Material superiority allows an army to contemplate exchanges that would exhaust a weaker opponent. The example links Soviet planning to formulas for how much infantry and artillery were needed to achieve a result. German and Soviet methods on the Eastern Front are both characterized as strongly mathematical when millions of people were committed to large battles. The criticism is that these calculations treat people as quantities in the effort required to take ground.
Notable Point · 2:45:49-2:46:42
Material calculations in Eastern Front attrition
The Eastern Front comparison considers infantry and artillery requirements, material superiority, and the human cost of attrition calculations.