GLASS CANNONS FROM GROZNY TO MARIUPOL: WHAT SHOULD THE US MILITARY LEARN FROM RUSSIA’S USE OF ARTILLERY IN PROTRACTED URBAN SIEGES?
Alexander Grinberg | 02.13.23
Glass Cannons from Grozny to Mariupol: What Should the US Military Learn from Russia’s Use of Artillery in Protracted Urban Sieges?
How do you win in a siege when the enemy reaches out and ruins your precious artillery? During the Battle of Minas Tirith in the third Lord of the Rings film, Return of the King, the Witch-king faced a unique challenge: seizing a city with multiple layers of defense to include rings of walls armed with trebuchets. The city’s defenders flung giant chunks of stone, destroying siege towers and removing the besieging force’s crude catapults from the fight. The Witch-king knew that it wouldn’t be long before Gondor destroyed his artillery. He also knew what such a loss would mean for the siege’s prospects. He responded by flying his Nazgul to suppress and destroy Gondor’s trebuchet positions, enabling his forces to conduct counterfire of their own.
While fictional, the siege highlights real-world problems commanders can face when besieging an enemy-controlled urban center. Cities will be increasingly likely to play a significant role in large-scale combat operations (LSCO) given global urbanization patterns. Urban areas are the modern-day walls and fortresses of J. R. R. Tolkien’s world, capable of halting advances and bogging down attacking forces. Cities also act as a force multiplier for defenders. While fires can reduce a fortress, field artillery places itself at significant risk by conducting siege operations; lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine highlight critical vulnerabilities in artillery survivability and sustainability. Moreover, from a US military perspective, habits developed in comparatively more permissive environments and with the benefit of artillery overmatch must be broken. Instead, commanders should encourage judicious targeting that will preserve fires combat power and maximize effects on the defender in a protracted siege.
A Tale of Two Sieges
Though Russia had overwhelming advantages in equipment and manpower over the Chechens during the Second Chechen War, Russian forces needed to conduct a months-long siege before ultimately capturing the capital of Grozny in February 2000. The Russian army relied on artillery to prepare the battlefield before advancing. Maneuver was held in reserve while the city was shelled for weeks. Despite this preparatory bombardment, Russian maneuver forces entering Grozny found themselves heavily engaged by staunch defenders who mounted stiff resistance. Russian forces leveled large parts of the city, suggesting they became increasingly frustrated at their slow progress. While the city eventually fell, the siege demonstrated how a smaller force could resist a larger army in an urban environment.
https://mwi.usma.edu/glass-cannons-from-grozny-to-mariupol-what-should-the-us-military-learn-from-russias-use-of-artillery-in-protracted-urban-sieges/
