Russian forces launch ‘human wave’ attacks in Ukraine’s Bakhmut: The World War II style of fighting explained

It’s been 309 days of war and as we prepare to enter the New Year, Russian forces have intensified their attacks, raining fire on Ukrainian positions along the whole contact line in the east, with a focus on Bakhmut and Avdiyivka in Donetsk.

After months of enduring continuous attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that “only a few civilians” were left in the eastern frontline town of Bakhmut. “Last year, 70,000 people lived there. Now only a few civilians are left there,” Zelenskyy said on Facebook.

The Ukrainian president added that in Bakhmut, “there is no place that is not covered with blood. There is no hour when the terrible roar of artillery does not sound. Still, Bakhmut stands.”

According to the fighters, who remain in the area ensuring that it doesn’t fall to the Russians, the Vladimir Putin-led troops are fighting in “human wave” style, sending thousands of their less experienced troops to the front to weaken Ukrainian forces. “They have no tactics, they have no understanding of proper offence and retreat,” mortar team leader Melnikov was quoted as telling Vice News, adding, “they are just meat.”

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A video circulating on social media showed the same — a ‘human wave’ of Russian soldiers being blown to pieces by Ukraine shells.

What is a human wave attack?

A human wave attack is a military tactic relying on sheer and overwhelming numbers of attackers to subdue another force. As a report in The Medium explains, the essence of the tactic is this, throw as many men at a position as it takes to bring it down, no matter the loss of life. And there is always a huge loss of life.

Defence experts note that the unique feature of human wave attacks is that the lives who serve as a wave are regarded by their leaders as expendable. They are undertrained or untrained and are ready to face death with little defence — not to waste both training and weapons.

Historically, human wave attacks have been predominantly used by the Soviet Army as well the Japanese during World War II. Records show that legions of poorly equipped Red Army soldiers charged into the jaws of a mechanised German war machine leading to unimaginable losses at the Battle of Stalingrad alone.

The Japanese too were experts at this war strategy, waiting in ambush for Allied Forces in the Pacific, before rushing in on suicidal charges with bayonets fixed. These charges became known as ‘Banzai’ charges by the Allies, because of the Japanese war cry, which in English means roughly ‘Long Live’.

Human wave attacks were also used during the Boxer Rebellion in China.

In more recent times, the human wave attack was seen during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. The then-newly created Islamic Republic of Iran was invaded by Iraq in September 1980, and it led to eight years of brutal conflict. It has been reported that over 180,000 Iranian men lost their lives, as they were part of these human wave attacks.

A report published by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies also states that even the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used human wave attacks. On 7 January 1996, over 1000 LTTE cadres, led by hordes of suicide bombers, launched a pre-dawn surprise attack on the Paranthan military camp, capturing the base within three hours.

How is Russia using the strategy?

The Russian generals orchestrating the war in Ukraine are leaving no stone unturned to capture the strategic Bakhmut. In this effort, they have deployed the controversial use of human wave attacks.

Describing the same, a Ukrainian commander of a self-propelled artillery unit in the city told the Washington Post, “They’re treating them like single-use soldiers. If we are shelling those positions, they keep pushing the men forward again and again.”

Experts state that by using this tactic, the Russians are using a huge number of men, losses that they can’t sustain in the long term. According to General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Russia has already lost an estimated 100,000 soldiers in the war and the numbers only keep climbing. A Pentagon official had said in early August that the Russian casualties numbered 70,000-80,000.

Defence experts have noted that the use of human wave attacks could be Russia’s way of saving their equipment and ammunition. This is because the Russian military has lost significant amounts of equipment since the beginning of this war. The Oryx website reports 8,000 pieces of equipment destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured, including some 1,500 tanks, 700 armoured fighting vehicles, and 1,700 infantry fighting vehicles.

US Secretary of Defence has also been quoted as saying that the Russian military had lost “staggering” numbers of tanks and other armoured vehicles.

Why is Russia targeting Bakhmut?

But, why is Vladimir Putin expending all his military might on the region of Bakhmut?

For the uninitiated, Bakhmut, a city in the Donbas and the administrative centre of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast, is located on a strategic supply line between Donetsk and Luhansk, the two separatist-held regions in Ukraine’s Donbass region, which Russia claimed to have annexed a few months ago. Bakhmut also sits on a crucial highway that runs diagonally through Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

According to experts, the capture of Bakhmut could change the course of the conflict and give Russia a platform to launch a broader campaign across many parts of Ukraine.

Besides strategy, a win in Bakhmut would give Russians a psychological edge in the war, which has now entered its tenth month. Esref Yalinkilicli, a Moscow-based Eurasia analyst, explained to TRTWorld, “After the painful experience of losing Kherson and facing drone attacks deep inside its territory, Moscow is eager for a success story it can showcase to its public.”

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Yalinkilicli further said: “A Russian defeat might lead to other potential losses across the Donbass region. The Russians might even lose Donetsk to Ukraine. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians force Russia to withdraw from areas around the city, it might give them much confidence to reclaim other Russian-controlled regions in the east.”

Others have noted that Bakhmut’s capture might also open Russia’s path to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, two important industrial centres of Ukraine in the energy-rich Donbass region. Slowly feeling the effects of the sweeping western sanctions, Russia needs industrial output while seeking to deprive Ukraine of natural and economic resources.

With inputs from agencies

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