In this approach, armored vehicles drive toward a trench line to draw fire from the defenders. One is called reconnaissance through combat. Russia’s army has its own tactics for storming trenches, leaning on its advantage in the quantity of howitzers and other artillery, and on an abundance of soldiers. “The faster they run, the more chances they have of success and surviving,” Myron said. The trick is to pound the trench until the infantry is as close as possible - without hitting your own soldiers. Myron, the commander of an artillery battery that has supported infantry storming trenches.Ĭhoreography is key, he said. “They should be sitting, hiding, unable to do anything,” said Capt. One video of an Ukrainian assault, filmed from a drone and used for training, shows two Ukrainians sneaking up on a trench in the early morning, as Russians apparently sleep, jumping in and walking to the entry of the bunker.Īlternatively, the goal is to force all those in the trench to keep their heads down with a cacophony of firepower. The goal is to get as close as possible before the enemy has an opportunity to fire on the soldiers, who are open and vulnerable as they maneuver. Ukraine’s army made available for interviews members of the squad that stormed the Russian trench on May 20 in eastern Ukraine, part of a reconnaissance unit of the 59th Brigade.
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“They were all hiding,” Oleksandr said.įor months, Ukraine has been training specialized units for such assaults, with allies like the United States and Britain instructing Ukrainian soldiers on how to coordinate artillery, armored vehicles and infantry. Flown in by the Ukrainians ahead of the troops, it scared the Russians into their bunkers, leaving the approaches to the trench unguarded.
Oleksandr.Īn exploding drone also helped. “It really helped that our tank was working on them,” said one member of the assault team, Sgt. The assault group fired 3,000 bullets from two American-provided Browning machine guns, one commander named Kozak said, in an indication of the immense ammunition requirements for troops on the offensive.īy the time a squad of Ukrainian soldiers arrived at the rim of the Russian trench, soldiers who took part said in interviews, the defenders appeared deafened by the artillery explosions and too disoriented to fight back. Then armored Humvees bounced forward over a field, firing machine guns, the men said. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Timesĭuring the assault in May, Ukrainian mortar units bombarded the position. officials suggested Monday has begun, and which will entail breaking through belts of Russian land mines, tank barriers and trenches.
Some who participated described a fast, well-choreographed operation of a type that is likely to play a pivotal role in Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, which U.S. Ukrainian soldiers chose the louder option for an assault on a trench line in May. The goal is to breach a maze of protected firing positions and bunkers linked by sunken walkways and guarded by the enemy. POKROVSK, Ukraine - Armies have been storming trench lines for more than 100 years, but for all the advances in military technology, it is no less harrowing now than it was when soldiers were crossing the muddy battlefields of World War I.Īssaults can be stealthy and surgical, employing surprise, or launched with overwhelming force, using drone strikes, or tanks and artillery.
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