News reports indicate that a 40 mile Russian convoy is approaching Kyiv. That force is believed to be one that will impose a siege around the capitol. And, then bombard the city into submission. A true evil meets good scenario.

It is difficult to know real time facts but one press release indicates a belief that the convoy may be stalled due to logistical issues. Even if only a tempoary pause in Russia’s advance, it brings to mind another World War Two story from my youth. After D-Day enormous amounts of supplies were needed for the troops that “broke out” from Normandy. As the story goes, at meetings over 36 hours, a plan under the direction of Eisenhower was devised to send trucks eastward as a supply chain. (I already mentioned the US interstate highway system enacted under Eisenhower in a previous post. Guess where parts of that concept came from.) “Red Ball” was an old term, probably from US railroads, that gave right of ways on transport lines. Soon 5000 to 6000 trucks were speeding across France with supplies. Even then a lot of fuel had to be used and it was hard for supplies to keep up with rapid combat advances towards Germany.

Supplies are important in a war. If the Russians are currently only delayed due to food, fuel or water issues it is still not a good sign for them. It’s a weakness that would need correction. It is hard to believe that an invasion was planned without adequate plans for supply routes. Once delayed at this point might mean future supply problems. That has been true throughout history; Napoleon in Russia, Hitler in Russia; Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. (One of the war crimes allegations I reviewed included an incident along the Ho Chi Minh trail.)

It is hard to think of a 40 mile long convoy without imagining sitting ducks. I have no idea what is possible but being a young Russian soldier sitting in one of those stalled vehicles might be cause for anxiety. Which brings Papa to a sad but half humorous memory. I remember meeting a young Air Force jet pilot on his way to Vietnam and he said his dream in combat would be seeing an enemy supply train or convoy. Shortly thereafter he was shot down; spent years in the Hanoi Hilton and when I next saw him it was on television as he was one of the American POWs released. And, those are some of my memories that the term “convoy” conjures up.