that's what I was thinking about while cutting vegetables for Ragu alla Bolognese, which is slowly cooking now, so I'll present my (miss)understanding of what Soviet tactics would be for "this sort of campaign":
I assume three times plus numerical superiority (it's probably fulfilled: I've previously posted
- the Desert Group comprises about five thousand men, and
- ISIL has less than one thousand men to defend
and if the numbers were correct, it wouldn't be mixing apples and oranges when relating these numbers to the situation south to Tabqa ... or would it?),
and I suppose, in the action described below, terrain features don't play any role (it may not be the case in the oil fields there, I guess, but let's move on):
I'll give an imaginary example using the map I posted before
https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/is...no-oped-no-policis.t6913/page-375#post-400634
and if the target was Resafa (I repeat that's just an example, but I assume the distances to be as they are in what I'm trying to describe), the Desert Group should move as fast as it can toward it; at one point in time (on Day Two perhaps) it would be found out (by recon) the OPFOR is about to block the road and to counter-strike around the "point 42 in the middle", the Desert Group would split into:
- long move north: mainly tanks plus self-propelled howitzers;
- long move south: mainly tanks plus self-propelled howitzers;
- static part (mainly MLRSs, towed artillery, Infantrymen) stopping for the moment of the expected counter-strike, just to be able to hold off AT FIRST
Then, the OPFOR either retreats (toward Resafa in this imaginary scenario), or ends up in what I think is called fire sack.
This is then repeated until the Desert Group reaches the town, with the assault to start immediately (I think it's called something like "from the march"), to be able to dig in and ... I might go on, but I'll wait for reactions here first LOL and before you redirect me to Sci-Fi Thread, let me tell you if it had been 1986, that's what I think would've happened.
It seems to me the group instead moved way too slowly, had to assume perimeter defense by now ... in the middle of nowhere.
I guess so ... it's going to be two weeks tomorrow during which the Dessert Group has been in the open!
the next post will be maybe even more puzzling ...
