James Dahl
VIP
The Amhara FANO militia had very successful recruitment and mobilization after the outrage of ENDF withdrawals away from TDF offensives into Amhara territory, but this has led to a long term problem with their strategic and tactical thinking. ENDF was correct to withdraw from a superior offensive, remember Mao's wise words:
Mao knew a thing or two about asymmetrical warfare, he successfully defeated several much larger and better equipped foes through his strategic thinking. ENDF was following this sound military strategy of force preservation to withdraw until ENDF could assemble a force capable of counter-attacking TDF positions.
Here FANO entered the picture. FANO are firmly in favor of "keep land, lose men", believing the heroic myth that dying defending your land is a successful military strategy. FANO early in the war lacked the military strength to turn the tide against TDF, but have from the start sabotaged ENDF's efforts to withdraw and preserve their forces, ensuring many ENDF armies were unnecessarily encircled by TDF, who are a highly mobile force who actively pursue encirclements.
The first of these disasters, after the unforced error of ENDF's encirclement and destruction of their main field army in the Tembien Mountains, following Abiy Ahmed's folly of ordering an offensive against TDF's fortress in the mountains, FANO interfered with and sabotaged ENDF's attempt to withdraw remaining equipment from Alamata in Amhara's newly annexed Raya. Amhara forces, anxious to make the region theirs forever and ethnically cleanse it of its Tigray inhabitants, blocked roads with obstacles and attacked ENDF soldiers trying to withdraw, killing several officers. This caused chaos in the ENDF and Tigray forces moved around them and cut off their escape route, encircling and capturing all the military equipment ENDF were attempting to save from the TDF offensive.
Again Amhara militias and FANO blocked roads and shot at ENDF as they tried to withdraw south from Kobo, where Amhara militias again protested and blocked roads and continued to slow down ENDF withdrawal from Kobo and all the way down to Weldiya where the largest encirclement and military disaster of Amhara forces occurred, where an entire army of Amhara special forces refused to withdraw and were completely destroyed.
The rainy season ended the war for the next few months, as Abiy Ahmed then assembled a brand new army of conscripts and deluded Amhara nationalists into a very large but extremely poorly equipped army, often armed only with machetes and ancient rifles. This was a crap army, but could garrison and slow down the TDF offensives by using strong points and defense in depth, maybe careful use of mines and IEDs. In a second utter folly, Abiy instead of fighting defensively ordered a giant human wave attack against the TDF entrenched in the mountains, who had had months to dig trenches and build defensive fortifications and had many heavy weapons. This whole army was annihilated.
This military malpractice continues unabated, with no lessons learned whatsoever. I am at a loss as to what could be the cause of this. I suspect the war is being directed by politicians with no military or strategic education whatsoever.
Keep men, lose land: land can be taken again. Keep land, lose men: land and men are both lost
Mao knew a thing or two about asymmetrical warfare, he successfully defeated several much larger and better equipped foes through his strategic thinking. ENDF was following this sound military strategy of force preservation to withdraw until ENDF could assemble a force capable of counter-attacking TDF positions.
Here FANO entered the picture. FANO are firmly in favor of "keep land, lose men", believing the heroic myth that dying defending your land is a successful military strategy. FANO early in the war lacked the military strength to turn the tide against TDF, but have from the start sabotaged ENDF's efforts to withdraw and preserve their forces, ensuring many ENDF armies were unnecessarily encircled by TDF, who are a highly mobile force who actively pursue encirclements.
The first of these disasters, after the unforced error of ENDF's encirclement and destruction of their main field army in the Tembien Mountains, following Abiy Ahmed's folly of ordering an offensive against TDF's fortress in the mountains, FANO interfered with and sabotaged ENDF's attempt to withdraw remaining equipment from Alamata in Amhara's newly annexed Raya. Amhara forces, anxious to make the region theirs forever and ethnically cleanse it of its Tigray inhabitants, blocked roads with obstacles and attacked ENDF soldiers trying to withdraw, killing several officers. This caused chaos in the ENDF and Tigray forces moved around them and cut off their escape route, encircling and capturing all the military equipment ENDF were attempting to save from the TDF offensive.
Again Amhara militias and FANO blocked roads and shot at ENDF as they tried to withdraw south from Kobo, where Amhara militias again protested and blocked roads and continued to slow down ENDF withdrawal from Kobo and all the way down to Weldiya where the largest encirclement and military disaster of Amhara forces occurred, where an entire army of Amhara special forces refused to withdraw and were completely destroyed.
The rainy season ended the war for the next few months, as Abiy Ahmed then assembled a brand new army of conscripts and deluded Amhara nationalists into a very large but extremely poorly equipped army, often armed only with machetes and ancient rifles. This was a crap army, but could garrison and slow down the TDF offensives by using strong points and defense in depth, maybe careful use of mines and IEDs. In a second utter folly, Abiy instead of fighting defensively ordered a giant human wave attack against the TDF entrenched in the mountains, who had had months to dig trenches and build defensive fortifications and had many heavy weapons. This whole army was annihilated.
This military malpractice continues unabated, with no lessons learned whatsoever. I am at a loss as to what could be the cause of this. I suspect the war is being directed by politicians with no military or strategic education whatsoever.