General Winter: Does Winter Really Always Favor Russia?
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- čas přidán 10. 10. 2022
- He’s been called Russia’s most-reliable general. An old warhorse who has helped his homeland defeat some of Europe’s greatest powers.
General Winter - also known as General Frost - is today the stuff of legend. With winter fast approaching and the Ukraine War showing no signs of abating, now is the perfect time to dig deeper into the history of conflict and Russian climate… and what this may mean for Kyiv and Moscow in 2022.
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My favorite quote, wish I knew who said it; “Victory favors neither the righteous, nor the wicked. It favors the prepared.”
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"
Can't remember who said this, but anyway: 'In war, I've found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.'
he Russians are seriously unprepared and will lose the war as a consequence.
russia is more prepared.the issue is they refuse to use their mud terrain transport vehicles anywhere but siberia. so now theyre just bogging everything down. the transports go in front of logistic supply lines and ford a road and drop logs across trails where the trucks and tanks would sink.
That's true, but um, hitler
So basically this whole video is about the saying used by scouts in Finland: ”There’s no bad weather, only bad equipment.”
I've been told a similar thing by a Swede "There's no bad weather, only bad clothes"
@@dannytheyeeto321 spent 50 minutes outside in -40 and 40 mph winds once. Wasn't cold at all. Of course, I had boots, rainpants over my jeans, a winter trenchcoat over a ski jacket over my shirt, and a face mask on under my hood.
Then I spent 15 minutes ouside in 20 F (about -6 C) but wearing bad shoes that let slush in and fucked up my feet for life, sigh.
Alaska weather.
@@aaronbaker2186 Billy Connolly says there's no bad weather, only the wrong clothing. Maybe we should be sending the Big Slipper to Ukraine!
Is that all you got out of this video ❓
📻😐
@@dannytheyeeto321 we say the exact same thing in Germany lol
As a finnish veteran told: "they attacked us at day with guns and bombs, we counter-attacked at night with stealth and knifes" you have to remember that in the winter there might be only 2-4 hours of sunlight a day.
The Winter war and the continuation war were brutal and both sides. Russia aggressed, so no agruments about who had it coming, but all this about being prepared, I have heard stories from my husband´s Finnish relatives about war in the winter that are simply nightmare material. At some point, it doesn`t matter, general winter is equal opportunity psycho, but he favors the flexible.
It's not that bad in Ukraine - they're further south than Finland.
Its not as bad but it sure as hells makes for a good muddy season after
@@tarazieminek1947 Even Finland isn’t even North enough for such few hours of sunlight (most of Canada isn’t either). I’d double that figure at 8 or 10 hours of sun…it’s not that extreme! SMH…
@@jessehachey2732 No kidding, 64+people who can't read a map agreed with him. Finland did fight in North but bulk was in East & South where light difference with Europe is next to nil. 🤔🙄
I remember a quote from a soviet infantryman "snow falls on both sides", logistics become a nightmare for one side but the soldiers are miserable in the cold regardless of the side.
Few people seem to know that that's what hurt Napoleon the most. He had great logistics but the problem was to keep his army fast and mobile he relied more on buying, trading, and pillaging resources like food than he did on bringing them in on massive wagon trains. This worked great in western and central Europe where leaders were less willing to purposefully starve their own people to deny the French resources. When the war dragged on longer than expected and the Russians pillaged their own people first it left Napoleon's men light on food. Even if they werent starving they would be burning more calories than normal due to all the marching and the cold itself so restricted rations would leave them weak and sick. The French simply werent prepared for a lengthy campaign.
Hence, why morale is so important.
@@BlueHooloovoo I think that's one of the reasons why the US military did so well in both world wars. The US military is far from perfect but especially during WW2 they made morale a top priority; at a time when even the allies were short on basic supplies and soldiers like the British were eating very bland, basic rations usually straight from a can with a side of hard tack the US military was giving out quality cigarettes, real chocolate, better rations, and they had mobile field kitchens following the front lines so men were getting hot meals a good chunk of the time. They even tried getting things like cold bottles of Coke to the soldiers as often as possible.
The American clothes, boots, and other equipment were also some of the best, I've heard the Axis soldiers were often keen to loot things like boots and coats when given a chance since theirs were far inferior and even the Allies often liked American gear. While the Axis and Soviets had quality gear it was usually in short supply so their elite units got stuff as good or even superior to American equivalents they only went to a small portion of their military whereas the US had the vast majority of men wearing standard equipment that was all above average.
Things like good food, good uniforms, hot meals/drinks in cold areas, and cold drinks in hot areas all goes a long way to improving morale. This also has the knock on effect of boosting support for your army in the local theater since if soldiers have spare cigarettes, candy bars, and rations they can give those out to locals. Both during WW2 and Vietnam I knew some guys who gave or traded things like cigarettes and chocolate with locals who (especially during a war) couldn't get chocolate at all and the quality and quantity of cigarettes was usually low so the name brand Marlboro's and Camels were usually in high demand. Quality boots and clothes can also be given out as aid to allies or locals which can further boost relations and morale.
@@arthas640 In both world wars in Europe US came in late and with small number of troops, that is why they had all the supplies. They came in just to seize assets from governments and companies to whom they lended money and goods, and not to be screwed for payments.
@@maxless6655 the reality is USA NEVER WON A WAR BY THEMSELVES!!
Worked in Siberia back in the early 90's. The Russians would tell us how nice our equipment looked, but it wouldn't work in their winter. Being Canadiens we politely told them that we also had winters. When it got to about -35C they were mostly indoors. We kept working in the low -50s. My coldest night shift was -54C. The Russian equipment could and did function in that cold, it was the workers who had rather poor work clothes by our standards. My Sorels were rated to -65C. Likely the warmest boots in Siberia.
Russia has pretty terrible logistics, footwraps (cheap, old fashioned version of socks) were standard issue until recently and now with the war Russia had to pull them back out of storage. Cheap footwraps can work better than cheap socks in the cold but they're not as good as good socks and most modern armies issue special cold weather socks. Canada uses a lot of similar equipment as the Americans and the Americans issue multi layer, moisture wicking, anti microbial, flame resistant socks and normally issues multiple pairs so you can swap them out at least once a day. Russian meanwhile issues you a couple rectangles of cotton.
