The “Big Three” Revisited: Initial Lessons from 200 Days of War in Ukraine

This paper deals with the tactical lessons of the first six months of the Russian war in Ukraine. The war, which has sent seismic shocks throughout the world, was conceived by many to be a new kind of conflict, with innovative, high-technology weapons and equipment bringing a sea change to the history of warfare.

This report compares events in the Russo-Ukrainian War to several large-scale conflicts of the past in which at least one of the sides was a Western force; all are part of what has been dubbed second- or third-generation warfare, in which mass firepower or armored maneuver ruled the battlefield.