WET GAP CROSSING IN A MULTIDOMAIN CONTESTED OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
WET GAP CROSSING IN A MULTIDOMAIN CONTESTED OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Author(s): Cristian SABOU
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Security and defense
Published by: Carol I National Defence University Publishing House
Keywords: Multi-domain Operations; Large Scale Combat Operations; Wet-Gap Crossing;
Summary/Abstract: This paper examines river crossing operations in the context of large-scale combat within contested multidomain operational environments. The terrain analysis of Eastern Europe highlights the prevalence of numerous water obstacles of varying dimensions. Maintaining a high operational tempo in large-scale conflicts often necessitates successive crossings of water obstacles, a critical requirement for achieving operational objectives. The ongoing military conflict in Ukraine provides an opportunity to study river crossings in contested environments to identify potential operational lessons for land forces. To facilitate the identification of these lessons, the introduction outlines three key questions that guide the focus of this paper. In the first section, the origins and theoretical framework of multidomain operations are explored, followed by theoretical delimitations of river crossing operations and a detailed examination of two historical examples of large-scale river crossings. The second section presents two case studies of river crossings from the conflict in Ukraine: the first conducted as a hasty crossing, and the second a deliberate crossing in a contested multidomain environment.

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