@@CrashAndBurnProductions Thank you for your support! Our boys will be protected from frostbite and be healthier!
@@arthas640 yes. Total disregard for the people in russia. Your whole life you are humiliated, stepped on & robbed by incompetent idiots that should only be allowed to work at a dumpster where they can not steal or break anything. Yet, not only you owe them all you've got but you also have to die for those who stomp on you. But whom do you hate? The West, of course - as people there are living better than you. Not the oppressor but those who did nothing bad to you and actually try to help. Classic. We fight to prevent that from happening in our country. We don't want to be humiliated, stripped of our language & culture & then be sent to war against our Baltic brothers & then the rest of the civilized world. No, this must stop in Ukraine - cooperation, respect & compassion should win over tyranny, greed & lies.
@@justinemot2282 Your country is finished buddy, take the reality pill, the only "war" that Ukraine is winning is media that's all, Russians claimed your territories while your government celebrate 1 victory which was not victory at all because it cost lives to nearly 16k+ Ukrainian young boys, now Ukraine has no resources, all "support, money and equipment" getting sold on black market which is confirmed info, Ukraine will be extremely lucky if Russia give them territories that they "have" at 1652 when Russian Empire controlled everything and everyone, the most bad situation is Ukraine will no longer exist and all ukrainians will be expelled to EU which is another problem because me and other people in EU not gonna support your Ukraine idiocracy anymore, life is getting extremely hard here and all of that because Zelensky is a puppet to EU and US regimes. So... Go Russia i guess
That's so sad. Russia has always had the worst luck, in terms of leadership and logistics.
"Boys study tactics. Men study logistics."
My father was called up in 1950 for Korea as a reservist, he had been there in 1945 and 46 and brought his winter gear. He was almost court martialed for insisting as he told them how colded Karea was in the summer. They learned the hard way that winter at Chosen Resivour.
The Marines of the frozen Chosen had it very rough.
Bastards tried to kill your father... He did everything right and reasonable especially if the army refused to give him proper clothing.
first off glad your father made it out ! Secondly I myself was stationed in Korea in 2014 and as a Texan that DRASTIC weather change was crazy for me... the summer was np... Just like Texas BUT WINTER hitting -5'F and 4-5 ft of snow OVERNIGHT ... yeah IM GLAD your dad had his winter gear ... because I know damn well id be bitching everyone out if they didnt give me that winter gear when that ice and snow came along in Korea... definitely was not expecting that !
My 4xGreatgrandfather marched to Moskow with the french grande armée and back. Born in the Black Forest he was forced into one of the Wurttemberg regiments. He was the only one of his regiment who survived with heavily frostbitten feet. All his toes had to be amputated and he had to walk on sticks for the rest of his life. As he couldn’t work on his small farm anymore he sold it and started working as a maker of cuckoo clocks. He founded a business that later became a sucessful watch factory. I know about this because of a lot of documents that are still in my family and genealogical research by myself that my granddad started. Most interesting are letters to his father he wrote when he finally reached the french sphere of influence again. In them he describes the horrors of the campain very brief but nonetheless very impressing. He managed his march together with a sutlerin who died short before he reached safety presumably of typhus. His descendants spread all over the world. They’re living in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Chile, South Africa and Switzerland - and Germany of course…
Thx for sharing that story
Due Props to your Grand Fathers, Grand Father; amazing story ty for sharing.
Amazing family history. Thank you for sharing.
Cool
The village in southwestern Germany where my mother’s family is from has a “Russian cross” installed at a crossroads, a life-sized crucifix with the additional slanted Orthodox bar and the instruments of Christ’s matyrdom, all carved in wood. It was donated in gratitude by one of the very few men of the village to be drafted into the Grande Armee and make it back home alive. Restored a few years ago, it’s still there, more than 200 years later.
The mud in February and March was one of the big reasons the Russian dash to Kyiv stalled, tanks being restricted to single file on roads and without supporting infantry getting picked of by the dozens. The tank isn't obsolete, it just can't work alone, needs infantry to watch for and neutralize antitank weapons (or, as seen in Syria a couple years ago, some dude just running up to it and rolling a grenade down the gun tube while it's reloading.)
No joke! You would think the military would’ve learned their lesson from Grozny and yet somehow managed to repeat the same mistakes
Yes. I have no idea how Putin could have ignored the Rasputitsa.
Infantry can’t support as far out as a Javelin can reach. Especially in flat terrain with good sight lines and handheld drone reconnaissance.
that and rampant corruption at pretty much every level of the russian military alot of the fuel for vehicles was actualy sold off by soldiers equipment didnt make it from depots all the way to troops and were replaced with lesser versions of things corruption can cripple an army worse than any weather
Ah, rasputsia!
The difference between Napoleon’s/Hitler’s invasions is that their troops were *never* exposed to the sheer brutality of Russian winters, the Ukrainians are more familiar like the Finns in 1940. Still, things will get very interesting over the coming months
@Cultured Anime Waifu [Russian Waifu] they lost so bad that Russia had to flee kiev, lyman and izium like bitches
Also i heard 'epic history tv' say most deads fell in the march towards Moscow in the summer, not during the retreat in the winter.
@Cultured Anime Waifu [Russian Waifu] I don't think Russia will achieve it's goals stated when the invasion began so Idk if Ukraine will "win" but I'm sure Russia won't.
@Cultured Anime Waifu [Russian Waifu] that the same guy arrested and convicted of sex offenses involving what he thought were young girls?
@@13thmistral and many deserted. The Prussian contingent effectively ‘changed sides’.
General Winter sides against whoever is the least prepared, and his tactics always win.
As a Canadian I can say that General Winter assures me that there is no need to worry about a zombie apocalypse as we only need to make it to December.
some would say Canada in already in the zombie apocalypse but no one noticed.
