Zapp Branigan: "I sent wave after wave of my own men at them"
It's easily understandable why a strategy that boils down to zerg rushing with poor or missing equipment would result in heavy losses.
It is also understandable why a country that subscribes to an ideology that places very little value on the individual and has a large population would pick such a strategy.
Believing that such a strategy is a morally correct thing is another matter entirely.
What this chart does show is the discrepancy between the different war conducts. Namely that the Ostfront was a horrific meat grinder where life had no value, and there was no point in taking prisoners.
The horrendous losses the soviets suffered in the war had less to do with human wave tactics and more to do with incompetent officers (the competent ones having been largely purged or posted elsewhere - Zhukov's arrival in the theatre marked a significant turning point) and a general order from Stalin to not retreat one inch meaning that their formations would be encircled as the Germans plowed through weak spots in their lines.
Human wave tactics are not unheard-of but they are a lot rarer than you might think, even for communists.
Yeah: the Zapp Branigan comment was a bit of a joke, but it's true that especially in the early days of the war that the Russians were poorly equipped and used sheer numbers to make up for it.
Zapp Branigan: "I sent wave after wave of my own men at them"
It's easily understandable why a strategy that boils down to zerg rushing with poor or missing equipment would result in heavy losses.
It is also understandable why a country that subscribes to an ideology that places very little value on the individual and has a large population would pick such a strategy.
Believing that such a strategy is a morally correct thing is another matter entirely.
What this chart does show is the discrepancy between the different war conducts. Namely that the Ostfront was a horrific meat grinder where life had no value, and there was no point in taking prisoners.
The horrendous losses the soviets suffered in the war had less to do with human wave tactics and more to do with incompetent officers (the competent ones having been largely purged or posted elsewhere - Zhukov's arrival in the theatre marked a significant turning point) and a general order from Stalin to not retreat one inch meaning that their formations would be encircled as the Germans plowed through weak spots in their lines.
Human wave tactics are not unheard-of but they are a lot rarer than you might think, even for communists.
Yeah: the Zapp Branigan comment was a bit of a joke, but it's true that especially in the early days of the war that the Russians were poorly equipped and used sheer numbers to make up for it.