You need only contemplate the Battle of Anzio (January 22 -- May 25, 1944) in which your grandfather was a Division commander, to understand the futility of 'digging in' against an opposing force, forfeiting mobility, surprise, initiative, and and a willingness to examine options that promise better outcomes. Fixed fire bases do not win wars. Fortified cities do not win wars. Predictable logistical trains invite attack. Broad lines of advance, where the front line moves forward at the pace of the average foot soldier consumes time and energy. The objective is to exploit your enemy's weaknesses, not play to his strengths. Fighting a roadbound war is to invite defeat.
Air Force Colonel John Boyd wrote extensively on maneuver warfare, both in aerial combat and on the ground. Compare the war against Japan from 1942 through 1945 with the way the war was fought in Europe or the Mediterranean Theater of Operations over that same period of time. Bottom line, mass warfare is slow and cumbersome , and when led by politically influential generals can be a recipe for disaster. William C. Westmoreland in Vietnam, case in point. This is basic stuff.
Another thing, public negotiations invite sclerosis. Nobody wants to be the last man killed in a war. I get it. In Korea, after the run-up to the Yalu River in November 1950, the American Eighth Army and Tenth Corps, along with Marine Corps auxiliaries, were basically chased out of North Korea in the winter and spring of 1951. Reason: overconfident leadership (Douglas MacArthur at his most prima donna egotistical) acting like the greenest second lieutenant, or a Cadet Bone Spurs, getting caught in serial ambushes along the line of retreat in the frozen hell of a Korean winter. Earlier triumphalism turned into panic. Green troops, disorientation, stuck on winding mountain tracks in snowbound mid- winter, under constant attack by the People's Liberation Army. Defeat in detail was staved off by American airpower. American general Walton "Johnny" Walker was killed in a road accident. In this, Walker was perhaps fortunate, because most likely he would have been sent home in disgrace.
The new American military commander was Matthew Ridgeway, a paratrooper, and the youngest one-star general in the American Army. Ridgeway turned things around, so that by July 1951, UN forces regained Seoul, and were pushing into North Korea. It was at that point that North Korea demanded peace negotiations. The Truman Administration lost its nerve because, by then, the war in Korea was costing too many American lives, and, like the Johnson Administration sixteen years later, the administration couldn't explain why we were there.
So, here we were again, stuck in a foreign land, bleeding American lives for reasons of state that nobody could explain. Forward progress essentially halted, and both sides dug in, hoping to win at the conference table what they could not win on the battlefield. In truth, more American troops were killed or wounded during the two years that the opposing armies faced each other across the truce line than were lost during the earlier period of mobile operations. Like World War I, Korea became a war of bunkers and artillery.
By contrast, Ukraine is fighting for its own territory, on its terms. The difference is palpable.
Korea, the "Forgotten War." But very illustrative!
Matthew Ridgeway, from what I can judge from my reading, was a great commander, perhaps one of the best in US history. "Bulldog" Turner, I don't know as much about. MacArthur, well, he seems to be highly debatable! A complicated fellow. Was he shrewd, or merely lucky? Daring, or heedless? He does seem to have been "difficult" as a personality -- but as a military commander, opinions differ. Takes some thinking; and further study. Plenty of bios and histories out there!
Read American Caesar, by William Manchester. MacArthur was imperious, and sloppy. His nickname in World War I was 'Dugout Doug', implying timorousity, if not actual cowardice in battle. In the Philippines, he was unprepared for the Japanese attack.
In the Southwest Pacific, partnering up with Fifth Air Force boss General George Kenny, he formulated a winning strategy of island hopping, capturing strategically important bases from which to launch air attacks against Japanese strongholds.
MacArthur's insistence on invading the Philippines was self-indulgent. The navy wanted to take Taiwan, then known as Formosa, which would have required fewer troops to achieve the same stepping stone approach to attacking Japan while blocking oil from the Dutch East Indies from reaching Japan.
MacArthur was humiliated by having to be evaluated from the Philippines by PT boat under the cover of night.
MacArthur had been frequently mentioned as a Republican candidate for president to oppose FDR. In the end, he ended up managing the American occupation of Japan.
The communist attack on South Korea in June 1950 came as a shock to the American government and military. MacArthur played no role in conducting pre-attack intelligence to his superiors in Washington. His principal contribution was to conduct an amphibious landing at the Korean port of Inchon on September 25th which caught the North Korean invasion army unprepared. Beyond that, MacArthur demanded that the Far East Air Force deploy nuclear bombs to halt the North Korean advance, and he advocated the liberation of North Korea by going to the Yalu River, sending troops across the 38th Parallel on his own authority.
