Thursday, March 28

Russian military secrets for almost two centuries


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The figures are hard, but crystal clear. Even in a suitable setting for Vladimir Putin, which is raised from the Kremlin, the casualties of the Russian army are already in the thousands. Ukraine, in fact, claims that they number 29,000. It should surprise us, but, as he explains to ABC Borja Fernandez Zurron, is not something new: “Their conflicts have been characterized by a very high number of dead and wounded.” Does not lie. In the First World War, before the revolution, the Empire of the Tsars had to mourn almost three and a half million casualties. And the same thing happened in World War II, with more than 25 million between civilians and military. Shocking for a country with an anemic population compared to the immense extension of its territory.

Fernández, author of the YouTube channel ‘
fish memories
‘ and of ‘It’s war!‘ – a new popular book that already has three editions behind it – also states that Russia has relied on a second ‘secret’ (with many quotes) to finish off its enemies throughout history: the use massive artillery against enemy cities. He spent what they call the great patriotic war against Nazism, but it was institutionalized in doctrine after the battle they held in Grozny of 1999 against the Chechens. The idea was simple: reduce the pockets of resistance to rubble to avoid urban combat and, once the defenses were softened, assault the positions with infantry and armor. Does it ring a bell?

All in all, these are just some of the secrets hidden in the book ‘Memorias de pez’, a work that reviews the great conflicts of the 20th century with the graphic support offered by the illustrations of Sarah Gonzalez Garcia. ABC interviewed both of them when they began their adventures on YouTube in 2017. At the time, their YouTube channel had about 10,000 followers. Today, five years later, Fernández already hoards 1,350,000. The figures, as they happen to Russia, do not lie and place it in the ‘top ten’ of the Spanish disseminators of historical content on the platform. “Young people are very eager to learn and hungry for knowledge. It has been difficult for culture to find the format for the new generations, but in the end it has succeeded », he says.

Why focus the book on wars?

Most of my videos focus on military history. I was convinced that a first book dealing with the wars of the 20th century was perfect for my audience. This period is of great interest to the general public. But I gave it one more twist and looked for different and less studied conflicts: the genocide in Rwanda, the colonial race through Africa… I want to give a small base of each one.

What is the importance of war throughout history?

There are two things that have shaped the world we live in: economy and the war. Both are intertwined in such a way that one cannot be understood without the other. War is the failure of the human being as a species, it is true, but the human being has failed many times.

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«War is the failure of the human being as a species, it is true, but the human being has failed many times»

And the military importance of Spain in the 20th century?

In the 20th century, Spain began to lose the influence it had had centuries ago. It was something normal because, especially at the demographic level, it ceased to be important worldwide. Also because the 19th century was tough and made us leave very late. There was a time when it was a technological and military power thanks to the fact that its demographic deficiency was not too abrupt with respect to the rest.

Was that the main cause of his downfall?

One of them. It’s simple: the less population, the less capacity to maintain the territories.

You were talking about the economy, what influence does it have on wars in general?

In the end, what countries in a conflict are looking for are incentives. Nations go to war because they think they can come out in a stronger economic position. Although this paradigm has been modified by nuclear weapons. The destruction that can be reached means that direct fights are avoided.

And in Ukraine?

Russia has started this war to try to recover the political, economic and social influence it had in Ukraine. The economy is key in conflicts because it allows the invader to benefit from the resources of another country. We have also seen that the Western response has been fundamentally economic; through a battery of sanctions.

What precedents are there for wars in which Russia has participated in the 20th century?

The almost perfect parallel to the current situation is the Winter War. This pitted the USSR against Finland in 1939 and early 1940. It began with a Soviet invasion to ward off the threat of a country allied with Germany near the border. They thought it was going to be a military parade, that the war was going to end in a week, but the defenders resisted thanks to their training and their equipment. In the end they inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviet Army. But there were many more: Chechnya, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya

Borja Fernández, from the channel 'Memories of fish'
Borja Fernández, from the channel ‘Memories of fish’

Did we believe that the Russian armed forces were better than they really are?

We have overestimated Russia. It is normal. With more modest rivals the Russian armed forces had behaved well. But in the end we have realized that all that glittered was not gold and that there were more problems in her breasts than were initially considered.

In Afghanistan they did manage to take the capital at full speed….

The afghanistan war It was an unmitigated defeat. Although they managed to take over the country in a lightning mission like the one they have tried in this conflict, the rest of the conflict was painful because of the Afghan insurgency. It was a constant headache and loss of men and material for the Kremlin. It was Soviet Vietnam.

