Thinking back on my recent visit to the Waterloo battlefield, I cant help but wonder how the French ever could have won. The main British line was situated along a ridge, which the French had to traverse 1500 yards of open ground to reach. Moreover, the British line was screened by three fortified stone manor-farm complexes situated several hundred yards in front of the left, right, and center of the British line, which the British occupied. To attack, the French would have to either take the farmhouses while under fire from the main British line on the ridge, or attach the ridge while also delegating thousands of troops to screen the farmhouses, which threatened the flanks and rears of any attack. In effect, the result was that French assaults were either blunted by these forward British positions before they reached the main British line, or were greatly weakened by having to deal with the threat of attacks from these positions during general assaults on the ridge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo#mediaviewer/File:Battle_of_Waterloo.svg I cant help but think that the IDFs tactical position in Gaza is much the same. To really take out Hamas fighters, equipment, and command and control, they need to get deep into Gaza. However, any attempt to do so is invariably bogged down and blunted by the need to fight their way through dense urban defensive positions in the first few kilometers of eastern Gaza. Alternatively, a rapid thrust towards the coast and the central areas of Gaza City, Dir el-Balah, and Khan Yunis opens advancing troops up to major flank and rear attacks, which are exacerbated by the possibility of tunnel attacks. Napoleon would have been best served by falling back from Waterloo and swinging arund the British right flank to take Wellingtons army in the rear, or to threaten Brussels and force Wellington to engage on ground favorable to the French. Perhaps the IDF should do the same? Amphibious assault on (weaker, less prepared, and less well defended?) coastal area? I doubt the IDF has such capabilities, but maybe . . . Ira Tick
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 00:02:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015