partial and inexpensive substitute for the use of aviation in bombing and ground attack functions. Consequently, every regular and irregular actor active in a conflict area should be trained and equipped in employing and countering such systems.
Climate and terrain vs. technology
What happened in Bakhmut over the past four months was an important lesson in military tactics and doctrine. For the first time during the twenty-first century, it was demonstrated that, still today, despite all the technological advances achieved, it is the ground and weather conditions that determine the outcome of a battle Or offensive. Ukrainians and Russians, in fact, found themselves immobilized in the mud of the trenches, once again experiencing all the difficulties and dramas of positional warfare.
Under such an operational condition, the use of heavy vehicles and MBTs was severely restricted, forcing commands to suspend military operations or, at best, limiting them to a series of hand-to-hand strikes, raids and patrol actions conducted with squads of only dismounted men. Under such an operational condition, the number of combatants killed, wounded, or missing saw a steady increase throughout the course of the battle. The main causes of death and injury are due to artillery fire, which is omnipresent in Bakhmut, drone action, and individual and team firearms.
Also important, at least from what we have seen so far, have been the consequences of the lack of an appropriate underground shelter system and from the lack - mainly found among the Russian ranks but certainly present on the Ukrainian side as well - Of clothing suitable for extremely cold climates and temperatures. Given the unpredictability and ever-changing warfare scenarios, it would be advisable for each Armed Force to refine and increase the training of operational units under extreme conditions, as seen in Bakhmut, and without the aid of combat vehicles and heavy equipment.
In particular, training of the individual combatant and teams to operate in the context of positional warfare is essential, where one is forced to live and fight for entire weeks in cramped and unsanitary spaces, being constantly subjected to the pounding effect-especially psychologically-of artillery. Of great importance, moreover, is training and refinement in the operations of assaulting, cleaning and clearing trenches, where close combat is often of unprecedented violence, almost bordering on hand-to-hand combat.
Urban warfare
The Battle of Bakhmut involved two types of environments. On the one hand, men have fought In the mud of the Ukrainian countryside, on the other violent armed clashes took place Among the city's residential buildings and industrial ruins. From what has emerged from the past five months of battle, an urban combat scenario always presents itself as one of the most difficult and complex realities in which to operate. As witnessed in the past by major urban combat, the number of men and resources required to operate in such an environment is very large, especially because of the high human and material losses found.
For obvious reasons, an urban warfare environment represents a strong advantage for the defending side and, in opposite, corresponds to a disadvantage for the attacking forces, which are generally forced to operate against a well-positioned enemy inside buildings. An urban battle, moreover, requires a special contribution of blood and effort from the infantry, which is often forced to operate without the support of armored and armored vehicles, Too exposed to ambush and enemy fire, and without close air support (to avoid cases of "friendly fire").
The defense of a major population center, however, also presents critical issues, as seen just over the past few days. Indeed, while hardly an attacking force will push to take over every single meter of a city with a frontal assault, it is highly likely that there are major offensive actions aimed at severing the supply lines of the defenders and, consequently, at the encirclement of the built-up area.
Such wartime logic, in short, corresponds with the most effective-and certainly the least expensive-tool for deciding the outcome of an urban battle (see also the case of Stalingrad, Berlin and numerous equivalent situations).
Consequently, in case of clashes in similar environments, it is essential to focus attention on frontline areas where offensive action aimed at encircling an urban center is easiest, opting for a resilient, in-depth defense (including through the aid of numerous minefields), capable of providing adequate protection to the main supply and transit routes. In addition, essential to the outcome of the battle is the availability of mobile reserves for use in situations of need.
In case of lack of reserves, in any case, it is advisable to reduce the number of men and resources deployed within the urban context, easier to defend even in conditions of numerical disadvantage, so as to reinforce the flanks and more fragile areas of the front.
Artillery
The great protagonists of the battle were some of the oldest systems still in the field: artillery and mortars. Used in large numbers by both contenders, they generated a scenario very similar to what was seen during World War I on the European fronts.
Daily, thousands of rounds were launched against Bakhmut's front lines and rear lines, irreparably transforming the landscape of the area. Together with the mud, artillery contributed to an extremely uneven terrain that was hostile to any movement, inflicting extensive damage in human and material losses.
On the other hand, the extensive and continuous artillery deployment forced both sides to convey a very high amount of ammunition to the Bakhmut area, depleting the depots and other sections of the front, now less affected by the fighting.
Great concern, moreover, has emerged from official communiqués from NATO and the various European countries, which have now run out of heavy weapons ammunition. The same difficulty, in any case, also involved the Russians, who found themselves in a situation of momentary tension between some of the departments present at the front - in particular the Wagner Group - and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, accused of not providing sufficient resources to fighters. Consequently, artillery should again be regarded as an instrument of fundamental importance to the outcome of any battle or military operation.
Artillery action, in particular, becomes even more crucial in the case of a standoff to the front and a battle of attrition, just as happened in Bakhmut. It must, however, be taken into account that the massive use of similar armaments also requires the presence of an industrial production system capable of sustaining the war effort over a long period, so as to avoid disruptions in the use of such armaments.
The role of PMCs
Despite the number and type of units employed by both sides at Bakhmut, the great protagonists of the battle were Wagner Group's men. Within a few months, Russia's private military company dramatically increased the number of its men, reaching a figure of about 50,000 fighters at the beginning of the year 2023. This impressive increase was mainly due to the enlistment-mostly voluntary-of a segment of the Russian prison population, who were offered freedom in exchange for service at the front.
Service that, for the most part, was performed between the trenches of Bakhmut, where Wagner's new enlistees were repeatedly deployed during offensive actions that often proved inconclusive. However, the great availability of human resources, combined with the ability to rely on the support of countless artillery and armored systems, allowed the group's commands to achieve, step by step, important territorial gains, until the current tactical situation around the mining center was achieved.
The group's growth, however, has not gone unnoticed within the Russian Federation. As anticipated in the preceding lines, there are numerous accounts and rumors regarding the rifts that have arisen between the group's leadership and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, mostly due to the growing primary role assumed by the Group during the Bakhmut events. As a result, it is easy to see that the Wagner system-no matter how peculiar in the eyes of many-has proved particularly effective from a war perspective, in part due to the group's ideological-economic system.
It is logical to guess, at this point. the role and importance exerted by PMCs or groups with a strong ideological component, especially when endowed with ample economic resources and military technology, is bound to increase more and more on contemporary and future battlefields. What makes the difference, in particular, is the presence of a Strong motivation (dictated by different causes) to fight, characteristic that, at times, has often been lacking in other regular departments of the Russian Armed Forces and regular AAFs of other nations engaged in different contexts.
Do you know the lessons of the Battle of Bakhmut?
Andrea De Poli
Class of 1996, he graduated in 2020 with a degree in linguistic sciences from the Catholic University of the
Sacro Cuore in Milan, later perfecting his studies in Strategic Affairs at LUISS in Rome.
He currently works for the family business group, devoting part of his free time to the
study of major armed, social and political conflicts of the twentieth century and the present day. Over the years, he has
intended special attention also to the entire social, political and economic environment of the Middle
East, Ukraine and North Africa. In 2021, he published "Hezbollah: History, Organization
and doctrine of the Party of God."
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