This headline caught my eye yesterday:
This week has marked another grim milestone in the nearly four-year long Russia-Ukraine war. The conflict has just entered its 1,419th day - which means it has officially surpassed the entirety of the historic Soviet campaign against invading Nazi Germany, which lasted 1,418 days from June 1941 to May 1945.
Red Army forces eventually drove Nazi troops back from the Volga River all the way to Berlin, before seizing the German capital. But in today's war, the 1,419th day is just another in a long one in a tragic and grinding war of attrition, where it is believed each side has lost literally hundreds of thousands.
. . .
On both sides, a whole generation of young men is being wiped out.
There's more at the link.
We too often focus on the geopolitical and/or military and/or strategic and/or statistical aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, that misses the human tragedy that is playing out for both countries.
All nations involved in the two World Wars lost a significant proportion of their brightest and best young men. After those wars, their absence was noteworthy in that the performance of most of those countries (in any sphere you care to name) was less than expected, and lower than pre-war forecasts would have anticipated. My father, who fought in World War II, often said that the reason Britain descended into socialist chaos so fast after the war was that too many of the future leaders who could have kept her on track were dead. Leaders tend to make themselves vulnerable simply by leading, because they're priority targets in war. An army without effective leaders at all levels - NCO, junior officer, field officer, etc. - is a losing army, and, by extension, so is the nation that uses it.
We don't know what the future holds for either Russia or Ukraine, but we do know for certain that a lot of their young men aren't going to be there to help them. Both countries will suffer from this loss for decades to come.
May the dead of both sides be forgiven their sins, if that is possible, and may they rest in peace.
Peter
11 comments:
Hey Peter,
"A Whole Generation" with Russia and the West in a birthrate of neutral or decline, and Russia has a resurgent China on a long border with China needing a lot of resources for their industry, if I was putin, I would start getting somewhat concerned. He is bleeding off a lot of manpower and granted Russia used to be known for limitless manpower, not so much anymore. and China has a surplus of males because for generations of their "One child" policy and sons were prized and daughters were not.
If China were to attack Russia that would be the first time I ever side with China!
Wouldn't that be awesome! Let two of our largest foes kill each other. Unfortunately I doubt it will ever happen.
Something tells me that Chinese value their allies more than we do
Good news is Russian casualty figures are nowhere near as high as has been reported. Bad news is Ukrainian casualty figures are substantially worse than reported. Also, the casualty numbers between this war and the Soviet war against Nazi Germany are simply incomparable. Millions versus thousands. Or even tens or hundreds of thousands. Stalingrad alone eclipses this conflict.
Not surprising... And I wonder if anybody over there even cares.
I've often thought, while witnessing the testosterone-challenged "men" of the West these days, about those who died in WW2. Yeah, there was a draft, but before that, many of our strongest and bravest volunteered. The testosterone-challenged stayed home. Many were ultimately drafted, but the damage was done. The overall masculinity of Western males was diminished. I'm thinking that this may be why we have the batch of she-men we see today...
The plastics, pesticides, fluoride and other endocrine disruptors in our diets are also huge contributors.
Humans have been sacrificing their best and brightest for as long as we have been sentient. Who knows what we might have discovered or accomplished if so many of our brightest were not cut down prematurely.
The number of dead in the Iranian insurrection is at 12,000+ - and it's just beginning.
If I were a younger man.. I'd be looking for a Ukrainian bride! Wowzers! You'd have your pick over there!
Yuks aside, the entire male demographic from 16-40 is either dead, wounded, or vacated the country. Talk about target-rich environment!
The War has also lasted less time than the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (with Russian and Ukrainian troops) in 1980 and the American 20 year War in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I'm voting for Russia, the lesser evil, compared to Ukraine, EU, China and USA INC.
The Satanic Powers and Principalities effects, have metastasized. Which sucks out loud, just sayin.
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