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What differences exist between both scenarios?

In Afghanistan they came to take power. They conquered the country and the centers of power and raised the Afghan Communist Party. That, this time, has not happened. Not even that lightning operation has gone well for them. It is true that, if we compare with the first day of the war, they have more territory. But the trend is that Ukraine is regaining lost territory. It is not ruled out that they expel Russian troops from the territory.

I was talking about Syria…

It is a very complex conflict. It was the most important war of the past decade. Bashar al-Assadan ally of Russia, underwent a great revolution, the so-called Arab Spring, supported by part of his army. He got fundamentalists and Islamists out of prisons and managed to contaminate those protests. He divided them into two tendencies: one more moderate and the other in which Sunni radicalism became preponderant. From there came groups like Islamic State Y Jabhat Al-Nusra. The fourth side in discord was that of the Kurds, the most Westernized people. This has become strong with US weapons in northern Syria and fights so that the rebels in the service of Turkey do not erase them from the map.

What power supports each side?

Russia supports the government side. United States to the moderate rebels and the Kurds. Turkey, for its part, is trying to hold northwestern Syria with its own rebel groups.

And Libya?

A bit the same. After the Arab Spring and from the death of Gaddafi a war broke out between the different rebel factions. Three sides formed. The first, supported by Turkey, with the government in Tripoli. The second, that of General Hafter, supported by Egypt and Russia. The third in discord is the one formed by the affiliates of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the area, which right now no longer control territory, but which were quite active.

Was disaster in sight?

Until now the Russian Army had carried out brilliant operations. had no problems in Kazakhstan this year, nor Syrianor in Libyanor in Mali… Nothing indicated that a disaster of this magnitude could happen. But we did not expect such a clear and forceful response from the West either.

What signs were there?

Many variables. Among them the Russian population, which is not so large either, or the GDP, which is between that of Spain and Italy. With such indicators it seemed strange that Russia could have such a powerful and modern army. It has taken a high-intensity conflict, much greater than Putin expected, for the truth to be seen. Yet so little was the collapse predictable. In the end, much has depended on the morale of the Ukrainian people, which has given time for aid and sanctions to arrive.

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How does Russia use artillery in conflicts?

Artillery has been the cornerstone of the russian doctrine for years. But we see how the Ukrainian counterbattery is putting their enemy in check. In a world in which we have laser-guided ammunition, in which the use of drones and reconnaissance aircraft is so important, intelligence and surveillance means are key. The US is providing incredible support to Ukraine in this regard. Thanks to him they know where the Russian troops and their command centers are. Hence the accuracy of the Ukrainian artillery and its successes.

The problem is that, as Russia is not achieving the expected objectives, it has opted to destroy cities with artillery before sending its troops inside. If you don’t have resources to be more precise, you must advocate destruction.

In what era was the Russian artillery most decisive?

In the WWIIRussian battles were preceded by immense artillery bombardments.

The book talks about the Civil War. What do you think about the relationship that some experts from the International Brigades have with the Ukrainian Foreign Legion?

Both rest under the same premise: solidarity and empathy with one side. That sentiment made – and has made – thousands of combatants come to their aid. In what they are not at all alike is in ideology. In fact, I’d say it’s almost the opposite. But that little romantic ideal of coming to the aid of the weakest does exist. Although foreign volunteers have been in all conflicts. In the 21st century we have seen them with the Islamic State. Dozens of terrorists traveled to Syria and Iraq to help in the respective wars. And in Chechnya they called for a holy war.

The winter war between Finland and Russia
The winter war between Finland and Russia – ABC

Does Russia have a history of military victories?

Making a general computation we can say that there are lights and shadows. We have the great victory of the Second World War and the good result of the small interventions of recent years, but also great defeats such as Crimea in the 19th century or that of the IGM. But, for what their wars have been characterized, is by the very high number of casualties. His military doctrine has always had little care for his own men. An example was the battle of Krasny Bor. The surviving Spaniards commented that the Soviets launched themselves in massive waves against the rifles.

How’s the channel?

Brilliant. Young people are very eager to learn and hungry for knowledge. It has been difficult for culture to find the format for the new generations, but in the end it has succeeded. That does not mean that they are ignorant, but that you have to find the key so that they are attracted to history, geopolitics or economics. It is also true that YouTube has been democratized

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