MacArthur interfered with peace negotiations and was actively insubordinate with his superiors in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also failed to keep his superiors accurately informed about the progress of the war. President Truman flew to Wake Island to meet personally with MacArthur, who basically snubbed him.
President Truman relieved MacArthur on 11 April 1951.
I've read of horror stories of WWI of soldiers in the trenches getting foot rot from the standing water. My only experience was being on maneuvers in Germany in the British army in the early 50's. at age 18. I spent many hours in the trenches, but thankfully not under fire. I spent several days and nights in a trench I had dug by the side ot f the river Weser. It was pretty boring but one bright spot was for some reason a little girl of about 10 walking by on the road above us came down to my trench to explore. She only spoke German and I only new a few words. Yet somehow there was a connection and each morning after that she would come down to say hello. As I think about that today, can you imagine that happening without someone thinking bad things? The age of innocence has passed. I have a friend who loves children and when out and about would say hi to the little ones who were out with their parents and he would engage them in conversation and make them laugh. But he told me he had to give it up because parents were suspicious and would show their displeasure. My friend is in his early 60's but unlike myself had never married and yet really loved children and would have been a great dad. My two girls of course adults now, but they are my best friends and I remember fondly how much fun I had with them as little children. But as I say I know there are some really bad people around so can hardly blame parents for being overly protective and suspicious.
Trench Foot: What are the Causes & Origins in World War I?
Thanks for your post! This was an evocative piece. One always wonders after these things, "whatever happened to so-and-so?" And we usually never know. But these fleeting connections are part of the web of our lives. Bless you and this little girl, and all who have shared similar experiences.
Thank you so much Kosmo. A very thoughtful comment. Yes, I have thought often about that sort of thing. Seemingly insignificant incidents yet somehow they stick in your mind while a great deal of other experiences are completely forgotten. I remember thinking about that particular incident wishing I had gotten the little girl's address and written to her mother to say what a delightful child she had and perhaps kept in touch, but then again she may have been upset with the child for speaking to strangers especially foreign soldiers. It is the saddest thing in the world r to read of a child g harmed by some monster who took advantage of their naivete and trust.
Mr. Putin may decide to bomb Ukraine back to 1800. The West must not allow this to happen. Ukraine must have control of the skies. Putin destroyed Grozny and then rebuilt it. He won't rebuild Ukraine.
Excellent analysis. Digging trenches, reminds me of what I have been learning about WW1. Not a pleasant place to be. I feel for the poor sods who are stuck in them. Once the Ukrainian offensive starts.
As a former Infantry/Special Forces soldier, I can categorially state that living in a hole in the ground is absolutely the worst. Living in them in the winter is makes it hell. Desertions will increase.
I trained in the cold, red mud of Fort Knox, KY, in February and March 1967, with temperatures mostly in the 40s. It was horrible enough. I can’t imagine what it’s like to fight in real cold rain and snow. 
Thank you for your clear explanation of Russia’s current situation in Ukraine. I’m so ignorant of military strategy, and my only knowledge of trenches in warfare comes from reading (and seeing movies)about the trenches in WW1. As always, your posts about this war provide important insights for readers like me.
I appreciate all your posts, and the ones relating to military matters are eye-opening.
It is often said that when you start digging trenches to defend your line, you're digging your own grave.
It didn't work in WWI and it isn't working now, because Russian troops know they're losing. I wonder what the defection rate must be by now-I'm pretty sure it's over 50% because word gets back home and around that the 'glorious' war is nothing more than a meat grinder of human bodies.
It's strange that Putin is going back to WWI tactics to keep what little he has left of Ukraine-and that he doesn't remember the last time the Russians lost a war. He should read up on his history because I remember there was a revolution that followed and the ruling class lost everything they owned.
Because the war wasn't popular and people hated dying to a worthless cause, just like now.
I spent 26 years in the Army and never dug more than a hasty fighting position; served in air defense & artillery and we jumped the whole battalion multiple times a day. Exhausting work in the El Paso desert, but I'd take it any time over waiting in a muddy, cold hole.
I’ve gotten an education in warfare reading your columns on Ukraine this year. Had no idea about any of this. Thank you.
Me, too. Learning so much. Sadly.
How much more will the Russian people tolerate Putin and his vicious coterie ?
How much more will Americans tolerate the fascist Repugs?
It seems endless . . .Holes are for digging graves.
