It was never a viable tactic in the first place. The Soviet Defence of Stalingrad didn’t rely on Human wave tactics, because the Soviets never employed them. The horrific Soviet casualty rate at the start of the war was the result of lack of preparation for the German attack and a chaotic retreat. After they had a chance to reorganise, the Soviet casualty ratio dropped dramatically, and they mounted strong counter-attacks that turned the course of the war. To say that the Soviets relied on human waves is almost to fall into the Wehrmacht’s self-serving “asiatic hordes” excuse.
None of which reflects on Putin’s failures in this war. He’s a bullying little checkist- not a soldier, and it shows. He has no grasp of strategy, intimidating people has got him false information and enticed him into this unforced error, and he has no plan B when force and intimidation fail. apart from more of the same.
