Comment by gherkinnn
11 hours ago
The ideas that I as a civilian was sold over the past decades don't appear to hold up any longer.
As someone a while back put it, Russia lost several Bundeswehrs worth of equipment and keeps on grinding. Neither side is able to mass large forces, in a large part due to drones. And Iran can punish the US despite being comically outgunned.
Modern equivalents of Sherman and T-34 tanks over burdensome Tigers and a population willing to support heavy losses.
A Bundeswehr worth of equipment is so little nowadays that Bundeswehr itself lost several Bundeswehrs worth of equipment while being at peace for the last few decades.
Can't argue with that. The context of that quote was Europe defending itself and the reality that most European states are simply not ready for such a high level of attrition.
While Iran has faired better than I expected, it's a reach to say they've punished the US. The US losses are comically small. Of course wars aren't won solely based on battles...
> The US losses are comically small.
Just international respect, potentially the loss of the petrodollar, trust of allies, etc.
Small beer stuff really - although the kinds of things that feature in historical retrospectives published 50 years after turning points.
The US' immediate material losses are peanuts, of course. And Iran's are massive.
Weeks after declaring victory, it remains a strategic blunder with no obvious way out.
The Hormuz quagmire was expected and the vile Iranian regime has a long history of murdering and sacrificing its population for political gains.
Since we're discussing a WoR article:
https://warontherocks.com/tactical-success-strategic-failure...