
An ‘elves’ drone spotted.
An ‘orcs’ assault group.
Largely made up of men.
On crutches.
Limping into position.
To attack ‘elves’ positions.
Around Pokrovsk.
A fortress city.
In eastern Ukraine.
That’s the current locus of.
The ‘orcs’ war effort.
In the east.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
Despite losing.
More than 800,000.
Troops killed and wounded.
In the first three years.
Of its wider war.
On Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ military has still.
Managed to sustain.
A front-line force.
Of no fewer than.
600,000 troops.
In Ukraine and western ‘Mordor’.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
That’s enough people.
To give ‘orcs’ field armies.
A manpower edge.
Over ‘elves’ forces.
Over ‘elves’ forces.
In all of the most.
Important sectors.
Of the wider war.
But that doesn’t mean.
The Kremlin isn’t struggling.
To generate.
Fresh troops.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
At least one desperate.
‘Orcs’ command.
The 20th Combined Arms Army.
Has formed assault groups.
Made up of.
Walking wounded.
—including injured men.
Walking with the aid of crutches—
—including injured men.
Walking with the aid of crutches—
And sent them into battle.
With predictably tragic results.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
Perhaps the first clear evidence.
Of the “crutch battalions”.
Appeared on social media.
Last week.
An ‘elves’ drone spotted.
An ‘orcs’ assault group.
Largely made up of men.
On crutches.
Limping into position.
To attack ‘elves’ positions.
Around Pokrovsk.
A fortress city.
In eastern Ukraine.
That’s the current locus of.
The ‘orcs’ war effort.
In the east.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
Bomb-dropping drones.
Made quick work.
Of the attackers.
Ruthlessly slaughtering them.
Despite their injuries.
And their obviously.
Limited offensive potential.
What may at first.
Have seemed like.
An anomaly.
—a bizarre waste of lives.
Potentially ordered by.
—a bizarre waste of lives.
Potentially ordered by.
One cruel ‘orc’ commander—
Now seems more systemic.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
On or just before Tuesday.
An ‘orc’ soldier from.
The 20th CAA recorded.
A video.
Of walking wounded.
Assembling for an assault.
In the forests.
Apparently outside Pokrovsk.
“Man is using.
Crutches for a mission.”
The soldier mused in the video.
“What the fuck?”
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
The proliferation.
Of crutch battalions.
Across at least one front of.
‘Orcs’ war on Ukraine.
The proliferation.
Belies the huge size.
Of the ‘orcs’ force.
In Ukraine.
Yes, there are 600,000.
‘Orcs’ in eastern and.
Southern Ukraine.
As well as around.
The small salient.
‘Elves’ troops occupy.
In western ‘Mordor’’s.
Kursk Oblast.
No, not all of those.
600,000 troops.
Are truly fit.
For combat.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
The stress on the Kremlin’s.
Manpower system is.
Only growing as the expansion.
Of the ‘elves’ drone corps.
And ‘Mordor’’s loss.
Of 15,000 combat vehicles.
Compels ‘orcs’ commanders.
To hold back.
Their few surviving.
Modern tanks and.
Fighting vehicles.
And send in the infantry.
Instead—on foot and.
Often without.
A lot of support.
Infantry-first assaults work.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
Individual soldiers.
Spread out on rough terrain.
Are harder targets for.
‘Elves’ ever-present drones.
Than mechanized groups.
With big, easy-to-spot.
Tanks and.
Fighting vehicles.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
“Every single time”.
‘Orcs’ regiments.
Attempt a vehicle assault.
“The result is zero.”
One ‘orc’ blogger lamented.
Recently in a missive.
But “infantry.
With the support of.”
“Artillery and drones.
Slowly but surely.
Take tree line.
After tree line.”
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
The cost to the infantry.
Is staggering, however.
Daily ‘orcs’ casualties.
Have spiked.
As ‘orcs’ doctrine.
Has evolved to.
Favor infantry.
Over vehicles.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
According to Gen.
The top ‘elf’ commander.
‘Mordor’ suffered.
434,000 casualties.
Including 150,000 dead.
In 2024.
That’s more killed and.
Injured ‘orcs’ troops.
That’s more killed and.
Injured ‘orcs’ troops.
Than in the previous.
Two years combined.
‘Elves’ losses are much lower:
43,000 killed.
And 370,000 injured.
In total.
Since February 2022.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
In December.
‘Elves’ losses are much lower.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
Attacking with infantry.
Rather than vehicles.
Leverages an ‘orcs’ asset.
—sheer manpower—
—sheer manpower—
But risks squandering.
That asset for the relatively.
Modest territorial gains.
That asset for the relatively.
Modest territorial gains.
The ‘orcs’ have registered.
In the last year.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
People are.
A renewable resource.
But not quickly or.
Easily renewable.
That more ‘orcs’ are.
Limping into battle.
On crutches.
Is a clear sign.
The Kremlin is expending.
Its human resources.
Faster than.
It’s renewing them.
There were rumors.
Several months ago that.
Some ‘orcs’ commanders were ordering.
Wounded men back into action.
An ‘elves’ drone spotted.
An ‘orcs’ assault group.
Largely made up of men.
On crutches.
Limping into position.
To attack ‘elves’ positions.
Around Pokrovsk.
A fortress city.
In eastern Ukraine.
That’s the current locus of.
The ‘orcs’ war effort.
In the east.
*Because I read “Russian ‘Crutch Battalions’ Full Of Limping Soldiers Are Easy Targets For Ukrainian Drones” by David Axe on 21 Jan 2025 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original story on the Forbes: