From ‘Disposable’ to ‘Specialized’ — Russia Uses 4 Types of Infantry
By this time last year, it was becoming clear that Russia’s battalion tactical groups — allegedly integrated formations of tanks, artillery, and infantry — were combat ineffective.
There are many reasons for their failure, but the big takeaway is this: Russia has been largely unable to leverage the power of combined arms warfare.
As a refresher, combined arms is a force multiplier.
It requires different units with very different battlefield roles to complement each other in a way that forces the enemy to defend against one while making him vulnerable to the others. When implemented properly, the whole effect is very much greater than the sum of its parts.
For example, over the past two decades, the U.S. elevated combined arms into a new hybrid form of warfare that is network-centric and relies on information superiority.
A U.S. Army infantry platoon never moves across the landscape alone. Thanks to combined arms doctrine, that platoon has satellite photos, passive reception of enemy radio emissions, forward observers with digital target designation, specialized scouting aircraft, and if needed, close air support only minutes away. That’s before you throw in armor, artillery, and engineers.
