100 days of Russia-Ukraine conflict: Redefining the nature of limited wars
India Today
After World War II, ‘limited war’ was seen as an alternate to global war. Such conflicts were characterised by precise politico-military objectives and confined in terms of time and space.
President Vladimir Putin shocked the global polity when, on February 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a full-fledged offensive against Ukraine, terming it as ‘Special Military Operation’. Given the overwhelming superiority of the Russian military, it was anticipated that the war will be over in a matter of days, with Ukraine army suffering ignominious defeat.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proved the strategic pundits wrong by denying Putin a quick victory and engaging in prolonged war. The way this conflict has panned out defies many traditional assumptions, indicates emerging trends which will shape the contours of future warfare as also sets a rethink to redefine the nature of ‘limited conventional wars’.
Historically, wars have been fought to achieve political objectives, employing power to force the opponent to yield. As per Carl Von Clausewitz, “Each age had its own peculiar form of war”.
In the 20th century, there was general frustration with long-drawn wars. Post-World War II, ‘limited war’ was seen as an alternate to global war. The Cold War phase witnessed a number of limited wars in Asia. Such conflicts were characterised by precise politico-military objectives, confined in terms of time and space, and high in intensity prosecuted with lethal conventional weapon systems.
During the Cold War period, the Korean war was the first limited war fought over three years (1950-53), followed by the Vietnam war, which lasted for almost a decade. Rest of the wars, be in West Asia or the Indian subcontinent, were of short duration -- not more than a few weeks. Despite being limited in scope, these wars ended with decisive outcomes. Korean war saw the emergence of China as a major military power.
Vietnam war ended in a Communist victory, with Americans suffering humiliating defeat. Arab-Israeli conflict witnessed a number of limited wars, with far-reaching geopolitical consequences. Even the 1971 Bangladesh War, barely of fortnight duration, changed the architecture of South Asia, with India gaining recognition as a regional power.
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