Instead, a better historical precedent to understand the current fighting in Ukraine can be found in the U.S. Some, however, are outright misleading, and the World War I analogy is one of them. Historical analogies can be imperfect but informative. Latching on to this historical analogy, observers conclude that the current Ukrainian counteroffensive is doomed to failure and that the war is inching toward an inevitable stalemate. As do the gray-scape images of gnarled trees and mud craters inflicted by artillery barrages, as well as pictures of soldiers, drenched and shivering in the cold, standing guard in those dreary trenches that echo scenes from more than a century ago. Satellite images show extensive Russian trenches all along the 700-mile front, with miles upon miles of land mines and fortifications-all of which seem to hark back to a different era. Today, many commentators have likened the current Russia-Ukraine war to the Western Front of World War I. Repeatedly, over the course of the war, hundreds of thousands of soldiers surged out of their trenches and went to their deaths for a few miles of land. Much of this front was characterized by an operational stalemate lasting years on end. In the west, fighting occurred along a 440-mile front that stretched from the English Channel to the Franco-Swiss border. More than a century ago, Europe was convulsed by World War I, pitting the Allies-led by Britain, France, Russia, and eventually the United States-against the Central Powers, led by imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |