The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, February - December 2022: Destroying the Myth of Russian Invincibility

by John S Harrel

On 24 February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, intending to overthrow the Zelensky government and bring the former Soviet republic back into the Russian sphere of control. Vladimir Putin clearly expected a quick victory and many in the West also predicted that Kiev would fall in a few days. But they hadn’t counted on the skilled, courageous and determined resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, nor the degree to which Russian military might had been overestimated. The initial Russian dash for Kiev was thrown back and their advances in the east and south also slowed by a combination of fierce resistance and their own unpreparedness, inadequate logistical planning and incompetent command. While the Russians ground their way forward in the east and south of the country, devastating towns and cities, they paid a heavy price in casualties and equipment losses. A carefully planned Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer forced the invaders into a series of humiliating retreats. As winter approached, the Russians still held considerable territory but the initiative and strategic momentum had clearly swung to the defenders. The illusion of Russian invincibility was shattered forever.

US Major General (retired) John S Harrel, a graduate of the US Army War College, trained with the Ukrainian army in the 1990s and in 2006, and commanded Ukrainian troops as part of the NATO force in Kosovo in 2005. His military expertise and detailed knowledge of the combatants informs this clear narrative and analysis of the course of the first 10 months of the war. He gives the reasons for the failure of the Russian invasion and, conversely, explains how the Ukrainian defense exceeded expectations, while acknowledging that strategic mistakes were made on both sides.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 28, 2024

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine February-December 2022 by Major General John S. Harrel is an incredibly well-researched book. Major General Harrel is an expert is an expert in military operations and his vast knowledge is apparent throughout the book. The first section of the book provides a very brief historical background on both Russia and Ukraine. This is helpful background information for understanding the geo-political-cultural circumstances that framed the invasion and outcomes in the first year. Major General Harrel also explains very clearly how this invasion utilized approaches such as drones, cyber technology etc. making this 'special operation' very different from past military encounters.

The second half of the book goes into a lot of detail on many of the specific battles including detailed information on the types of ammunition and military equipment used. Detailed maps are included on the different cities impacted in the war. Additional maps show the specifics of battle tactics and other details.

If you enjoy reading about battles and battle tactics you will absolutely love this book. I enjoyed a lot of the strategic and political background but struggled to follow all of the military terms due to personal lack of interest in these details.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword Military for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Russians invaded Ukraine in 2022, sparking a war now going into its thrid year, I was like many Americans who thought the war would be one-sides in Russia's favour. I HOPED Ukraine could fight off the aggressor Russian war machine- but I was pessimistic. Now- that we all have seen the plucky Ukrainians hold off the sometimes incompetent Russian "Special Operation", I wanted to get a military author's opinion- and in more than 250 character bursts. General John S Harrel is a US Army and California National Guard veteran and an expert on Soviet Mobile warfare in WWII and the Cold War, and he's here to give us a survey of the first Year of the War. With a Map or diagram every few pages and a good colour photo section -I was very interested in this book as a Military history buff- but I think the General Reader will also like getting this expertise to inform their current event knowledge base.

The big concept for me to get my head around is the death of the Division. Army and corps HQs seem to manage Brigades directly- with the maenuver unit the BTG - the Battalion Tactical Group. This seems to be an often ad-hoc- mixture of brigade assets in a Battalion size "Kampgruppe/BattleGroup" with a platoon or company size amount of infantry- with a few Tanks, IFVs, APCS, perhaps some mortars or artillery and maybe some engineers/support units. to me it seems like the "Penney packeting" of assets - instead of the Military principal of mass - and apparently when these units get into contact they don't have enough infantry to hold gains or exploit gaps. The Ukrainians- with better western command and control principals are able to coordinate local Territorial/National Guard units- and Volunteer Infantry units alongside their regulars to hold them off. As for actually projecting the Russian invader out of Ukraine, Harrel discusses what it might take . I look forward to more on this topic from this author as he seems to have contacts and anecdotes from every level.

There are some adult themes and discussion of war crimes so this book is better left for the Junior Reader over 15/16 Years with a passion for current events. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a gold mine of information. I personally feel it is too early to game this war - but the BTG- and the fact that many gamers have much of the Soviet Cold War Era gear this war has been fought with on both sides - lends itself to "Proxy" Team Yankee/BattleGroup Northag/Modern simulations - using Soviets on both sides. A formation you built for your Club's Team Yankee Campaign mighht be refashioned into several brigades... The modeler will get some build and diorama ideas- but will probably need even more photos from somewhere. For the Military Enthusiast- a really intriguing view of the war through the eyes of a contemporary western Military Officer. I can only think more general readers will find it engaging too.