Monday, February 14, 2022

Will Mud Impact A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine?

Image: Reuters  

Peter Suciu, National Interest: Will Mud Prevent a Russian Invasion of Ukraine? 

It may slow down an advance, but it likely wouldn't be enough to stop it. 

It has been said that Russia's weather helped save the motherland from numerous invasions. While harsh winters played a major role, so too did the Russian mud that came from the fall rains and spring thaws. 

“Rasputitsa” is the Russian term for the two seasons of the year—spring and autumn—when travel on unpaved roads across the vast plains of the country becomes difficult due to the muddy conditions. The term literally translates to "thaw," but it has come to mean "time without roads." 

The Rasputitsa may have saved Novgorod from conquest during the 13th century Mongol invasion, and Napoleon's forces were greatly slowed by the mud during the French invasion of Russia in 1812. The months-long Rasputitsa certainly slowed the German advance during the Battle of Moscow in the fall of 1941, which may have helped save Moscow from capture.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: You got to avoid the bogs .... Watch Russian tanks get stuck in mud during training exercise near Ukraine border (Task & Purpose). 

Will Mud Impact A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine? 

In Russia's Ukraine Plans, How Much Does the Mud Matter? -- Military.com/AP  

Spring thaw unlikely to be a factor in any Russian invasion of Ukraine, experts say -- PA News  

How could the weather influence any potential Russian invasion of Ukraine? -- Forces.net  

Wetlands and radioactive soil: How Ukraine's geography could influence a Russian invasion -- Washington Post  

Putin confronts the mud of Ukraine -- Richard Galant, CNN

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much for the prediction from WNU on a previous post stating that Russians train in mud all the time and would not be a problem, hey?

Anonymous said...

Would T34s have had a problem?

https://www.mathscinotes.com/2016/06/tank-track-ground-pressure-examples/

Tank (lbf/in2)


T34/85 10.5
T80 13.1
M1A2 15.4

Maybe any tank would.