@@davidrenton I just checked outside. No zombies.
@@logangamble1890 Canada elected something much worse than a zombie three times since 2015.
If you looked everywhere for zombies and none are found. Its likely you are the zombie.
@@sexygeek8996 Trudeau is horrible but atleast he was young.
America doesn't consider anyone under 155 years of age and a criminal record is a requirement at application.
Winter is simply a matter of preparation. With the right planning and gear, it can give the advantage to either the attacker or the defender. In Northern Europe, campaigns ad long raids have often been fought in winter because ironically the frozen ground and water can be easier to traverse than the broken terrain in summer. A skilled man can move much faster on skis than he could on foot. The Swedes once marched an army over the Baltic Sea into Denmark.
Not over the Baltic sea, it was over the great Belt.
The Baltic sea is further East.
The Swedes also had a ice road over Kvarken between Umeå and Vaasa during the winter war 1940 where thousands of ton was trucked on the frozen sea.
@@magnuslundstedt2659 the Swedes never fought in WW2
@@commanderstorm8874 i know. But we helped our brothers in Finland during the winter war.
There where more than 8000 people from Sweden who fought in the winter war.
To complicate, and maybe nitpick, things even more.
When Sweden was divided back in 1809 it was not divided by the language borders, so there are still a large minority Swedes living on Finland and a minority Finns living in Sweden. So to say Sweden did not fight in WW2 (as I assumed you ment) is correct, but to say Swedes did not fight in the winter war is incorrect, since a large part of Finlands population are what we call finland-swedes and there where also over 8000 people from Sweden fighting.
@@magnuslundstedt2659 thank you for enlightening me to the fact that there were Swedes in Finland I assumed you ment the nation as a whole
@@magnuslundstedt2659 finland-swedes????? They were swedish speaking FINNS.
The German trains did not have internal steam pipes, so the pipes would explode in the cold. Tanks could not be shut-off, as Germany was running low on fuel, both to protect the motor and stop the soliders from freezing. Guns failed to cycle. That is before getting to the men and horses that froze to death.
And even those who didn't freeze succumbed to exhaustion because of constant harassment behind the lines, poor handling of supplies, and the sheer size of the nation they invaded.
@@pyromania1018 There’s an anecdote about German soldiers opening train carriages hoping for winter gear to find frozen and broken bottles of French wine.
Not to mention that russians used a different rail gauge than the rest of europe. Meaning all rail lines that werent destroyed had to be reconfigured to use german trains. Also german trains were heavier, meaning they had to reinforce the beds the track laid on. Finally, german trains were less efficient than russian trains, meaning they couldnt cover the distance between russian stations without running out of fuel and water (steam). They could obviously haul more of it, but that also meant less room for troops and supplies.
German trains could not work in Russia, Russian railways have a different track gauge to German and European railways.
@@angrydoggy9170 There was also the incident where a group of German soldiers in Stalingrad braved Russian fire to recover a crate of supplies dropped by the Luftwaffe, hoping that it was food... and finding it full of condoms.
Slim himself once said “the jungle is neutral” when teaching his men how to fight the Japanese in Burma. I suppose we could adapt that to “the weather is neutral” for General Winter.
I suspect both jungle and winter favor the defender.
@@aaronbaker2186 unless of course, you are the mongols. Then the frozen rivers become highways for your armies
@@aaronbaker2186 not really no. At least not to anymore extent than warfare generally favouring the defenders. If you know how to work the environment then you can basically fight anywhere. Exhibit A would be the Chindits in WW2. Lads from India and Yorkshire going toe to toe with Japanese jungle troops and tearing them a new one in Burma.
Very true. However, its also true that people used to the weather in their own back yard are generally much more neutral than others.
@Gab Riel goofy Russians always forgetting that without the US providing equipment for dozens of divisions the Soviet Union would have fallen.
But don't take my word for it, look at what Stalin said.
Logistics wins wars and Ukraine has the top 5 Logistics networks in the world backing them.
Beside the seriousness of the topic matter, I just can't help but crack a smile at the mention of Gen. Mud and Gen. Winter. I totally lost it at the mention of Brigadier General F**k-up and General FUBAR 😂😂😂😂
That was what got me too 😂
Winter simply favors those who are equiped for and used to it, nothing more to it.
The Ukraine army have been using the foliage from trees to hide in, In winter and no foliage they are open to artillery and air strikes.
Winter camo nets
@@karlharrison2449 1) they did pretty well in the beginning of the war, where there was no foliage either
2) the dynamic of the war has shifted quite a bit by now, the Russians don't advance even in places where they have artillery support anymore and Russian air support is still almost nonexistant
@@TheLumberjack1987 Russias goal is not to take territory but destroy Ukraines military. Ukraine can only take ground if Russia withdraw, if Russia chooses to hold ground the Ukrainians suffer huge casualties and loss of equipment. When Russia has mobilized Ukraine will be finished.
Wow...
You really believe the mobilization of drunk broken untrained ill equipped busdrivers and barristas is going to cause the Ukrainians to fight less effectively after they killed your trained spetznast and airborne troops already?
Yer kinda special, right?
You take the shortbus to a special school?
“Brigadier General Almighty F*ck-Up” Ok that’s GENIUS right there 😂😂😂
That must be Pvt. SNAFU's wife's boyfriend.
😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣😂a good % of my daily humor comes from the comments section on U tube .
General Incompetance and Major Ignorance, reporting for duty!
That’s FUBAR lol
@@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596 That's First Sergeant FUBAR to you!
"Brigadier General F***-Up" I haven't stopped laughing!!
Simon: Winter alone isn't some magical protective force.
Canadians: Oh shit.
As someone who lives in Whitehorse, I disagree
@@jstoned88 Extremely cold weather is not a substitute for a functioning military capable of defending citizens and borders.
@@CZcamsistheworst True. But extremely cold weather can give the enemy a beating to an inch of their lives with very little help from military.
In fairness to Napoleon he did try to retreat a different way from Moscow. Kutuzov simply blocked that way and forced him to either fight another Borodino or retrace his steps.
Kutuzov actually fought a series of careful battles against Napoleon. He had actually been there at Austerlitz and knew how Napoleon liked to operate. Napoleon was a great tactician but a poor strategist, he depended on being able to lure enemy armies into decisive battles and routing them. So Kutuzov denied Napoleon decisive battle and played a campaign of maneuver and attrition, never letting Napoleon leverage his superior might.
The Russian kozak horsemen attacking as Napoleon's army retreated we're very effective.
@@Mortablunt Ive heard and read Napolean praised and so on, but cant remember same of russian side.... like soviets in WW2, yes they got help and such, but also did skillful, tactical things (also mistakes too). Shouldnt underestimate opponent or "other side", they might know something we havent thought about. In that high level, generals, it is like tennis or chess match, more of sports than battlefield fight, to know your opponent beat whole match, not just single battle.
@@effexon Kutuzov, Suvorov and Sydney Smith were a class above Napoleon in every way.
I love that Brigadier General. He is the one that all Armies fear and all commanders hope is in charge of the enemies force.
The pedophile?
Love this type of video format - presenting an argument/a different take. Please do more!
So if Napoleon’s forces were defeated from October 19th to December 14th, they were defeated before winter technically started. General Fall should get the credit for that one.
Rather than "General Winter" favoring any army, I'd say he screws everybody. It just happens that those who lack preparation and/or go on the offensive in the winter get screwed disproportionately more than the well-prepared and/or the defenders.
Brigadier General Major Fuck-Up has a humorous side to him- but he seems to always appear alongside Strategic Administrator Incompetence!
Don't even get me started with General Winter & Mud- such an iconic duo!
And Major Slush!
Russia is commanded by Major Disaster.
Simon, your videos are not only very informative but have improved tremendously in presentation and your speaking manner. You're still enthusiastic, but no longer the Jack Russell terrier destroying a pair of shoes in the middle of the night. This style of glasses, the whiskers and tailored jacket look good on you, and dark background are also effective and the lighting is perfect. Very nice! Keep up the good work!
Ahhh Mikhail Kutuzov. Funny story about him: I served in the US Army and when I was in AIT I met a soldier- his name was also Kutuzov. We were studying and found a little excerpt of Mikhail Kutuzov and it turns out that this soldier was related to him
I have read of a few Russian officers by the name of Kutuzov; it appears to be a common name. There was a Russian naval officer ,named Kutuzov, who was nearly shot for abandoning his ship during the great retreat to Kronstadt in june 1941; he was actually blown off the ship and picked up by a submarine. This account can be found in Harrison Salisbury's " The siege of Leningrad".
I'm at the Fjords in Norway at the moment where its around 0°/ -1°Celsius which is really cold and to think that some men in the German & Russian armies had to fight in conditions around -30/-40° Celsius, I tend to count my blessings more now because those men had a way harder life compare to ours today and I have a lot of respect for those men.
The lowest I exoerienced was -32C and it was in military. You can't have any bare skin in that temperature besides around your eyes for very long. To avoid your fingers freezing you need gloves so thick that it is impossible to pull trigger with them on. And you get cold when you stay still for too long. I can't imagine sitting in a trench in those kinds of temperatures for weeks or even months.
My uncle, who spent ages 17-21 as a Waffen-SS infantryman on the Eastern Front, never discussed his experiences with family. He only mentioned once that it was cold enough in northern Russia that one could sometimes hear the crack of trees splitting as their sap froze.
O is not cold that is light jacket weather
O is not cold that is light jacket weather
I'm a Canadian, so have some experience with bitter cold. I thought I understood it until I arrived in February into Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The temperature was -56F (-49C). All the vehicles in the airport parking lot were running - an engine block would become an ice block in minutes and wouldn't start until April if they had been turned off! The cold gripped my lungs when I stepped outside of the airport. I thought "I've never experienced this kind of cold" (I was living in Edmonton at the time, so it wasn't like I had come from anywhere close to tropical). An hour later a friend and I were racing across the ice on Great Slave Lake on snowmobiles - we Canadians are a hardy bunch. It's all about dressing for the occasion.
The army with the best logistics win in Winter wars. Defenders are also at an advantage. Russia now has neither of those.
Neither does the non Ukrainian war pigs prolonging the conflict, US and British boots on the ground
Exactly.
Russia beat France by simply pulling back and burning everything
Russia beat Germany by simply pulling back and burning everything
They simply extended the opponents supply lines to breaking points.
It depends if Russia is invading or not. Russia on the defensive, has enough weapons and troops.
@@worstchoresmadesimple6259 Both sides have an element of "home advantage", but it could be argued that Russia is defending it's borders from a NATO build up and planned deployment of WMD. JFK hailed a hero in similar circumstances with the Cuban missile crisis. How are things different now?
@@worstchoresmadesimple6259 they're not. they also have a shortage of winter clothing. if ukraine can cut Russian forces off from the mainland, it doesn't matter if they're on the defensive on their occupied territorires, the winter will heavily favor Ukraine.
Another excellent episode Warographics team. Definitely one of the best of the myriad of Simon's channels.
This video as well as the one about the thunder run tactic are both PHENOMENAL .....
As the saying goes... "history doesn't repeat, but it sure as hell rhymes"
If you’ve never trained nor fought in the Arctic, you’ve never met General Winter.
This 🎩
Does the north sea count?It was 40 below zero f.
Before the windchill.
I was outside for 2 months in the army.
Digging foxholes in frozen ground...
I don't need to go to Mawson Station to know that snow is cold and fighting in it will be less than enjoyable.
This is why we host Cold Response almost every year. Most NATO allies don't have anything close to these kinds of climates and conditions in their own countries, to train for this domestically.
Or the Hindu Kush. Ask the Indians and Chinese who fought in their border skirmishes along the Line of Control, most of it above 3500 meters in elevation... They lost more troops to frostbite and hypothermia than combat.