You need only contemplate the Battle of Anzio (January 22 -- May 25, 1944) in which your grandfather was a Division commander, to understand the futility of 'digging in' against an opposing force, forfeiting mobility, surprise, initiative, and and a willingness to examine options that promise better outcomes. Fixed fire bases do not win wars. Fortified cities do not win wars. Predictable logistical trains invite attack. Broad lines of advance, where the front line moves forward at the pace of the average foot soldier consumes time and energy. The objective is to exploit your enemy's weaknesses, not play to his strengths. Fighting a roadbound war is to invite defeat.
Air Force Colonel John Boyd wrote extensively on maneuver warfare, both in aerial combat and on the ground. Compare the war against Japan from 1942 through 1945 with the way the war was fought in Europe or the Mediterranean Theater of Operations over that same period of time. Bottom line, mass warfare is slow and cumbersome , and when led by politically influential generals can be a recipe for disaster. William C. Westmoreland in Vietnam, case in point. This is basic stuff.
Another thing, public negotiations invite sclerosis. Nobody wants to be the last man killed in a war. I get it. In Korea, after the run-up to the Yalu River in November 1950, the American Eighth Army and Tenth Corps, along with Marine Corps auxiliaries, were basically chased out of North Korea in the winter and spring of 1951. Reason: overconfident leadership (Douglas MacArthur at his most prima donna egotistical) acting like the greenest second lieutenant, or a Cadet Bone Spurs, getting caught in serial ambushes along the line of retreat in the frozen hell of a Korean winter. Earlier triumphalism turned into panic. Green troops, disorientation, stuck on winding mountain tracks in snowbound mid- winter, under constant attack by the People's Liberation Army. Defeat in detail was staved off by American airpower. American general Walton "Johnny" Walker was killed in a road accident. In this, Walker was perhaps fortunate, because most likely he would have been sent home in disgrace.
The new American military commander was Matthew Ridgeway, a paratrooper, and the youngest one-star general in the American Army. Ridgeway turned things around, so that by July 1951, UN forces regained Seoul, and were pushing into North Korea. It was at that point that North Korea demanded peace negotiations. The Truman Administration lost its nerve because, by then, the war in Korea was costing too many American lives, and, like the Johnson Administration sixteen years later, the administration couldn't explain why we were there.
So, here we were again, stuck in a foreign land, bleeding American lives for reasons of state that nobody could explain. Forward progress essentially halted, and both sides dug in, hoping to win at the conference table what they could not win on the battlefield. In truth, more American troops were killed or wounded during the two years that the opposing armies faced each other across the truce line than were lost during the earlier period of mobile operations. Like World War I, Korea became a war of bunkers and artillery.
By contrast, Ukraine is fighting for its own territory, on its terms. The difference is palpable.
Valuable thanks..
Korea, the "Forgotten War." But very illustrative!
Matthew Ridgeway, from what I can judge from my reading, was a great commander, perhaps one of the best in US history. "Bulldog" Turner, I don't know as much about. MacArthur, well, he seems to be highly debatable! A complicated fellow. Was he shrewd, or merely lucky? Daring, or heedless? He does seem to have been "difficult" as a personality -- but as a military commander, opinions differ. Takes some thinking; and further study. Plenty of bios and histories out there!
Read American Caesar, by William Manchester. MacArthur was imperious, and sloppy. His nickname in World War I was 'Dugout Doug', implying timorousity, if not actual cowardice in battle. In the Philippines, he was unprepared for the Japanese attack.
In the Southwest Pacific, partnering up with Fifth Air Force boss General George Kenny, he formulated a winning strategy of island hopping, capturing strategically important bases from which to launch air attacks against Japanese strongholds.
MacArthur's insistence on invading the Philippines was self-indulgent. The navy wanted to take Taiwan, then known as Formosa, which would have required fewer troops to achieve the same stepping stone approach to attacking Japan while blocking oil from the Dutch East Indies from reaching Japan.
MacArthur was humiliated by having to be evaluated from the Philippines by PT boat under the cover of night.
MacArthur had been frequently mentioned as a Republican candidate for president to oppose FDR. In the end, he ended up managing the American occupation of Japan.
The communist attack on South Korea in June 1950 came as a shock to the American government and military. MacArthur played no role in conducting pre-attack intelligence to his superiors in Washington. His principal contribution was to conduct an amphibious landing at the Korean port of Inchon on September 25th which caught the North Korean invasion army unprepared. Beyond that, MacArthur demanded that the Far East Air Force deploy nuclear bombs to halt the North Korean advance, and he advocated the liberation of North Korea by going to the Yalu River, sending troops across the 38th Parallel on his own authority.
