I read a great series about the Eastern Front in WW1 from the 'Axis' perspective [1] and the use of donkeys and horses was a critical part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later German armies offence (and later defence) against the Russians.
Their entire front against Russia was eventually reliant on their ability to drag heavy artillery and supplies through the dangerous mountain passes of the Carpathian mountains. An example of what they went through for their country: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Wintersc...
Supply lines are the often unspoken critical pieces of the puzzles for any great war before mid-WW2. Poor logistical planning in their invasion of Russia was also was a major factor in why the Nazi's lost WW2 - which is where Germany really lost the war, the "war of the Atlantic" and later western front with the Americans was just the multi-year delayed wrapping up action where they had very little odds from the beginning.
This second book [2] has a great overview about why the Nazi's had actually lost the war by 1941 (and very obviously by 1942) due to poor logistical planning of Operation Barbarossa, largely due to the strategic planners overconfidence in the German superiority over Slavs after they swept the French/British out of Europe. The next 3yrs were just Hitler's delusions keeping it afloat.
Their entire front against Russia was eventually reliant on their ability to drag heavy artillery and supplies through the dangerous mountain passes of the Carpathian mountains. An example of what they went through for their country: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Wintersc...
Supply lines are the often unspoken critical pieces of the puzzles for any great war before mid-WW2. Poor logistical planning in their invasion of Russia was also was a major factor in why the Nazi's lost WW2 - which is where Germany really lost the war, the "war of the Atlantic" and later western front with the Americans was just the multi-year delayed wrapping up action where they had very little odds from the beginning.
This second book [2] has a great overview about why the Nazi's had actually lost the war by 1941 (and very obviously by 1942) due to poor logistical planning of Operation Barbarossa, largely due to the strategic planners overconfidence in the German superiority over Slavs after they swept the French/British out of Europe. The next 3yrs were just Hitler's delusions keeping it afloat.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Collision-Empires-Eastern-General-Mil...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Barbarossa-Germanys-Cambrid...