Great video Simon. I think there's one thing you missed though. Any weather that impedes movement and logistics almost always favors the defender, especially when the defender is in their home territory and can afford to retreat. The invader's supply lines get longer and longer while sourcing supplies locally becomes less and less feasible. Rain, deep mud, snow and extreme temperatures tend to require more resources compared to moderate weather while the invaders supply lines stretch and strain. Time is usually on the defenders side from a political standpoint as well, so anything that slows the pace of combat is usually detrimental to the invader.
Wow this was an interesting take on a subject including wars I'm very in to overall, well done Mate! 😇
The one difference with the Ukrainian war is that the Ukrainians are fighting on their own lands and understand what winter is like. With western countries providing billions in aid, their army will most likely be more prepared for it that the Russians. It's the civilian population I'm more concerned with.
As I see it; Winter is hometurf-advantage multiplier.
Russians in Ukraine, well they ain't home.
Let's be honest, the Ukrainian War isn't just between Russia and Ukraine. It's between Russia and the rest of the "western" world. As you said, western countries are providing Ukraine with billions in aid, weapons, ammo and tactics. This is probably the closest we'll get to WWIII without deployment of troops.
Ukronazis shelling donbass and killing women and children will drive human kind to eternal devastation
Well people have been living in Ukraine for like 300,000 years iirc. While I can't say for certain, surely Ukranians are used to the cold of the region and have been preparing for months.
It'll likely be a miserable winter but I doubt they are all going to freeze to death.
Putin and his oligarch hawks are trying to frame the war in Ukraine in the same terms as the heroic sacrifice of WWII. Like at Stalingrad the most recent recruits are being sent into battle with no food, water, arms, ammunition, uniforms, training, or leadership and told to take what they need from the dead.
Historically, General Winter has been Russia's savior but if the Russians can't supply their men in summer they won't be able to in Winter and when faced with freezing to death or starving many will surrender rather than fight.
Winter DIDN'T favor Russia in the Winter War with Finland in '39-'40.
@Генерал Армагеддон тотал нумберс аре ацтуаллы 26 000 деад фор тхе Финланд анд 126 000 - 160 000 деад совиет СССР солдиерс
Russia won, and Finland ceded territory and was forced to pay reparations ...
@@Anonymous-qj3sf Yes, Russia won, just like USA won in Vietnam.
@@Anonymous-qj3sf And what a grand victory the Russians won! Just like how they're "winning" in Ukraine. By any practical measure the Winter War was a moral and psychological as well as military victory for Finland and a devastating defeat for the USSR. Against a country even smaller and less well equipped than modern Ukraine, for the Russians the Finnish battlefield was turned into an abattoir where the Russians were cattle and the butchers were all grim Finns on skis. I don't remember the precise ratio but it was something ridiculous like for every dead Finnish soldier there were twenty or thirty dead Soviet soldiers. After the German invasion with material help from Germany (though to be clear Finland did NOT join the axis) the Finns drove the Russians back out of their country. When the war ended Stalin negotiated a polite settlement with Finland that essentially restored the territorial seizures Russia had in 1940 but did NOT result in domination or rule by the USSR over Finland. The _victory_ won by the Finns was in teaching Stalin to keep his grubby paws off Finland _or else._ It's worth noting that even after the war when Stalin was subjugating eastern countries by force he kept his stinking paws off of Finland and the Russians have been very polite to them ever after. Regardless of how avaricious Stalin was, he knew that a genuine "defeat" of Finland would be more devastating to the USSR than the Romans's defeat by the General Pyrrus was to Greece (As Pyrrus remarked "Another 'victory' such as that over the Romans and we shall be undone!")
After the Winter War Stalin reportedly said in plain language that when it was all said and done, he wished he'd just left the goddamned Finns the hell alone.
Don't take my word for it. Take Nikita Khrushchev's word for it. "We outnumbered our enemy, and we had all the time in the world to prepare for our operation. Yet even in these most favorable conditions it was only after great difficulty and enormous losses that we were finally able to win. A victory at such a cost was actually a moral defeat."
"Russia won," my ass. Go tell that joke somewhere else. I thought all you Russian fanboys had crawled back into your holes after Ukraine started showing the world just how useless the Russian soldier really is. I guess there are always those who just didn't get the memo.
@@patrickscalia5088 Firstly, the Red Army was equipped worse than the Finnish Army in terms of material and technical characteristics. The soldiers did not have winter clothes, and in winter they wore green camouflage. Secondly, the loss ratio was 1 to 10. Thirdly, losses have no meaning in the war. Strategic gain and victory are important. In the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Japan lost 2 or 3 times more soldiers than Russia. Does this mean that Japan has lost? In the assault on Port Arthur, the Japanese army lost 7 times more soldiers than the Russian army. The Japanese general who commanded it even committed hara-kiri later. Does this mean that the Japanese army has lost? 🤣🤣🤣 In most cases, the attacker suffers more losses than the defender. Now the Ukrainian army is suffering more losses, especially in Kherson, trying to break through the defense of the Russian army. And what?) By the way, if you characterize the winter war as "cattle and butchers", it turns out that the cattle gored the butchers 😂
As a southern American, hearing you say ain't in your British accent was simultaneously awesome and hilarious.
I've actually wondered for a long time if more troops in war are lost to the enemy, or to their own commander's mistakes. Watching this, I'm more convinced it's the latter
Traditionally speaking more soldiers tend to die from the piss poor conditions, than actual fighting.
those rusty AKs and thin uniforms ain't gonna help the russkies
Love all your channels. I would love to see a video or series of videos on famous military songs and their history, such as the Battle Hyme of the Republic for example.
1:10 - Chapter 1 - Arrival of a general
6:10 - Chapter 2 - Logistics & hubris
11:05 - Chapter 3 - A fickle friend
15:15 - Chapter 4 - Success & failure
- Chapter 5 -
- Chapter 6 -
👍
Love this kind of current reporting/analysis of current events
Then you ought to watch John Meirsheimer's 2014 prediction of the Ukraine war .
General Winter, General Mud, General Fubar, Brigadier General Almighty Fuck-Up.... I can’t stop laughing.
Have you stopped laughing yet? Do you require medical attention?
Will be really interesting to see how Russia handles this winter. I can just picture Putler saying to his army: "Men, here is your rifle, here is your coat, and here is your bottle of vodka. Drink liberally and stay warm. Best of luck."
They’d be lucky to be assigned coats
Russian soldiers get some vodka and tampons to plug their wounds for the winter :D
"Men, here is your rifle, hope you brought coats, if you advance you might find vodka that hasn't been looted yet."
Really like your videos but I wish the audio quality was more consistent. Some of them I have to turn the volume down to hear them clearly in my headphones, and some I can't even understand you even at full volume. Great videos though I really appreciate the content
THAT, sir, was an outstanding, informative video.
Excellent video again. Warographics is my favorite channel in the Whistlerverse. Allegedly. Cheers.
2 new videos in 24 hours, liking this channel more and more
He has another channel that’s great.
@@thesjkexperience he has like ten other channels 😂
@@codylavallee5247 he’s missing opportunities by not promoting his other channels.
Great content, even better presented 👍
Has anyone noticed the similarities between Ukraine's isolation tactics after the initial attack in the East to those of the Finnish? They have been using rivers etc.
Just about everybody..
@@puellamservumaddominum6180 You must be fun at parties. I dont think that many people actually even know about the Winter war. Ile go into the street and ask a random 20 people what Motti tactics are and we will see what answers I get. Wanker
You can’t have your army be just fine in freezing cold by being hardcore. It’s a matter of equipment.
Canada is apparently sending Ukraine approx 500k+ winter warfare uniforms, hopefully not just white camo sheets/top layers.
So, if it's full on winter kit, they'll have the means to stay warm when out and about.
Hitler refused to accept that. He truly thought that "will" was some kind of superweapon that could overcome any obstacle of you had enough of it.
*If Ukraine is being supplied with the best kit & gear by the U.S., the U.K., and the rest of NATO, while Russian conscripts are being told to bring their own boots and clothes, and are being supplied by Iran & North Korea, General Frost will be favoring Ukraine this Winter...*
Reports are that the Russian troops have no winter gear, but it has been coming in for the Ukrainians for some time now. Evidently Ukraine and its allies have been planning a winter campaign since spring.
@@alanjameson8664 and that's what good logistics looks like. Supply every soldier 3x is standard. US doctrine is to double it. Plan for winter in summer, for summer in winter. By the time supplies make it, it'll be about that time. If you need it now, it's too late.
See Scott Ritter's military analysis of this conflict.
Russia has laughablly bad logistics. Footwraps (cheap, old fashioned version of socks) were standard issue until recently and now with the war Russia had to pull them back out of storage. Cheap footwraps can work better than cheap socks in the cold but they're not as good as good socks and most modern armies issue special cold weather socks. The Americans for example issue multi layer, moisture wicking, anti microbial, flame resistant socks and normally issues multiple pairs so you can swap them out at least once a day. Russian meanwhile issues you a couple rectangles of cotton and knowing Russia they're likely old Soviet stock. Russia is fighting the war like it's 1950s or 1960s while Ukraine is fighting a modern war.
Exactly
Great work
Oh My God. Simon just directly threatened Putin. Big ballz. (Keep an eye on your teapot)
I will dare to hope that General Winter sides with Ukraine, and that Ukraine will indeed be far better prepared for winter fighting than the Russian forces.
Everything we've seen so far from the Russian side of this points to exactly the problems you mention.
Also points up why lots of wars in prior centuries just didn't have real battles DURING winter, anywhere in Europe really. I wouldn't want to be a 14th century soldier - or even a knight - trying to maneuver in metal armor with negative C temps and snow up to my...well. You get the idea.
I've been really enjoying the recent videos digging into conflicts in these regions, it's all entirely new info to me. Thanks to Simon and team for the hard work!
Take a moment to view John Meirsheimer's 2014 lecture on the Ukraine conflict. It is seldom that a war is so carefully predicted.
@@bedstuyrover you don't need to be big brains to see that coming after Crimea. The world should've intervened then, Russia wouldn't have had time to prepare for sanctions and grow less dependent from the West. The Western "leaders" really failed this class.
Let us not forget, Subutai defeated General Winter.
Subutai defeated everything except time
He even benefitted from it - horses riding faster over frozen ground
Re: every Mongol win in Russia in modern context-
The trick is the East to West invasion. Occupying the vast hinterlands behind them left little room for the Rus to retreat. Since then, Russia’s eastern expansion over the steppes has doomed any western invasion. During Operation Barbarossa, Stalin was able to move whole industries to Siberia and the East, making complete defeat and occupation virtually impossible.
They are, of course, the Exception...
@@AnthonyMackONE Yeah, sure, every Siberian factory is a gangster until the hills start throat singing in Mongolian at you.
Napoleon lost more troops in the summer invasion than the Winter retreat.
Should really have gone back ever further, to Alexander Nevsky and his defeat of the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knight's Catholic forces at Lake Piepus, called the Battle on the Ice, in 1242.
Ah, the propaganda before the maskirovka.
This would’ve been really cool to learn about. There have been *a lot* of winter wars/battles fought, long before this current operation. One of my favorites to have learned about was Chosin during the Korean War.
Love the content as always!!!! You should do a video about the Banana Wars that had The United States Marine Corps was basically fighting for fruit companies in the Caribbean during the 1920’s and 30’s. If it weren’t for those conflicts, the Marines probably wouldn’t have had the combat experience that came in handy during the Pacific War
A stain on our nation..
Was this activity not where the U.S. Marines were themselves born? And yes, shameful, what we did down there
@@InnerVisions68 in a sense yes, island hopping and modern amphibious warfare tactics were born here. I agree it’s a horrible chapter in our nation’s history but all the more reason it should be covered, I had no idea the banana wars happened until I went to boot camp.
@@InnerVisions68 Given that Marines were present for the 55 Days of Peking, no, not really. But, if you'd said "modern corps was prototyped" then you'd be much closer.
Speaking of the Marines and of cold winter weather, a Chosin resivoir video would be good as well. Semper Fi brother.
“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” quote from Army General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front during WWI.
The Soviets did win the Winter War, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. "Another such victory, and I shall be ruined." One Soviet general observed that they gained just enough territory to bury their dead. When Pyukin' threatened Finland recently, the Finns reminded Russia that that there was room to bury more Russian soldiers.
Mannerheim and the Finns were quite rational in ww2; they realized that the determined colossus to the east was not to be trifled with and refused to advance to any great degree into the Soviet Union. At the end of the war, the Russians recognized this and concluded a less harsh peace with them. i wonder if the current Finnish government understands the nature of the situation.
@@bedstuyrover the Russian army doesn’t match the red army after decades of corruption and negligence. The red army could’ve taken over all of Europe if it was as t for America. This Russian army can’t even take Ukraine
@@bedstuyrover Much revailed by nowadays Finns, but "Finlandization" avoided the fate of other Warsaw Pact countries with direct boots on the ground, as well as direct control in internal issues. It also allowed Finland to take advantage of both sides and prosper. I don't remeber the exact wording to describe this tightrope walking balance between both superpowers, but something like "the art of bowing to the West, but taking care to not show your ass to the East"
It's kind of silly to categorize Winter as working for any nation, Winter usually works in the favor of the defender
Or he who is most prepared for it.
There's something to be said for having equipment made for cold weather and soldiers that are used to it, but yeah, generally if favors the defender.
The person with the shortest supply lines is helped, IF you have the necessary supplies.
Majority of Napoleon's Army died to Disease before winter. It was really General Typhus and his aide Lt Winter.
Winter is and always has been a matter of equipment and training. Train for it, plan for it, equip for it, and use it. As much as Russia's reputation is the utilization of that, this honestly comes down to logistics. I think corruption in the Russian MOD is going to make Russian winters a lot less of an ally for Russia this time around. The next few months will tell us though.
General Winter is like fighting in the Jungles around the Equator. If you're not prepared for zero food and dog shit conditions 24/7 don't even try mate. You're just gonna fail. Especially if you think you can cross said terrain quickly without local guides
The harsh winter was a saviour for Finland when the Orcs tried to invade in WW2. Orcs froze without proper clothing and supplies. Winter and great Finnish war tactics killed over 100,000 Orcs.
Lmao orcs
Winter favors the army with logistics for things like coats, socks, and food. Which Russia currently has 0 capacity to keep running. They're also trying to shoehorn over a quarter million soldiers into their already jacked-up logistics situation.
Love your videos
Mr Whistler it's you!
I thought "Let me check this channel" as I always seek new history CZcams channels, and sure it is yours!
Compliments for the video, as it is very well researched and narrated...
If you defend from an enemy that has hundreds of km of supply lines winter helps, but if you attack în winter with hundreds of km of supply lines, no... you will loose
I think winter helped Finland more than Russia
The Finns we’re playing at home too.
Winter help the defendant playing at home.
because they were defending
Finland lost territories...
@@Anonymous-qj3sf yes. The winter war was won by the Soviets, but at an enormous costs.
-----------
During the four months of fighting, the Soviet Army suffered massive losses. One Red Army General, looking at a map of the territory just conquered, is said to have remarked: "We have won just about enough ground to bury our dead." The official Soviet figure, issued just after the war, listed 48,745 dead and 150,863 wounded.[14]
According to Nikita Khrushchev, 1.5 million men were sent to Finland and one million of them were killed, while 1,000 aircraft, 2,300 tanks and armored cars and an enormous amount of other war materials were lost.[24][25] Finland's losses were limited to 25,904 dead or missing[26] and 43,557 wounded.[27]
In 1990, professor Mikhail Semiryaga used the Red Army Casualty Notifications to publish a book in which he gave exact figures: 53,522 dead, 16,208 missing, 163,772 wounded and 12,064 frostbitten. Meanwhile, professor N. I. Baryshikov estimated 53,500 dead, a figure close to that of Semiryaga. In 1999, Finnish historian Ohto Manninen estimated Red Army casualties to have been 84,994 dead or prisoners, 186,584 wounded or disabled, 51,892 sick and 9,614 frostbitten.[28] Russian historian Grigoriy Krivosheyev calculated 126,875 dead and 264,908 wounded.[29] In 1999, Yuri Kilin, professor at Petrozavodsk State University, calculated 63,990 dead, and 207,538 wounded and frostbitten, making total casualties 271,528. A further 58,390 men were tagged as sick.[30] In 2007, he revised the estimate of dead to 134,000[31] and in 2012, he updated the estimate to 138,533.[32] In 2013, Pavel Petrov stated that the Russian State Military Archive has a database confirming 167,976 killed or missing along with the soldiers' names, dates of birth and ranks.[33]
-------------
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_Winter_War#:~:text=Casualties%20of%20the%20war,-During%20the%20four&text=According%20to%20Nikita%20Khrushchev%2C%201.5,or%20missing%20and%2043%2C557%20wounded.
I have lived in Siberia and live in Minnesota,USA. Minneapolis and Novosibirsk are sister cities, Novosibirsk being on average 2 degrees colder by yearly average,but Minneapolis having many times the snowfall. A human senses temperature change in 2 degree increments, so in Novosibirsk you barely sense the difference between Novosibirsk and Minneapolis, but you will be out in the cold five times longer shoveling out you car from the snow in Minneapolis! It is all about being properly prepared for the environment your expected to survive!
Is this the best Simon channel?
The other reason the Germans lost in the winter in WW2 were the massive counterattacks that the Soviets launched again and again. It's not like the Wehrmacht just gave up because it was cold
Yeah it's a bit of an unfair statement to the Soviet soldiers to say the Germans were halted by the Winter. It was a component of difficulties later on but it was primarily the Soviets persistent counter-attacks and stubborn defense as well as awful German logistics.
@@purplefood1, True, the Germans thought they would win a quick victory but there were just too many Russians and it took to long to defeat all of them. Then winter came.
