Salamis -- Waterloo -- Corinth -- Bastogne -- Tet -- 911 -- Izyum -- September 11, 2022

I thought about Corinth, Mississippii, and the US Civil War when reading about Isium (Izyum), Ukraine, over the past 72 hours.

Years ago I put together a US Civil War study guide for middle school students. It was based off The Memoirs of General US Grant. Corinth was perhaps the most important strategic point at that time of the war. It was at the crossroads of two major railroads held by the Confederates.

From wiki: Corinth

Corinth's location at the junction of two railroads made it strategically important. 

Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard retreated there after the Battle of Shiloh, pursued by Union Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck. Beauregard abandoned the town when Halleck approached, letting it fall into Union hands. Since Halleck approached so cautiously, digging entrenchments at every stop for over a month, this action has been known as the Siege of Corinth.

Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans moved to Corinth as well and concentrated his force with Halleck later in the year to again attack the city. The Battle of Corinth took place on October 3–4, 1862, when Confederate Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn attempted to retake the city. The Confederate troops won back the city but were quickly forced out when Union reinforcements arrived.

As noted, I thought about Corinth and the US Civil War when reading about Isium (Izyum), Ukraine, over the past 72 hours.

Russia moves on rails, not on trucks. 

From Politico:

As Ukrainian troops race forward in what appears to be an unexpectedly successful counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region, locals are coming out to greet their liberators with hugs and promises of pancakes, according to videos published on social media.

Ukrainian soldiers have punched through the Russian frontlines in a lightning maneuver and seem to be establishing a noose around Russian forces in the highly strategic town of Izyum, which is of crucial logistical importance for Moscow’s operations in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Seeming caught off-guard, Russia insists that it is sending reinforcements and is “evacuating” civilians in the face of the Ukrainian advance.

As they push deeper into the Russian-occupied territory, the Ukrainian soldiers are posting videos of their reception in towns and villages along the route of their breakthrough. 

Look how fast wiki is updating this webpage:

If indeed this is accurate what is now being reported, and, if indeed, Izyum is a(nother) turning point in the war, battle historians will be studying this for a long time. Will it grow in "stature" as the Battle of Bastogne has? Will it be compared to the Tet Offensive that some argue was the tipping point in that war.

Some things to explore:

• how did Russia manage to lose this strategic stronghold;
• were the Russians stretched too thin?
• were the Russians running low on munitions, vs a Ukraine army that had the US and, too some extent, NATO re-arming them?
• to what degree did US airborne intelligence provide the Ukraine generals with information regarding "soft" points?
• why now? Why did the Ukrainians do this now, not next month, or next spring?