"...the 115th eventually had to withdraw. In about a four days it suffered 30 killed, 100 wounded and another 30 are missing. By Ukrainian standards, these are heavy losses."
Extremely heavy losses. If we take into account basically all those losses were from infantry on the line, and Ukrainian companies are 80 men at full strength, that's one battalion made combat ineffective in 4 days.
Quite possibly the bde was already well below full strength already, so it's not a stretch to say it's basically made combat ineffective in 4 days. And they are still holding their lines and fighting. So much for all the talk on social media they "ran away"...
A lot of brigades are at 40% even. One commander sent trained artillery personnel to the front as untrained infantry and most of them died. That was one decision that led to his replacement. Recently, they determined that support units could still function with fewer people so thousands were redesignated as infantry.
The 115th is working with an independent battalion in its area of responsibility, so that helps, but its losses are a reflection of the heavy fighting on both flanks, its counter attack, and the massive Russian airstrikes and bombardments. 30 missing is very unusual.
I don't know how the rumor started that the 115th ran away. It could have been started in Russian media and picked up by others, but such an advance will elevate emotions, for both those who celebrate it and those who are concerned about it. And then, as people seek news, the first fragments of information spreads at the speed of the internet, whether it is true or not.
Thank you so very much for this detailed text. It makes things much clearer for me. And thank you for this « While advancing along the narrow treelines on both sides of the railroad, Russia was very vulnerable to artillery fire. With sufficient artillery fire, Ukraine could have easily stopped any attack along this route. Even with a breakthrough, the reinforcements and supplies traveling along the railroad could be interdicted with artillery. But Ukraine has never had enough artillery ammo. »
Thanks Don . .
"...the 115th eventually had to withdraw. In about a four days it suffered 30 killed, 100 wounded and another 30 are missing. By Ukrainian standards, these are heavy losses."
Extremely heavy losses. If we take into account basically all those losses were from infantry on the line, and Ukrainian companies are 80 men at full strength, that's one battalion made combat ineffective in 4 days.
Quite possibly the bde was already well below full strength already, so it's not a stretch to say it's basically made combat ineffective in 4 days. And they are still holding their lines and fighting. So much for all the talk on social media they "ran away"...
A lot of brigades are at 40% even. One commander sent trained artillery personnel to the front as untrained infantry and most of them died. That was one decision that led to his replacement. Recently, they determined that support units could still function with fewer people so thousands were redesignated as infantry.
The 115th is working with an independent battalion in its area of responsibility, so that helps, but its losses are a reflection of the heavy fighting on both flanks, its counter attack, and the massive Russian airstrikes and bombardments. 30 missing is very unusual.
I don't know how the rumor started that the 115th ran away. It could have been started in Russian media and picked up by others, but such an advance will elevate emotions, for both those who celebrate it and those who are concerned about it. And then, as people seek news, the first fragments of information spreads at the speed of the internet, whether it is true or not.
I dont know if the rumor truly came from this Forbes article but said article was widely used as a source across FR medias.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/04/23/a-ukrainian-brigade-disappeared-and-a-russian-brigade-almost-broke-through-how-the-battle-for-ocheretyne-upended-the-war-in-ukraine-this-weekend/
Ugh, David Axe. One of the least reliable sources covering this war or any other.
Thank you so very much for this detailed text. It makes things much clearer for me. And thank you for this « While advancing along the narrow treelines on both sides of the railroad, Russia was very vulnerable to artillery fire. With sufficient artillery fire, Ukraine could have easily stopped any attack along this route. Even with a breakthrough, the reinforcements and supplies traveling along the railroad could be interdicted with artillery. But Ukraine has never had enough artillery ammo. »
Very good writeup!
Thanks Don