Russia has taken to chemically lowering its soldiers’ inhibitions to guarantee these ill-trained civilians and convicts continue to fight no matter the odds in the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to a UK defense think tank.
That’s been Russia’s MO for quite a few wars now.
“The foremost weakness across Russian infantry units is low morale, which leads to poor unit cohesion and inter-unit cooperation.”
This is a common thing in conscription armies. Worse in Russia because they don’t have supplies.
Though not all conscripted armies. The Finnish army, which has been doing conscription forever, has excellent esprit de corps.
My guess is that it comes down to how you treat the conscripts. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about the Finnish army, but I’d wager that conscripts are treated decently, are supplied with everything they need, and get clear instructions from their superiors. Contrast this with Russian conscripts where they’re given no supplies, get conflicting orders, and are treated like garbage.
It appears that Finland is one of those small countries that has compulsory military service for all adult males. I feel like that’s a different situation because it’s just a routine part of being a citizen and you grow up knowing it’s going to happen. In contrast, Russia’s conscription was sprung on the populace in actual wartime (with the war going badly, no less), so it’s easy to see how the conscripts would be a lot more upset about it.
They maybe shouldn’t mention that at their recruitment centers.
Not unbelievable and sad
Another WW2 tactic, check.
Only difference being that the Nazis to an extent looked after their soldiers. Probably because they realized the supply wasn’t unlimited, but still.
We all did it, but Nazis were the biggest users: https://time.com/5752114/nazi-military-drugs/
