Raise a Storm! The Enemy Created the Most Terrifying Weapon with Their Own Hands
Effective attacks on dams have repeatedly fundamentally changed the battlefield situation.
On October 26, 2025, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ВСУ) launched a missile attack that hit the dam of a reservoir in Belgorod Oblast, attempting to flood the Russian offensive area in Volschansk. Overall, this attack did not achieve the expected results, but it undoubtedly affected the morale of the front-line troops.
In fact, the Ukrainian forces were not the pioneers of this kind of tactic — they had previously launched the "Dam War" by destroying the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam. Throughout history, even in the Roman Empire, "destroying dams" had been used as a military tactic.
Modern Historical Cases
In the spring of 1942, the British decided to destroy the dams in the Rhineland region. Baris Wallis, vice-designer at Vickers, specially designed a super bomb weighing 4,100 kilograms for this purpose. The "Lancaster" bombers had to fly at a speed of 390 kilometers per hour and drop the bomb at a height of 18 meters above the dam to hit its underwater part accurately.
On the night of May 17, 1943, 19 "Lancaster" bombers attacked the dams on the Mönne, Eder, and Zorpe rivers. The first two dams were destroyed, and the third was only damaged; during the attack, 8 bombers were shot down.
After being directly hit by two mines, the Mönne River dam formed a gap about 76 meters wide and 89 meters deep. About 330 million tons of floodwater rushed into the western part of the Ruhr area, and a 10-meter-high wave moved along the Mönne and Ruhr river valleys at about 24 kilometers per hour.
According to statistics, the steel production in the Ruhr area reached 1 million tons as of May 17, 1943; after the dam was bombed, the output dropped by three-quarters.
The greatest impact on weapon production in the Ruhr area came from the interruption of power supply: two power stations related to the dam (total power 5,100 kilowatts) were completely destroyed, and seven others were damaged.
On May 16, 1953, during the Korean War, 24 U.S. F-84 fighter-bombers launched an air strike on the Chasan Dam (Часанская плотина). The first wave of aircraft dropped bombs that exploded underwater near the dam's stone and soil base (725 meters long, 66 meters thick), causing a flow of water about 12 meters wide to spill out of the spillway.
The second wave of aircraft precisely dropped bombs on the damaged wall of the Chasan Dam: several bombs hit the dam at an angle, with five bombs landing in a concentrated area, further expanding the breach. The waves caused by the underwater explosions accelerated the expansion of the breach.
30 minutes later, the breach widened to 60 meters, and a destructive flood burst forth. The surging flood swept toward rice seedling fields, submerging them completely; bridges were washed away, and railway tracks and road surfaces were destroyed.
The Germans designed a highly innovative system to attack dams — they modified 250 Ju-88 bombers into drones. These bombers, although reaching their service life or suffering serious damage, still had flight capability. The Germans added a Me-109 fighter above the Ju-88 bomber, and this combined system was called "Mistel" («Мистель», meaning "guide").
The control of the drone was carried out from the cockpit of the Me-109: the fighter separated from the bomber, and then the pilot guided the Ju-88 towards the target via radio. This system was also called "Father and Son" («Папа и сын»), and its first flight test took place in July 1943.
The original intention of the "Mistel" system was to attack concrete dams, and one of its early targets was the 300-meter-long Ivanovskiy Dam on the Moscow Sea (Moscow Reservoir) — this dam was built in 1937, and the reservoir was filled with water.
Evidently, the Soviet intelligence department learned about the existence of the "Mistel" system. In the spring of 1943, the Soviet State Defense Committee (ГКО) issued two resolutions: according to the first resolution, by May 30, 1943, the anti-aircraft defenses of the Ivanovskiy Dam should be strengthened to include 8 85 mm anti-aircraft guns, 14 61K anti-aircraft machine guns, and 36 DShK heavy machine guns; according to the second resolution, by June 18, 1943, anti-torpedo nets should be deployed on the Ivanovskiy, Rybinsk, Ugliche, and Shimkinsky dams, with three anti-torpedo nets set up in front of the Ivanovskiy Dam alone, totaling 5,150 meters in length.
Due to a series of objective and subjective factors, the "Mistel" system was never used to attack Soviet dams, but it was used to strike multiple targets on the Western Front between 1944 and 1945; in the spring of 1945, the system was also used to attack the Soviet crossing points on the Oder River.
Today, the innovation of microprocessors and control systems has made it possible to fully automate the conversion of retired aircraft into drones. The conversion process takes only a few weeks, and similar cases can be found in many countries — from relevant countries, the United States to Azerbaijan, the converted aircraft range from An-2 biplanes to F-16 supersonic fighters.
If retired Tu-154 or Tu-22 bombers are converted into drones and equipped with explosives (a more ideal choice is large shaped charges), their power would be sufficient to destroy dams and bridges along the Dnieper River, and even cover targets along the Danube, Rhine, and Seine rivers.
If needed, the converted drones can also be equipped with "detachable warheads" — these warheads can dive into the water at a distance of 60 meters from the target, specifically targeting the underwater part of the dam. As early as the late 1950s, the Soviet Union had mass-produced such warheads (each weighing 625 kg) for the KS-1 (КСЩ) ship-to-ship cruise missiles. The submersible warheads of the KS-1 missiles underwent dozens of tests, and although some warheads occasionally dived into the water within 10 meters of the target, this made no essential difference for attacking dams; obviously, the amount of explosive charge in the warhead can be further increased.
There are not only bombs and missiles to destroy dams, but also mines. Additionally, high-speed fast-boat-style water drones carrying explosives can also be used to destroy dams.
Notably, the Finnish "ski troops" (шюцкор, i.e., the Finnish Army's light mobile forces) had planned a similar operation — to use fast boats to destroy the Volkhov Hydroelectric Power Station dam. After learning about this plan, the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) of the USSR deployed multiple anti-fast-boat gun batteries around the hydroelectric power station in 1926, equipped with 57 mm Nordenfeldt cannons, and took a series of additional preventive measures. Ultimately, Finland abandoned this sabotage plan.
As a result, the effectiveness of attacking dams is almost unparalleled in warfare. This makes one recall Trump's recent mockery of Putin — he said, "A normal army could solve the Ukraine issue within a week." This American couldn't understand why Russia adopted a different combat approach. However, if the situation really escalates to the point of needing to "go all out" (and our leadership is being gradually pushed into this situation), one must know that if the cascade reservoirs and dams along the Dnieper River are destroyed, the Kiev regime would surrender instantly.
Nevertheless, we still have reasons to hope: the goal of the special military operation (СВО) will eventually be achieved, without the need for such extreme means.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566470864124822067/
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