MacArthur interfered with peace negotiations and was actively insubordinate with his superiors in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also failed to keep his superiors accurately informed about the progress of the war. President Truman flew to Wake Island to meet personally with MacArthur, who basically snubbed him.
President Truman relieved MacArthur on 11 April 1951.
Great column. When I saw the headline, I thought it was going to be a Trump analogy!
I've read of horror stories of WWI of soldiers in the trenches getting foot rot from the standing water. My only experience was being on maneuvers in Germany in the British army in the early 50's. at age 18. I spent many hours in the trenches, but thankfully not under fire. I spent several days and nights in a trench I had dug by the side ot f the river Weser. It was pretty boring but one bright spot was for some reason a little girl of about 10 walking by on the road above us came down to my trench to explore. She only spoke German and I only new a few words. Yet somehow there was a connection and each morning after that she would come down to say hello. As I think about that today, can you imagine that happening without someone thinking bad things? The age of innocence has passed. I have a friend who loves children and when out and about would say hi to the little ones who were out with their parents and he would engage them in conversation and make them laugh. But he told me he had to give it up because parents were suspicious and would show their displeasure. My friend is in his early 60's but unlike myself had never married and yet really loved children and would have been a great dad. My two girls of course adults now, but they are my best friends and I remember fondly how much fun I had with them as little children. But as I say I know there are some really bad people around so can hardly blame parents for being overly protective and suspicious.
Trench Foot: What are the Causes & Origins in World War I?
Thanks for your post! This was an evocative piece. One always wonders after these things, "whatever happened to so-and-so?" And we usually never know. But these fleeting connections are part of the web of our lives. Bless you and this little girl, and all who have shared similar experiences.
Thank you so much Kosmo. A very thoughtful comment. Yes, I have thought often about that sort of thing. Seemingly insignificant incidents yet somehow they stick in your mind while a great deal of other experiences are completely forgotten. I remember thinking about that particular incident wishing I had gotten the little girl's address and written to her mother to say what a delightful child she had and perhaps kept in touch, but then again she may have been upset with the child for speaking to strangers especially foreign soldiers. It is the saddest thing in the world r to read of a child g harmed by some monster who took advantage of their naivete and trust.
Isn’t there an expression - when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging? Apparently the Russians have not heard of that.
Excellent insight and glimpse into the military mind. Your West Point education and experience as a war correspondent really show through.
Mr. Putin may decide to bomb Ukraine back to 1800. The West must not allow this to happen. Ukraine must have control of the skies. Putin destroyed Grozny and then rebuilt it. He won't rebuild Ukraine.
Excellent analysis. Digging trenches, reminds me of what I have been learning about WW1. Not a pleasant place to be. I feel for the poor sods who are stuck in them. Once the Ukrainian offensive starts.
These may become their graves.
As a former Infantry/Special Forces soldier, I can categorially state that living in a hole in the ground is absolutely the worst. Living in them in the winter is makes it hell. Desertions will increase.
One hopes!
I trained in the cold, red mud of Fort Knox, KY, in February and March 1967, with temperatures mostly in the 40s. It was horrible enough. I can’t imagine what it’s like to fight in real cold rain and snow. 
Thank you for your clear explanation of Russia’s current situation in Ukraine. I’m so ignorant of military strategy, and my only knowledge of trenches in warfare comes from reading (and seeing movies)about the trenches in WW1. As always, your posts about this war provide important insights for readers like me.
I appreciate all your posts, and the ones relating to military matters are eye-opening.
It is often said that when you start digging trenches to defend your line, you're digging your own grave.
It didn't work in WWI and it isn't working now, because Russian troops know they're losing. I wonder what the defection rate must be by now-I'm pretty sure it's over 50% because word gets back home and around that the 'glorious' war is nothing more than a meat grinder of human bodies.
It's strange that Putin is going back to WWI tactics to keep what little he has left of Ukraine-and that he doesn't remember the last time the Russians lost a war. He should read up on his history because I remember there was a revolution that followed and the ruling class lost everything they owned.
Because the war wasn't popular and people hated dying to a worthless cause, just like now.
Yep.. agreed
Like the Traitor in Chief, Putler is a Total Fūkking Loser
Excellent analysis. Thank you.
I spent 26 years in the Army and never dug more than a hasty fighting position; served in air defense & artillery and we jumped the whole battalion multiple times a day. Exhausting work in the El Paso desert, but I'd take it any time over waiting in a muddy, cold hole.
Slava Ukraine!