Moran breaks down the accuracy of World War II tanks in "Band of Brothers" E3 (2001), "T-34" (2019), and "Fury" (2014) with Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf. Should these forces get through, then they're faced with trenches, minefields, and dragon's teeth, which are rows of concrete spikes designed to stop vehicles.Military vehicle historian and armor officer Nicholas Moran rates more tank battles in movies and television for realism. Infantry soldiers who pass the tank traps, meanwhile, can get bogged down by barbed wire, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. "The Russians, like most countries, have what they call a 'deliberate defense,' which is a series of layered obstacles all to make sure that the Ukrainian forces are stopped as far forward as possible," Kimmitt said.įor example, he said, armored Ukrainian vehicles that try to advance get caught in anti-tank traps, exposing them to enemy fire. In a Wall Street Journal video that was published Monday, Kimmitt explained how these various defenses are stacked one in front of each other and can stretch for several miles, creating as many as eight layers of dangerous fortifications that Kyiv's heavy armor - like advanced, Western-made tanks - and ground troops have to clear at costs in terms of both manpower and equipment. Maxar satellite imagery showing Russian dragon's teeth and trenches along the beach just west of Yevpatoria, Crimea, in March.
Progress, however, has not come easy, and Ukrainian officials have frequently pushed back on pessimism that the counteroffensive is not moving fast enough, arguing that a quick, sweeping counteroffensive isn't "feasible" with just the weapons it has now. Ukrainian forces built up an impressive arsenal of tanks, armored vehicles, and other weaponry provided by the US and its NATO allies to deliver an armored punch through Russian fortifications. They consist of anti-tank ditches, barbed wire, concrete-hardened trenches, anti-tank and antipersonnel minefields, dragon's teeth anti-vehicle obstacles, and bunkers. Russia's troops have built layers of sophisticated and vicious defenses designed to inflict as much pain on Ukraine's advancing military as possible.Īs Ukrainian forces prepared for their offensive, Russian forces spent those months readying elaborate defenses behind a sprawling front line that stretches for hundreds of miles across eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine is several weeks into its much-anticipated counteroffensive, and its military has made small territorial gains. As one retired US general put it, Kyiv's forces need to break through "20 kilometers of hell," which is no easy task, especially with the tools at hand. Liberating Russian-occupied territory is a slow, calculated process, and for good reason.
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