Indian Army’s War Preparedness:  What Indian Armed Forces Must Do To Avoid Limping Into War

There was also thin awareness that since World-War-II, warfare is no longer about hefty soldiers ceaselessly swinging a sword or a pike, but about weapons and systems which require constant renewal and supply right into the battlefield, and without which even the bravest soldier will wither. The harsh reality is that modern weapon platforms consume gargantuan amounts of fuel, oils, ammunition, spares, maintenance, water, etc.

For example, during Operation Desert Shield (1991), the US’s 24th Infantry Division (Mechanised), comprising 18,000 soldiers, 1,575 tracked vehicles, 3,500 wheeled vehicles, 90 helicopters and supporting equipment and supplies, consumed 13 lakh litres of diesel, 1.89 lakh litres of aviation fuel, 8.1 lakh litres of water, 2,400 tons of ammunition and 208 x 40-foot containers of other supplies each day. Add to this the dispersion of forces across a battlefield and logistics losses inherent in any war zone…