By Mortz C. Ortigoza
I was glued to the viewpoints in YouTube of retired general Frederick
Benjamin "Ben" Hodges, III - who
served as commanding general, United States Army Europe - about the psychological and strategical
values of the recent counter attacks to the Russian soldiers by the Ukrainian
army in the port city Kherson. It is located at the southern part of the
besieged country.
The city serves as the administrative center of
Kherson Oblast located in the Black Sea and in the Dnieper River. Kherson is
the home of a major ship-building industry and is a regional economic center.
In 2021, it had an estimated population of 283,649.
 |
| United States made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) |
Hodges thesis was titled: The War in Ukraine with Lt. General Ben Hodges.
The General – who is the current Pershing Chair in Strategic
Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis - said the strikes of the
Ukrainians against the Ivans have the following values:
·
Kherson is the first and only capital of an
Oblast province that was captured by the Russians;
·
Tens of thousands
of Russian troops that are on the right side of the Dnipro River have been
trapped;
·
The three bridges in the Dnipro River have been
destroyed by the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) guided multiple launch
rocket system (GMLRS) rockets of the accurate hitting United States made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) because of their
relentless bombardments in July and August. Moscow cannot send reinforcement,
water, and ammunition to these beleaguered soldiers;
·
The 25, 000 to 35,000 Russians (15% of their
entire invasion force) have been snagged and trapped in the right of the River
after the Ukrainian battalions from Kharkiv cut them behind – ala the famed
Inchon landing of Douglas McArthur
 |
| AUTHOR (extreme right) who sports a huge tactical helmet and Kevlar vest used by the crew of HIMARS during the Balikatan (military exercise) of the Americans and the Filipinos in Clark Air Base, Pampanga. He is in this photo with the members of the United States Marines who man the GPS guided rocket system manufactured by Lockheed Martin as seen on the background. |
With the Russians – parts of those thousands who left
Kharkiv to rescue Kherson - in the left side of the Dnipro River absconding to
their motherland by leaving their heavy military equipment, the Ukrainians
could be 240 kilometers from Kherson to the Russian's naval base and port city’s
Sevastopol of Crimea.
Just like the man-portable
air-defense system’s FIM-92 Stinger, tactical air-to-surface anti-radiation’s
AGM-88 HARM missiles, and advanced anti-tank weapon system and the fire and
forget U.S made Javelin and British and Sweden manufactured N-LAW shoulder
carried rockets that flushed out the Russian soldiers on their failed invasion
of capital city’s Kyiev in February to April 2022 that cost them 22, 000 dead
and 460 tanks and over 2,000 other armoured vehicles destroyed (Oryx), the
surgical hitting HIMARS – dubbed by military experts as “The “C” forming Fore
Finger God” have been another game changer in President Volodymyr
O. Zelensky's successful counterattacks not only in Kherson but in Kharkiv and
the city of Izium early and middle of this month. The capture of Izium was a
major tactical setback to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the city is a
major logistical railway hub of the Russian's military juggernaut as it connects to the Russian's city
of Belgorod Oblast.
The head of Russia's administration in Kharkiv told
residents to evacuate the province and flee to Russia to "save
lives," TASS reported. Witnesses described traffic jams of cars with
people leaving Russian-held territory.
What will be the implication to Moscow and Putin if the
dozens of HIMARs come near Crimea – invaded and annexed by Russia in February
27, 2014? What will the implication of this Finger
of God as the Ukrainian combatants inch to Donbas and Luhansk?
Just like what the accurate GPS navigating rocket of the
HIMARs – that can fire its six rockets in a pod every 14 seconds – at a range of 92
kilometers, the Russian soldiers will be deprived again of their gas and
ammunition because their depots can be accurately blasted to smithereens by
these long range Lockheed Martin's manufactured rockets.
“How can the guided
rockets of HIMARS hit the Chinese warships if one of this is posted at one of
the islets of the Philippines at the South China Sea?” I asked one of the camouflage
clad U.S Marines who manned one of them being displayed at Clark Air Base in
April 2016 during the Balikatan (military exercise) among the Yanks and the
Filipinos.
“They would be GPS guided,” he retorted as
he set the huge fatigue’s Kevlar helmet and the pocketfuls' bulletproof vest intended for the operator of the HIMARS on my head and body for our photo-op (SEE OUR
PHOTO SOMEWHERE IN THIS BLOG).
“Is the price of this monster (Himars) $5.1 million apiece?” I posed.
“Naah, its $6 million
apiece now”.
“Philippine government should buy some these so we can sink those ships
of the Chinks,”I added.
The secret of Ukraine victories against the Ivans is to
quote what Oscar Johnson – a researcher of the Swedish Defense University,
said:
“This is Ukraine
cleverly spotty on the Russian lines with bad opportunities for redeployment
coupled with new longer range capabilities (smart rockets like HIMARS) that can
impact on Russian forces”.
(Send comments to
totomortz@yahoo.com)
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