Rasputitsa vs. an Invasion: Why Mud is Hampering Russian Advancements
History has proved time and time again that you do not launch an invasion near or during Rasputitsa, which is a Russian term used to describe the muddy seasons of fall and spring where heavy rain or thawing snow makes travel on unpaved roads nearly impossible. Napoleon took note of Rasputitsa and waited until the summer to launch his invasion of Russia in 1812. However, by the time his forces were retreating from Moscow in the fall, the mud season began, slowing down movements to a crawl and eventually trapping the ill prepared French forces in an unforgiving Russian winter. During World War II, a Rasputitsa stalled Germany's advance on Moscow in the fall of 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, allowing for Soviet forces to bolster their defenses and receive reinforcements. The failures of Operation Barbarossa highlighted one key aspect of modern warfare: Tanks and mechanized forces cannot traverse mud effectively, thus any attempts for an invasion must be done so in the dead of winter, when the ground is frozen, or in the summer when there is no mud. The window of success is small, as any delays that push operations close to fall or spring run the risk of being stuck in the mud, literally.