@@purplefood1 And a lot of those counter-attacks involved utterly fucking up German supply lines.
the germans launched the attack in the First place to get oil ,they were pressured to get oil from somewhere and only russia could satisfy oil demands of Germany
With the help of tons of American weapons and food stuffs delivered to Russia at that time.
I agree with both Russian incompetance and hubris and Ukrainian bravery and tenacity.
That beeing said, Putin has drag Russia into a war alot of people don't want any part of.
Sending conscripts that don't want to fight, and surrender themselves and their gear/equipment the first chance they get must affect Russias war effort!
Rest In Peace to those that passed away.
As Oversimplified said "Runaway...Genius!"
As a point of sadness considering the current date, we weren't fighting Russians in the Winter War, we were fighting mostly Ukrainians. They were not prepared at all for the winter. This is because Stalin was paranoid about Russians from the North betraying the USSR and joining the Finnish side.
They say the Finn's ski forces. Was the inspiration for the US Army's 10th Mountain Division.
Well, they should be since they were trained by finns in the beginning..
They literally were
Yup..Learn from the best whenever possible.
🤺
Nice
The Finns still lost........
Great topic.
Cuts both ways ?
great video mate. would love to see you do look into the Gallipoli campaign
This time they're using general winter in a very different way. This Winter (we already start to see the effects) public places will be quite a bit colder, a lot of households in Europe will not be able to heat their homes very well. Food prices (and prices for literally everything) will skyrocket even more. They might not be able to use the winter on the battlefield but they use it in a different way, In a way that effects all of Europe and more.
*I'm from Austria so everything I say is based on what I experience and hear here in Austria.
It would be the most comic moment in history if Putin pulls the same mistakes that Stalin did, a figure he's trying to 'rehabilitate' as just a nice guy, you know?
Maintaining good supply lines will be more important.
love this one
so many slang terms hehe
Not always. The Mongols invaded in winter and General Winter knew it met it's match.
During the First World War, battles were fought during the winter in the Eastern Front. The Germans and Austrians did pretty well against the poorly trained Russian peasant troops even during cold and snow.
as a chicagoan i dont wanna think about trying to survive in -49 degree weather without a jacket. i mean. its obviously impossible. its amazing any of them survived. i mean you'll literally die in minutes at those temps without any protection
I am SO glad you used FUBAR(F'ed Up Beyond All Recognition) correctly. A lot of the media like to use SNAFU (Situation Normal, All F'ed Up) which is about a normal, almost cliché screw up and does not apply as often as it's used.
Russian Winter plays for the winning side. And the winning side isn't always Russia.
it actually side with russia but in russia . this general winter is only invicible in defense on russian soil not in attack
The answer: NO
the proof: how poorly the russians performed against the finns, TWICE
Quick reminder that Russia won both of those wars.
Russia has never fought Finland
@@RoCK3rAD wrong, they fought twice. The winter war and the continuation war, both saw Finland fighting the russians
@@jordanhicks5131 they fought the soviets not the Russians. The Soviet Union was a group of Eastern European and central Asian countries that existed until the early 90’s. There is a difference between that but to relegate the Soviets to simply being Russians is a disservice to the millions of people from other states who died for their country. Fun fact Stalin actually wasn’t Russian he was Georgian but Russified his name.
@@jordanhicks5131 history matters man no matter what you think of the other side
Beautifully explained, thank you very much! It must be highlighted, I believe, that both, Herr Hitler and Monsieur Napoleon, thought that the "building would come down after the first slam on the door": specially the 2nd dictator never had the idea of fighting INSIDE Russia. And the first one was warned against it by the war games held previously by.... Von Paulus.
General Winter In The Finnish Army In 1939: Interesting...
Brigadier General Almighty Fuck-Up needs to be on a t-shirt.
General Winter sure didn't help Russia vs the Finns ;-)
Never heard someone pronounce the grande armee like that. Plus Napoleon did try to go a different route leaving from Moscow but was blocked and had a battle at Maloyaroslavets. He even called his marshals to determine their next move, something he almost never did. At this point he didn't think he would even retreat from Russia, he thought they could make it back to winter in Smolensk.
You actually saw the Winter working against the Russian in the Ukrainian war with intense mud led to Russians using the main roads and led to east picking and also the 40KM line of tanks outside of Kiev
some military experts believe that the column of troops outside Kiev was a diversion ; it forced Kiev to hold back troops from the going to the east of the country whilst the Russian backed allies seized much of Eastern Ukraine.
@@bedstuyrover interesting theory
@@bedstuyrover some 'Russian' military experts believe that. Most real experts think it's an excuse for a botched attempt at blitzkrieg. Anyway, most Ukrainian troops that were active in the Kyiv area were territorial defense, and not regular military. Troops that would not have gone east anyway.
Military experts also believe that if Russia had concentrated its troops in the South and East straight from the start, they would have made a lot more gains that they had before Ukraine could regroup. So if it was a diversion, it was a very bad one.
If you want an example of a good diversion, look at what Ukraine did in Kherson.
@@ggir9979 I was referring to America's military experts. It is important to mention that had Victoria Newland of the state department not pulled a coup in Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainians would not be dying in Washington's proxy war to weaken Russia. Not only did she orchestrate the coup, she also hand picked the Kiev regime that would wage war in the east of the country. It has been said that Washington would fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. What makes this lost of life particularly painful is that after the collapse of the USSR , Russia invited the west in; instead of allowing US businessmen to do what they do best, the US opted to destroy Russia.
@@bedstuyrover Botski reported.
I cant imagine the troops of Russia sleeping out in the Kherson Oblast this winter with a lack of clothes food etc cut off thinking winter favours them do you know thhat some Ukrainian soldiers live near enough to go home after fighting not every night if course but enough to recharge and those that don't at least have warm clothes and a full belly
Even if not some babushka is going to apprach the Ukrainian troops with a covered pot of hot stew or something similar, insisting that the "boys" are too skinny and need to eat up. Meanwhile if anyone in Ukraine offers the Russians food it is poisoned.